Draiks and Angels: Rescued

34 - Sated

Neither Michael nor Cona said anything to the other about their realization. It just never seemed like a good time to Michael, and Cona was still embarrassed. Khloe and Mara figured that since the pair hadn't started holding hands, Cona hadn't confessed yet, but didn't want to push her.

Things seemed to reach a steady state in the Aerie. Michael and Cona tried asking Hannah for more information on how to defeat the Leader or how to remove the mark, but all she would say was the same prophecy Daniel had translated, though in Anglian now:

"Darkness will mark; tied together, comes the fall. A shaft of purest light, connection deep and strong, flies straight and true. Evil is not immortal."

After a couple days of her repeating it, they stopped asking. They decided they would just continue training and hope Daniel would find something.

Daniel's pacing had increased and was well-known in the Aerie. The restlessness he felt did not go away after his confrontation with Michael, but he figured he may have to learn to live with it.

Khloe and Mara stopped the magic lessons after a few days. They learned their capacity was about the same as Sera's and they could execute any spell result that she could come up with if they thought about it in the right way. They found out that they could even make objects appear out of thin air, though they would disappear once their magic had been exhausted. Once both facts had been established and well-exercised, there really was no need to keep practicing.

Weapons training continued. They were all learning well. Cona added dagger training to her sword training when she couldn't join in the magic lessons, thinking it would be good to know multiple types. Michael of course joined in as well. He had only learned sword fighting and thought it would be a good chance to broaden his skills too. Alex had become quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and his human trainers were impressed at how fast he was learning.

Twelve days after the group had entered the Aerie, Cona woke up to get ready for sword training and she felt a little... different. Her sleep schedule had adjusted by then, so she wasn't tired, so what was it? She almost felt... warmer? Strange.

She finished getting ready and headed off to the practice room. Sword fighting was loads easier than it had been since she had started training. She didn't run out of breath as easily and lifting the sword wasn't as difficult. She even managed to get the better of Michael once during sparring.

When the lesson was over and they headed to the larger room where they all could train with daggers, Michael said, "Nicely done!"

"Thanks! I'm feeling really good today," Cona smiled.

Training with daggers was similarly improved, though they weren't as heavy to start with. After that class was over, they all headed to the main chamber of the Aerie. There were tables and stools on the far side of the room where they could sit and eat lunch.

As they ate sandwiches and chatted, an Angel runner came up and bowed, then said, "Archangels, the Oracle has requested to meet with you both."

Cona leaned over to Michael and said in a low voice, "I can see what you mean about it being annoying to be called by your title. How'd they find out about that anyway?"

Michael whispered back, "Hah, you've only just begun! Andrew was there, remember? He must have decided it was knowledge the whole Aerie needed now. Or at least the runners."

Cona responded to the Angel, "Thank you, we'll be right there."

"Why would the Oracle be summoning you? She hasn't been able to tell you anything new," Mara pointed out.

Michael shrugged, getting up from the table, "It's a new day, I guess."

Cona and Michael flew to the third-floor balcony and walked to the corner where the Oracle's chamber was. Michael knocked, and a voice called for them to enter. They walked in and shut the door behind them. Hannah already had her hands over the flame in the dish, and before Michael or Cona could speak or find seats around the edge of the room, it flared, dropping them to their knees in front of her.