Chapter 76

Phoenix had known pain, she had endured suffering. She had encountered situations that had ended up with her rolling over in antagonizing anguish, but the burn on her skin was a new level of pain that she had never thought possible. She looked down, expecting to find her own skin burnt and scarred,but there was nothing. It looked absolutely normal. She groaned out, falling on her knees, trying not to scream because her kind never showed weakness.

She bit on her lip to stop herself from shouting, then she forced herself to endure it. 

Flame staggered back and held onto the dusty wall of the cave for support. She feared that she was soon going to pass out. She looked to Phoenix past tear welled eyes and saw that the female was on her knees, clearly in anguish, but apparently she was able to withstand it.

She never made a sound, and eventually she struggled back up to her feet. The wisps were around her and she tried to hit at them with her arm,and at one point her wrist came into contact with one of them and she almost lost it. She could see nothing past the intense hurt that was threatening to overwhelm her. 

Eventually, Flame could no longer breathe and Phoenix was starting to lose control of her sight.

They were in a truce it appeared. 

And neither was willing to give up, to leave things unfinished. To appear weak. But they were draining each other, none was winning and if they continued to do so then they would eventually both lose. 

On unsteady legs, Phoenix took a single step towards Flame, almost falling but not quite. If not for the fact that she was the only one capable of waking her mate, then Phoenix would have done away with her ages ago. But now she had no choice but to ensure Flame remained alive.

That however didn't mean that she couldn't hurt her. 

She raised her hand and slowly began fisting it, and she watched as the fairy began to make her way to the floor. It was true that Flame was powerful, but she herself had no clue on how to properly handle her power. Which meant that Phoenix had to get what she required before learnt the true depths of it. 

She slowly sucked the life from Flame, knowing that she couldn't kill her but ensuring that the fairy hurt. She too was in pain,and it was becoming harder to stand and pretend that she couldn't feel it. Her insides were on fire and each breath she took seemed to be laced with scorched acid.

After Flame got to the floor, Phoenix summoned her darkness as she made her way to where she was. Leaning down she touched Flame's cheek and was about to render her completely unconscious when suddenly something sliced through her, looking down, she saw what appeared to be a pure dark arrow. And it had passed straight through her heart. 

Her lips parted and a painful moan escaped. Then her darkness completely engulfed her and she managed to leave that place. Not knowing where to go because that had been her refuge since she woke. It was a place impossible to find. 

Coughing, Flame struggled to take in deep breaths. Her chest quickly rising and falling and her hand desperately prying at her dress in an attempt to loosen it. She could hardly understand what had just occurred. She knew that Phoenix was strong and capable of withstanding a lot,but she had thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be able to defeat her. But the goddess had barely seemed affected by anything. And she had managed to defeat Flame. But that had just been the first round. There would be more, and by then Flame would have already gotten a grasp of her power. Because now she finally knew what to do inorder to improve her abilities. Aurelia had been extremely helpful.

She held the wall and looked around, she thought she had seen something go through the goddess but she now assumed she had been wrong. She huffed out a breath and rubbed her neck, then she wondered where her wisps had gone to because they were no longer there, making the place dark. Closing her eyes, she opened them and looked around once more. Her newly found gift enabling her to see. And when she turned to one of the corners she gasped and held a hand over her mouth to stifle her shocked scream. Inky dark strands that seemed molded into the darkness. And wings of night spread in the small face. She immediately knew who it was, there was only one angel among the council who she hadn't yet met. 

" Bastian?" She called out. Her composure regained and the new aura of power that she had developed settling into place. She could hardly see him even with her blazing vision, he was dressed in a long black leather coat that covered him from his head to his boot clad feet. She watched as he covered his head with the hood, then he put his crossbow back in place on his back. At least now everything made sense. He had been the one to injure Phoenix. 

" Your mate worries, " Bastian said. Facing away from her with his head slightly bowed. 

Flame walked on over to him, her head held straight. She got to where Bastian was and moved so that she stood Infront of him, he was much taller than she was. He looked at her, right in the eye. 

" Nice to finally meet you, " she said. Looking at the eyes of obsidian that were clearly hunted by shadows. 

He nodded,then he gestured to the exit and walked out. She stood still for a while, a little confused, she till stuck by her rule. 

The more talkative the angel the better. That explained why she was so close to some yet she hardly talked to others. And with how things were going, she suspected that she would only ever be close to the likes of Kael and Zarek.

Blowing out a breath, she walked out and found Bastian standing there. He looked around.

" Do you recall how you got here? " he asked and she told him how it had happened. He didn't respond, then he told them that they were at the border of Zalian and the kingdom known as Greyden. The same one Nuriel had refused to tell her about since he wanted its occupants to be a surprise. She would have asked Bastian but he was clearly not a fan of conversation, h actually seemed to be hoping that she wouldn't try to talk to him. So she decided to be polite and she maintained her silence.

A raw sparking surge of honeyed saffron, shattered glass and poison tipped daggers. The scent was so strong she couldn't breathe without inhaling it. 

Bastian was about to link Nuriel and inform him that he had found Flame when suddenly she lit up. He had heard that she could do that but hadn't quite gotten to see it yet. It was a lovely sight to look at. But he noticed that her face was concocted in hushed pain. 

" Are you well?"He asked, becoming slightly worried, he had been searching for Phoenix and he probably wouldn't have found her had he not seen The little wisps from above. It had been by pure chance and luck. That was a part of the kingdom he rarely roamed. At first he had thought perhaps they were some sort of insects, but then he had decided to go down and check. 

" I'll go back now, don't worry about it, " she told him, then he watched as those same wisps separated themselves from her flames and began to dance around her. She looked at him and smiled, then she thanked him and he watched her as she disappeared. Sort of the same way Phoenix had done but much more mystical to look at.

He hoped that she hadn't realized he didn't want to fly her to the Triecan himself. Perhaps she had, but it was a good thing she was able to move places on her own. Sighing, he walked over to a past of the woods that was clear enough for flight, then he crouched and rose into the air. He wondered whether he ought to link Nuriel and assure him that his mate was okay but then he decided to let it be. She was most likely at the Triecan already. Looking around, he decided to continue his search for Phoenix. She was badly injured. He had literally shot an arrow straight through her heart, and earlier on she had been injured by Rylan. Her kind were powerful but there were limits to their endurance, and he had sensed that she had been hurting when he stepped into the cave unnoticed. So she would be easier to track down. He looked down at the dark forest that separated Zalian from Greyden and decided on where to start his search. If any of his brothers asked him where he was he wouldn't give them the exact details, he preferred to work alone. They had a bond, but he was better off alone, always had been. He narrowed on a part of the woods closer to the border and went down. He had been in that cave for minutes before he shot that arrow through Phoenix. Yet neither she nor Flame had noticed his presence. And he had actually been considering leaving without Flame knowing and linking Nuriel about her whereabouts but she had spotted him. She wasn't supposed to bust she had.