Illusions (The Avengers)

19. Diamond's Shard Hunt

"Hey! Stormy? Would you wake up!"

Stormy blanched at the irritating voice in her ears, jerking painfully to one side. She found sunlight blinding her as she opened her eyes, squinting, she turned back over on her back, finding Jace staring down at her with an ignorant expression.

"What happened?" she asked, recalling a painful ringing in her ears.

"Maro's back in town," Jace told her, extending a hand to help her up.

"Maro?" Stormy glanced around, finding dead bodies-both Asgaurdian and other- surrounding them.

"I thought Maro was chasing the shard," Stormy replied.

"Yeah, well, apparently, he's lost it," Jace said, his dark eyes darting around, seeming to take in everything they saw.

Stormy couldn't help but stare at him, most men didn't do anything for her (she didn't have time for them anyway), but Jace had Nature Queen blood, which made him a bit of a different case.

As Ivy had explained to her once-upon-a-time, the blood than runs through a Nature Queen enhances everything- strength, speed, reactions, etc.; it also enhances their outward appearance, giving them the slim figure and perfect complexion that every girl wanted. The sons of the Nature Queens got the exact same treatment, enhanced everything with strong builds and the face of a literal angel. Their was something inhuman to their beauty, which is why Stormy took the time to admire Jace, he wasn't just some blonde guy who every girl wanted.

He was built like an archer, lean but with clear muscles beneath the suit. His skin, an almost coppery color in the sun, was clear of any blemish or flaw. His eyes were a dark brown, with long eyelashes that glinted in the sun. His hair reminded her of Nathan's, as it was a dark blonde color and it never all went in the same direction.

"Jace?"

They both turned as Ivy approached, dressed in her golden battle armor, and wearing a look of confusion and surprise.

"Ah, hello, cousin." Jace cracked a smirk," Long time no see."

Ivy's eyes darted to Stormy for a split second before replying to Jace," What exactly is going on?"

Now that was a fantastic question, one that Stormy had been wondering for the past few hours. Why was Jace even here?

"That's a complicated question," Jace replied, running a hand down the side of his bow.

"One that needs to be answered," Ivy pressed, her eyes narrowed.

"It will be." Another new face that was clearly not human appeared suddenly next to Jace.

Stormy was almost instantly intimidated, it was a girl, or more of a young women. She was clearly a few years older than ivy, with long locks of golden hair and eyes bluer than any Stormy had ever seen. She was built like a supermodel, with a flat stomach that had clearly defined muscles and toned biceps. What threw Stormy off was the pair of ears that stuck out of the top of her head and the tail that swished behind her.

Doing her best not to gape, Stormy blinked and looked at Ivy.

"Who're you?" she asked, looking back at the other girl.

"This is Diamond," Ivy informed her.

"Let me guess, another cousin of yours."

"Affirmative," Diamond replied, eyeing Stormy with cat-like eyes.

After a moment, Diamond glanced back at Ivy, who still looked very unhappy.

"Why are you here?" She asked," Shouldn't you be chasing after more shards?"