Page 90 of Tainted Rose

“I guess all of you have to teach her a few things. You look exhausted yourself,” she pointed out.

I sighed, realizing how exhausted I felt. It had been awhile since I’d stayed in my fairy form for such a long period. “I better switch before I tire both of us out,” I commented, more to myself than Winterlya. I rose to my feet, hesitant to leave. Kai was the first to reach us, the others not far behind.

“We’ll keep an eye on her, relax. We’ll probably need you if Midnight wants to look around. We’ll let Winterlya explain what happened. Go switch...and good job Elyion,” he praised, looking away. Kai was always the first to give praise, but became uncomfortable when he received any.

I smiled before I waved goodbye, turning to walk back into the forest.

As much as Kai got on my nerves, he’d always tried to praise us for whatever contribution we gave to a situation, regardless of whether it was big or small. He’d especially get embarrassed when he praised me, always struggling to admit my positive contributions. I think he’s still mad at finding out I was once a guy after leaving him in the dark for a full cycle as a prank.

I found the spare set of clothes hidden in a wooden box next to a large oak tree. I hid various spare clothes, making sure there was a set for myself and Elias. I pressed my hand against my mouth as I yawned.I need a good sleep.

“I’ll fill you in when you wake up,”Elias confirmed, my conscious began to fade.

Hmm. Okay. Goodnight, and thanks, Elias.

“You’re welcome, Elyion.”

CHAPTER25

Makoto

“Idon’t understand why he’s so busy. The only thing I’ve seen this past week is his chest, while I’m half asleep. I bet my sleep walking self has seen more of him.”

I laid on my back on Eli’s bed; my head hung off the bed as I read one of Eli’s manga books from her two large bookshelves filled with her manga collection. I would have never expected her to be so in love with such books.

Apparently, Elias couldn’t care less about them, stating comics were better. I didn’t know the difference, but I enjoyed working my brain and reading from right to left.

It took some explaining on Eli’s part for me to understand how to read the book without starting from the end.

“Just admit it, you miss him,” Eli pointed out. I peeked away from the manga book I was reading.

A week had passed since Midnight became a spirit. I’d felt absolutely amazing since waking up in the middle of the next night in Elias’ arms.

Since then, I’d been letting Midnight take over for long periods of time. Seeing as everyone else was busy and it was summer break at Knightwood, me and Midnight had been switching throughout the day while we chilled with EliaseAnne. We couldn’t push it seeing as she was still a spirit and simply contributed to my exhaustion if she took over for too long, but she could be in control for a longer period compared to the others – reaching three hours before we’d have to switch. Midnight continued to apologize for making me so exhausted, but I convinced her I didn’t mind. She’d spent cycles in that frigid darkness because of her half-awakening. The least I could do was let her enjoy this beautiful world. I’d had almost three rotations worth of experience.

It was now her turn to enjoy the scenery. It was thanks to her help that we had gotten the chance to be here in the moment.

Elias said he wanted to catch up on sleep; he still felt exhausted from shifting. I’d forgotten that the boys weren’t trained like me to shift and stay in such a form for long periods of time. They had witnessed Lexi’s dragon form and now, Midnight’s dark fairy form, but they’d yet to see the others.

I was still trying to process the fact that Midnight was a dark fairy. Out of all the spirits, I knew of, which was now six; I’d never thought she’d be the extinct species.

Winterlya had given me a bracelet to wear, the device spelled to withhold my magic from pouring out.

Now that I was recovering, yet again, I needed my aura to be in control and not inform all of Knightwood or even Minato of my new spirit. For now, the wristlet contraption would hide my aura, until I was strong enough to do it myself. It also hindered me from using my magic, only allowed to use my spirit’s powers and even that privilege had a restriction.

It didn’t bother me too much, realizing I wouldn’t need my powers for anything in particular. No more exams, no more training. All I had to do was relax and wait for the approval to return home.

After remembering a bit of my family, my mother’s image still engraved into my mind, I yearned to meet them. I wondered if she was still the same beautiful, kind woman in my memory.

“Yes, I miss Ryder and the others, too. But, I still don’t mind us having alone time,” I pointed out, not wanting Eli to feel bad. I truly enjoyed her company.

I just missed all of us having breakfast and dinner together.

All the others had been busy throughout the week. Marcus explained he had to get his rotational checkup courtesy of Karen which consisted of a week’s worth of tests. He assured me he’d be back later to check on me, but that was six hours ago and still no dragon shifter.

Daniel said he was going to sleep, after he returned from Knightwood doing who knows what. He’d been busy doing something exhausting seeing as he looked like he could barely make it up the stairs before he fell asleep. I’d found him three times sleeping in the bathtub, Marcus and Elias had to carry him to bed. I wondered what he did that made him so tired.

Kai said he had a meeting with the headmaster today to give an update on how long we’d be staying. He really disliked the headmaster. I knew all of them had some type of dislike for Karen’s father. What was quite surprising was that Karen was the complete opposite of him.

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