Chapter 5: Shadows and Sparks
Ophira's POV
The garden was still—too still. Like it sensed the storm inside us. Or maybe just inside me.
Seven of us stood before the pedestal, each necklace in hand, color glinting in the pale light. One by one, we placed them in. The ground quaked like it remembered who we were.
A hidden path unfurled.
No words. Just steps. And heat building in my chest like a warning.
The glow of the base greeted us. Home. It pulsed with the colors of our essence, but tonight—tonight it felt like a war drum.
"Let's get dressed!" Yasha said, all brightness and bounce.
We broke off to change. I stared at the suit she made for me—tight, sharp, black with streaks of red. I liked it. No frills. No distractions. Just warpaint stitched into fabric.
Still, the neckline dipped too low. I tugged at it.
"This is too revealing," I muttered, inspecting the sleeves.
"Yeah," I heard the others echo behind me. Even Gaia.
"I kinda like it though," Reese chimed, flipping her scythe like a showoff.
We all ducked on instinct. I shot her a glare. She smirked.
Yasha shrugged. "Wear the basic ones, then. I'm not showing up looking weak."
I rolled my eyes. Typical Yasha logic—if you're gonna die, at least be hot doing it.
We moved out. Suits humming. Nerves on edge. The abandoned construction site sprawled ahead like a battlefield waiting to be named.
Gaia's voice cut through as she set up her gear. "Here's the plan..."
Reese took the lead—me, her, Yasha, and Bailey were the first strike team.
Silent. Fast. Efficient.
We dropped the first wave before they knew we were there. My whip cracked through the air, draining energy from every target it touched. They crumpled, lifeless. No second chances.
Then—him.
The last bastard turned faster than physics should allow. I whipped out, but he was faster. My back hit the wall. Hard. Pain spidered through me. I spat blood and stood.
Then Gaia got hit.
"GAIA!" Valerie caught her, barreling through a wall.
I saw red. My whip lashed out, but he blocked it with a damn grin.
Valerie went feral—gravity rippled around her as she pinned him. The concrete buckled under her pressure.
We regrouped.
Yasha healed Gaia while I fumed silently. That bastard humiliated us.
"I'll kill him," I muttered, walking toward the goon.
Then the light hit.
"EVERYONE DOWN!" Gaia screamed.
Boom.
The world went dark.
When I came to, everything hurt. And standing at the center of the chaos—Her.
A girl in white. Clean. Elegant. Untouched. A living insult to the blood we'd spilled.
I rose. My whip hissed into my hand.
No commands. No hesitation. I struck first—energy screaming down the leather like lightning. She caught it. Barely flinched.
Then Yasha flew, Valerie twisted the air, Bailey stormed in. We clashed, collided, raged. I fought like hell, but she was an avalanche.
My whip met her arm. She didn't bleed.
"She's manipulating time!" Gaia screamed.
Valerie broke it with sheer force. Yasha blinked behind her.
Chains snapped. Missed.
The witch twisted. One gesture. Yasha flew.
"Enough!" Reese hurled her scythe. I felt it—we all did—our powers fused into the strike.
It hit.
The sky cracked open.
But she was still standing.
"I admit," she said, smiling, "that gravitational attack was strong."
Valerie stood bleeding.
"But not enough."
Her darkness rose again.
I crashed. Again.
"Stay down," I growled, pushing through the pain.
Then—Paicey.
"NO!" Gaia screamed.
She stepped forward anyway.
That look in her eyes—pure wildfire.
"Trying to be a hero?" the witch mocked.
Then came the scream. Paicey's scream. Reality shook.
"Evanescet oculis venefica!"
She vanished.
But so did Paicey's strength. She fell. Blood everywhere.
"PAICEY!" Yasha dove to heal—but was blasted away.
The witch returned. Smiling. Unbothered.
She grabbed Paicey by the neck.
"You pink brat," she snarled. "You think you can scream me away?"
"Let her go!" Gaia cried, powers flaring.
It worked—briefly.
Then the witch retaliated.
She turned back to Paicey.
Hand glowing.
Dark flame rising.
And slammed it into her.
"NO—!"
...
Chapter 5: The Return of the Knights
Ophira's POV
Boom.
The tremor shot up my spine, and instinct kicked in like a thunderclap in my chest. I dove in front of Gaia and Valerie, bracing myself as a blinding fog surged into the clearing like a curse unleashed. I squinted through the whiteout, heart hammering. Where the hell did this come from?
I took a step forward, ignoring Gaia's protest. I needed to find her. Paicey. Our baby sister.
"Who's there?" the white-haired girl hissed, her hand hovering threateningly above Paicey's body.
My blood ran cold.
"If this is one of you girls trying to save her, you're too late. I'm going to kill your sister—"
No. You're not.
"Ahhhhh!"
A scream—Paicey's? Mine? I couldn't tell—shattered the air.
And then a voice answered. Confident. Smooth. A little too dramatic.
"Take your hand off of my woman."
For a second, I thought I imagined it. That arrogant timbre. That unmistakable flair.
And then he emerged from the mist, pink jacket billowing like some ridiculous anime protagonist, cradling Paicey like she was made of glass.
Percy.
Valerie whispered his name, breathless. I didn't. My jaw just clenched.
And just as I was trying to process that—
"Why are you lying down on the ground, Kitten?"
I froze. Oh, come on.
Raiden Whitlock strolled into the chaos like he owned the battlefield, all smug smiles and untouchable calm. His arm snaked around Reese's waist like it belonged there, and I nearly gagged.
She leaned into him before she could stop herself. Huh. She didn't even fight it this time. Interesting.
"What are you doing here, Raiden?" she asked, eyes narrowed but voice shaky.
His smirk was maddening. "Let's just say we came here for her." He jerked his chin toward the white-haired menace.
Selene. So that's her name.
A second later, blades rained from the sky—divine, precise, relentless. Yasha's cry broke the air as Yuan stepped forward, face contorted with righteous fury.
And suddenly, it wasn't just a rescue. It was a war.
Swords clashed. Magic flared. Selene held her ground like a storm. Unshaken. Untouchable.
I grit my teeth. She was strong. Stronger than us.
And then—ugh. Of course he showed up.
"Yeah, it is amusing seeing you like this," said the boy Valerie hated with her entire being. Or so she claimed.
He extended a hand. Valerie stared like it had personally offended her existence.
She tried to stand on her own—stubborn as always—and nearly toppled. He caught her. Naturally, his hand landed somewhere it shouldn't. Valerie combusted into a blushing mess.
"What did you expect, dummy?" I muttered.
The guy leaned in, whispered something only she could hear—and then scooped her up like some hero out of a fairy tale. Bridal style.
Valerie squeaked.
I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. That sound would haunt her forever.
She was squirming in his arms, throwing weak punches that did nothing. "What are you doing? Let me down!"
"Just shut up," he said.
She actually did.
Butterflies shimmered around them—an illusion. Magic.
Valerie, predictably curious, asked, "Are you an illusionist?"
He looked at her. She looked at him. And that was it.
Her eyes widened in horror.
She'd realized she said it out loud again.
Classic Valerie.
And then, the final blow—he kissed her forehead.
Valerie looked like she'd been hit by a lightning bolt.
I groaned.
"Yup," I said. "She's gone."
"They came back not just as boys we used to know—but as the knights we never expected to need."