Nyxara
[Friday, Seraphelle 26, 4310]
It has been a week since my home recovery started, and I have to say I'm feeling the changes. It is getting to the point where it is really sinking in that I am not human. I thought I was in good condition last week. I now know that was only human-level good condition. This week I'm feeling pretty superhuman. According to Lux, I'm only at a quarter of what I'm fully capable of for my tier level.
I was twenty minutes into my lesson with Azrail when a darkly dressed man walked out of the darkest corner of my library without any warning. I instantly threw a knife at him, ready to defend myself in case this was an unannounced test. My siblings all agreed—without my input—that adding ambush training to my daily life would be a wonderful idea. So now they ambush me randomly. Before the knife reached the man—who didn't even try to dodge—Azrail stopped the knife with a wave of his hand. Azrail is able to use telekinesis? Or is he using pure essence? Why can I never pin down what his abilities are?
He gave the knife back while critiquing my attack. He praised my knife-throwing skills but then turned around saying I needed to be faster and to aim for more critical target areas next time. "I want you so deadly that it will only take one time for someone to try you for everyone to understand you are the First Ajei Lady and they cannot treat you lightly."
When he was done giving me feedback, he turned his attention to his subordinate. He transitioned into the cold-looking immortal I met the day I was released from the clinic. He impassively listened to the man explain the situation. I didn't understand most of the coded report, but what I did understand was that one of our spy reconnaissance teams had gone missing. Azrail deemed this situation urgent enough to require his immediate oversight. I suspect Azrail will be very hands-on with this recovery mission from the way his golden eyes are literally glowing.
He gave me a tight hug, promised to give me homework, then he and the man walked into the darkest shadows of the room.
You don't feel jealous that all your parents seem to have a unique portal skill, Nyx. Nope. You will not make it a goal to have a great teleporting skill. Nope, there is not a slightly jelly person present.
Since my lesson ended early, I figured this would be a good opportunity to do a video call with the Kin-Branch. They had requested we re-connect virtually since it will still be a week or so until they return home. After washing up and changing into a grey lounge pantsuit, I connected my laptop to my tv, got the video call room set up, then messaged my uncle asking if now would be a good time to do a video call with them.
I got an instant response from him saying they could do a video call as long as I didn't mind joining them for dinner virtually. After I confirmed I didn't mind, Uncle Cornelius told me that they would join my video room in 6 minutes. While I waited, I asked Líma to put in my previously chosen dinner order.
"Mistress, your dinner will arrive in 5 minutes. I anticipated you would be hungry soon, so I went ahead and put in your dinner order." Líma curtseyed with a dramatically pleased expression in her neon green and black maid dress. I blew her a kiss in thanks, which she snatched out of the air to put in her breast pocket.
My maid is so adorable. When my dinner arrived, Líma got me settled with blankets, a drink, and a lap table filled with delicious small plates and bowls. When the ring of the call came, Líma accepted the call for me. On my tv screen was the image of five gorgeous people. It came to me at this moment that before now I hadn't seen an image of them.
Starting from the right, a lovely girl with braided dark sapphire hair and sky-blue eyes and smooth biscotti skin waved excitedly the moment the call connected. Her face and hair were very similar to the youthful woman beside her. The woman was so youthful that she looked more like an older sister to the girl—not at all like what I would expect a woman older than 40 to look like.
Her wavy sapphire hair, mocha skin, and yellow topaz eyes made her an enchanting beauty that seemed to seduce even through a camera. She smiled faintly, but her eyes showed she was happy and concerned. She appeared to be cataloging everything she could see of me. After a moment, she appeared to relax, and her smile grew to match her daughter's.
Across from them were another two copies—one younger and one older. The young one had short, fluffy black hair and sky-blue eyes the same shade as his sister's. His pale skin looked like cream—supple and unblemished. He held himself in a cold, mature manner, but when my focus turned to him, he gave me a warm smile, and he seemed to melt, looking more his age of nine. He gave me a finger wave before sipping from a goblet of what looked like thick red wine.
Ah yes. He is a young vampire. I am curious how blood tastes. I should ask Zen if vampires are the only race that drinks blood. I think it would be an interesting experience to try it at least once. It wasn't until the man beside the boy raised his glass in a toasting motion to me that my gaze turned to him. He took a drink of blood, watching me with an intense gaze.
So he is the parent Taen and Rhodri got their sky-blue eyes from. His eyes practically burn like blue flames. His skin is tanned, probably from being outside managing his unit. His black hair is somehow both long and short, like it had been cut haphazardly—yet on him, it worked. Dangerously well.
When he placed his cup down, he appeared amused, but I couldn't guess what amused him. Moving my gaze to the last person at the head of the table, my breath caught. I was looking at an almost identical male copy of my mother. How did I forget…he is Nimra's twin. His braided hair did not have a reddish tint to it like Nimra's. Instead, his hair has a silver tint to it. His eyes are not dark ruby red like Nimra's but are the pinkish red of a rose.
He observed me. Taking in everything he could see of me just like Aunt Zira, then he too relaxed, and the previously neutral expression changed to one bright with unshed tears. Looking down, I noticed that Aunt Zira and Uncle Hael were holding his hands that seemed to be clenching theirs.
Seeing him overwhelmed and unable to speak, I broke the quiet. "Good evening, family. You all look well and positively stunning." My words seemed to stun them in turn. Playfully, I couldn't help teasing them. "I knew we had good-looking genes in the family, but I'm a bit upset that no one here decided to share that the Kin-Branch brings our enclave to a whole new level. I mean, Uncle Cornelius, were you and Nimra trying to compete in who could find the better-looking mates?"
I sipped my sparkling cider while the adults of my extended family chuckled and grinned. "Oh, my niece, lost your memory, and still you say and ask the same thing upon seeing my mates." Uncle Cornelius said, wiping his tears away.
"No, my dear Nyx, your uncle wasn't purposefully looking to compete with your mom. It just appears your mom and uncle were blessed by the Creators to mate with alluring people. Thank you for the compliment." Aunt Zira fluffed her hair, obviously smug.
"Yes, I thank you too for the compliment. It is a pleasure to help keep the Ajei Enclave as an elite-looking family. By the way, you are becoming more stunning yourself since I last saw you. Have you gained another level? Is that why you seem to positively glow now?" Uncle Hael asked in a voice I swear should be outlawed.
Taking a bite of my food and sipping my cider to cool my reaction, I responded to the question once I was calmer. I pretended I didn't notice the understanding in the adults' eyes as they noted my reaction to Uncle Hael's charm.
"No, Uncle Hael. I haven't cultivated to the next level. My condition from my incident and the ailment I was dealing with has caused side effects I must heal from before I can focus on cultivating. Right now, I'm rebuilding and consolidating my foundation, so it's just the result of my week of reforging, you are seeing. I've removed people and things out of my life that do not enhance my life so I can better my life." I made sure they could see the ambition in my eyes.
"I can't have my cousins catching up to me too soon. I need to keep pushing forward so they have more than one path to follow on their ascension. Isn't that the Ajei way?" I ask, before diving back into my food while they all look contemplative at me.