Astra: Forgotten and Remembered Again

Starr

Hey! Quick note, this is a sequel. If you haven't read the first one Astra: Awakening then you really should read that before this. Seriously. This book will be nonsense unless you do. Also, both that book and this one involve romance, fighting, and violence. If you are sensitive to any of that, then you shouldn't read any of them. Also all the art in this is mine. Okay? That's all!!

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Panic every morning. Blind terror. Every day it's the same. Pack up camp, drive away, attack, settle, repeat. Every single day. It's a routine of fear. 

"Starr, focus!! Where is your head?" 

Leon's voice shouts at me. I snap back into the painful reality displayed before me. In the back of the truck bed. Facing the enemy. The army. Like the many I've been killing off every day. 

"There she is." Leon says. He's...a good friend I guess. He's always been with me no matter how close to death he could've gotten. "Now, remember, one in each arm. Feel the different energies. Let them come, and let loose!!"

"Just don't almost flip the truck again." Rylie says. He is also a good friend. I've started to get the impression that he has...some...feelings for me...? "That scared me to death."

"She'll be fine!" Nora shouts from the driver's seat. Yet another member of our crew. "Just hurry up before we all get killed!!"

I take a deep, long breath. Recollecting myself. Both energies. Sun and Moon. Valencia and Lucian (my lovshkes. They give me power, I have two which is super rare). 

I feel it build up, coming to my arms. It flows to my hands. I hold them out in front of me, aiming my palms towards the orange-eyed army. 

"There you go..." Leon says. "Do you feel their mark? The horns? The wings?"

As a matter of fact, I slowly feel them coming. 

I feel the presence of horns on my forehead, sprouting upwards towards the sky, as well as a devil-like tail. Made of yellow light. I feel the wings come as well. Made of purple light. I let out a long breath. This sort of magic takes a lot of energy. 

"There...you got it." Leon says softly. He knows how hard this is. He has just one lovshke, Magnus, of the Sun. He is very powerful, like both of mine. "Now let the beam loose. You are in control."

Last time I did this, I almost flipped the truck. I don't want to almost kill everyone again. 

I glance at Leon. It's a concerned and fearful glance, letting him know I'm scared.

He smiles at me softly. He them lets his eyes glow yellow for a split second. 

"I can always help." he says, reassuring me. "But it's probably not necessary. You can do this."

I lock my eyes back onto the army. 

Starr, it's now or never.

Valencia.

I can sense grenades this time. You have to do it now.

Lucian.

Okay, then...grenades...

I've just gotta do it. 

Keeping my eyes open, no matter how much I want to close them out of fear, I let the building beam of power loose.

A blinding beam of white shoots across the forest, then hits the army. It causes them to vaporize on contact. All of them. The whole crowd.

I step back once, and the horns, tail, and wings all disappear. I find myself falling onto one knee, breathing heavily. That took so much energy...

"Hey, hey, you okay?" I feel Leon come over and rub my back. "You didn't flip the truck...that's a plus."

I laugh a bit through deep, heaving breaths. 

"That took...so much..." I say, still breathing like I ran a marathon. 

"Heh...it's always heavily energy-consuming. You did good."

"I..." I begin, sitting down and leaning up against one of the walls. "I think I'm gonna rest for just a bit..."

He smiles at me and nods.

"Good idea. Don't want you to die of exhaustion."

I laugh a bit again and close my eyes. I feel my breath slow as I welcome the sweet relief of sleep.