Page 84 of Tainted Rose

I could only picture my copy of her – those midnight blue eyes blinking as she tilted her head in confusion at my presence. If I was one with my body, my heart would bleed with unbearable sadness as reality sank in.

“Is this where you’ve always been? When I’m awake, is this where your mind stays till summoned?” I needed to hear her confirm my suspicions.

“Yes. I know it’s cold...and lonely most of the time, but you get used to it,”she admitted, her voice seemed as if she was brushing off the matter like it was nothing.

“I’m sorry Midnight. I’m so sorry. This isn’t right,”I cried. I would have been in tears if I could cry; my voice the only method to express how hurt I felt.

“Not your fault. You showed me, love. The spirits love me, too. Eli said she liked me and Elias cares as well,” she pointed out, her toneless voice gained emotion – joy flowed off her statement.

“Midnight. Don’t you want more? Don’t you crave to feel someone’s touch? To hold their hand or kiss their lips in an act of love? Wouldn’t you want to be able to see the world we’ve been hidden from all these cycles, not because you’ve been summoned by force, but by choice?”The questions spilled out of me as I tried to make her understand why I pitied her – regretting the fact I hadn’t realized it earlier.

“Sometimes. One can only dream. I assume the gods want me here. So here I am. It would be nice...to see the fireflies with Elias and talk with Eli. I...wish I could be like Rose and the others. I– I wish I could talk to you more,” she confessed, her voice cracked.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I wouldn’t allow her to stay in this darkness anymore. Nightmare was right. The darkness shouldn’t be judged for simply being the way Mother Nature created it. Midnight had kindness within her, proving such in various situations. She didn’t want to kill or hurt anyone. She was forced from day one, unable to defy the orders given to her. She deserved the freedom she was entitled to by the gods – she deserved to be a part of my spirits.

“Midnight. I accept you. Every part of you – the good and the bad. I love you for who you are and what you’ve become. You’ve protected me from all the difficult challenges and trials we’ve faced, without questioning or worrying about your own predicament. You protected my star knights when they were faced with death. You deserve to be a part of me – to be free from the darkness that holds you from obtaining your true potential. Be free and one with me. You are no longer a half of me – you are your own entity and spirit. Let this be written in the sky above. In stars, we trust.”

I felta growing warmth approach me, such gentleness caressed my soul as I allowed it to consume me. The darkness wasn’t evil. All it wanted was acceptance and love. It simply wanted a home.

With that, I was pure once more.

CHAPTER22

Ryder

“The spell you cast on Makoto was to unlock whatever hold or barrier that held Midnight back from awakening and was the reason why that dark wind show occurred. Does that mean she’s okay? Or will she continue having those faint spells?”

I sat in the living room with Winterlya, a cup of coffee in each of our hands as we sat on the black sofas opposite from each other.

We’d just gotten back from the forest; Elias carried Mako and retired for the evening. I’m impressed he was able to stay awake for so long. Usually he’d be passed out within five minutes or less after shifting back from his fairy form.

Daniel, Marcus, and Kai were summoned by Matthew and had left for Knightwood. It amused me to see their disappointment at having to wait a few more hours till finding out exactly what happened to Mako and Midnight.

I hoped by the time they came back Elias would have gotten some rest. I didn’t want to explain myself twice, but I knew he didn’t function well with little sleep.

Now that I was alone with Winterlya, I decided to ask her all the questions myself.

“The reasoning for Mako’s faint spells was due to Midnight’s over usage of magic. From what Matthew explained to me, Makoto acquired Lily, her phoenix, by accident, correct?” she questioned, lifting her mug to take a sip of the steamy fluid.

“Yes. Makoto’s best friend was murdered after an incident, her phoenix spirit entered Mako instead of ascending to the stars. Has that happened before?”

“Yes. It has.”

She turned to stare at the transparent, glass doors, her eyes looked far away as if she’d witnessed something similar in her long life. Winterlya had ventured all the realms, witnessing many things before any of us were born, being one of the few shifters in the galaxy that had the same knowledge or greater knowledge then the Royal’s themselves. Even my father looked up to her and requested her services from time to time. If Winterlya didn’t know what was wrong with a shifter, they were in grave danger.

She closed her eyes, the exhaustion appeared in the lines of her face.

Her face became serious.

“Goddess of Destruction, Nightmare, had professed that Makoto would receive four spirits – her demon and angel given to her at birth, and the remaining two would appear by her adulthood. Matthew explained Makoto received her dragon in her teens, but Midnight had also been triggered during her teen cycles as well, through experimentation and mental triggers. I believe Midnight was forced out due to the high-stress levels Makoto’s physical and mental states experienced. Our spirits are given to us by the gods to protect our designated realms, but they can be awakened in desperate times. If a shifter is about to die with no way of preventing such events, their dominant spirit will awaken due to the sudden spike of adrenaline. This can only occur IF that host has a dormant spirit. In Makoto’s case, that must have occurred, but was stopped abruptly – either by death or the realization of impending doom,” Winterlya explained.

“Makoto explained that she’d been put in an arena with a group of shifters, fighting to avoid death which meant one shifter would be left standing. Mako said it was too much for her and she’d lost consciousness after getting hit in the head. When she’d resurfaced, Rose was the one who gave her the information on Midnight. I’m guessing that fits your theory quite well.” I could feel Stryker nudge my mind, his anger apparent.

I was just as upset and hated how much Mako had suffered.

“Yes. I believe Midnight wasn’t supposed to awaken until Mako’s late teens or early adulthood. Midnight is a Dark Fairy; such a spirit having been extinct for a few cycles. If an individual does carry a dark fairy spirit, they’re purposely hiding it for fear of being hunted and experimented on. Nevertheless, her early summoning caused only half her power to be released; Mako’s body shielded the other half in defense. I can guarantee that Mako would have died from power overload if such defenses hadn’t occurred. The only reason why Mako demonstrated all these problems, including the dark, lonely feeling was due to surpassing her magic limit – triggering a break in Midnight’s power. Such power wavelength must have begun to leak out and thus everything that led to what you all witnessed,” Winterlya finished.

“Now, Makoto has five spirits, Midnight being a dark fairy. Karen was saying she’d need about two to three weeks to recover with little magic usage which means we can’t go to Heila till then.” I pondered out loud, wanting confirmation that I understood the gist of things.

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