Chapter 524: The Prisoner

The remainder of Owyn’s time in the House of Stars passed in a blur of intense and constant training. Arc, despite her fight with Amarena, threw herself into training with an intensity Owyn had never seen before, burdening herself with expectations that even he recognized as unattainable.

Physically, she pushed herself harder, especially during sparring, when she would often pull in Anko once Owyn was exhausted. Just as Owyn never seemed to win against Arc, Arc never won against Anko, who deftly handled Arc without so much as a stain on her uniform.

Mentally, Owyn had near-constant headaches from trying to absorb all the magical knowledge Arc was forcing him to read about. She absolutely insisted that he get his casting down to at least one-word spells, and any slacking on his part was punished during their spars. Those spars only got more intense as they went from unenhanced to enhanced combat. Arc would test him by having him match her level of enhancement, breaking various targets to prove they were evenly matched before their spars would begin.

He lost even harder than when they were just fighting normally, which felt even more wrong to him, finally drawing out a level of frustration he’d held back.

"Godsdammit, you’re cheating, aren’t you?! That’s the only way that explains why I can’t keep up!" They were supposed to be evenly matched on speed, endurance, and power for the fight, but even so, he still couldn’t land a solid hit on Arc. "You’re too fast."

"I’m not too fast, you’re too slow," Arc cracked back. "I thought you’d have it figured out by now."

"So you admit you’re cheating!" Owyn pointed.

"What? Screw that. I thought you said you were the smartest kid in your clan or whatever."

"Well, apparently there’s a limit! Somewhere between stuffing my head with whole books and trying to figure out how a demon chipmunk is beating the shit out of me!"

"Children!" Anko snapped, right as the two were about to come to blows. They’d forgotten she was there, monitoring them. Holding a pair of saucers with her lower hands, she lifted the cups from them with her upper ones. "Drink some tea."

They quickly took up their cups. Neither of them wanted to fight Anko, and Owyn knew from watching the maid fight Arc that she could beat Arc the same way Arc beat him. They’d even fought without Anko enhancing while Arc did, and the result was only a slightly longer match.

The normal-sized teacup looked daintier than it actually was, with the handle pinched between two of Owyn’s fingers. As Arc and Owyn sipped, staring daggers at each other, Anko spoke. "Owyn, do you feel like there’s a lag between trying to hit Arc and your body actually doing it?"

"He’s just-" Arc started, only to be shushed by Anko.

"Um," Owyn licked tea from his lips. "Yeah, I guess."

"Then that’s the problem. You’re speeding up your body, but you aren’t putting any mana into your mind to match it. That’s how Arc’s been able to run circles around you." She looked over at Arc.

"I knew that!" Arc said, "I was just waiting for him to figure it out."

"Mhm," Anko sounded her disbelief. "If you knew it, then you owe Owyn an apology."

Arc gaped incredulously, before crossing her arms and looking away. "I forgot about it..." she muttered.

"Let’s hope one day you evolve beyond forgetting," Anko said, her voice stern.

"Evolve?" Owyn asked, forgetting the mood for the moment as his curiosity won out.

"Angels evolve," Anko said. "Demons and some beastfolk as well. Angels grow in power. Demons tend to undergo more physical changes. In the case of the last, it tends to be a bit more gradual."

"Oh," Owyn thought for a moment. "So because Arc is a demon, she’ll undergo changes?"

"I’m only part demon," Arc pouted.

"This is true. Arc is three-quarters angel by birth."

Owyn had never heard of demons and angels getting together, much less having children. But then again, as far as he knew, demons tended to stick to their own continent, and angels could only be found in the Empire. So everything he knew about them came from stories.

"There are also ways to transform a person towards angelic or demonic traits. This is called transubstantiation," Anko finished her explanation. "But such a thing is heavily restricted here in Norneau."

"Why do you look like that, if you’re mostly angel?" Owyn asked.

"Why do you look like that despite being mostly donkey?" Arc snapped back. "I don’t know!"

Owyn let the taunt slide, which only seemed to make Arc angrier. Again, he thought that she was kind of adorable when she was angry. Getting a rough lesson on how to accelerate his thoughts from Anko, they ended up sparring only once before he had to call it quits. His nose was bleeding profusely from the strain, but he’d managed to keep Arc from landing a decisive blow.

After receiving a light healing potion from Anko, he was actually feeling a little giddy about fighting Arc to a draw when he looked up and noticed he was alone in a part of the manor that he didn’t recognize.

His first instinct was to turn around, but somehow even trying to backtrack only brought him back to where he first noticed he was lost. The second time this happened, he heard the laughter of small children in the distance.

Owyn knew there was a wing of the mansion that, largely run by Cassiel and Anko, where Arc’s younger siblings resided until they were old enough to have their own rooms. He thought that if he followed the sounds of laughter, he would at least find someone who could guide him back. He turned his steps toward the sounds, but as he walked, he started to feel a strange sort of weight upon his senses.

Sometimes he would be at the beginning of one hall only to find himself at the end of it, with no memory of what happened in between. Eventually, he stopped trying to navigate and tried shouting "Hello?" up the hallway, hoping someone would hear and come to his aid.

"Over here!" an unfamiliar, feminine voice called back.

Owyn walked a bit further, only to find himself in the middle of a hallway. "I’m, uh, a bit lost..." he called out again.

"This way!"

Owyn turned to find a large pair of double doors facing him. He wondered how he’d failed to notice them before. But the moment he felt alarm, something seemed to soothe his unease right before the voice beckoned him to open the door.

"Come inside my parlor," the voice said. It was impossible for him to resist. And the moment he opened the door, he found himself entering a well-lit room.

Books lay about in haphazard piles. Towards one wall was a long chaise, and beyond the small parlor and its lamps, a library stretched across the entire first, second, and third floors. And lying upon the chaise was the most beautiful, angelic woman Owyn had ever seen.

It was as though the very essence of womanly beauty had been distilled into a single person. She reclined with a closed book between her fingers, staring up at Owyn like a lioness - No, the thought seemed to edit itself - like a kitten. Her long, pink-blonde hair cascaded to her hips as she sat up. Her piercing, purple eyes with golden flecks reminded him of Arc’s blue ones.

But why was he thinking about Arc now? She was supposed to be looking after him but she’d let him wander off on his own.

"So... you’re the boy who’s been staying over." Sne let the book rest on the arm of the chaise. Her words were honey and starlight. Her tone was filled with authority behind its gentle cadence. And her lips were juicy and red as she licked them, revealing for just a moment her sharp little canine teeth.

The mysterious woman hovered off the chaise, flowing around Owyn with a grace no earthbound mortal could accomplish. Her dress flowed with her, tails of shimmering cloth hovering just above the carpet. His eyes caught a hint of pinkish white beneath the folds of her dress. She had hooves instead of-

"Hmph," an the girl made an uncomfortable sound and suddenly Owyn forgot what he was looking at. "So you’re a giant... I have to say you don’t look half-bad... Maybe I should steal you from her. Would you like that? What’s your name?"

"Owyn," he replied, his eyes locking onto hers.

"Answer me, Owyn."

"I..." He felt... something... slide off of his mind. "I’m not... Who are you?" he asked.

The girl let out a little sigh. "I’m shocked and appalled that my sister didn’t tell you about me... But I suppose even she is wary of me, the black sheep of the House of Stars." The girl drew herself up, and suddenly, Owyn remembered. "The first and only prisoner of my father’s hubris."

"You’re Atikka," he said.

The angelic demoness smiled.

"Yes. I. Am..."