The Fall Of Astraea

16. Before the Battle

" I heard what you did. I was told it was remarkable." Valeria told me once I met her in the training grounds.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I knew exactly what she meant but wanted her to say it. She never commented on anything I did, and she constantly berated me. I kept my face looking curious so she wouldn't see through me.

"The move you made to save your people," she said proudly, and I smiled.

"Well, I only learned from the best," I told her as I tied my shoes. She told me we were waiting for my sparring partner, but I didn't know who it was. I was surprised that Esha had told Valeria what I did. I thought she hated me for stealing her crush.

I looked at Magos. I didn't have an amazing view but I could still see some buildings. It had been a day since we left Astraea and I was quite surprised that Lykos had not come after me. It's not like I wanted him to, anyway. What worried me was how easy it was for us to save all the children. I thought I would have to face Attor in dragon form but I guess not. I was also worried that my people did not trust me because of the fire I possessed. Magic had always been a fairytale among my people. What I needed to understand was how everyone forgot magic. It was clear that the people in Magos used to live in Astraea.

How did the magic die out in my kingdom? I knew the first queen of Astraea was a fairy. I wanted to know. In an instant, an image appeared in my mind. She had skin as dark as mine. Her hair was as white as snow. It was a little messy with braids in it. Her eyes were an unnatural blue so beautiful that I tried to keep the image in my head. I could tell she was a fairy from the gold markings on her face and her pointy ears. She was the first fairy queen except younger.

"You're here, finally!" Valeria said, snapping me out of my trance. The image disappeared, and I frowned. Was the first fairy queen trying to tell me something? I looked at Malik, who walked towards us and gave him a smile, which he returned. "Ilene, you are to spar with Malik." I stood and looked at her.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, yes now hurry up. Malik took his time getting here." I said as I stood upright and put my hand together while I put my hands together as if I were in prayer. Malik stood in a combat stance. I was definitely going to lose.

"Don't worry, Lena, I'll go easy on you." He told me, and I nodded. His going easy on me would make me victorious. I doubted it, though.

I made the first move as I collected all the heat in me as I was thought and "transported" it to my hands. The fire appeared in my hands, and I threw it. Malik easily dodged it and got the water from the barrels. He sent ice shards my way, and I tried my best to dodge them, but one almost caught me, and I decided to throw fire at it. I watched as it melted to the ground. He took the water from the ground and froze the ground, making me slip and fall. I winced as my butt hit the ground. I stayed there and Malik ran towards me.

"She's fine," Valeria said, and I turned around and glared at her.

Malik held out a hand at me. "I'm sorry. I promise to be less harsh."

"Okay," I said as an idea popped into my head. I smiled as I took Malik's hand and brought him down. I took this as my chance to flip us over and held my hand to his neck with a fire blade in hand. He looked surprised, but he didn't take long to flip us over. I struggled, but he was stronger than I was. I sighed. He was clearly better than me. What I didn't notice was Malik, who was looking at me in a very sensual way.

"You caught me off guard. It will not happen again," he said in a low tone, and I started to blush at how close we were.

"Okay," I whispered.

"Oh, by the way, I prefer to be on top," he said with a wink, and I tried my best not to think of kissing him. He leaned in closer, and I closed my eyes until I heard,