Heaven's Shadow

Chapter 14 | Chosen Trial

Eugene's fingers drummed the side of his leg. 

He watched the Ivion screen projected on the stage, filming the first years into the Church of Paradise. Remigius entered first, sitting in the first row of desks stationed on the tower's ground level. 

His eyes narrowed. Remigius's character threw him off guard. His miscalculation was beneficial he supposed.

Yet, how had they been so careless? Hell. He would freak out if he found out what they revealed.

"What's got you all upset?" Malachi's voice surprised him. He expected to wait for a couple more minutes.

Malachi's hair stuck flat on his forehead, slicked with sweat. His skin glowed paler from the stage lights, revealing an indecent amount in his tank top and ripped jeans. On his back, hung his guitar case, hefty and a bright neon red with stickers of stars and lightning bolts stuck all over it.

"There you are." Eugene smiled, straightening himself up instead of leaning against the stage wall. "How did it go?"

He wiped the sweat dripping from his face with the towel wrapped around his neck. With a groan, he stretched his arms out. "I'm exhausted. Let's skip and chill in the break room."

His smile vanished and annoyance replaced it. "You know we can't. This is important."

"Why do we have to watch? Let's just let the higher-ups do what they need to."

"We need to be there when the time comes." As much as Eugene wanted to sit in the tent, they had to watch the trial. How could they not? The damn Chosen would be picked. Although he knew Malachi wanted nothing more than to plop onto a cushioned bed, he signed up for the role knowing full well the consequences.

"You do, not me. I'm done for today," Malachi huffed, jabbing his finger at his chest before his eyes trailed down to Eugene's hand. "I'm thirsty, give me some of that."

Eugene offered the plastic water bottle in his hand, though gave him a stern look. "Let's head to the stands." He held onto Malachi's shoulder and pulled him in the right direction. 

His shoulder radiated warmth. He could practically feel his Ivion pulsating through his skin. There was a slight temptation to neutralize Malachi's Ivion to be responsible, but Eugene enjoyed the buzz. "Where is your father?"

Malachi leaned into his touch and took a swing of the water, gulping down the entire contents and crushing the bottle. "You really want to sit with my family? You know how they are."

"I may not be part of a regal Zenith family like you, but I carry myself high enough not to care." Gabriel Sonnet didn't frighten him, nor did the rest of the Sonnets. 

Malachi passed his guitar case to one of the staff members running around the arena. After some quick instructions on where to put it, he turned back to Eugene with a raised eyebrow. It almost made Eugene laugh.

"They hate you, dumbass," he deadpanned.

"Everyone in the Heavens would hate us if they knew the truth," he replied with a smirk.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes, shoving him to the side, before glancing up at the Ivion screens. "Shit—it's started already? Where's Remigius?"

His exhaustion must have dissipated from the perk of his voice. "I thought you didn't want to watch." 

Malachi didn't entertain him with an answer. The crowd bustled with energy and they wrestled their way to the stands. After several flights of stairs, they reached the Sonnet's viewing tower—the second tallest tower in the entire stadium. Or, he supposed it could be the third tallest tower if you asked the Estelles, but Malachi was adamant in the claim.