"Who has the right to say that you are a servant of mine?" asked a demanding voice from the doors. All of us turned to see His Highness, the Crown Prince standing by the doors with a frown on his face, his eyes glittering with an eerie light, instead of the soft firefly-like glow. Faenice, should I be thanking you for dragging him here at perfect timing? "It is I, Your Highness," Zyrak admitted, making me gape at him for his unexpected honesty. Dude, the frick frack is this? Firefly—I mean, His Royal Highness, Prince Kieran trudged towards me and halted on my side, making me glance at him from head to toe. I was short a couple of inches under his chin. Move away, move away! You're making me look smaller with your goddamn height! "And what was the reason for you to say that?" He questioned in a low and impatient voice. "Sir Killian was a subordinate of His Majesty, therefore, as Cyan is his daughter, it is only right and honorable for her to work under you," he explained, all th
"Is this right?" I stepped out of the walk-in closet in my room and showed myself to Morris and Delaney, who were both sitting on my bed. Kozen Akademis's uniform consisted of an ornate, double-breasted, royal blue and crimson red coat, which was lined and embroidered with gold and had gold buttons as well. Around my neck, I had a forest green cravat cleanly fastened and adorned it with an emerald brooch that had the emblem of the academy on it. The phoenix and the dragon were on the upper half, and the lion and the wolf were on the lower half. From one lapel of the coat to the other, a couple of amethyst chains hung, securing the cravat from flattering. Both the back of my clothes—the shirt and the coat—were modified for us winged people. They were cut vertically from the base of my wings down to the end. Gold buttons were attached to the lower back to close the cuts. For the lower part of the outfit, I wore black slacks, paired up with a couple of under-the-knee, high-heeled black
"Good morning, both of you." I stared at the twins, not knowing which one greeted me, and my brows slowly furrowed. With their heterochromatic gazes, they looked down on me from head to toe, taking in every detail they could, until Delaney spoke. "Good morning, Your Highnesses," Delaney replied, raising to his feet and giving them both a small bow, which got both of their attention from me. "It's been a while. But I can see nothing has changed. Single-handedly acing the Exam, huh?" "That's given," one of them commented with a confident smile, the one who held my wrist two nights ago. He and his twin took seats on Ny's other side, which I was absolutely thankful for, and they started a conversation about what happened here and there. I let my eyes wander around the room, catching people staring at me only to look away immediately, but I stopped at a black-haired girl with panther ears on top of her head, and amber eyes looking at me. She smiled and waved a hand in my direction. I g
Almost everyone got up to their feet, cheering and yelling in response.He can start a game but can't answer my question. Hold up, what the hell did he say?"Uh . . ." I shifted my gaze at Delaney and Their Highnesses, giving them a questioning look."Hold on." Prince Lazul quickly rose from the ground and raised his hand to get the teacher's attention as we followed suit. "Sir Sebastian, do you mind if we excuse ourselves for a minute? There's something urgent I must tell them," he said in a calm voice."I don't, Your Highness, but be quick as I will now start the groupings," Sir Sebastian declared and waved at the other students who had already gathered around him. "First of all—""Reixerdun Tiacrona or ReixTia in short is the most popular sport in Luminozenko," Prince Lazul started, gesturing a hand at a corner of the field, far from everyone else. With his lead, we started to walk where he motioned at. "It is easy enough to understand in a minute or two. Each team consists of elev
For wallflowers and those who belong nowhere ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆❝𝕻𝖗𝖆𝖊 𝖟𝖎𝖗 𝖕𝖗𝖆𝖊. 𝕱𝖗𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖒 𝖟𝖎𝖗 𝖋𝖗𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖒. 𝕰𝖘𝖙 𝖌𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖚𝖒 𝖜𝖍𝖚𝖎 𝖛𝖔𝖓𝖟 𝖓𝖚𝖐𝖊.❞ "The past is the past. The future is the future. The Present is who I am now." ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Prologue| Monstrosity, And Lunacy For Eternity TRIGGER WARNING This chapter contains strong violence, blood, cutting off limbs, and loss of loved ones, which may not be suitable for some readers. Discretion is advised and stay safe. Otherwise, enjoy reading. ❝𝕯𝖔𝖓'𝖙 𝖌𝖊𝖙 𝖇𝖚𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖉 𝖇𝖞 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖆𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖕𝖆𝖘𝖙.❞ We were all protagonists in our own stories. To some, we were the hindrances in their paths. However, she was the villain for all. Tired footfall echoed in the dark, empty hallway and only she could see from the dim light of her dying torch that she was holding. With a limping leg, she leaned on the nearest wall she could support herself. She tried to flap both of her feathery wings but to no
Inky feathers flittered, raven hair tangled, and clothes rippled as the wind played with me. Sometimes it was gentle and consoling. Other times, it showed me violence. I held my ground before the expanse of the sea. Its mysterious and deep waters greeted me and the face of the cliff, sending waves upon its wake. Up above, my silent listeners remained watching. The full moon presented me with its mild light and crescent smile some days in a month, and the stars that dotted the dark-painted sky flickered and flickered. All of them beckoned me to leap into freedom as they always would. In response, I took a step back, a glance batted to the dark woods standing behind me, and I yanked myself off the restraints shackling me. I dropped along the side of the cliff, wings neatly folded until several meters before the surface of the sea. Wind gathered underneath my wings and successfully caught me from the fall. With a meeting wave of pelagic, I slapped the tip of the hilling wave and glid
I pulled over in front of a two-story house and the notes of piano swimming in the night air made their way into our ears. It was one of Mom's—and mine even—ways to calm down, indulging ourselves in music. But I could feel the nervousness on the melody with the way Mom had hit a wrong note, stopping for a moment and then continuing in a slower tempo. Then she halted completely. She must be going down the stairs now that she had heard the purr of my motorbike die down. Despite that, I knew—I just knew that she at least had a stun gun hidden under her clothes right now. Or a gun. Bringing home a winged stranger claiming to help us wasn't trustworthy and I wouldn't just bring home someone. Yet, against those, I had brought home this woman who got off my bike like it was a donkey. Morris attempted to take the helmet off and I watched her struggle until she managed to unbuckle it. She passed it to me with a frown on her face. "Thank you for not telling me how to remove this thing," she s
❝𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖞𝖉 𝖈𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖕𝖊𝖔𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖋𝖊𝖊𝖑 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖘𝖚𝖓𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙.❞We went up the tall building's rooftop. I walked until the edge and looked at Morris. She gave me a smile and took her jade necklace off, then put it inside her jade bracelet, where she had also put the corpses.I wonder how many dead bodies were in there?The cold night breeze brushed against my skin, playing a little with my tightly tied black hair in a high ponytail. I took off my bag and my emerald earring, then I felt my my wings emerged from where they were supposed to be. I flapped my wings, and put the earring in my bag and held tightly on its strap since I couldn't wear it with my wings out.Then, Morris asked me, "You ready, Cyan?" But before I could even utter a word, she jumped off the edge, and a moment later, she came zooming up into the night sky. Morris circled around, a few meters above me. "What are
Almost everyone got up to their feet, cheering and yelling in response.He can start a game but can't answer my question. Hold up, what the hell did he say?"Uh . . ." I shifted my gaze at Delaney and Their Highnesses, giving them a questioning look."Hold on." Prince Lazul quickly rose from the ground and raised his hand to get the teacher's attention as we followed suit. "Sir Sebastian, do you mind if we excuse ourselves for a minute? There's something urgent I must tell them," he said in a calm voice."I don't, Your Highness, but be quick as I will now start the groupings," Sir Sebastian declared and waved at the other students who had already gathered around him. "First of all—""Reixerdun Tiacrona or ReixTia in short is the most popular sport in Luminozenko," Prince Lazul started, gesturing a hand at a corner of the field, far from everyone else. With his lead, we started to walk where he motioned at. "It is easy enough to understand in a minute or two. Each team consists of elev
"Good morning, both of you." I stared at the twins, not knowing which one greeted me, and my brows slowly furrowed. With their heterochromatic gazes, they looked down on me from head to toe, taking in every detail they could, until Delaney spoke. "Good morning, Your Highnesses," Delaney replied, raising to his feet and giving them both a small bow, which got both of their attention from me. "It's been a while. But I can see nothing has changed. Single-handedly acing the Exam, huh?" "That's given," one of them commented with a confident smile, the one who held my wrist two nights ago. He and his twin took seats on Ny's other side, which I was absolutely thankful for, and they started a conversation about what happened here and there. I let my eyes wander around the room, catching people staring at me only to look away immediately, but I stopped at a black-haired girl with panther ears on top of her head, and amber eyes looking at me. She smiled and waved a hand in my direction. I g
"Is this right?" I stepped out of the walk-in closet in my room and showed myself to Morris and Delaney, who were both sitting on my bed. Kozen Akademis's uniform consisted of an ornate, double-breasted, royal blue and crimson red coat, which was lined and embroidered with gold and had gold buttons as well. Around my neck, I had a forest green cravat cleanly fastened and adorned it with an emerald brooch that had the emblem of the academy on it. The phoenix and the dragon were on the upper half, and the lion and the wolf were on the lower half. From one lapel of the coat to the other, a couple of amethyst chains hung, securing the cravat from flattering. Both the back of my clothes—the shirt and the coat—were modified for us winged people. They were cut vertically from the base of my wings down to the end. Gold buttons were attached to the lower back to close the cuts. For the lower part of the outfit, I wore black slacks, paired up with a couple of under-the-knee, high-heeled black
"Who has the right to say that you are a servant of mine?" asked a demanding voice from the doors. All of us turned to see His Highness, the Crown Prince standing by the doors with a frown on his face, his eyes glittering with an eerie light, instead of the soft firefly-like glow. Faenice, should I be thanking you for dragging him here at perfect timing? "It is I, Your Highness," Zyrak admitted, making me gape at him for his unexpected honesty. Dude, the frick frack is this? Firefly—I mean, His Royal Highness, Prince Kieran trudged towards me and halted on my side, making me glance at him from head to toe. I was short a couple of inches under his chin. Move away, move away! You're making me look smaller with your goddamn height! "And what was the reason for you to say that?" He questioned in a low and impatient voice. "Sir Killian was a subordinate of His Majesty, therefore, as Cyan is his daughter, it is only right and honorable for her to work under you," he explained, all th
TRIGGER WARNING This chapter contains violence and blood which may not be suitable for some readers. Discretion is advised and stay safe. Otherwise, enjoy reading. Delaney patted her back. "May the Gods bless you." "I hope." Cyan put her hat down on her chair and glided to the center of the arena, landing a few meters before her opponent—a young man with short, sky-blue hair, receiving a spear from a teacher. "I don't want to hurt a girl, but I hope you'll give me a good time, Belladonna," said the guy in a mocking voice, flamboyantly running his hand through his hair. "After all, you're that Glory's daughter." Cyan put up a smile and scratched her cheek, glancing at the watcher levitating near them before bringing her gaze back to her foe. "I may be General Killian's daughter, but please don't overestimate me." A smile crept up Cyan's opponent's lips and spun his spear in delight, watching Cyan receive a zerfara with the thought running through his mind: Such a wimp. She's onl
TRIGGER WARNING This chapter contains mentions of blood and violence, which may not be suitable for some readers. Discretion is advised and stay safe. Otherwise, enjoy reading. "You two ready for your Exam?" Sir Bernard asked a couple of Examinees with him, stepping inside a huge arena. Parting the veil of her hat, Cyan's lime eyes darted around, and grimaced at the sight of the crowd already gathered at the venue, which resembles a sports coliseum. Seats circled the wide and empty space, but the field wasn't green and grassy. Instead, it was covered with sand and dust, and no lines were drawn. It reminded her of the Roman Gladiators Arena she had imagined from scenes in books, watched from movies, and seen on the internet back on Earth. It made her hands tremble in excitement and nervousness, to finally step foot—no, fight in a place like this. "Cyan," sang Morris beside her and gave her a nudge. Cyan faced her, brows lifting. "Sir Bern asked if you're ready for your Exam." "
TRIGGER WARNING This chapter contains discrimination, blood, anxiety attack, and trauma flashbacks, which may not be suitable for some readers. Discretion is advised and stay safe. Otherwise, enjoy reading. "That would be thirteen lums," said the lady behind her stand and extended me a stick of candied strawberries. I fetched my wallet from my satchel and parted the black veil attached to my bamboo hat to give her the exact price of the food. "Thank you," I mumbled and carefully received the stick, closing the gap of the veil with my other hand. I turned and started walking away, taking a bite from one of the candied strawberries. It crunched with such a crisp sound and the sweetness was just right for my taste. I scanned the other food stands through my black veil, but none had really caught my attention and the crepe maker wasn't here today. I just hummed, munching on my snack, and looked around to see if any stores would interest me, but ended up spotting some others also wear
"Now that we've bought all the things you need, we shall begin your training," the High Lord said, making me almost choke on the ice cream crepe he gave me as he handed a bill to the vendor. "Keep the change," he told him and motioned at our group to get going, whilst the vendor thanked him repeatedly. Just how much was that bill that the vendor thanked him like that? I quickly chewed on the crepe and swallowed, wiping the corner of my mouth with my hand. "Right now, Sir?" "Yes," he answered with a simple nod. "Don't worry. We will just go through the basics of handling zerfara for now." "Oh, okay." I took another bite of the crepe and winced as the coldness of the ice cream crept on my teeth, yet continued munching. "But Sir, may I ask what kind of transportation devices are used in Luminozenko?" "Well, on land, the most common are carriages. We have several types of them, some are powered by magic and some are pulled by horses." the High Lord explained. "In Winacellu, where most
We rounded the street a little longer until we turned to another street much wider, but with fewer people walking around. Houses came into sight, some smaller than the others and some bigger. We walked for a good five minutes until we turned a corner and walked for a few more meters before we stopped in front of a two-story house. Morris knocked twice on the door and startled me with a shout. "Sir Bern! Delaney!" A few seconds later, I heard steady footfalls coming from the inside and answered a boy who looked my age. He had chin-length black hair and bangs that were slightly shorter, emerald eyes, and fair skin. His pair of wings were as black as mine, but they looked slightly bigger. Are men's wingspans bigger? I wondered. Well, I guess. "Mor, you're back." The boy smiled with a sigh, appearing relieved and happy. They pulled one another in a hug, patting each other's backs gently until it started to get harder and harder. Morris grunted and pulled away. "Hey, that hurt!" "You