Amelia
I'm eating dinner with everyone right now and the atmosphere is a little gloomy. Zeyd and Venus aren't talking with each other. Callum doesn't have any appetite so his mother helped him slice his chicken. He might be sad since he'll be going to his sister and grandparents in England for his safety. Cassius, on the other hand, had this very angry aura, and Hansel? Well, let's just say he kept on shooting a questioning look my way.
After Venus has finished eating, she excused herself and left, followed by Zeyd who seems to not care that Venus wasn't talking to him. After Callum has done eating, I asked Hansel to take Callum to his room which he followed. Now it's just me and Cassius.
"Cassius, are you still mad at me?" I asked him. He looked at me and sighed.
"I'm not Amelia, I'm just confused." he said.
"Why?"
"I'm confused because I can't quite understand you. Your actions were so sudden and the next thing I know, you're doing something different again. It's like you're so far away from me and you're not telling me anything. It's like there is this transparent wall surrounding you that wouldn't let anyone break through it." he said and I felt guilty for my actions earlier.
"I'm sorry. It's just that, I'm used to being alone that I'm never aware of the people around me. I always do everything on my own and I refuse to ask for help from anyone." he held my hand and rubbed soothing circles around it.
"You're not alone anymore. You told me that right? I am also here for you, Amelia, as you are to me. I want you to rely on me more." he said and I smiled and mumbled a 'thank you'.
"And you know who I am right? What power and authority I hold in this world." he said smugly and I chuckled at him.
After we were done eating and having small talks with each other, he walked me to my room. I was almost in my room when I remembered that I needed to do something.
"I almost forgot. I need to go to the library." I said and he gave me a confused look.
"At this hour? Can't you go there tomorrow morning?" he asked and I shook my head.
"No. I need to find this book. It is really important after all."
"Well then, I shall accompany you."
"It's okay Cassius, you need to sleep. Look at how dark the bags under your eyes are." I said while cupping his face. He frowned when I refused his company and snaked his arms around my waist.
"I can't sleep knowing my aethyraz is still awake." He mumbled and I giggled at his childishness.
"Don't worry Cassius, I won't take long then I'll sleep beside you in your room." I said and he lit up at what I said. I just realized that I said that I wanted to sleep with him so my face turned red from embarrassment. "T-that's only because I will probably get tired and your room is closest to the library so don't get the wrong idea, okay?" I hurriedly explained to him but he only smirked.
"Keep telling excuses yourself mon amour." he said and kissed my forehead. "Just hurry up and return to my arms, ma lune." he winked and opened the door from the library for me before he left. (my love. My moon)
I went inside the library and thanked the moon goddess when I saw lots of books scattered on the floor. I looked at the books and read the titles. The Three Guardian Angels, The Fallens, Angel Michael's descendants, The Tainted Angel, The Elementals, and many more. Each and every one of these books has one thing in common.
Angels.
The mole is pretty obvious in their attempt on trying to find clues about phoenix angels. To think they would actually leave all of these books here. They should have mixed in a few different kinds of books if they wanted to hide their plans. It's either they did it deliberately or they're just stupid.
I went deeper into the room until I reached the end of it. I saw the very same candle I saw in the small room that hides the prison cells but this place has many cobwebs and it's pretty dusty. I guess no one knew this place. Also, where the candle was placed, was a very small shelf that was half of my height. I tried to bend the candle, in case there is a hidden trap door, but it was just an ordinary candle.
I tried pulling each of the books but nothing happened. I almost gave up when I saw the small painting hanging just above the shelf. It was a picture of a black cage with a red feather inside it. It's beautiful but weird and there's always something behind a weird object.
Oh...behind...
I move the painting out of the wall and I found a lever. I did a victory dance by myself and pulled the lever after. The small shelf moved to the side and revealed a small square passage. The trap door is specially designed for small people, so it's perfect for me.
I entered the trap door and crawled the short passage until I reached the end of it. The room was like a small study room full of dust and cobwebs. There's also a small fireplace and on top of it was a large frame of a very beautiful woman.
Alianna Genevieve Donello.
The name was written on a golden plate under the frame. The woman in the picture is very beautiful and when you look at her face, you can tell that she is kind. She was wearing a golden tiara, with emerald gems and diamonds embedded in it, and sat elegantly on a silver chair. She also held a red book in her arms which was similar to the ones being placed in a small space just underneath the nameplate. It was placed in a hole, the exact shape of the book. The book was too dusty that the title was covered by it, so I took the book and wiped it off.
L'angelo Fenice. The Phoenix Angel.
I was shocked to see this book here. They weren't actually Phoenix, they were called that because of their power. They were angels with the power of fire and can heal even the most fatal wounds. People think that the Phoenix Angels were fury angels that bring chaos but they are not. They were Michael's precious soldiers.
These angels were supposed to be like walking destructive robots. They feel no emotions as they only follow orders from Michael. There are also eight generals who each lead a thousand phoenix angels but now that all generals are gone, those angels under them wandered around the earth. To think that these angels are being killed by them.
I don't understand why Alianna had this book but then I saw Winderwald's mark on the book and below it were tiny cursive writings. L'aumento del fenice or the Rise of the Phoenix. I opened the first page and saw the authors' names, H. A. Winderwald, and A. A. Winderwald. It was Hazrah Winderwald but there was another with the same surname. I never knew Winderwald has a relative or something.
I was going to read it when I heard noises coming from outside of the library. I quickly hid the book inside my shirt. Good thing I'm wearing a large shirt and the book isn't too thick. I went out of the trap door and made sure that it was closed and went to one of the shelves to get a random book. I calmly walked out of the library and almost bumped into Hansel.
"Amelia? What are you doing in the library at this hour?" he asked, surprised that I was there.
"I wasn't sleepy so I searched for a book to read." I told him and showed him the book I randomly picked.
"The Princess and the Pea. Aren't you too old for that?" I rolled my eyes at him. I definitely picked the wrong book.
"Can't an adult relieve her childhood fantasies?" I said and raised a brow. "What are you doing here at night anyways?" I asked him.
"Doing some patrol like I used to." he said while avoiding eye contact.
"Okay, well I better go now." I said and left him.
I went inside Cassius' room and saw him sprawled in his bed and asleep. He must be really tired. I sat on the bed beside him and I put the book, that I found on the trap door, under his bed. I stared at Cassius' sleeping face and smiled at how peaceful it was. I moved the hair that was covering his eyes away from his face and caressed it. He suddenly took my hand and kissed it. He pulled me against his body and he opened his eyes.
"What took you so long?" he mumbled huskily. He said it casually but I know there is something more behind those words so I smiled at him and said three simple words that had a deeper meaning.
"I got lost." he lazily smirked at me before he buried his face in the crook of my neck and inhaled my scent. I was playing with his hair until I fell asleep. This might be the last time I'll be holding him before the chaos starts because I know that whatever is written in that book will change everything.
*****
I opened my eyes and looked at the curtains to see that the sun hasn't come out yet. I looked at the clock to find out that it was still five-thirty in the morning. I groaned when I can't go back to sleep since I'm already wide awake. It's not like me, to wake up early, really early. It only meant that something bad is about to happen.
I looked down when something heavy was placed on the crook of my neck and I saw Cassius' head snuggling there with his arms on my waist. I blushed and I almost wanted to smack his head but I can't do that when he's sleeping peacefully. I slowly pried his arms away from my body, careful not to wake him up so that I can get the book under the bed. Since I'm awake, might as well read it.
When I'm finally free from his grip, I took the book that was underneath the bed. Once the book is in my hands, I returned to bed, and immediately, Cassius' hand snaked around my body. I rested my head on the headboard while Cassius' head was on my tummy. I combed his hair with the use of my hand and the other was on the book. I turned to the fourth page where the Introduction is.
The introduction states that half of the book is all about the last Phoenix Angel's story. The other half is all about the Phoenix Angels, their weaknesses, their origin, their strength, and everything you need to know about them. I turned to the page where the first chapter of the story is. The title of the chapter was, Adaya. It must be the name of the angel.
The fire angels or they are called the Phoenix angels are Michael's soldiers. There are more than eight hundred fire angels but there are only eight, five males and three females, which was deemed special for they each bestowed a unique gift. Azarel has the gift of Life, Abdiel has the gift of Death, Abijah has the gift of Chaos, Amadeus has the gift of Illusion, Aviel has the gift of Shapeshifting, Amarissa has the gift of Manipulation, Annelisa has the gift of Binding, and Adaya has the gift of Clairvoyance.
They were the generals that leads hundreds of troops each. Adaya, the youngest of them all, was Michael's favorite for she was sweet and innocent. She was like the sun that brightens them all, according to Azarel, the eldest. There was a reason why Adaya has such a personality, she was not born a pure phoenix angel. Her soul contains a small part of a human. The human soul was of a sickly girl who was always on her bed but was able to see things that a normal person cannot. Things like ghosts, demons, and angels. It was due to her ability that she was able to see Michael. Michael grew fond of her as he visited her twice a month until her time was up.
Michael treated this girl as someone special to him, despite him having no emotions, unknown feelings grew as he spend his time with the sickly girl. Upon her death, Michael felt a different kind of pain he never felt before. He cannot bear to see this sickly girl never opening her bright eyes so he did something forbidden. He took a part of the girl's soul and molded it into another soul of a phoenix angel which he created and named, Adaya.
One day, Adaya had a vision. It was about the fall of the Phoenix Angels and the betrayal of blood. Adaya told Michael about the betrayal of her brother Aviel. She saw the hatred and the greed for more power that engulfed her brother's heart. She didn't know why he possessed such strong emotions. All she saw is how Aviel changed after meeting someone in a black robe. She also saw how Aviel killed their brothers and sisters and took their gifts.
Adaya told Michael and the rest of her brothers and sister except for Aviel. Her other siblings, apart from Azarel, do not believe her but Michael told them that their gifts can be transferred. Either by willingly transfer or force. Everyone was alarmed by this and to avoid the vision becoming true, they went into hiding. Azarel, Abijah, and Adaya stayed with Michael while the rest went their separate ways.
The first four have the most powerful gift so Aviel went for them first. He cannot kill the first and the second for they are too powerful for him so he went to search for the third and the fourth. Adaya informed Amadeus and Abijah about Aviel's plan on killing them through her gift. Adaya cannot just predict the future but also manage to connect with someone through their dreams.
Amadeus and Abijah can only think of one thing in order for Aviel not to get their powers. They will kill themselves before Aviel can. But they were too late as Aviel managed to kill both of them before they could kill themselves. Aviel then proceeded to kill his sisters. Aviel killed two of his sisters but he failed to acquire their gifts since one lost her power for unknown reason and the other managed to give it to Adaya before Aviel could.
The rest of Adaya's brothers caught on to this so they decided to give their gifts to Adaya. The only disadvantage of giving their gifts is that they won't be able to use them again, take them back, and will become very weak. It's very hard for them to do this but they decided that Adaya should be the one to live instead of them. Adaya refused and asked her brothers to join hands with her in defeating Aviel but they cannot do so due to a binding rule that they must not kill one of their own. Aviel has already been corrupted so the rule is ineffective against him and Adaya is not a pure phoenix angel so she can kill Aviel.
After her brothers gave her their gifts, they used the last bit of their powers to send Adaya to the human world and mask her identity so that Aviel cannot find her easily.
Adaya. Why does that name sound familiar?