SAPPHIRE
Glaring at Nathan menacingly, I fold my arms across my chest.
"What was that back there?" I hiss and he smirks.
"What are you talking about?"
"You and I both know that we're not dating. Why were you smirking at Kier like that?"
"What? Jealous?"
"Shut up" I scowl.
"I'm not the main competitor here, Sapphire. That red head is"
"I don't have feelings for him" I say through gritted teeth. Nathan chuckles darkly.
"You don't have to fool me. I know it's so easy to fall for him. I mean, he looks like a freaking god. I don't blame you though"
I roll my eyes and continue to move forward with Nathan following behind me. Even though he's gorgeous and all, I don't feel anything for him. Especially since he's dating my sister, Ariel. Kieran, on the other hand, is outrageously gorgeous. But, I don't really feel anything for him and our relationship is nothing but platonic.
"Just so you know, I have no feelings for Kieran. End of story"
Nathan snickers and parts his lips to say something but is interrupted by the ringing of my phone.
It's my sister, Ariel who's calling
"Hey, Ari" I say after I pick the call.
"Sapphire, something's wrong" she replies, her voice laced with panic.
"Kieran is terribly sick. They're taking him to the hospital" she whispers the last part and my blood runs cold.
"Are you sure it's a mere illness?"
"No, I don't think so. His aura right now is going haywire. It's spreading so quickly. I'm afraid he might be going through his first transition. I don't know if it's going to be his angelic side or his demonic side. You have to come quickly. We need to get him out of the hospital. His aura has started to attract the other creatures. I've killed an incubus already. Sapphire, we don't have much time!"
"Okay, I'll be there in a jiffy" I say and the line goes dead.
"What happened?" Nathan asks and I shake my head pensively.
"I need to go"
"Let me guess, your soon-to-be boyfriend is in trouble?"
I glare at him, but refuse to start another argument with him. I let myself become invisible to human eye, then I unfold my massive black wings. "Should I come with you?" Nathan asks.
"Don't worry, you're not needed right now" I say and take a dive into the sky, my wings flapping soundlessly.
I don't have to try too hard to sense Kieran's aura. His aura is a startling florescent blue, red and white.
Ariel was right, his aura has spread past Midnight Blue and is still spreading like a wildfire. I increase my speed, tracing Kieran all the way to the hospital. I quickly step into it, still in my invisible form. Ariel rushes over to meet me.
"Where is he?" I ask
"Ward 12B. He's pretty much unconscious at the moment"
"That makes our work easier" I say and she nods.
I take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks for looking out for him" I say and she gives me a 'duh' expression.
"It's my job, Sapphire"
"Come on, let's get him out of here" I say and we both head towards Ward 12B, careful to avoid nurses and doctors even though we are still invisible to the human eye.
Soon, we find Ward 12B. Then, we walk into it.
Kieran is lying on the bed, his eyes closed and his face pale. He looks so fragile at the moment, it makes my heart ache. IV lines are hooked to his left and right hand and the rise and fall movement of his chest is relatively slow. Generally, he looks like a sleeping angel.
"I know he's attractive and all. But, we need to go right now" Ariel says, snapping me back to reality. I mentally kick myself for thinking about how attractive Kieran is. Ariel and I carefully remove the IV lines and move him to a sitting position. "Ready?" I say and she nods. We both move him out of the bed with each of his arms draped around both Ariel's shoulder and my shoulder. Since Kieran is being carried by us, he becomes invisible too. We move out of the hospital and fly all the way to our safehouse. Ariel marks the safehouse, placing sigils around it to make sure Kieran's aura doesn't leak out. "His transition is so sudden" Ariel says as she walks into the room, watching Kieran keenly.
"Do you think it was triggered?" I ask and she shrugs.
"I know for a fact that it was triggered"
"But, who would do that?" I ask. "I really don't know. But what I do know is that we need to find out who has been triggering his powers. If his next transition happens when he's not ready, it can kill him. I hope you know what you're doing, Sapphire. You are not supposed to get attached to him" she says and walk away. I silently brood over her words.
Am I losing my focus?
Am I getting too attached to him?
I don't want to admit it.
So, I shrug those thoughts aside.
I stare at Kieran for a moment, watching him breathe. It's kind of creepy, I know. So, I turn away and start to head towards the door when I suddenly realize how laboured his breath has become. I turn around to look at him, only to find him curled into a ball, whimpering to himself.
Biting my lip, I move to his side and hold his hand.
"Kieran?" I say and he blinks his eyes open, pain and misery in his beautiful eyes.
"S-Sapphire? W-what-" his voice fades out when he notices where he is.
"W-where am I?" He rasps.
"Somewhere safe" I say and he nods, curling in on himself as pain racks his body. He suddenly lets out a cry of pain before shoving his fist into his mouth.
"Kieran, you're having your first transition" I say and he gives me a questioning look, his eyes glassy and dazed.
"It's going to hurt really bad"
He gives me a look that says 'Like I don't already know that'
"It hurts so much. Make it stop, p-please" he whimpers with a muffled voice.
"I'm sorry, there's really nothing I can do for you right now. You have to go through this"
He lets out a pained scream, a tear rolling down his pale left cheek.
"My back h-hurts" he says through gritted teeth.
It can be that his wings are ready to surface and it can also mean that he's about to sprout a tail. So, I carefully rip off his shirt with a pocket knife. Right there on his back is a visible cut that is bleeding only slightly. The cut spreads to his upper back and is in the shape of a 'V'.
"Kieran, I think you're about to sprout your wings. Lie on your stomach" I say. He lets out a groan and lies on his stomach, his face contorted with pain. "Why does it hurt so much?" He gasps as his muscles stiffen once again from pain.
"Your powers were bound as a child. That's why you're hurting right now"
He whimpers again, then he lets out another agonizing scream. His wings begin to protrude from the cut on his back. I watch in amazement as it continues to protrude. The bigger it becomes, the louder his screams.
"You're okay, you're doing great" I say, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He is burning hot and has become almost delirious. His hair suddenly turns silver, then I look up to behold his beautiful, massive silver wings. I've never seen anything like it.
"Kieran, your wings are beautiful" I say, not taking my eyes off his wings. When he doesn't move or respond in any manner, I look away from his wings. Apparently, he'd passed out right after the transition was complete.
I reach out to feel the texture of his wings. His wings glow magnificently and they are both soft to touch. Yet, no doubt, they look really strong. I reach out to touch it again. But then, I decide against it. I'm not supposed to grow too attached to him. But then, why do I care so much about him? I need to keep my distance from him.
Sparing the sleeping angel one last glance, I walk out of the room, several thoughts swimming in the ocean of my mind.
.....
AVA
"I'm so worried about him" Minjun says, staring at the door of Ward 12B where Kieran is lying unconscious. I had called him an hour after Kieran was admitted. Being the good friend that he is, he came to the hospital twenty minutes later.
"Did the doctor say what's wrong with him?" Min asks and I shake my head.
"I just hope he's alright" I say. A doctor approaches us with a sad look on his face. Fear and anxiety grips me and my heart beat accelerates. What if he has some deadly disease?
Kieran is alright.
Kieran is alright.
Kieran is ---
"What's wrong with my son?" Mrs Blain asks and the doctor sighs, a mournful expression on his face.
No! No!
"We don't know"
Wait, what?
"What do you mean by you don't know?" Kieran's mum asks, her face pale.
"He's gone missing. He isn't in the ward. I've checked the cameras. It's as if he vanished. One minute he was there. The next, he was gone" the doctor replies, his face holding a grim expression. Shocked and scared out of my mind, I dash down the hall and rush into the ward. True to the doctor's words, there is no one in it. My boyfriend has officially gone missing.
Minjun walks up to me as I step out of the ward with tears rolling down my cheeks.
"Don't cry, Ava. We'll find him, I promise" he says and I can't help but weep harder.
Where is Kieran?
Is he okay?
Is he in pain?
That's all I can think of and it only breaks my heart more.
The stress of all the arguments that we'd had during the week and the fear of loosing him forever comes crashing down on me and I whimper in Minjun's embrace.
"I'm scared" I whisper and he sighs.
"We'll find him"