The sky realm

NOELLE'S POV,

The next morning Holly and I leave early before anyone else wakes up. Holly looks hangover and doesn't say much.

I call Thorn through our mind connection and climb on his back.

''Try to keep up,'' Holly says and she takes out her wings and shoots into the sky.

''Let's go, boy,'' I say to Thorn, and he lifts off with a big jump. His big golden wings take us high into the sky within seconds. Holly takes us high above the clouds and seems to be in a hurry. It takes us 4 hours of flying to get to the Sky Realm. When we arrive I see nothing at first. We get to a barrier of dark clouds and bad weather; it seems like there is no way through. Holly stops in front of the barrier and whispers something I can't hear. Then there is a hole in the barrier and Holly quickly flies through it. Thorn puts his wings close to his body and shoots after her.

In the Barrier it is dark, and I hear thunder everywhere. When the Barrier ends it is suddenly quiet and light again. I look around me and see big rock formations floating above the clouds. On the rocks, there are houses made of stone. The Sky Realm seems to consist of many floating rock formations with buildings on them. From some rock formations, waterfalls go down and disappear into the clouds. In the middle, there is a big rock formation with a castle on top.

Holly stops there and I let Thorn land in front of the castle. Holly waves me over, ''Follow me I have a cave ready for Thorn so he can rest.''

I follow her to the cave and leave Thorn after feeding him and cuddling him. Through our mind connection, I tell him, ''Let me know if you need me.''

Thorn snorts, ''I will be fine mistress.''

Holly walks me back to the castle and says, ''I have the stuff to do but I will send your magic teacher to the castle. You can start training this afternoon. I will be back at 8 so I can see you then if you want.'' Before I can answer her, she has already flown off.

I go sit on the stairs of the castle and enjoy the view for a while. I must admit I like the peace and quiet that the Sky Realm offers. It is not as beautiful as the Mortal Realm in my opinion, but it is definitely peaceful. I suppose that is what you should expect from the home of the angel kind.

After a while an old fragile woman with hair white as snow lands in front of me. She has strict but kind eyes and looks me over from head till toe, ''Are you Noelle?''

I stand up, ''Yes, I am, can I ask you your name?''

The lady looks at me with squinted eyes, ''You can call me Magister Ember for now.''

She walks away and shouts at me, ''What are you waiting for we don't have all day.''

I hurry after her and she grabs my hand roughly before jumping off the rocks. She is surprisingly strong for such an old woman. I try to hold on as best as I can when she flies us to one of the highest rocks. She lets go of me and I fall on the rocks hard. When I look around, I see that there are no buildings on this rock it is completely empty.

''Get up,'' Magister Ember says when she lands next to me.

I grit my teeth and get up.

''We only have a week to learn you weather magic and light magic. I will accept no laziness or arrogance. We can only achieve this with hard work and discipline. Now I have been told you are rather gifted so show me what you can do,'' Magister Ember snaps to me.

I stand there insecure, ''But I don't know any weather magic.''

She looks at me annoyed, ''Use your gifts, silly girl. If you can't improvise then we are doomed, to begin with.''

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I try to forget about the rude old lady and pour my magic out to feel the surroundings. I notice the clouds are full of water and water magic is something I know. I command all the water to go to the upper clouds above us with an upside motion of my hands. Then I whisper, ''Irroro.'' and the clouds start to drop heavy rain on us. I have no idea how I know these words but must be because of my ancestors or something. I open my eyes and feel the rain pour down on me. Magister Ember is getting soaked, but she does not look impressed, ''Is that all?''

I feel annoyed but close my eyes again and think about all of the Sky Realm I have seen on my way to the castle. I imagine rain pouring down on the whole Sky Realm and when I open my eyes again it is raining everywhere. I look at Magister Ember happy, but she just looks at me with an eyebrow up, ''If you expect praise every time you do something right then you will be disappointed. Respect must be earned, anyone can be born with magical powers but only the ones that work hard will succeed.''

I nod and try to sound a bit humbler when I ask, ''Could you please teach me more?''

She makes round movements with her arms and levitates a chunk of the rainwater in the air.

''Very well. You can control water, but water can take many forms, look,'' With one swift movement, she changes the water into a spike of ice and fires it at me.

I duck and she holds it still above my head. Then it turns into snow and falls on my hair in the form of big snow crystals. My mouth is open in amazement, and II eagerly try it myself. After a few hours of practicing, I have managed to turn water in ice and snow as well.

I feel tired but satisfied after this magic session. Magister Ember flies me back to the castle and says, ''I will see you here at 5 in the morning. You better not be late because I don't believe in second chances.''

I look at her while she disappears into the clouds.

''She is something else hea?'' I hear Holly say behind me.

I shake my head in amusement, ''I have never met someone like her. But I think I can learn a lot from her.''

Holly nods, ''Yes, she is the best magic trainer. Although my parents just send me there because they hoped she could discipline me.''

She winks at me, ''I was a bit of a horror child you see. I always thought rules are there to be broken.''

I chuckle, ''I think Magister Ember had her hands full with little Holly.''

Holly puts her arm through mine and drags me inside, ''You have no idea.''

She takes me to a big living room with a gigantic red fluffy couch and a big fireplace. I immediately go sit on the couch and Holly walks over to a drink cabinet.

"I need a drink, you want something?'' she asks.

I shake my head, ''Oh no I don't want to risk oversleeping and pissing off Miss Ember.''

Holly laughs, ''That is probably the smart move.''

She sits next to me and tries to look casual when she asks, ''So you and my brother seemed to have a good time yesterday. Anything you want to tell me about?''

I blush and feel a bit uncomfortable, ''It was great, but nothing happened, at least not what you mean.''

Holly lifts her eyebrow, ''Why not? You don't think he is attractive?''

I clench my hands between my legs, ''Of course, I do, anyone with eyes can see that he is gorgeous. He is also caring, funny, generous, and loyal. So any woman would be lucky to have him.''

Holly sounds confused, ''So why not you?''

I hesitate for a bit, ''I just don't know if I can open my heart again. Roan seemed to be a good guy too you know and then I find out I was just blind all the time. I have never felt so stupid in my whole life. I don't know if I could survive another heartbreak like that.''

Holly balls her fists, ''Don't let that asshole ruin a chance at real love for you. I suppose nobody is all bad or good, but Gabriel is nothing like Roan. Roan is stuck on traditions and believes there is only black and white. Gabriel would never betray the people he loves; he would die for them instead. There is always a choice and I know for sure that Gabriel would have found another way to save you without sacrificing you to Hella.''

I stay silent for a while, ''I just need some more time to process it all, I think. I can't have my heart broken and be in love with another guy a week later.''

Holly takes a big sip of her whiskey, ''Just don't wait too long. someone as good as my brother is rare. Even if you don't see it someone else will.''

I sigh, '' I... ii thought you of all people would understand. because of you and Nolan.''

Holly looks at me with fire in her eyes, ''What are you talking about? you know nothing.''

She stands up angry, ''You are here one week, and you think you know me?''

I feel my temper rising as well so I stand up to leave, ''I was just trying to bond with you Holly but whatever. We have both been hurt some way and I thought we could talk about it, but I guess not. Just scare people away like you always do, it seems we are both good at pushing people away.''

After that comment, I walk away to let Holly boil in her own anger.