Page 55 of Underworld
“I’m not strong enough to fly yet,” I murmured. I wondered if I’d ever figure it out. At this rate, I wondered if I ever would.
“You probably couldn’t survive the fall. Yet.” He squeezed my thigh. “You might be able to reincarnate again, should any harm befall you, but I wouldn’t want to put that theory to the test. I also don’t want you to fear heights, or what you really are. Within a few months, maybe a year, you’ll grow into your new gifts.”
“Will I be strong enough to fly by then?”
He was quiet a long moment. “I don’t know. You aren’t a full-blooded angel.”
Sighing, I lifted my gaze to the sky the bled red into blue, disintegrating into stars in-between the shift of colors.
“What is that?”
Kaito followed my glance. “We’re in a convergence of sorts. The Echo of Calamity really did a number on the realms this time.” He sighed, his thumb stroking my thigh. “You know that as you were dying, the portal to Hell opened. What you didn’t get to see was that Fortune Academy went straight through and slammed into Hell, right on top of Monster Academy. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened.”
I held my breath, hanging on his every word.
“Hell sucked the edges of other realms in, too. Right along with ours. Sort of like a…” He paused to think.
“A black hole?”
“Not a bad example.” He grinned. The smile faded fast. “One of the realms is new to me.”
His voice trailed off and he just stared into the forest.
I followed his gaze and studied the twisted trees, really seeing them this time, and I realized they were unlike anything I’d ever seen. The trees had a faint glow and it looked like each different species had a different aura. Did trees have auras?
“That’s the enchanted forest. We’ve never seen it before—never heard of it. Some of the students aren’t as aware of the other realms, but…”
“Some of you are.” I bit my lip before saying, “Like Dante.”
“Yes.” Kaito blew out a heavy breath and I knew he hurt for the Hunter, too. “But even Dante’s never seen this realm before. There are creatures none of us have ever heard of.”
“The uni-hare?”
He glanced at me, then at the bunny that lingered behind us, his rear leg scratching at his ear.
I flushed. “I sort of… bonded with him.”
Kaito chuckled.
One of the knots inside me loosened a fraction.
As I glanced back again, I found the uni-hare gone.
Then a soft warmth rested on my shoulders, but I couldn’t see anything.
When I reached back, I yipped when I pricked my finger on something sharp… like a uni-hare’s horn.
“They can make themselves invisible,” Kaito said, smothering a laugh. “It seems he wants to stay close to you.”
I gaped at him.
He did a better job covering his laugh this time. “We think it’s a protective instinct. Their horns are sharp and a great weapon, but… it’s still basically a rabbit.”
“Freaking bunny,” I grumbled, but I kind of liked the soft pressure on my spine.
He trusted me and wanted my protection.
I decided I liked that.
