The Next Generation Of Heroes | 1 ✓

REWRITE: Asher~56

Hello, faithful readers! Raspberry here! It has been almost a whole year since I published the first chapter of The Next Generation of Heroes! When I first pushed the publish button, I hoped to get one hundred followers, but I would have never expected that I land 27K reads! I love you all so much! Thank you for your comments, likes, and reads! To thank you all, I decided to rewrite a rather emotional chapter of this book, editing and improving my previous writing. If you can't tell from the title, I chose to rewrite Asher~56, the scene right after Bianca Solace-di Angelo was killed. I incorporated my new writing style, took out parts I disliked, and made it much better. So sit back with a bowl of popcorn as I take you back to the courtyard in Poseidon's realm where Bianca Solace-di Angelo met her end...

REWRITE: Asher ~ 56

"Bianca!" Reyna wails, clasping her hands to her mouth in horror as Bianca crumbles to the tiled floor of the courtyard.

The shark men step away from her body, their heavy footsteps echoing in my chest, leaving the sword wedged in her rib cage, blood seeping onto the tile.

Behind me, Cyprian goes rigid and storms away from the group and towards Bianca's mangled corpse.

"Cyprian, don't--" starts Zoë, but Cyprian ignores her, stalking past the snarling sharks and standing beside Bianca. He slides the sword carefully out of Bianca's body, watching the blood drip from the blade with a sickening mesmerization. He turns swiftly towards the shark-men, an unfamiliar dark gleam in his eyes. He swings the sword with a newfound skill and within seconds, kills every single one, stepping away from the four bloodied bodies and dropping the sword to the floor.

Mari's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates and her jaw drops.

Cyprian turns and faces us, his eyes dark purple. "We are coming," he says in a warbled voice that I knew I had heard before.

"Who?" I ask, my voice breaking the tense silence that had filled the courtyard.

Cyprian regards me with a strange, cold look. Then, he turns towards Mari, who jumps when his dark eyes met hers. "Marissa, could you please remove the water from the courtyard?" Cyprian asks, his voice so familiar, yet I still couldn't put my finger on it.

Also, Marissa? That must be what Mari is short for.

Mari nods slowly, lifting her hands up and facing her palms towards Cyprian. I vaguely remember Rose telling me that Mari's mom Hazel had the ability to control the Mist. Clearly, it got passed down to Mari. A marble water fountain forms, and within seconds, the water in the whole courtyard had been pulled into the fountain. 

Cyprian gives her a curt nod in thanks, and then goes rigid, his face going blank and the purple fading from his eyes.

"What was that?" Reyna asks anxiously. 

Cyprian shakes his head like he's clearing his thoughts and walks forward without replying. I look to see where he's going and my stomach drops, dread and fear flooding in my chest.

Nico and Will Solace-di Angelo are standing in the shadows, their hands clasped together desperately.

Their eyes search the courtyard and land on their daughter's bloodied corpse. Nico's knees wobble, and he collapses with a gut-wrenching sob. Will drops to his knees beside his husband and wraps his arms around his shoulders. There were tears in his eyes.

"What happened?" asks Will shakily, looking up at Cyprian, who was watching from a few yards away.

"She snuck out last night. Some shark-men hybrid caught her," states Cyprian, struggling to keep his voice steady. 

"The shark-men?" asks Will after a moment, pausing to press a kiss on the top of Nico's head.

Cyprian stares at the floor, his green eyes prickling with tears. "I killed them," Cyprian pauses, tears slipping down his face, before continuing. "I'm sorry."

Will nods in thanks and hold his shaking husband tighter. After a few moments, Nico stands up, wiping the tears off his face and taking a deep breath.

"I'm going to see my father," Nico declares, his voice thick with emotion.

"I'm coming with you," both Will and Cyprian reply.

"No," states Nico, glaring down at the two blondes.

"Why not?" Cyprian demands, outraged.

Nico taps his foot impatiently, annoyance visible on his face. "Too dangerous for Will, and I don't like you, Cyprian."

"I'm coming," announces Will stubbornly, crossing his arms and pouting boyishly.

"Me too," declares Cyprian defiantly. 

"No!" bellows Nico, cracks starting to form under his feet.

"I want to talk to Bianca! I-I have to apologize," Cyprian yells, his voice cracking. "Please," he mumbles, staring at the floor.

Will looks up at his husband and made the biggest puppy dog eyes. One look at Nico's reaction and I knew that Will and Cyprian had won.

"Fine," barks Nico, tearing his eyes away from Will's. "Give me your hand." Will beams and takes Nico's hand. Then, Nico grabs Cy's wrist and the three of them disappear in the shadows.

There is a long, thick silence.

"Marissa?" James suddenly asks, teasingly. 

Reyna whacks him on the top of the head, causing him to yelp.

Then, we waited.

The End