Arwick (A Light Of Roria Sequel)

Chapter Fourty

Staci

Sleeping had been impossible. My stupid mind wouldn't let me. And the only comfort I could find was when I could use a little dark magic to create a small blade, barely large enough to fit in my hand and easy to hide when I had my back facing the door.

It felt like hours had passed, but when I opened my restless eyes, everything was still dark.

Aziel had annoyingly come back, and the urge to use had me wishing I could punch him in the face until he got the picture I wanted to be alone.

"Were you able to find rest?" he asked, never once looking toward me.

I groaned before standing up. "I feel hungover but without the alcohol. This place is really bringing me down."

"It is likely a result of you using dark magic. The more you do so, the more your body resists the peace of this place," Aziel said.

My head jerked toward him. He hadn't seen my blade. That would have been impossible. The guy didn't have eyes on the back of his skull. "How—"

Aziel smirked before cutting me off. "Our connection. It allows me to sense your heart and feelings. Your desire to use the enemy's power was strong until you gave in."

"You act like I'm still me and the stuff I do isn't me," I said grimly.

"On the contrary," he started out. "I believe we are our choices. But I trust who you are now and what divinity has called you to be are two very different people." He smirked, looking over his shoulder. "But with the same quarrelsome spark, I hope."

For a split second, I felt like smiling. It was the first time in a while I felt hope, and that tiny spark was enough to push my magic to the edge. Taking over my senses, I felt its power move as fast as it had when I'd attacked Addisyn. The anger rushed through my senses as I screamed with the blade in my hand. Forcibly throwing it toward the back of Aziel's head, it made it through the small opening on the door, but Aziel had moved with cheetah-like speed, and the blade missed him altogether.

I screamed in outrage before I punched the door with my fist. "I hate this place!" I cried out between several more punches. "I'm not meant for divinity, and I'm not meant for you!"

As the words left my mouth, something inside me faded even further. Whatever goodness was left in me was burning out, like a candle with barely any wick left. Every breath felt hot, and with my hands raised, the dark smoke moved between my fingertips.

Aziel had his hands against the door, and something in his eyes looked torn. "Staci, if anyone can overcome this, it is you. Let go of this anger. Be free of it. For if you do, then I shall spend my years searching for divinity's answer to this."

I could see in his eyes he was trying to reach the part of me that would have wanted to resist, but that part was gone. Now all I wanted was to escape. To be free of divinity and all the people who used it.

"You're forgetting something, Aziel. I'd have to want to overcome it." I gripped the sword I'd made before slamming it against the door. His eyes closed for a moment before he drew in a slow breath. I'd disappointed him, and maybe it was all the times he'd tried to help, like Addisyn had, that had made me feel of tinge of guilt, but my magic was quick to block the idea, snuffing out my guilt and replacing it with more rage.

They hadn't been rejected by divinity. They wouldn't understand. They would never understand. And because of that, I couldn't stay with them. All I needed was to find a way home before I became what Ahaz said I would. If I could get away, I could stop it from happening.

Staci.

I recognized Joash's voice right away (though I doubt anyone would forget the voice of a talking dragon).

Your magic. It's strong. Something in you has changed. And this change is powerful. It draws me to you. I choose you to protect you as your guardian. Staci of the New World. What would you have me do?

This is my chance, I thought before I looked around at my prison. "Get me out of here and off this island."

Aziel, who was still staring at me like his favorite dog had just gone feral, thought I'd been talking to him. "You know I cannot," he answered quietly.

Outside my prison, I could hear the sound of Joash's wings in the distance, and as Aziel looked toward the sky, I spoke. "I don't need you to. He will."

Stand clear. I mean to tear that place apart.

While I ran for cover, Aziel dove out of the way before Joash slammed his tail into the tree. It ripped apart like tinfoil, and I covered the back of my head with my hands, burying my face into the ground like an ostrich to keep the shards from knocking me out cold.

Hurry! We must away before they alert the others! I have found the location of their secret passage!

Standing, I raced toward Joash, hurtling pieces of broken tree limb before climbing onto his back. He took off quickly, and I glued my body to his for fear of falling off before I looked at Aziel. He was standing now and calling my name while several fairies began to fire their arrows at us, but even the ones with Katniss Everdeen didn't affect Joash. It didn't even pierce his skin.

I couldn't explain why I had chosen to, but I looked toward Aziel one last time. We were too far away for me to make out his features, but staring down at him reminded me of the ones who cared for me most. The ones I was choosing to leave behind. Just as Addisyn's name came to mind, my magic wouldn't have it. A tinge of anger and a need to use dark magic filled me up before I created another blade, satisfying the urge. Whatever attraction I had for Aziel didn't matter. Whatever Addisyn planned to do to find the light was between her and Elijah now. We weren't the same kind of people. We weren't the same kind of anything.

If I had stayed, I would only endanger my sister and their plans even more. Leaving was the right thing to do. Leaving was the right thing to do, I repeated in my head, knowing my one chance was escape. If I could find a way out of Arwick and find a way home, I'd be free of it all.