🌃 Eruleum's King

Chapter 34 • Hope and uncertainty

Early morning training was the best if you wanted to be alone and that was precisely what Isabelle was searching for.

She had prepared her whip, boxing sacs, a great deal of Seraph Blades, ropes hanging from the ceiling... And her hand firmly grabbed her stele.

Taking a deep breath and with the first rays of sun hitting her face, the girl carved the agility rune she used the previous night.

Again, the burning feeling and the energy filling her body invaded her and not allowing herself to doubt a second, ran as fast as she could.

Of course she was again thinking about what had happened, imagined herself falling over and over again, almost saw her runes disappearing. However, closed her eyes for a few seconds and when opening them again, jumped to one of the ropes, firmly held it and started to go up.

Extraordinary lightness and strength impulsed Isabelle, made the journey easy and provoked a grin on herself. She had worried too much, told herself.

However, out of the blue, she felt heavy, her arms aching and her heart beating faster, cold sweat tracing her forehead and nape, her legs trying to keep the rope balanced and her hands burning when she started to try not to fall.

But there was nothing to do.

One moment she was up there, almost touching the ceiling and the other, down there, her back hitting hard the floor, pain all over her, yells trapped inside her throat and lungs shouting to be filled with air.

As she could, rolled and laid on her chest, her cheek touching the cold floor, silently screaming and roaring in pain. But the frustration turned out to be more painful. She punched the floor twice, watched the rune making no effect, not burning anymore. The effect wore off even faster than the night before.

Too much coincidence... That time she had been alone, no demon or battle to use as an excuse...

It took her about ten minutes for the pain to slightly fade and be able to reincorporate. Frowning, sat down, touched her neck and her chest and searched for her stele.

It was on the floor, luckily not cracked, so she moved just a bit, took it and with shaky hands, carved an iratze on her arm.

The moment Isabelle separated the tip of her stele from her skin, the rune fades, leaved no mark, no sign that it has been just a few seconds ago.

Desperate, traced another one, two, three... In different parts of her body, but all of them ended up turning into nothing more than a memory.

She let the stele fall from her hands, finding it hard to catch air and with a terrified gaze, looked around, feeling dizzy, her stomach tied in a tight knot and her heart pounding hard against her chest.

If there was a moment to panic, that was it.

…

Taking advantage of the sunny day, the nice temperature and no wind, Matt accepted training outside with Jace and was more than satisfied to say that waking up early was worth it, since he was winning.

Alec arrived just in time and Jace ran to him, his hair a mess and sweaty clothes.

-Buddy, time for a serious battle. You ready?

But Alec was just staring at him while holding his morning coffee. While drinking a sip, took a leaf from the blonde hair and then looked at Matt, who waved at him with a smirk.

-Losing the game?

-Me? Losing? No, no way. -Jace rolled his eyes, but of course, there was no way of tricking Alec. -But maybe a little help... Would be nice...