Morning Star

Chapter 25: the waiting room | Kelvin

I barely registered my bones elongating, my body shifting back into a human form. My mind kept replaying the memory of Peter slamming into the side of the operating table, before falling still.

I'd flown over to him, hovering in front of his face - for if he were breathing, I would be able to feel him suck in air - but there was nothing. At first, I believed it had to be a joke. As a firefly, I was too small to tell if one was breathing.

But I landed on his chest - practically laid on it - and he was still. He was as still as stone, and I didn't want to accept the truth. Consumed by grief, I could do nothing but remain with Peter as the Shadow Man attacked Sarah and Cailyn, and eventually turned to flee from Eva, who had broken one of his darts with angel magic.

Angel magic.

Having overheard Eva's explanation, I was now aware of the fact that my best friend had a guardian angel, and was now a vessel for said angel. Who the angel was, I still had yet to know, but I was already too overwhelmed with what had occurred in the past couple of minutes to ask.

It was Livia calling my name that cleared the haze. It was strange to see her as a human, but I'd almost had a heart attack when I realised that she looked almost identical to Eva, save for Eva's now greying hair.

Livia was Olivia. Eva's twin, who was thought to be dead, killed in battle. I was still trying to process it.

The instant I raised my head, Eva engulfed me in a hug, her nose digging into the crook of my neck. My arms instantly went around her, and we stayed like that for a while, our bodies locked together.

Livia coughed. "So, how do you guys know each other again?"

Eva quickly broke our hug. "Oh - he was one of the rebels in Ullanyth HQ. The triplets, remember?"

"Oh." Livia did remember - I had told her about Diana and Chae, after all. "Oh," she said again. "I can't believe I - "

The burgundy haired girl, Jasmine, barged through the doorway, panting as if she'd run a long way. "Guys, I managed to convince Christopher to not go get help - gods, that took way too long - but then Zero and Sofia showed up with Ethan and his parents, and now they've called the police, who are on their way here right now, so - " Jas' rambling reached a choking halt when she spotted the three bodies on the floor. Immediately, she screamed. "Are they okay?"

Jas had screamed at the exact moment that men dressed in uniform with guns entered the room, at first pointing their guns at us - Livia clung to Eva, and I quickly jumped off the operating table to stand with the twins - before lowering their weapons when they realised we weren't a threat.

"Grab my brother, he's the scientist -" the man, Christopher, was saying when he entered, only to stop short when he realised the Shadow Man was nowhere in sight. Dread filled me. If the men hadn't spotted the Shadow Man on their way inside the building, he must have truly escaped.

But that was something to worry about another time.

More of those men surrounded Sarah, Peter and Cailyn, kneeling over their bodies and gripping their wrists, feeling for a pulse. "Alive," a man tending to Sarah called. It was the same response for Cailyn.

But the men around Peter only shook their heads, their faces grave.

The colour drained from Eva's face as she beheld their solemn gazes. "No," she gasped. Livia's arms were around her in an instant. Eva stretched out a hand. "I have magic," she blubbered, her eyes unfocused. "I can bring him back - "

"Don't play with death, Eva," Livia warned her.

"You came back!" Eva protested, even when she knew the truth.