The Paths of Sin and Redemption

Chapter 44

A/N: To any and all who might not even remember this story because of how long its been, hello! I am a million times sorry for taking so long to publish this latest update to SnR and I have absolutely no excuse other than life and the absolute worst case of writer's block I have ever experienced. It is embarrasing to say that the previous chapter was posted in 2021 and here it is, the absolute last day of 2023, when I finally decided to post the next chapter. I simply refused to let another year go by without me publishing, and so, for those of you who are still interested in seeing how this story continues, I apologize for such an exceptionally long wait and such a short chapter, but I hope you all will enjoy what I have written. We are close to the end, but not just yet! There is more to come and I will make it my goal to not let another 2 years pass before I post again, I can assure you. And so, in the meantime, please enjoy and I look forward to reading everyone's comments. <3

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Surprisingly, the third and final step for Silver to complete was met with little fanfare, per the hanyou’s request. Lord Suno explained to the couple that usually there would be numerous fledglings ready to demonstrate their newfound skills in the air and as a result, a day of festivities for the city would be in order with the Flight of the Fledglings being the main event. And since there were no other winged cherubs or hanyous besides him that were still grounded, poor Silver couldn’t fathom having so many eyes watching him alone as he tried to focus on flying. And so, his brother the King decided to have the spectacle be reduced to an intimate affair with only his mate, the guards from the cliffs whom the hanyou had taken a liking to, a few council members, an official flight instructor/judge, and a healer present to watch over the proceedings (just in case). So, in all, about 20 people or so. Silver wished it could've been less than that, but it couldn't be helped.

Tenshi would've been present that day as well, however, he'd received a letter from his grandfather Hiro early on in their trip. Apparently, his ailing grandmother had experienced yet another health scare and the angelic guard wished to be with his family. Lord Suno of course understood and his request for a leave of absence was granted. Silver was more than safe within the palace walls, the Cherub King surmised, so the purpose of his guard wasn't needed at the moment and he gave Tenshi permission to be with his family as long as he needed. Mephiles, on the other hand, wasn't glad the old lady had a decline in health, but he certainly had no qualms with her grandson finally being out of his quills for a while.

And so, after that was cleared away, followed by nearly a week and a half of what Mephiles and Suno dubbed ‘stalling’ but Silver dubbed ‘extra practice’, the long awaited day had finally arrived. Silver stood on the western tower’s takeoff point– a large platform stationed in each of the cardinal directions atop the palace’s roofs for the convenience of those with the gift of flight– the hanyou staring down at the castle lawn below. His wings were shaking, his palms sweaty, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Mephiles stood to his left, clutching his mate’s hand as he struggled to come to terms with his current situation.

Why? Why was he so… scared?

He hadn’t felt like this since he took his first leap off those seaside cliffs, and he’d been watching/imitating his brother and the guards for nearly the past two weeks with both ground and elevated (tree/platform) takeoffs, working with the thermals once he was actually aloft, and well thought-out landings which were admittedly getting better.

It was the fact that he will be 100% alone for the first time that made him want to puke. When Suno had first explained the final step to him in detail, the poor Submissive was even paler than his already white fur and Mephiles had been no better– he would have to fly up amongst the clouds, perform a series of daring moves (of his choice, thankfully), and be sure to incorporate a nose dive into his performance before coming in for a landing. All of this was to prove his aerial agility, so that he can be publicly declared as a true winged member of the Cherub Lands, and every fledgling before him and those to come after must all do it alone.