Sariel

That was a very confusing time for me. I mean, an angel and three ELs came from an alternate world to save us, not from the war, but from a virus that none of us even considered dangerous? Who cares about that when we don’t even know if we will be alive next year?

Asteria healed me, Seraph, and Magnus. I couldn’t even tell the difference from before, unlike Uriel and Magnus, who both assured me they felt worlds better. That was nice for them, but I remain skeptical about whether it was really worth it to keep on visiting Asteria every week for checkups.

She always insisted that we pay her back by going monster hunting with her and her friends. The trips were enjoyable, but I always felt a little guilty about leaving my responsibilities behind because my men were busy preparing for the next wave of the Eatuhean invasion while I was away.

Nonetheless, I agreed with President Kraej that it was important that we keep a close eye on Asteria and her friends.

I was at the lake house compound, talking to both Uriels about our next monster hunting trip, when the ground started shaking. A cold, damp wind came up from nowhere, bringing with it the scent of incense and honeysuckle. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

We all looked around, sensing that something was off.

That was when the surrounding trees started shaking, and all their leaves grew tiny mouths that screamed in agony.

I could hardly think over the noise, but we all instinctively ran towards the girls’ meditation room.

After a few seconds, the screaming stopped and everything returned to normal. I had never experienced anything like this. Was it some kind of hallucinogenic poison? Whatever it was, our priority was Elsa’s and Asteria’s safety.

The three of us burst into the room, followed by the others who were a few feet behind us.

Inside the meditation room, Elsa was lying on the floor on her back with her eyes rolled up into her head and foaming at the mouth. Asteria was sitting cross-legged beside her, with her eyes closed and head thrown back. A shield enclosed both of them.

The others, especially Seraphiel, were frantically yelling and pounding on the shield, saying things like, “are you all right?” or “what happened?”

I paced around the room searching for anything unusual, but I couldn’t see anything that could have hurt them. There were no signs of anyone entering, nor could I smell any weird drugs.

After a few minutes, Asteria opened her eyes and turned to look at us before turning her attention to Elsa. Golden light enveloped them, and the shield went down.

“Wait. Let her finish,” said the other Sariel to Seraphiel, who was about to rush towards them.

Seraphiel, whose hair was unbraided on one side, looked slightly comical because he was still holding a hairbrush in one hand. He said, “Asteria, what happened?”

The golden light died down, and we cautiously approached the two girls.

Asteria stood up and something in the way she moved made me take a step backward. The shield went down, then she turned to us.

“Nothing to worry about, guys,” she said. “I’ve got it all under control.”

Her smile sent a shiver down my spine.

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