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Raea landed below the floating room, plopping Andrea onto the ground before fully embracing Selena. She buried her head in her sister’s hair. “Are you really back this time?”
Selena hugged her sister back. Raea’s skin was a bit scalier than before and she had four wings, but she was still her little sister. “I’m not sure how,” Selena said. “But yes. I’m back. Unless this is my dream.”
“This isn’t a dream,” Raea said, shaking her head. “The Creator revived you. He also … hurt you earlier.”
“That was the Creator?” Selena asked. “I almost thought the centaurs’ religion was real and I went to hell. But … why are you so … close to the Creator? Is that the right word? What happened while I was gone?” She wanted to look around the shabby wasteland with hints of construction that was the capital, but she didn’t want to ruin Raea’s moment. “This place looks a bit familiar.”
“It’s the capital,” Raea said. “Pyre blew it up.”
“Pyre? Professor Khondra?” Selena asked. “Why would he do something like this? You just gave me a lot more questions than answers, Ray. Where’s Elrith? Is he alright? How about Mom, Dad, everyone else?”
“Um. A lot of things happened,” Raea said, her wings drooping. “I don’t want to talk about it right now, is that okay?”
“Of course,” Selena said and bit her lip. When she had died, the rebel army was still advancing towards the capital. Did the angels lose? And by the sound of it, Pyre had defected to the rebels’ side. Raea had also remained in the capital…. Did that mean she joined the rebels? Or was this the counterattack of the angels? Dozens of questions flooded her mind as she held her sister’s trembling body. Well, even if she knew nothing else, she knew her sister had gone through a lot and she should be here for her. There was just one problem. Why was there a little demon child sniffing her? “Um. This is?”
“I’m Andrea,” Andrea said before licking Selena’s calf. She swallowed her saliva and beamed at the angel. “Who are you?”
“I’m Selena, Raea’s sister,” Selena said. “Are you related to Palan by any chance?”
“Yeah!” Andrea said with a nod. “Don’t tell me you’re a harlot too.”
“Pardon?” Selena asked, blinking twice.
Raea rolled her eyes and separated from Selena. She wiped her tears away and pinched Andrea’s cheeks. “I’m not quite done with you,” she said with a glare. “Did you think I already forgot what you did to me earlier?”
“You pwomised not to hurt meh,” Andrea said, struggling against Raea’s grasp. Her cheeks were stretched like a chipmunk’s and tears blossomed in her eyes. “You pwomised.”
Raea sighed and released Andrea, who glared at her while pouting. “She’s Palan’s sister,” Raea said to Selena. “And she doesn’t like me very much because Palan and I are … complicated right now. Though I’m sure there’s other reasons.”
Andrea stuck her tongue out at Raea. She hesitated before asking, “You’re not mad anymore?” There was a noticeable lack of flames around Raea’s body. Even her wings had dimmed from bright red to a dull brown.
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” Raea asked with a smile on her face. “The world is a wonderful place. All is good: Selena’s back. You don’t have to hate me anymore since I’m no longer in a contract with Palan. Everyone involved in Selena’s death is dead. Why would I possibly be mad?”
Andrea scratched her head. It was understandable that she was confused. She didn’t know the source of Raea’s wrath was due to Selena’s death. “But … weren’t you just…. Never mind. But you know it was Pyre’s idea, right? It wasn’t mine.”
“Mm.” Raea waved her hand dismissively and smiled at Selena. “I almost forgot what happiness felt like.”
“I’m glad you’re happy, Ray,” Selena said. “I don’t want to put a damper on your mood, but what about the things I asked about before?”
Raea rubbed her chin. “Elrith’s somewhere, but I’m sure he’s still alive. It won’t be too hard to find him if I’m not mistaken. I don’t know what happened to Mom and Dad and everyone else after the halflings’ raid on the capital. They survived the B.F.G., so they probably fled to the north.”
“B.F.G.?”
“It was a giant cannon Pyre invented to break down the walls of the capital. He also shot it at the tower,” Raea said. She pointed up. “That’s actually the third floor of the tower where the Creator has the most influence or something. It wasn’t destroyed, and six beings beyond archangels live up there.”
“Beyond archangel…?” Selena asked, tilting her head.
“Oh. Yeah. Those exist,” Raea said, grabbing Selena’s hands. “I’m one of them too! But they’re for three sins instead of any virtues. Oops.” She giggled and hugged Selena again. “Have I told you how much I missed you?” Before Selena could say anything, Raea continued. “Well, I missed you a lot. A lot, a lot.” A wrinkle appeared on her brow but disappeared just as quickly as it came. “I think I figured out why I my wrath was uncontrollable.” She separated from Selena. “I was angry at myself. It’s true that I was angry at the people who killed you, but I was angry at myself even more for letting you die. I was angry at myself for being unable to revive you once I lost my kindness. So once I killed everyone involved in your death, the wrath was still there because I hated myself.” She lowered her head and stared at her palms. “I understand now. So that’s what Meffi was trying to tell me…” Her brow furrowed. “Maybe he wasn’t that bad of a person after all.”
Selena smiled throughout Raea’s rambling. It seemed like something that had been bothering her sister for a long time had finally been resolved. “Just wondering though. How did you revive me?”
“Oh,” Raea said. “Palan kinda sorta maybe threatened the Creator a tiny bit.”
“Is the Creator someone that can be threatened by Palan?” Selena asked, raising an eyebrow.
“My brother can do anything,” Andrea said, crossing her arms over her chest. “He’s the best.”
Raea nodded. “He made a deal with the Creator. But why didn’t he come down with us? Don’t tell me he’s…”
Andrea rolled her eyes. “Only my brother can be the strongest. Of course he’s going to break the deal.”
A loud booming noise echoed through the capital as one wall of the floating room was destroyed. Cracks spread along its surface before it crumbled, falling to the ground below. The ruins dissolved into a golden liquid that caused Andrea’s nose to twitch. It smelled familiar. Like eggfruits. A mouth materialized in the air above her and rushed towards the liquid, swallowing it.