The Ivory Queen
Chapter 71

***Aurora’s POV***

Celina’s question caught me off guard but I’m able to get out of the room before having my mental breakdown in the hallway.

I hadn’t been completely honest about my relationship with Javier back in Idaho. I did, in fact, have a crush on him back in 6th grade after the spring dance but I failed to mention that he confessed his feelings for me too and that he was my first k**s. I kept those details out for obvious reasons. Our relationship didn’t go further, however, and I’m glad it didn’t.

After the rogues attacked, I become the leper of the pack and had no friends left to lean on except him. Javier told me he believed me and being the broken 13 year old girl that I was, I clung on to him desperately. I thought he was my friend. I confided in him all of my fears and secrets as well as what Salvador and Karina did to me. He’d always listen quietly, without judgement. He made me feel like I still mattered. But it was all a lie. Javier’s true colors eventually came out.

On one particular night, he told me to meet him in the courtyard and I went without questioning him. He blindfolded me under the guise that he had a surprise for me. Unbeknownst to me, he led me straight to the supply closet in the laundry room where he locked me inside for almost two days. Salvador projected a rogue inside with me. Despite the pitch black, my night vision forced me to look at the ugly creature standing in the corner. It would lean back on its hind legs and snarl or growl at me, the suspense of its potential attack driving me to tears for those two days. I screamed my head off for hours but my cries were useless. The rogue never lunged at me and no one came to rescue me.

When Javier finally let me out, I was a complete mess. There was an unbelievably disgusting stench emanating from my clothes as I had spent two days with no food or water… or a restroom. Javier and Salvador took photos and sent them to my classmates for further humiliation. When I returned to school, people started locking me in closets and throwing diapers at me.

This would unfortunately only be the first of many nights where I was locked in the supply closet. Salvador would get creative with the things he’d project in there with me. Javier told him all my fears so he had an infinite supply of things to torture me with. He’d even projected multiple versions of Emiliano’s corpse to make me relive the pain of losing him.

Javier never lay a single finger on me, but he singlehandedly broke me beyond repair. For three months after the incident, I did not utter a single word. I had no courage to speak, nothing to say. It wasn’t until Karina beat me so severely that I finally found the strength to scream for help again.

I learned a very valuable lesson in that closet and I never told anyone my secrets again. I relied solely on myself for the next five years and I was safe from ever being betrayed that way again. Oliver is the only other person I’ve opened up too since then but there is still so much I have to tell him, so many things I’ve kept locked away and hidden from anyone else. It won’t be easy sharing any of it.

I stifle a sob in my arm and allow myself to cry for about 20 more seconds before I wipe my tears away and force a smile on my face. I then run down the hall to the office and replace Oliver bent over Javier who is still crying in pain on the floor.

“Aurora, go take care of Celina. I can handle Javier,” Oliver mutters as he pins Javier on the ground. “Sit still!” He growls at Javier. “You have to breathe. Just breathe.”

Javier gasps for air and whimpers as his pain continues. I ignore Oliver’s orders and silently kneel down beside Javier. My fingertips touch Javier’s cheek and a jolt of electricity enters his body to relieve his pain. He sighs, letting me know my job is done and I get back on my feet.

As I turn to leave, Javier’s fingers wrap around my wrist and I yank my arm free in a frenzy. Oliver starts choking Javier and he turns red as he claws at Oliver’s arms.

“Don’t f*****g touch her. I already don’t like you. Don’t give me a reason to kill you!” He snarls.

Javier nods and Oliver finally lets him go. He fills his lungs with air and starts to cough and massage his throat.

“Aurora, please,” he begs, his voice just a whisper. “Where is she? Please. I-I need to speak with her.”

I understood the pain he felt all too well. I wanted to die when Oliver rejected me and regardless of what Javier did to me, I would never wish that pain on anyone.

“I-I can’t help you,” I reply with a squeak, backing away slowly. “I-it’s her choice… n-not mine.”

“Please!” He cries, getting on his knees. “I’m sorry.”

His sadness is overwhelming and I can’t take his presence any longer.

“I-I need to go.”

I rush out of the room, hearing his pleas all the way down the hall. I sprint downstairs to the kitchen and almost crash into Carter.

“Hey slow down there, Speedy. Where’s the fire?” He chuckles. I don’t smile back and instead push past him to get some water bottles from the fridge. “Aurora, what’s wrong?”

“Celina and Javier are mates but she rejected him,” I reply nonchalantly and try to rush off.

To my annoyance, Carter grabs my arm to stop me from escaping. “Are you ok?”

“I need to help my sister right now. She’s in a world of pain. My feelings are the least of my worries right now. So please, let me go.”

Carter eyes me suspiciously but complies to my request. I rush off upstairs and do my best to store away my emotions before I walk into my bedroom. Celina and Evan are waiting for me and I can tell they’re expecting an explanation as to why I took so long.

“Here’s your water,” I say sheepishly and hand her a bottle. I sit on the bed and she crawls over to lay her head in my lap.

“How is he?” She mumbles and I raise a brow at her. “Don’t look at me like that, I know you went to go relieve his pain. You took too long.”

“Hurting. He’s asking for you,” I sigh.

“Well he can keep asking. I don’t want him near me.”

“I’m sorry I messed up you’re your relationship.”

Celina shakes her head at me. “This isn’t your fault, sis. He hurt you. He chose to do that.”

I’m silent for a moment, thinking of Javier. Not the Javier who betrayed me, but the Javier who used to make me laugh so hard, milk would come out of my nose. The Javier who’d star gaze with me on cloudless nights. The Javier who used to dance with me, whatever the occasion. The one who once made me feel pretty at a school dance.

“Celina, please reconsider. Yes, he hurt me… but maybe you can change him for the better if-“

“I’ll reconsider if you tell me what he did,” she says, giving me a stubborn grin.

I’m silent for a moment, unsure how to proceed. Celina will never let this go. “Evan can you give us some privacy?” I ask.

Celina sits up excitedly while Evan and Rio leave the room. When they’re gone, I get off the bed and walk to the closet, grabbing a sports bra, a top and some active leggings. Celina looks utterly confused as I toss the clothes at her.

“Here, put this on.”

“Wait I thought-“

“Nope,” I shrug, giving her an innocent smile. “Now get dressed. We’re going to the training grounds.”

She g****s but does as I tell her. I open the window, push out the window screen and climb out, landing perfectly on my feet below. Celina follows suit and together we sprint behind a tree when we hear a few soldiers walk in our direction. The fear of being caught must have activated our powers because the next thing I know, Celina’s skin blends in with the tree we’re hiding behind.

“Holy s**t,” she loudly whispers. She touches the tree and her skin blends in with the texture and color of its bark. “I can camouflage!” Her eyes widen when she looks at me. “Aurora if you could see yourself right now…” she gawks at me.

I frown at her. What did she mean?

I’m about to ask when I catch a glimpse of my hand. It’s gone! Completely invisible to the naked eye.

“Did I just…. !” I quietly giggle and Celina scolds me to shut up as a few more soldiers pass by. I plaster myself against the tree and think invisible thoughts. When they’re gone, I burst into a giggling fit, switching my invisibility on and off like a light switch. “f**k yeah! I can sneak out whenever I want too now. Poor Evan. He’s in for a real treat.”

We continue to use our camouflage and invisible powers to maneuver undetected until we reach the training grounds. Adrien, the head training instructor, eyes us suspiciously when we arrive.

“Luna, does Alpha know you’re here?” he sighs, rubbing his temples.

“Of course he does,” I smile innocently at him. “Oh, by the way, this is my sister Celina.”

“Nice to meet you,” he greets her. “Now, care to explain how you got here… without Alpha’s knowledge?” He asks, frowning at me.

My smile falters. “How did you-“

He starts to laugh. “Alpha warned us that you’d try to sneak your way here and he was very clear. You are never to set foot on the training grounds. No exceptions. Now go home. I’m sure Evan is probably losing his mind somewhere looking for you.”

“Please let us train. We need to be prepared for whatever this witch throws at us,” I argue.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot disobey Alpha’s commands. It’s out of my hands,” he shrugs, his eyes fogging over. “I’ve mind-linked Evan to come get you.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll take her back to the house in one piece. I promise,” Celina says, ushering me back in the direction we came from. Before Adrien can argue, Celina’s already dragged me away.

“What are you doing? I thought you wanted to train!” I hiss when we’re out of view.

“Oliver said we’re not allowed on the training grounds… so we won’t go to the training grounds,” she grins, tugging my arms and pulling me deeper in the woods. “We can practice using our powers somewhere else.”

I smile mischievously at her and we take off to replace a clearing for us to work.

“Ok, I think we should spar using our powers. Let’s start with the elements,” Celina instructs, getting into fighting position. “Come at me.”

“Celina, I’ve never sparred in my life and I don’t know how to control my powers all that well. What if I hurt you?” I ask, tentatively taking a weak fighting stance. “I have no control over the fire element. I could seriously injure you.”

“Moon Goddess said our powers compliment each other. We’re equals. Besides, you forget I can control the water element. I can handle some flames. Now come at me.”

She takes advantage of my hesitation and swings around to create strong gust of wind. I fly through the air and collide with a tree. She literally knocked the wind out me. When I look back up at her, her eyes glow violet and pink.

“If you think I’m going to go easy on you because you’re my sister, you’re dead wrong,” she calls out with smirk from the far side of clearing.

Come on, Aurora. Let’s show her what we’re made of! Reyna encourages.

I get to my feet quickly as a blade of wind comes rushing towards me and lift a chunk of earth to shield me. Celina charges at me and I stomp my foot on the ground, creating a small tremor and crack on the forest floor. She loses her balance slightly and I lift another chunk of earth and throw it as her, knocking her on a*s.

Game on.

For the next 15 minutes, we’re caught in a fierce battle of earth and air before Celina begins a water attack. Much like the violet flames I control, Celina can create her own ice and water or pull it from the moisture in the air. She freezes some water, creating a chain of ice. The end of the chain catches my wrist and traps me against a tree. She charges at me again, flinging sharp ice crystals at me which I manage to block with a wall of stone I create using my free hand. I’m apprehensive of using my fire element, but seeing that she has switched elements, I light a flame in the palm of my hand and melt the ice chain trapping my wrist.

I aim weak fire balls at her which she easily avoids.

“You’re holding back,” she says, aiming a wave of water at me. “Don’t. I can take it.”

Fire is fueled by your emotions, Reyna explains. It’s okay to be a little nervous but fear and anger will make you lose control. So don’t be afraid. She can take the heat.

I move out of the path of the wave and focus my energy on fire. Taking Reyna’s encouragement, I ramp up my flames and create a ring of violet fire around her. As she attempts to put it out, I sprint at full speed and aim a ray of powerful flames at her. She forms an X with her arms and blocks the fire with a shield of ice. My flames are strong, however, and she slides back a few feet. She surprises me, though and stomps a foot firmly on the ground. A row of ice rushes toward me on the ground and lifts up when it reaches me, flinging me into the air. I’m able to think quickly and land on the balls of my feet.

Feeling a new sense of confidence, I focus on the flames in my hands and they become flashes of lighting. Celina and I both stare at the violet lighting coming from my hands and she squeals.

“Now we’re talking!”

I center myself and emit a wave of lightning which Celina manages to block with a wall of water. She then sends the charged water hurdling towards me. Without thinking, a force field forms around me, protecting me from potential electrocution.

I drop the force field and before I can even comprehend what I just did, Celina shifts her weight on her back leg then pushes forward to transmit a earth shattering sonic scream. I’m knocked on my a*s instantly and struggle to get back on my feet as the sonic waves weaken me and hurt my sensitive ears. I finally manage to put up my shield and her screams dampen. She pants when she’s finished and I look around to see a mess of trees and branches littering the floor.

“Oh my Goddess,” Celina giggles. “That was f*****g awesome!”

“Did you see my force field?” I jump up excitedly. I make a new one around myself to show her and she shoots ice crystals at me to test it out. The force field deflects them easily. “Are you tired yet?” I grin.

“Tired? I’m just getting started,” she laughs, creating a floating pink ring of water around herself. “Let’s go!”

My palms light up in flames and I charge at her. We’re midway through a fire and water battle when we hear snarls emerging from the forest.