Astrid's POV
Everyone in the room could feel the anger rolling off of Amara like waves. I stepped back, worried that I might get caught in the crossfire. I watched Amara as a small smile formed on her lips. I noticed how her eyes seemed empty as she gazed at Asher.
There was only the tiniest flicker of rage in her eyes. She looked at everyone, slowly, with a scrutinizing gaze. I saw an emotion flash through her eyes, but it was too small to recognize what it was. Finally, her gaze landed on me. Her gaze lingered on mine the longest. I straight into her eyes and saw everything.
She was broken and hurt. She didn't tell anyone, but, by the small smile on her face, I knew. Her smile was one that could only be from a life of pain and loneliness. I remembered when Gram first told me about her. Gram said he had found her covered in mud, bruises, and abrasions. I didn't know her story, but by the look on her face it was a sad one. I wanted to pity her. I wanted to tell her that I would take care of her no matter who she was, but...I knew that I couldn't.
Even though Amara was shattered, I knew she was trying to pick up the pieces. I knew that she was stronger than she looked. I knew this because...I was like her. I came from a horrible background and I didn't want to be pitied. I didn't want them to say that I could rely on them when they had broken my trust. Gently, I gazed at Amara with unwavering love and compassion.
I didn't care who Amara was or what she was. All that matters to me was that she knew that I cared. All that mattered was that she knew that I would be there. All that mattered that she understood that she was not alone.
Suddenly, Amara began to change. Amara's hair brightened and slowly turned white. Her skin paled permanently from the frost that coated her arms and her eyes were overtaken by vibrant blue-green. She turned away from me and walked up to Asher. The whole time, Asher had been observing Amara and had a gleam of excitement and intrigue in his eyes. Asher looked at me.
"Where did you find this one?" he said.
I didn't answer. My eyes followed Amara the whole time. I noticed that Amara was on the brink of losing control. My heart skipped a beat in worry. If she snapped, how many people would get hurt? Would she be able to get back under control? We still had no idea what the extent of Amara's powers were. Before I could take action, I saw the ground freeze and noticed the rising storm around Amara. Hail and snow were whipping around her as she finally set her sights on Asher.
Asher was clearly unconcerned for the swirling tornado of icy death. Then, the tornado widened, encompassing the whole room. My hair was torn from its ponytail and hail slashed at my bare skin. Carefully, I heated my body enough, so that the ice would melt on impact. I looked up to see a crooked smile on Amara's face. Then, she flicked her wrist. Icicles formed out of thin air from the tornado around us and headed straight for Asher's face.
Asher had paled considerably. No longer was he smiling, instead a look of pure fright appeared on his face. He grimaced as the icicles tore his clothes. I couldn't understand why he was scared. I knew he wasn't going to die. I mean, I know it was probably scary being forced to be hit by the icicles because his feet were frozen to the ground, but it was almost impossible to kill him. Suddenly, I felt the shift and I could feel the terrifyingly powerful pouring out of Amara. I felt a shiver run down my spine and cold sweat began to form on my forehead. That was not Amara.
Standing in the middle of the dark cell was a young girl, she had the same build as Amara, but she had white hair and sharp turquoise eyes that glowed in the dark lighting. Her pupils had changed to that of a cat's and a regal presence entered the room. The storm was reduced to nothing and the girl looked around the room.
"What a terrible place you got here," she said. Her voice was not too loud nor too quiet. Her voice seemed to demand everyone's attention. It did not sound like a voice of a fifteen-year-old, but rather a queen's. She turned her attention back to Asher. I don't know how it was possible, but Asher seemed to pale even farther. I could see him shaking as he struggled to raise his head.
"You!" The melodious voice of the girl rang clear in the cell. "You shall pay for your crimes today!"
Asher almost fell over in fear. He reached up to his neck and grabbed onto the necklace he was wearing. He suddenly crushed into his palm, destroying it. He gave a small sigh of relief and some of his original arrogance returned.
"Do your worst!" he cried.
Just as not-Amara-but-technically-is-still-Amara raised her hand, a shadow slammed into her body. Five other shadows darted into the room and unchained Asher. Not-Amara was slammed into the wall. She gritted her teeth and glared at the figure that was now pushing her.
"Ah, what a pest you are," she said calmly. With a flick to the figure's forehead, the person sailed straight at me and I had to move quickly to avoid being smashed. I looked down at the person. His hood had fallen off and I could see him clearly. He had dark brown hair that was slicked to the side and hazel eyes that caught mine. My eyes narrowed in disgust.
Of course, it had to be him!
He grinned at me. "Well, look who it…" He didn't get to finish because Amara had suddenly punched him in the face, creating a sound like a gunshot. I turned to see two of the other figures, who I know assumed were Asher's brothers, knocked out cold on the floor. My eyes widened. So fast and efficient! I shuddered at the thought. This Amara was powerful and unpredictable! The guy, who was none other than Ryder, spat out blood onto the floor. It was black.
Ryder was the oldest of the brothers. At 19, he was his father's favorite child and it was especially obvious to his other brothers. All of the brothers, seven in total, were half demon, making them a difficult force to defeat. Yet, not-Amara had almost knocked Ryder out with one punch!
Ryder, sensing how much danger he was in, signaled to the remaining brothers. Immediately, they picked up their fallen brethren and made their way to the cell door. I looked at the rest of the team. Everyone except Archean, Gram, Luka, and I were dazed and still frozen in place, trying to process everything that was going on. Gram, catching my gaze, nodded and slunk away into the shadows.
Not-Amara, immediately noticing that her opponents were trying to retreat, froze the entrance shut with a wall of ice. Ryder's eyes filled with alarm and he immediately looked at me. He mouthed words to me over the sounds of shuffles and scraps.
'If you don't burn that wall, everyone is going to die.'
I looked at him with a hard gaze. I knew that Amara and not-Amara would not hurt me or the team, but that could not be said about the brothers.
I grinned and mouthed back, 'Sounds like a you-problem.'
His eyes widen and then narrow, contempt clearly showing in his eyes. "One day," he said aloud. "You will regret saying those words to me."
Then, turning, he ran towards the ice wall and motions to one of the brothers. One of them rushes over and starts putting something on the ice. The ice immediately melts. Acid! It must be Tobias. I rushed forward and jumped on top of who I thought was Tobias. I grabbed him and threw back. I felt the wind being knocked out of me and a sharp pain in my groin. Ryder had punched me hard enough for me to stumble and fall backwards. Someone caught me.
Expecting to see Gram's face, I was totally unprepared for the ghostly face of Amara. Cold and piercing eyes looked down at me. A hint of warmth filled her eyes. Gently, she helped me back up and proceeded to punch Ryder in the face again. Except this time, not-Amara froze her fist and slammed it into his face.
I saw Archean, Luka, and Gram fighting the other brothers and clearly struggling. Luka took on two at once and Archean was fighting Asher. Gram was fighting Tobias, who had recovered from his daze. Suddenly, I was forcibly shoved aside from an incoming Ryder. I caught myself as I saw Ryder sink a dagger into Amara's shoulder. I heard myself screaming her name.
I stopped and gasped. Flowing out of her shoulder was not red blood, but silver blood. Ryder also seemed pretty shocked at this discovery. Not-Amara turned to look at me, a bright light slowly leaking from her eyes.
"Take care of her for me, will you?"
I vigorously nodded my head. She nodded satisfied. "Ah, looks like my time is up. It was too bad that I wasn't able to see the sky again."
Gently, she smiled at the ceiling like she could see the vast blue plain with fluffy white clouds dancing across it. Then, she closed her eyes. Ryder stepped back in surprise, pulling out the blade in the process. Her hair reverted back to the original color and her skin had some color return, although it wasn't much because of how much blood she had lost. And the weirdest part was that her blood turned back to a deep red. Then, her wound closed and blood stopped flowing out.
With a final sigh, not-Amara opened her eyes one last time before they returned to the chocolate brown. Amara's body went limp and I had to rush forward to prevent her from hitting the cold, stone floor.
Amara, who was slightly timid and yet strong in her own way, had a powerful blood flowing through her veins. Not only that, but a powerful entity seemed to share her body. A powerful entity that had the presence of a queen.