Shadows

Surprise

Training went well for the next month, Daniil said I was growing stronger and evermore determined every day. It was true, I could genuinely feel myself growing, my abilities as well as my body heightened thanks to the vigorous training regime and the blood that I ingested. My body was battered and bruised yet my spirit remained strong. 

  That morning I paced my bedroom floor, I felt so on edge today… but why? The air felt colder than usual and smelt of smoke, or was it all my imagination? Shaking my head I refused to let the thought that I was becoming crazy consume me. It must have been the fact that I was consuming blood on a daily basis, it helped me to become strong but it also heightened every sense to the point where it must have been driving me mad. Slumping down on my bed, I began to twiddle my thumbs. I had no one to explain to me about the side effects of drinking blood over a pro longed time when you have never ingested it before… I wasn’t exactly craving it, but I was on the verge of doing just so. Whenever I tried to explain it to Aurora, she always insisted that she was too busy or that I should be continuing with that damned training.

  Hours later I finally decided that I needed some fresh air, glancing at my wrist I smiled once I saw the bracelet she gave me. It twinkled in the dim light of my room and empowered me with some sort of miniscule hope. There was just under five months left until it was time to fight… I would have to do so alone as the prophecy had stated, yet I don’t think it took into the circumstances of my allegiance with my twin… my twin, such an odd statement to make after a lifetime of solitude. Making my way to the front door I was stopped by Aurora’s echoing call of my name

“What?” I grunted at her

“Calm down misery, I just wondering where you were heading?”

“I was off for a walk to clear my head” seeing her smile and make her way toward me I held up my hand “Alone if you don’t mind” she nodded solemnly and made her way back to wherever she had emerged from.

  The cold air hit me like a thousand knives. So sharp and piercing yet cleansing all the same. With my new senses I smelt the air around me and smiled, the smell of pine, ice and dirt wafted their way down my air waves. So welcomed that I took another breath and twirled on the spot, I had never felt so happy to be outdoors in my entire life… the past month had been brutal to me both mentally and physically, no matter how hard Daniil tried to get me to supress the love I felt for Dante and change into something that could be used as a weapon, it was no use… the more I thought of him, the more I wanted to see him so… the more I ended up becoming depressed. Eventually he stopped mentioning him altogether. It helped whilst I fought, but once left alone… I thought of him again and once more I spiralled into depression.

  I reached the gate of the castle and clasped my hands around its cold, steel bars. Nature always looked so peaceful in whatever state it was in, it left me feeling a little more than envious. Taking a deep breath and sighing I let my head fall onto the bars with a clang, I just wanted to break free, to stride away from this place, if only for a short while. Gripping the bars tighter and grunting I didn’t sense the presence behind me, so feeling a hand on my shoulder I instinctively grabbed it, twisted it and turned to face the ass that attempted to frighten me, hearing a familiar voice grunt and curse at me, my face broke out into a beaming smile.

“Ahh, let go, let go!” he pleaded. Those familiar Jade like eyes shone at me brighter than diamonds. That musky smell so inviting… so needy that it broke me into a thousand pieces. Realising that I still had a firm grip on his hand I quickly released and broke into a scarlet tinged blush that filled my face.

  I stared at him for a while, unsure if he was real or a projection of my mind which would really add to the crazy factor that I thought I was experiencing these days. He clasped his hand and shook it wildly, had I really grown that strong? Was I really that powerful now?