"Yes. But the first shifter has passed away and Makoto is the third on record who has survived this. The second shifter is unidentified and Karen won't tell me who it is. Stating it's against confidentiality," I mumbled.
If I wanted to, I could just make her.
"That would be abusing your power," Azriel replied, entering my mind.
But this is regarding Makoto’s quality of life! How about if someone knew the cure for those human diseases and that one sole individual kept it to himself? Knowing it would save thousands of humans, would you not use your power to retrieve the information you needed?
"Daniel," Michael asked.
"Ah. Sorry, Michael. I was talking with Azriel."
"Ezriel says to not use your power to get the information from Karen. It's a breach of her privacy and sinful. Not that we’re good at avoiding some sins, like swearing," Michael explained.
I groaned.
"Told you," Azriel mumbled.
"Azriel says Ezriel sucks," I huffed.
Michael laughed.
"I know for sure Azriel didn't say shit. You know our spirits adore their brotherly love and would never— OW! Mother fucking, Ezriel! Don't go giving me a fucking headache, you ass."
I snickered, shaking my head. Yup, totally brotherly love.
"It's protective brotherly bonding. Not love. Now let me talk to Ezriel. You've been hogging Michael for thirty minutes," Azriel grumbled.
I rolled my eyes. "Michael, Azriel wants to talk to his one and only older brother who he loves and— OW! Jeez, Azriel! Not you too," I cursed, flinching at the weird pounding that vibrated against the wall of my mind.
"You're annoying. Stop bickering and let me talk to my brother," Azriel demanded.
Meanie.
~AZRIEL~
"Hello, younger brother. Daniel out of your territory?" Ezriel, Michael's spirit greeted me.
I took a moment to assess my mind, realizing Daniel had vacated to give me privacy. "He's gone, and hello to you too. Just confirming, I didn't say you sucked," I greeted and revealed. Daniel and Michael loved to make fun of our brotherly relationship.
He chuckled. "I know. How are you feeling?" he asked.
I frowned, lifting my left hand to view our knight bond marking on the back of my hand. "Daniel's a mess and I'm concerned. He's struggling and doesn't know how to ask for help or to simply vent. I'm trying to keep him positive, but he's spiraling down deeper and deeper into his insecurities. Ryder has tried approaching him, but the Princess was declining again and they needed his assistance. He hasn't gotten a chance to confront him," I explained.
"He's going to self-destruct if he keeps this up. It's not good when he harbors so much negativity inside." Ezriel sighed, but continued, "Now let me ask again, how are YOU, Azriel, doing?" Ezriel asked.
I closed my eyes, hoping he didn't notice my attempt at redirecting the conversation from how I felt. "Scared," I whispered, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Makoto wasn't doing well. Even though we'd managed to heal the wound in her chest, the poison had done so much damage and her magic was almost depleted by the time we'd stabilized her. She’d stopped breathing on multiple occasions and even though she'd been stable for an entire day, we didn't know if we were out of the woods yet.
"The Princess of Heila has been through much turmoil in her life. She's strong, Azriel," Ezriel soothed.
I'd told him all about Makoto in the last week, including her past at the facility since Michael was never there for the introductions.
"I read her file."
"File?"
"Something like this has happened before. Back at the facility. Only Daniel and I know the full content of the file. We haven't told them yet because...well, the team’s scattered right now and we're all struggling. I don't want to bombard them with this information. Not yet, anyway," I confessed.
"You should tell them."
"I can't, Ezriel. Ryuu is outside the castle walls because he can't control his emotions well enough to be safe inside. EliaseAnne is in the psychiatric institute getting therapy. Ryder can't stay near the room for long without the risk of him going into sensory overload and Kai's been staying by Makoto's side the entire time. I can't tell them now and we don't know how Makoto is going to react, to begin with," I disclosed.
"The moment all of you gather, this needs to be discussed. At least notify Ryder about it. I know you’d rather talk about this face to face, but if push comes to shove, use that bond of yours and tell them. If it’s vital to Makoto's recovery, I suggest you work together to deal with what's to come," Ezriel advised.
I let a minute pass to absorb his words of wisdom. "Okay. I'll inform Daniel of what you said and we’ll think of a time to tell them," I replied.
"Are her spirits dormant?" Ezriel questioned.
"Yes."
"You're worried about Hope."
"Very much. I'm thankful to the Starlight gods that they hadn't ascended when Makoto stopped breathing for a long period when we arrived." It was a relief to all of us when Karen revealed her spirits were present, but were in a dormant phase to aid Makoto in recovering faster.
"Continue to pray to the gods and it shall be well. She wouldn't have survived her past and the multiple near-death instances to die now. She has a bigger purpose in this galaxy and we just have to be as supportive as we can be on this path towards an unknown future."
"Thanks, Ezri."
"Stay safe, Azri. We'll carry our phone at all times. You can call if you need anything," he reassured me, causing me to smile.
I knew he didn't carry his personal phone while working, especially for the times he needed to be undercover, but it made me feel better to know they were easy to reach if Daniel or I needed them.
"I'll talk to you soon," I mumbled, closing my eyes as I turned to lay on my side, the phone resting between the pillow and my ear.
"Azriel."
"Hmm."
"Sleep," he commanded.
I was ready to reply, but my eyes felt extra heavy, darkness clinging to my mind. I relaxed, giving up on trying to fight the darkness.
I fell asleep, dreaming of our Princess and how the gods brought us all together again.
I just needed to believe.
FIVE DAYS LATER
SOLACE ROTATION, VIII CYCLE 5032 - HEILA
~DANIEL~
"Next time he calls I'm gonna yell at him."
"Admit it. That's the best sleep you've had the last two weeks," Azriel pointed out.
"Still doesn't mean he can use his magic on me. He's stronger than me. Ryder thought I was dead," I huffed.
"Now you know how Ryder feels when you use your magic to force him to sleep," Azriel reminded.
"This is what Karma feels like," I huffed, splashing water on my face as I stared at the mirror.
I was about to start my shift at the medical center. Makoto had been stable the last five days, but we still kept our routine of monitoring and infusing doses of healing magic every hour. It was draining to the caster to do it longer than twelve hours. Shifts helped with that issue.
Karen had dismissed Winterlya, requesting she take the next two days off. She'd been helping nonstop and Vinzent was concerned, suggesting she have a few days to rest. She was the strongest witch in all the realms, but even she had limits and needed to recover after traveling back and forth between Heila, Minato and a quick stop in Japan and Distala during our Earthala trip.
Marcus and Elias were still dealing with their own problems, but Marcus said he'd visit Elias sometime today. Since we were kids, Marcus was always able to get through to Elias and EliaseAnne when they were having breakdowns or were in a destruction frenzy. I thought him visiting them would be helpful and at least give us an update.
Elias and Eli hated when we all tried to visit them; we just contributed to their anxiety and panic. Therefore, since we were teens, we’d let Marcus be the main contact.
Ryder had slept in his room last night, a clear indication I didn't experience any n
ightmares. Kai most likely was watching Makoto, but he would need a break sooner or later.
I entered the medical center, greeting the nurses and doctors at the station before heading to the third floor which was off limits. Only royalty and those with special access could enter— the elevator having facial recognition and requiring a keycard before taking you to the third floor. Upon exiting the elevator, you'd have to use fingerprint identification and voice recognition before you'd be given entry onto the main floor.
Makoto's room had a magic barrier and needed a specific magic code to unlock her door. The Heart's weren't playing around this time with ensuring Makoto was safe. Only the royals of each realm knew of Makoto's return to Heila, but they knew nothing of the extent of her injuries.
King Heart was assisting with the investigation in finding Jeffrey and locating Blair Aspen's new hideout. As much as he didn't want to leave, duty sadly came before family and he was now on Realm One, conducting an intense investigation with King Akiyama and King Hunt.
I reached Makoto's room, pressing my hand to the barrier before closing my eyes and summoning my magic. You couldn't state the code out loud, instead using your mind to center the magic to your fingerprints before thinking of the code. It was also something that if you didn't know Makoto well, you wouldn't know.
Unicorn Makoto Loves Chocolate Milk
The door slid open, prompting me to open my eyes as the magic circle created began to fade away. I walked into the private room that was double the size of the one in Minato. It still had the same machinery, just more advanced versions. The blonde nurse walked out from the pink curtains, immediately bowing upon seeing my presence.
"How is she?" I asked.
"Stable, sir. Her vitals are much better today and it looks like her magic is beginning to build up," she informed.
I nodded, saying my thanks before making my way to the curtain. I made my way through the small opening, making sure it was back in place to ensure Mako's privacy.
"Here to take over?" a voice announced.
I lifted my eyes to see a pair of turquoise eyes, just as vibrant as our Firefly’s.
"Kade. I thought Kai was supposed to be here?" I questioned, eyeing the six-five male.
His blue eyes were exact replicas of Makoto's. His brown short locks were styled to spike up to one side and revealed the fade design on his left.
He wore a white shirt, his long sleeves rolled up to reveal multiple markings starting from his wrists. He wore black dress pants and had a gold stethoscope resting around his neck.
He normally wore glasses like me, but I knew he never wore them when he was anticipating to use a lot of magic at once. It would render them pretty useless because of the high amounts of magic that would center in our eyes, especially as angel shifters.
Overall, he looked like a doctor as he walked to the machinery, taking the chart to jot some notes.
"I forced Kai to go to sleep. He looked like shit. You know when he starts drawing stick people it’s time for a nap," Kade explained, focusing on writing his notes.
He was the same age as us, yet he had a level of maturity that made everyone respect him. Even if he was the running heir, his status didn't matter. From the way he presented himself, to the way he spoke, he gave off royalty vibes right away.
He did have his chilled side, but due to the situation at hand, no one was in a humorous mood. I also found that due to his many expeditions with Xavier, he had toughened up a lot.
But from the way he took care of Makoto, I saw his gentle loving side— something I'd never gotten to witness, unlike Ryder who'd known Kade and Xavier before Makoto was kidnapped.
I glanced over to Makoto who was resting in the oversized bed. She laid right in the middle, multiple machines attached to her arms that rested on top of the light pink sheets. Her hair was straightened and currently in a bun, Queen Heart stating it would make it less of a hassle and would keep it from tangling.
The Queen was responsible for all her personal care, not allowing anyone else to do so. If EliaseAnne hadn’t been admitted to the psychiatric ward, she'd most likely be assisting the Queen with those duties.
I glanced at Mako's pale complexion, her cheeks showing a hint of color as well as her soft pink lips. I smiled, walking over to her side. I stretched over to give her a soft kiss on her lips, tasting the strawberry lip balm we would take turns applying.
It seemed that was the only duty we were allowed to do when it came to Mako's care. We assured Queen Heart we were all specially trained with experience in the art of applying lip balm. Trust me when I say, it took a little convincing before Queen Heart gave us permission to carry out such an important task.
I couldn't wait for Makoto to wake up so she could witness how much her family cared for her, even after all these cycles. Kade had been in and out of here non-stop, barely getting enough sleep himself just to make sure his sister was stable.
It seemed after a few trials, Kade's magic worked best on her— having the highest and most lasting effects on our Princess.
My magic was next up, followed by Winterlya and Karen's. We didn't understand why, but we assumed because of Kade's connection with Mako by blood and my connection simply by being her knight was giving us bonus points.
"You know how stubborn Kai is. He won't admit he needs sleep," I reminded.
"He's like Ryder. He's asleep still?" Kade inquired, putting away the clipboard and turning his attention to me, his hands sliding into his pockets.
"Yup. I checked on the way here. He's knocked out," I confirmed.
He nodded. "Good."
I eyed him for a moment. "You used a spell, didn't you?" I questioned.
He shrugged. "He looked just as shitty as Kai. Both of them are stubborn and are just a pain to deal with when they don't have more than four hours of sleep. They can thank me later."
I sighed. "They're both gonna murder you."
"Both you and I know that's impossible, and they'll feel extra refreshed when they wake up. I bet they'll even thank me." He grinned, the first time I'd seen him smile in our last three exchanges.
Even his smile looked similar to Makoto's, though when she smiled the world seemed to brighten around her as those glorious eyes twinkled in happiness.
"Make sure I'm there to see it." I grinned in response, turning my attention back to Makoto, "How is she?" I whispered.
"She's getting stronger. If I can keep boosting her with magic three to four times a day, she should wake up in two or three days’ time. Her spirits are fine it looks like. I felt a fairy presence for a few seconds earlier, but she went back to sleep," Kade admitted. I frowned.
"Must have been Midnight," I pointed out.
"Midnight is a fairy?" Kade asked.
"Dark Fairy."
"Oh. Hmm. She's a strong spirit, from what I sensed." He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.
I walked over to stand next to him, leaning on the white plastered wall. "She wasn't a spirit when we met Makoto," I began.
Kade side glanced me, his eyebrow raised. "That's not possible. Makoto having four spirits alone is already a rarity in itself. How did she obtain Midnight without her body going into shock or having a mental breakdown?" he questioned.
"When Makoto was in the facility, she was almost killed during one of the many arena fights that took place daily. The stress and fear of it all triggered Midnight, but it wasn't her time to awaken yet. Adding the previous event where Makoto's friend, Lily, was murdered as punishment for an escape attempt, instead of her spirit ascending, she entered Makoto."
"So, Lily's spirit wasn't supposed to be Mako's fourth spirit and because of the stress and pain endured from the fight, Midnight awakened much earlier than anticipated. But she only awakened halfway. Correct?" Kade summarized.
I nodded.
"Yes. Makoto told us she was her split personality which was what the facility had named it as. Made sense at the time since whenever Midnight took over, Makoto would have
to be unconscious versus when she's a spirit, Makoto can linger in her mind and see what's happening."
Kade closed his eyes for a moment, looking like he was in deep thought.
"I'm assuming when you guys had the first exam incident and Makoto surpassed her limit that triggered an imbalance. That lead to other problems like her fainting randomly and that's why Winterlya was summoned to Minato, correct?"
I blinked, nodding in response. Shit...how did he guess so easily?
"He seems to be very knowledgeable about spirit development and complications associated with multiple spirits," Azriel suggested.
"Midnight felt like she had the exact wavelength and aura as Makoto. That's why I was curious. But if they had assumed they were splits, it would make sense. They must have grown close, especially if Midnight took on the role of protecting her during these fights," Kade continued, opening his eyes.
I noticed how they darkened at the mention of fights, a flicker of anger showed in his expression, but it was gone just as fast.
"Yes. She would take on all the arena fights or anything Makoto couldn't handle. After Winterlya had conducted the spell and Makoto had accepted Midnight as a spirit instead of split personality, Midnight awakened fully as her fifth spirit. The faint spells stopped after that and they seemed to all cope well," I explained.
"What made Makoto go to the exam by herself?" Kade asked.
I stilled, my stomach dropped at the question as I looked down to the floor. Kade sighed.
"I won't judge you or anyone. I'm not upset. But I'd like to hear what happened," he emphasized.
I swallowed the lump in my throat nodding. "Midnight and I...have had some issues. Midnight doesn't like angels. Since the day we met she’s hated me and showed her distaste toward angels in general. I've tried to find out why, but neither Makoto nor Midnight would disclose their reasoning. I'd asked Makoto to be more patient in finding out my insecurities...yet, I continued to pester her about why Midnight hated me. The day of the exam, Makoto had fallen asleep and Midnight had taken over. I'd asked her why she didn't like angels and we got into an argument. Midnight told me I would have to prove myself to be one of Mako's lovers before she'd accept me and wouldn't allow her to be with someone who didn't love Makoto one hundred percent," I explained.
Poisonous Dream (The Starlight Gods Series Book 5) Page 3
