After a couple of minutes, Anahit found their silence uncomfortable and unsettling. She hated the fact that she couldn’t tell what Sophie was thinking and couldn’t bring herself to ask her. It would have been too much. Too big of a jump from the cold, calculated succubus to the caring, concerned mother.
“Well… do you want to meet him?”
Sophie’s heart jumped. “Who? Raphael?”
“Yes. He’s waiting for you in Lilith’s office.”
Sophie broke in a cold sweat. Her stomach did a flip that left her slightly ill, and her knees started shaking.
?
The angir’s aura was so different from anything Sophie had ever felt before. It felt rich, yet refreshing, it danced in a thousand colors around the room, enveloping Sophie in a warm, cozy hug the moment she entered Lilith’s office. The tall, beautiful creature waiting for her gave her a pleasant smile and a courteous nod.
Sophie closed the door behind her and stopped a couple of feet from the man who, apparently, was her real father. She looked at him in awe, forgetting the polite thing to do was to greet him first. His long, dark-blond hair fell to the middle of his back. He had bright brown eyes, a handsome, heart-shaped face, thin lips, and a wide forehead. His skin was almost too pale to be real, and his harmonious features seemed to have been made to inspire trust. Long, feathery wings adorned his wide shoulders, and through his white shirt and white pants, Sophie could see he was fairly well-built. Yes, she definitely understood what Anahit had seen in him. Raphael was very different from the incubi Sophie had gotten used to at Lure Academy.
“Sophie,” he said in a warm voice that immediately erased her anxiety. “We finally meet. I never thought your mother would allow me to see you. Even more, Lilith agreed to let us use her office. Right here, in the heart of the Academy she has worked so hard to build… Truly unexpected and unheard of.”
Sophie swallowed heavily and tried to come up with something to say. When her brain failed her, she smiled. Raphael smiled back. So far, so good, but she really needed to get a hold of herself and start talking, otherwise he would be gone before she got her answers.
“I can see why we’re here, though.” His brows furrowed slightly when his gaze fell on Sophie’s stomach, where her two sigils were hidden underneath her loose blouse.
Sophie followed his eyes. “How can you…?”
“Angirs can see and feel more than just the aura of another being. We can see the marks and sigils on their body and instantly know who or what they are.”
“And what am I?”
“You’re a cambion, of course. A special one. Part human, part demon, part angel… You might be the only one in the world.”
Sophie sighed. “And what am I supposed to do with that? I just killed someone because I don’t know how to control this odd combination of powers. Now I’m afraid to even get close to anyone. I don’t know what my two sigils will do, I don’t know how my aura will react. Everything seems so… random. I get angry and I feel this rush of power and the desire to smash something, and everything about my aura changes: its density, colors, smell… It’s been like this since…” she took a deep breath before finishing the sentence, “since Ukraine. It’s like I can’t feel anything else but anger and frustration.”
Raphael nodded thoughtfully, then stepped aside and motioned for the sofa. “Sit down, Sophie. Let’s talk.”
He took the armchair on the opposite side of the room. He knew she wouldn’t feel comfortable having him too close to her. They were just starting to know each other. They needed to take things slowly. He wasn’t sure what he felt towards this strange being who was his daughter. His only daughter. As she sat down and studied his every move patiently, he decided he would take his time and let things unfold naturally, at their own pace. No one said they had to form some sort of father-daughter bond right then and there.
“I feel like I’m not the same. This… this thing,” she pointed at her stomach, “has turned everything upside down. What I’ve learned since I came here doesn’t apply anymore.”
“If I remember well, each new cambion is given a mentor.”
“Yeah… actually, I have two.”
“Interesting…”
“What difference does it make? Kain and Alexi can only help me with the demon sigil, not with the angir one.”
“That’s what you think. Let’s hear the story from the beginning.”
Sophie was ready to jump off the sofa and tell him she had no intention of telling him what she had already told others too many times, but something strange happened and, instead, she found herself relaxing against the back rest. The angir’s aura was so light and soothing around her, that she couldn’t say “no” to him. She started talking and, oddly enough, the words coming out of her mouth were just that: words. They didn’t invoke images, they didn’t take her back to the Count’s mansion and the dark tunnel under his secret chalet. Time stood still, and when Sophie finished her story, she had the sensation that she hadn’t said anything at all. At the same time, a burden had been lifted from her soul, as if telling Raphael about the things which had been tormenting her for days, she had passed that suffering on to him. A bright smile lit up her features, but before she could tell the angir about her revelation, his soft voice filled the room.
“I know you believe what happened is your fault, but it isn’t. Your life was in danger and you defended yourself. If anyone is to blame, then it’s those who haven’t told you about your true heritage. I know Lure Academy prides itself in encouraging its students to know themselves and learn as much as possible about their nature and abilities. This time, they pretty much failed in this respect, don’t you agree?”
Raphael’s tone of voice signaled it wasn’t an accusation, but merely a sensible statement, so all that Sophie felt was a strange feeling of acceptance rather than anger towards Anahit, who was the only one who had known.
“However, I strongly believe no one is defined by their origin, heritage, genetic code… These things don’t determine who you are and how you must use your abilities. You’re the one who decides what you want to do with what nature has given you. And, Sophie, you have so many wonderful things to work with. Don’t be afraid of what’s new and unfamiliar, but rather embrace it, because when you embrace it you also discover ways of harmonizing your new abilities with your old ones.”
“So you can’t… teach me.” There was disappointment in her voice. What had she expected? For him to give her a solution which would magically solve all her problems?
“There’s nothing to teach. Your new aura and new sigil aren’t very different from your old ones. It’s how you integrate them that matters. All you have to do is listen to what your instinct tells you, focus on everything that is beautiful and positive, and you’ll master your full powers in no time.”