Chapter 14
Ash
Akukkarri Islands
I met up with Nico and Roman as soon as I woke up and was ready. We walked to the auditorium. Nico swung the doors open. Barely anyone was here. There were two girls sitting in the back row. One had dark curly brown hair and brown eyes and she was talking to another girl next to her. The girl next to her whipped her head back and looked at us. She was beautiful, long brown hair streaked with shimmering blonde highlights, her eyes a violet lavender shade. Sofya. Her friend said something to her and pointed at us and she sharply turned her head back. Electricity shot through my chest. I shuddered not again. I needed to put my feelings aside, she had to go with my brother, it was the law. Besides that, I wasn't what she needed. What's broken can't be whole again.
"Let's go sit in front of those two girls, they're cute," Nico said grinning as he went over. Roman and I exchanged a look. I gave a shrug and walked over. As we neared I heard Sofya's friend say rather loudly.
"The one with the bright blue eyes was totally staring at you, he's so hot!" Sofya tried to shush her friend. She was blushing deeply, red spilled across her cheeks.
"They're coming over here." She whispered-yelled at her friend. I smiled as I sat down in front of Sofya. I turned to face her.
"Long time no see, Sofya," I said grinning. I noticed a big purple and blue bruise on her forehead. "How did you get that bruise?" She absently touched the spot.
"Oh, hi Ash, they knocked me out when they brought me here." She said. I reached out and touched the spot, it was swollen. I wanted to kill whoever did this to her, how dare they harm her. I retracted my arm. Then I turned back around before I did something stupid.
"Welcome everyone!" A loud voice boomed from the stage. It was Ivanna. "Today we will be doing some activities to get to know one another. For the next year or more you will be training and working together. Let's start with this row." She said gesturing towards the front row.
The first person to go was a girl with long, pale blond hair in a braid. She introduced herself as Seraphina, she was 17 and her neria was named Tulip. The next person who went did the same thing. Their name was Mira. A couple more people went then it was Nico's turn.
"Hi everyone, I'm Nico. I am 17 and this is my neria Sunny." He said. Then Roman went. Soon enough it was my turn. I stood, grabbing Stella, and made my way to the stage.
"I'm Ash," I said. I looked into the audience, and Sofya was staring at me. She looked in awe. Well, not only her I saw a few other people. My voice tended to affect some things this way because I was part seraphim. I smiled. "I'm 17 and this is Stella my Neria."
I finished then walked back to my seat. I noticed some shuffling behind me. It was Sofya's turn. She was clutching a purple scaled Neria with black fur and feathers as she walked up.
"I'm Sofya, I am 17 and this is my neria Ezmia. I was born in Hawaii and lived in Australia for a few years before I moved to Los Angeles." She said. Her friend went next, her name was Lucy. After Lucy, Ivanna came back to the stage.
"Ok guys, I'm going to separate you into small groups to talk about yourselves. First group Pedar, Mira, Kashmir, and Reyna. Second group Sofya, Lucy, Ash, Nico, and Roman." Thank god, I thought in my head I was with people I knew. Nico, Roman, and I swiveled our chairs around to face the girls. Lucy was smirking at Sofya. Sofya glared at her then stuck her tongue out. She noticed that we had turned around and red flushed across her cheeks.
"Hello, ladies," Nico said coyly. He was such a player.
"Hi, Nico," Lucy said not acknowledging Roman and me. She was going to get heartbroken if she wasn't careful.
"You look familiar Sofya, do I know you from somewhere?" Nico asked Sofya but she wasn't paying attention. She was looking at me, her violet eyes locked on mine. Lucy tugged on her shoulder.
"Sorry, what?" She said.
"Nico asked you a question," Lucy said. Sofya turned to Nico.
"I was saying you look a little familiar, do I know you from somewhere?" Nico asked again.
"I think I know her from somewhere," I said jokingly and elbowed Nico. Sofya glared at me then answered Nico's question.
"Um, I don't think so but I am the one destined to destroy Alek so I guess you might have heard my name." Everyone turned to stare at her. Lucy gasped.
"You're the one in the prophecy." She said. "I guess that makes sense. I felt something about you." Lucy said a thoughtful look on her face.
"Um, what's the big deal?" Sofya looked confused. I shook my head. She obviously didn't know about what she could do or who she was meant to be because I hadn't had time to tell her. Nico looked at her and then looked back at me.
"You haven't heard the full legend have you?" "
Guess not." Sofya said, looking a little frightened. A pang spread through my chest. I desperately wanted to reach over and comfort her, but that would probably look really strange.
"Well you know you will kill Alek right?" Nico asked.
"Yes." She replied.
"That's not all, Sofya you are the most important beings in all the worlds. Your ancestors used to rule all the world before Alek slaughtered them all. You are the rightful heir, the last descendant. The legend goes like this. The descendant of the first guardian king and lumina queen will rise. She will be of immortal blood but mixed into a pool of lies. With four others by her side, she will change fate. One of the four, the guardian is a protector and her soulmate. A healer, the sorceress, will show her the true meaning of friendship. The mage will reveal the past so that they can face the coming hardship. The enchanter, who was once broken by evil, will find the smile that disappeared for a while. Together they will face the darkest of them all. Together they will be his downfall. The worlds will not face their end, for this is a chance for them to mend." Nico said. Sofya gasped.
"What, what?" She stammered.
"The four that will be with you are the guardian, mage, sorceress, and enchanter." Nico continued. Sofya looked bewildered.
"Ok." She muttered softly.
"Attention everyone!" Ivanna boomed from the mic. Jeez, how many times did she have to do that? I'd be deaf by the end of the week. "All y'all may go back to your huts now and have lunch and whatnot. You have the rest of the day to socialize and see the Island. Be back tomorrow at eight am. Be ready to do some hard work and be dressed for it too." Ivanna finished. Sofya stood up and turned to Lucy.
"Do you want to come over to my place?
"Sure," Lucy replied. Then Sofya turned toward us.
"Bye guys." She said glumly. Then walked out the door with Lucy.
"Wanna come over Ash?" Nico said as I was staring into space.
"Sure," I responded. I lifted Stella up and onto my shoulder and then we left.
"Do you want anything to eat?" Roman asked me as we sat down on the couch in their hut.
"No thanks."
"So, what's with this prophecy? How do you know so much about it?" I said to Nico, last time I saw him he never mentioned the prophecy.
"Well it was passed on with our family for generations," He said. I nodded, Alek was Nico's father, he must have told him before I helped Nico escape and fake his death. Roman was Nico's brother but only a half-brother. He was lucky and grew up with his mother, escaping Alek's torment, unlike Nico. Apparently, Alek had told Nico more about the prophecy than he had me.
"What about the four aemons what do they represent?"
"Well the guardian is supposed to be the protector of Sofya and they would do anything to protect her, distinctly even if it meant they would die and they are supposedly her soulmate. They are the most powerful. The sorceress is supposed to have a lot of power third to that of the guardian and Sofya, also is like a best friend and healer of sorts. The mage is dark and mysterious with lots of unknown powers and lastly, the enchanter can control people and take away their free will.
"So for sure, Sofya is the one?" I asked even though I already knew.
"Yeah, there is no doubt about it. I can sense all the magic and power inside her. Wouldn't you know? I know you can see auras, Ash." Nico said, smirking.
"Yeah, I can see her aura, it's lavender and extremely bright," I said, her aura was magnificent. I did feel something when I was around her but it wasn't only power and strength and I had felt it since I met her. I didn't know what to make of it. I turned and looked at the clock beside me, it was getting late, the clock read nine o'clock. "Well guys it's getting late I'd better get going see you tomorrow," I said, grabbing Stella and headed to the door.
"Bye." They said simultaneously. I smirked then slipped out the door. I sprinted down the road and to my hut. I was exhausted as soon as I laid my head down on my pillow I passed out.
I woke up to light sweeping into the room through the curtains. I slowly climbed out of bed and got changed into a black t-shirt and jeans. I got some black combat boots and slipped those on and stuck a dagger in one of them. I stalked into the kitchen, grabbed an apple, whistled for Stella, and went out the door. Stella scampered out tumbling down the little path to the road. I started off towards the main area.
As I stepped into the auditorium I saw Nico and Roman in the same spots as yesterday. I picked Stella off the ground and sat down setting her on my lap.
"Hey, Ash!" Nico yelled out. Roman smiled, giving a wave.
"Hi" I replied. I heard the doors open and footsteps behind us. Nico turned and looked back.
"Hey girls." He said.
"Hi, Nico," Lucy said she was batting her lashes smiling.
"Hey," Sofya said, a cheerful smile back on her face.
"Hello everyone!" Ivanna shouts from across the room. I was still turned backwards. Sofya almost dropped Ezmia off her lap and jumped a little at the sudden loud noise. Ezmia yipped at her. Sofya looked at her neria apologetically. "Today we will be doing some physical training, fighting. You will be randomly paired at first then it will be based on ability, pay attention to your partner's technique. You might learn something. We will continue this throughout the whole week. So come prepared. Everyone follows me to the arena." Ivanna said then walked/stomped off the stage. Nico, Roman, and I quickly followed.
The arena was a colosseum-like structure, made of solid white stone. In the middle was a huge boxing ring. We walked to the left and started up the stairs, sitting near the top. Once we sat down I spotted Lucy and Sofya standing at the bottom. Lucy had her hand over her eyes searching the seats. When she spotted us she grabbed Sofya's hand and dashed to the top where we sat, half dragging Sofya, their dragonets going off to a corner where all the Neria were huddled. As they approached Nico leaned over and grinned at them.
"Hey," Lucy said cheerfully. Then sat down next to Nico. Sofya sat down next to Lucy, smiled at us, and waved. I stood up and sat next to Sofya.
"Hey," I said.
"Hi." She replied.
"Later can you come over to my hut, we need to talk," I asked. I needed to tell her everything. I couldn't keep it from her anymore.
"Why so you can pretend to drown again." She said frowning. I winced. I felt really bad about that.
"No, it's important," I said quietly. Sofya's expression softened a little.
"Fine." She said. I saw Ivanna walking up to a mic just outside the ring.
"All right now that everyone is here let me explain what will happen," Ivanna announced. "Two of you will go in the ring and either have a fist or weapon fight, No magic allowed. If I see anyone use magic, even if just a little you will be punished, also no deliberate maiming or killing strikes. I will be watching and so will the referee. When he blows the whistle the fight is done. Without any further ado, the first two up are Nico and Maxon!" Ivanna shouted the last bit. A boy with curly blond hair and hazel eyes stood up on the opposite side of the arena. Nico stood too and they both made their way to the ring. Ivanna stepped back up to the mic. "You two will be doing a fistfight, no weapons, and absolutely no shifting. The ref will count to three and then you'll start." They both stepped under the ropes, then Nico went to the left and Maxon and went to the right. The ref stepped up to the mic.
"One! Two! Three!" He yelled. Maxon made the first advancement then Nico made his way to approach him. Maxon took the first swing but Nico dodged it and twisted Maxson's arm and punched him in the gut. Max and doubled over wheezing. Nico took advantage of that and kicked him. Maxon caught himself but Nico tripped him and he fell on his knees. Then Nico jumped on him, crushing Maxon into the ground. Maxon was squirming and kicking but Nico didn't even budge and the ref blew the whistle. Nico stepped off of Maxon's back and waved at the crowd smiling then reached his arm out and pulled Maxon onto his feet.
"Okay, good fight guys," Ivanna announced. "The next match will be Reyna and Sofya." I heard Sofya groan then stand up slowly and make her way down to the ring. The other girl Reyna had shoulder-length Raven hair with dark murky green eyes. By the time Sofya got down Reyna was already in the ring holding a spear. "This will be a weapon fight," Ivanna said as Sofya ducked under the ropes and into the ring she walked up to the weapons shelf and took the katana, gripping it hard in her hand. She walked back to the opposite side of the ring from Reyna and got into a fighting stance.
"One! Two! Three!" Reyna quickly walked up to Sofya and jabbed the spear at her face. Sofya ducked with ease then shot back up and kicked Reyna in the gut then slashed the katana across her arm. Reyna spat onto the ground and blood was dripping down her arm pooling on the ground, she looked really angry. Reyna aggressively launched herself at Sofya screeching. They both fell to the ground and their weapons went flying out of the ring. Sofya flung Reyna over her head with her legs. Then she quickly stood up and jumped on Reyna and pummeled her face into the mat. She knocked Reyna unconscious.
"Well, good job Sofya," Ivanna said into the mic, a shocked expression on her face. A smile tugged at my face Alex had called it, she was feisty. I saw Sofya grimace then she came up the stairs and sat back down next to Lucy.
"Sofya, I thought you said you didn't know how to fight," Lucy said, eyes narrowing.
"No, I said I hadn't fought in a few years," Sofya said, shrugging her shoulders.
"That's pretty good fighting for not doing it for a few years." Lucy declared. Then Nico leaned over.
"Sofya, where did you learn to fight like that?"
"My parents, they had me training since I could remember, till they died," Sofya replied with a glum expression on her face. I put my hand on her arm and smiled. I knew how she felt. She smiled back, maybe she didn't hate me anymore.
"Everyone can go break for lunch now and be back in 2 hours. the cafe is that way." Ivanna announced into the mic pointing left. I saw Sofya and Lucy stand up.
"Ready for lunch?" Lucy asked us all.
"Yes, I'm starved," Sofya exclaimed and turned to us. "Do you guys want to come with us?" She asked. Nico grinned.
"I'd go anywhere with two beautiful ladies." Sofya scowled at him and Lucy blushed madly. Oh, Nico. I nodded. Roman said he was going to meet some others so he wasn't coming. Then Sofya and Lucy headed towards the stairs.
I stood up and followed them. Nico and Roman stood up after me. About halfway down the steps Sofya let out a blood-curdling scream and clutched her head, she started to tip. I rushed over grabbing her just as she was about to hit the ground. The feelings washed over me. Anger, fear, and pain. Her eyes rolled back into her head then she went unconscious. I lifted her up into my arms and glanced back at the others trying to remain calm. But I was really freaking out, not again.
"I'm going to take her to the medical ward," I said calmly. Then I dashed off clutching Sofya tight in my arms. The feelings of pain and fear had gone away now replaced with nothing. Alarm flashed through me. I couldn't feel anything.