Page 16 of Shattered Darkness

All of the guys look at me worriedly as I step out of my room and then seem to all breathe a sigh of relief at the same time as my familiars follow them out. That Darkness hiding within my magic stirs, and I start to worry whether I really will be able to control it if it gets set free while we’re working out.

“That’s what your familiars are there for. They can redirect it and pull a certain amount into themselves,” the Goddess's voice whispers through my mind. She must still be weak because, usually, her voice is as clear as a bell.

“Are you ready to go?” Hunter asks me.

“Yep, let's do this,” I reply.

We live on the same floor as Erin and Cole. This is the Centres floor since they require unique rooms for their Bonded and now that there aren’t any other Centres here we have the whole floor to ourselves, which is quite nice actually and offers us a certain level of not only freedom but protection as well.

As soon as they see me, they both ask, “What’s wrong?”

I smile that they said it in sync and then reply, “I’ll fill you in later properly. The short of it is my parents aren’t actually my parents, surprise!” I just about stop myself from sarcastically doing jazz hands. Their eyes go wide and fill with questions, but before they can ask, I add, “I promise I will fill you in, but right now, I just want to beat the shit out of something and play with my fire. The gym is fireproof, right?”

My question is aimed at the guys since they have lessons in there, although I do keep forgetting that Erin and Cole did too, until the teachers got controlled by something or someone.

“Yes, it’s made to withstand all known magic and supernaturals. There are wards upon wards protecting the space and the rest of the school in case something goes wrong,” Asher replies reassuringly.

“Thank fuck for that,” I grin.

I’m suddenly pulled into a group hug, and Cole whispers in my ear, “I know that you don’t want to talk about it right now, and that’s fine, but we love you.”

“What he said,” Erin agrees and then steps back and claps her hands together, “right, everyone stay as close together as possible. It’s going to be a slight challenge covering us all while moving since there are so many of us, but I’m sure that it will be fine.”

We all share a look but don’t get a chance to say anything as she wraps her magic around us, and we all head down through the stairway, and the halls to the gym that the guys tell me is used the least and is the furthest away from any dorms or anything like that, so we should be save here even if in the the unlikely scenario Erin’s shield fails. We don’t run across anyone on the way there, and when we arrive, I realise why it’s not used as often. It seems to be in not as good condition as the rest of the school, and it’s pretty small too. From what I’m aware, the classes are reasonably big. There is no way that a whole class would fit in here. I can feel the magic in the walls though, and I know that despite its appearance, the magic that keeps the building and the people safe is as strong as it needs to be.

We all stay silent as Erin does her thing and works to put her shield up on the other side of the wards so that the wards still work because otherwise, that would be completely counterproductive.

As soon as she nods and gives us the go-ahead, Levi takes charge and pairs everyone up, warning everyone to warm up first. He then looks at me when he reiterates his point; I smirk and stick my tongue out at him in response, and I bounce on my toes.

I got paired up with Kai, but I realise pretty quickly that I have far too much pent-up energy to start by sparring against someone; I don’t want to hurt him accidentally.

“I think I should probably start off on one of the bags,” I tell Kai, whose eyes fill with understanding, and I add, “They’re spelled right? So, they’re stronger than the average ones in the Earth Realm?”

He smirks, “Oh yeah, Beautiful, do your worst.”

I grin, excitement buzzing through my veins, and I kiss him quickly before I head for the bags at the far end of the gym. I thread my way through my chosen family, impressed with their skills as they spar using their magic and supernatural abilities too. They’re all holding back so that they don’t seriously hurt those that they’re sparring with, and I have no doubt that if they were up against enemies, they’d be utterly formidable, and very few supes would be able to go up against them.

As I get to the bag, I shake off all thoughts of my chosen family, the fact Kronos is Creep, that my parents aren’t actually my parents, I push all of it from my mind as I glance at Knot and Ghost who nod, I know that if shit goes wrong, they’ve got my back and will stop my magic from hurting anyone in this room.

Chapter Six

All sound falls away; the only thing I can hear is the rhythmic pounding of my fists as they drive into the bag. The swords on my arms buzz, and I know that they want to be played with too; I also know that they would destroy the bag, so they’re going to have to wait for the moment until I’ve burned off enough energy that I can spar with someone.

In order to burn off some of my extra magic, I’m putting small amounts into my hands, using it to increase the strength of my hits; I’m also using it to help me move faster and with more accuracy. It’s very slowly starting to take the edge off, but it’s not enough.

“Do you want to do some practice with your blades?” Kysen asks me.

I nod and warn him, “Sure, but I haven’t burned off nearly enough magic yet.”

Kysen nods, “That’s okay; fighting with your blades should help you. They use your magic to sustain themselves, so although it won’t help massively, it will help to a certain degree.”

My eyebrows rise, “Well shit, I hadn’t thought of that. Are you sure you can keep up?”

He returns my grin with one of his own, “Bring it Sage.”

I chuckle as I follow him over to a spare near the door that we came through, and without any preamble, he charges, his sword drawn. Instead of panicking, I dodge out of the way of the blow and call on my own blades, feeling the familiar weight settle in my hands and making me smile. We fight, sweat dripping down both of our brows as we don’t hold back the clang of swords echoing through the room. Kysen is a worthy opponent and is giving me a proper workout, as I have to use more of my magic to increase my speed so I don’t end up decapitated.

We’ve been fighting for around half an hour when I suddenly become aware of someone new in our space. My back is to the door, but as soon as I sense the person walk through, I hold my sword up to block the blow from Kysen and turn to throw my other blade at the intruder, who shocks the shit out of me when he simply plucks it out of the air, I start to call on my magic when it suddenly fizzles out as I realise the intruder is familiar.

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