The Unshadowed | Book 1 |

Chapter 34 ~ The Irangel Beginning

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~ Planet Iredescent ~

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Finally, the irangels were on the planet they called home.

They flew out of Saunduit's ship, admiring the shining cities amid stunning landscapes. A radiant opalescent hue brightened the violet sky, painted with pastel shades of pink and blue. Cheers rang in their ears as the Iredescent people greeted the irangels, welcoming them to their new home.

If someone told me that I would be living on another planet, I wouldn't have believed them unless I saw with my own eyes, Inlivido thought as he extended a wing, touching the soft clouds. He flew out, into the vanilla-scented air and towards his future.

This is heavenly, Kirrie thought in amazement of the beautiful sky, of the sparkly Iredescent people, of the gemstone homes, of the sheer freedom and joy she experienced.

Most irangels were distracted with the celebration, but some keenly felt Demian's absence. Luciu flew high in the sky, keeping a lookout for any incoming ships besides their own, but there were none. Cydtin scanned every thought, but none were from his irangel creator. Civic patrolled the ships, hoping to catch a glimpse of a familiar peppermint-scented black leather jacket, but he only smelled vanilla. Amanda searched every person in the crowd, but none were the person she was looking for.

Away from the noise, inside the silence of the ship, Cole stood facing the caskets, wishing Demian was here to witness. He had kept the irangel secret, unshadowed and no longer hidden. Everything was in view, in sight, and in the clear.

Memories surfaced, of his life in the glass building, of Tori Nichok and the irangels she created. Painful to recollect, even harder to bear the weight of the past, as light as air now that he finally let go of the past, of the pain and torture, the agony and loss.

It all started with one woman's ambition, ending with another woman's promotion from irangel to Black Rose.

Footsteps deliberately approached Cole, but he didn't turn around, even when Civic said, "There's no telling when we'll find Demian. We will proceed with the funeral without him."

Fearful tears appeared just from the word. "I only hope it will be the last funeral I would have to attend," Cole murmured, unable to fathom ever attending the funeral of his irangel brother.

Tori had stolen his human life, but Demian gave purpose to his irangel life. He spread hope, not only to Cole, but to all the irangels he turned. He hadn't directly saved Cole's life, but he saved him from falling into despair.

He had seen the deaths of fellow irangels and witnessed the massacre of the original irangels. He did not want further loss; the mental toll was too costly to endure.

Understanding his fears, Civic seized Cole in a firm, brief hug. "It is the last funeral," he said surely. "We must go. The Iredescents are waiting for us."

The Iredescents buried their dead in glitter. Everyone wore the darkest shade of purple called aubergine, the color worn to mourn the dead.

The dead were returned to their families before burial. They had been carefully taken out of the golden caskets and placed into holographic caskets filled with glitter. They were given a royal gravesite as a place of honor for their innocent deaths. The Ruler of Iredescent led the funeral, holding a moment of silence in remembrance of the significant past.

The two dead Iredescents were Adrezo Voni and Evana Pershiy.

In Russian, voni means 'they' with an 'are' implied, and pershiy means 'first'. Therefore, voni pershiy means 'they are first'.