♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱Asra had said she would teach me to dance, but a part of me didn’t believe it. Still, there she was.The hair stuck in a ponytail, light clothes and heel boots.That made her tall, two inches taller and it was enough that I had to look up to face her."Are you ready?" she asked staring at me and I nodded affirmatively as I approached.I remembered how Azrael had taught me (after all I relived those classes again and again, so many times that I knew how to complete them, even if I had my eyes closed).First it would be posture, then we would see my movements and then..."Elaine?" she stared at me with one hand outstretched.I blinked totally surprised."I-I-I...""We’re going to dance" she said smiling and when my fingers touched her, Asra pulled me close and the music started.Ah! It wasn’t the same song.It wasn’t the same.This time we danced all over the place, she spun me again and again, smiling as she watched me dance, as she watched me hum and

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Azrael ⋅• ♱It hurt, but even though he kept laughing and my body seemed to fall apart, it wasn’t what really hurt.It would be foolish to say that it didn’t hit me at all in his words and how sudden it all had been - but it was far from the first time. Too far to surprise me again, to cause me anything but anger.It was Miguel. Who could be surprised by something like this coming from him? It was ridiculous, but it would also be very ridiculous if I started acting as if before - when we were all "brothers" -, things were so different.I could still remember, it was as fresh in my mind as if it was still happening.The taste of iron in my mouth was still the same, Quinn’s eyes still seemed focused only on what she considered worthy and there, next to her father, practically dumped, treated like nothing but a dumb warrior - he was.Trembling.Trembling with rage like a lady’s puppy.Michael was exactly like this and even after so many centuries, even after millen

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Samael ⋅• ♱"Won’t you answer?" Anneliese’s black eyes stared at me with a certain disgust. It was almost comical how she didn’t even try to fool me about her preference."Who knows?" My lips arched into a broad and mischievous smile.The truth is that I would love to torture Calisto a little more."He’s still king" Anneliese did me the favor of remembering, but I was an alchemist, not a poor old man with Alzheimer’s."I know that, dear," I hissed as I leaned over my desk of notes, my arms crossing over my chest "but you should not forget that in the end I do not obey the king directly."She shot me with that sharp, feline look."That’s why you founded the temples, isn’t it?"Smile. A smile of pure fun.Anneliese had not become one of my wings out of respect or admiration, she had done it to make sure I would never get out of control.It was obvious from the day she stepped into my temple and swore me loyalty, but... how could I refuse? Anneliese may not be one

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱Work. Work and... ah! More work.There were so many damn papers that I found myself sinking behind that table, sinking into a sea of white leaves and idiotic rules.Loren had slept there and I couldn’t even go out to take him to his room."You look in a terrible mood" A familiar voice made me raise my head and to my surprise - it was Anneliese."I have to deal with bureaucracy, you know how much I love this kind of work," I mocked sliding one of my hands across my face."Yes" she replied laughing "I know, I remember Quinn forcing you to sit at a table like this and say I wouldn’t see you until it was over."I grunted as I remembered that damn memory."And they still had the courage to call her an angel" I joked feeling the melancholy that I could not dispel from my own voice."Wasn’t it you who called her that?" Anneliese asked with an equally melancholy smile "you haven’t changed at all... Callisto."I sat up on my seat - the seat that belonged to

♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Azrael ⋅• ♱It still hurt.I could still feel my back throbbing and my neck burning, but I still stood, my eyes fixed on the table as I waited for an answer."Commander..." the creature’s weak voice, which should not have been more than 100 years old, made me call and I had to force a smile as I lifted my gaze."What did the saint say?"She opened her mouth, but then closed it."I knew," I thought. "The saint said nothing, it was Asra"."Ahm..." the creature looked away, his face was thin, his body too fragile.Asra had several maids, many of them were trained as well as the best of my men, but that child? She was obviously young. Was she one of the children she had employed in the tribute incident?I sighed."Speak, I won’t blame you."I couldn’t and probably the guilt made me be so kind, but that wasn’t something she would understand.Her purple eyes shone with hope and she cleared her throat before speaking."The duchess said... I should inform you that the s