ARCHANGELS' LEGACY BOOK III: Revenge of an Angel [completed]

Part XXIII

Nikaia stared at the beautifully crafted dagger on her hand and recalled the day it was given to her by Naya.

“Nika, I want you to have this”, her sister extends her hand and on it was a newly made sharp-edged dagger.

Nikaia picks it up and rotates the objects, admiring every angle until her eyes spotted a dragon engrave on the top of its hilt. What made her gasp was the sharp metal, no it wasn’t a metal, it was in fact made from .....

“Ygim?”, she uttered with amazement.

“Yes, it’s from its claw”, Naya sadly smiled.

The dragon had been with the Dryads longer than she can remember and as mythical creature it possessed a power only its kind can understand but the great war was no match for it. It fought side by side with hundreds of nymphs but the kingdom of hell has thousands of creatures to spare and so, the dragon succumbed to its death with its final heroic act, defending and protecting the nymphs.

“But.....this....this is so precious. I’m not worthy to bear this gift”, Nikaia tried to swallow the lump on her throat, remembering the dragon’s love for them. She tried to return the dagger but her sister just smiled and closed her palm on it with both her hands.

“No one here is more worthy of carrying Ygim’s memory than you”, Naya recalled the day her little sister and the dragon would happily explore the skies until the sun sets and how she was deeply devastated when it draw its last breath on her lap.
Nikaia didn’t realize the tears that escaped her eyes until her sister brushed the wet liquid on her cheek.

“Thank you. I will treasure this forever”.

“I know you will, Nika”.

The nymph suddenly returned to her current state when she felt a burning pain on her right arm and just like before, a word was starting to form on her soft skin.

“SKOTÓNO”. (KILL)

She knew that this was the sorceress’ way of reminding her the reason for her presence beside the angels.

Fresh blood was slowly sliding from the wound. She picked up a towel nearby and tried to wipe the red liquid off of her.

A knock startled he nymph. She returns the dagger on its strap that she placed at the side of her inner thigh, underneath the dress, a perfect hiding place for the weapon, while she didn’t let go of the towel and just put her hand at her back. Hoping whoever came would not notice it.

“Come in”, she said aloud.

She was expecting a palace maid but was surprised to see a handsome winged being at her door.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you”, Jin shyly said.

“N..no. No, please come in”, she hide the stained towel but the angel’s eye already caught the small portion of red color on it.

“Did you get hurt?”, Jin’s worried expression puzzled her and realized that she had been caught red-handed.

“I.... I .......I cut myself in the bathroom”, her reflex made her twitched her arm and instantly blamed her body for reacting that easily. She hope that this will not raise suspicion but Jin noticed her abrupt action and grabbed her injured arm to inspect the wound.

Nikaia thought of so many excuses when she felt the angel’s hand on her but she was somehow relieved when there was no trace of any scratch or blister on her smooth skin.

“I......it was just a small cut”.

But Jin was not convinced and even grab her other arm to check. He just released her when he saw nothing that could make her bleed but it somehow baffled him.

“Sorry”, he apologized for touching her without her permission. Idiot, he told himself.

Nikaia gave him a smile and he almost forgot the reason why he knocked on her door in the first place.

“I ..... I ....... The council had given their approval to find your sister”.

Her face lit up and her eyes never wavered away from him which cause him to stutter.

“They.......they......they also want to know if you will be coming with us or.....”.

“Yes, yes. I will go with you”, she cuts his words in excitement.

“Good. We’ll just inform you of the plans and other stuff before we start on our journey”.

“Okay”.

Jin walked towards the door but stopped when he heard her sweet voice.

“Jin, I know I already said this but once again, I would like to say thank you”.

This time, it was the angel that gave her a grin and speak with  heart-warming words before taking his leave , “even without the council’s approval we will still help you search for your sister”.

Nikaia was speechless and could only stare at the closed door. She knew how important it was to follow the rules of heaven and Jin’s statement made her wonder on the severity of an action if he or any of his cousins would defy their parents, heaven’s council, the Majestic Seven.

The nymph sighed, sits on the chair and felt the dagger on her thigh, wondering if she still have it in her to use it against an angel, but unbeknownst to the nymph, Jin had other thought in mind.

He couldn’t erase the picture of the towel with a red stain on it. It looked fresh but where was the wound?