Igniting Sparks

Chapter 45.

"You are ready." He briskly started walking again, dragging her along for the first few steps before she caught up with his tempo. "Just look at what you've faced already and how far you've come. Everything that has been thrown your way has only made you stronger and more determined. This is just another little bit of information, a piece of a puzzle that compliments you."

A bit confused as to why he had suddenly started moving again, she saw where he was coming from. They passed the monument and she found herself staring at it longer than was needed. It proved everything had happened and that this was her reality. She could run for as long as she wanted but it wouldn't change the fact that people had died. Running hadn't solved any of the issues but she couldn't deny it had made it easier to forget. Though forgetting was temporary, it had often bitten her in the ass when the realization hit her like a freight train.

Tearing her gaze away from the black pillar, they soon reached Sloan's office. Lucas had never stopped rubbing her hand with his thumb and the small gesture had calmed her down more than she wanted to admit.

"You guys are late." The old druid eyed both of them the way only a teacher could.

Well, that explained why Lucas had started walking all of a sudden. Azura looked at the clock to see they were ten minutes late and mouthed a soft sorry to Professor Sloan and Andreas. She quickly sat down at the table and was a bit surprised Sloan had set it up in the middle of the room as if they were having a conference.

"I hope you had a good stay here, Azura. Thank you for delaying your leave an additional day so I could share my findings with you guys." The Professor adjusted his round glasses and straightened his silky red jacket while talking. Immaculate as always, she'd never caught the druid on looking just a bit messy.

Andreas had just made himself comfortable knowing he would probably not do any talking besides intervening if needed. He was playing with his coffee mug and the spoon while keeping a close eye on the female werecat and Sloan.

"It felt really good to be back actually. I've actually missed being around here." She smiled and felt a pang of relief as Sloan returned it.

"Good to hear. Well, you know why I asked you to come. The last couple of days I've been on a hunt for more information and after asking around I ended up in the ancient library and the druid archives."

"Hold on! How did you get there?! Those are weeks of travel away!" Azura's eyes bulged from their sockets in surprise. She heard Lucas chuckle at her reaction but decided not to respond before she could snap at him a second time today.

"Don't question a druid on a mission. We have our ways." Sloan gave her a wink before he put his game face back on. "I did find some valuable information there though. You know we never recovered those documents that were stolen from here during the time you guys were taken hostage. Since we barely knew they existed, I hadn't read them and thought that information was lost. It now appears those documents were merely copies and the originals were in our archives."

Now it was Lucas who looked surprised. He leaned in, elbows resting on the table. "Documents? Stolen? When we were taken hostage?"

"It was never about taking hostages... It wasn't about anything other than creating a diversion." Azura moved her hand to her stomach, clenching her fist as it rested on top of her scar. "They were meant to stall, draw attention to themselves, and in the meantime, thought it was a brilliant idea to rape people just to pass the time..." Her voice cracked as nails dug deep into her skin.

For the first time since shifting into the Phoenix, she felt the actual creature stirring within, feasting upon the rage that was building. An awkward silence filled the air as Azura tried to recollect herself.