Sapphyra [Adult Superhero Progression]

“Mm.” Wyatt murmured for the fourth time as we walked around the shroomies house. Shroomies is what I decided to call them…in my head.

“Mm, what?” I asked, irritation in my voice.

“You seem on edge. And here I thought you’d be happy with Mister perfect back in your life.” He teased me but I’d been married to him long enough to know when he was probing. Some secrets I would take to the grave…or at least until I got too uncomfortable to carry them and I blurt them out awkwardly.

Whichever comes first.

“You see anything, Wyatt?” Guy asked, hovering over the ground again. He whistled as he moved. It unsettled not only Silla but me too. Whatever polite wall we’d built up before was shattered in that tavern and I kept replaying it in my mind because apparently I’m a masochist.

Or I’m just crazy–probably both.

“Do you see anything yet? Should I bring out his belongings so you can sniff them,your creativeness?” I felt for Silla but I hated any kind of title. I’d already reminded her not to do that five times now.

“Silla. It’s Sapphyra, please don’t call me anything else.”

“You could call her cottoncandy—”

“Shut the fuck up!” I sharply corrected a smirking Guy. The ache in my hands to wring his stupidly thick neck was growing by the second and he knew it! Why does he insist on torturing me?

“If you two are done being children, I may have found something over here that could help.” Wyatt called out, leading us to the back of the Shroomies house where scorch marks lay near a crack in the wall on the back side, only a few feet away from the back door. Wyatt's index and middle finger pressed together, pointing at the marks and onto light footsteps that stop once they hit deep marsh water.

That stopped Guy in his smug tracks. He floated down and crossed his arms.

“Let me guess; you think a dragon took him and dragged him off into any number of water logged directions?”

I resisted the urge to punch him, settling for comforting Silla instead. Her wails for Corre broke my heart and I glared at Guy over her non-existent shoulders.

He shrugged, unsure what it was he’d done wrong. Asshole.

Wyatt shook his head, a soft sigh rolling from his lips. He took my hand and gently pulled me to the side, though I doubt Guy wouldn’t be eavesdropping.

“What the hell happened between you two?” his tone was harsh and justly so. We were distracted from the mission—something Wyatt detests.

I blinked, unused to Wyatt talking so…so much like me.

“Does it matter?” Why did I say that? It would have been better to just lie.

“Princess, answer me. What happened?” He lowered the bridge of his glasses, staring up into my nervous gaze. I was sweating so much I’d probably fog them up from where I was standing. My gut was a ball of bouncing nerves, threatening to kick my heart out through my throat.

Shit.

“Before I tell you, you have to promise you won’t freak out.”

“I will not. I will remain civil but you know what ‘freak out’ looks like on me. Talk.”

The irony, the man who holds all the secrets is demanding even more…at least he has a right to these.

“I talked to him about Sanctuary, about seeing him there. He’d been dreaming of me too.” I stopped there, praying he’d let it go.

“And?” Of course he didn’t.

I could see Guy floating away out of the corner of my eye, eyeing the ground like he was following clues—but his face was turned in our direction. Silla followed closely behind him. What I wouldn’t give to have my wings back right now.

Might as well rip off the bandaid.

“And we got a little too close and bumped foreheads…and he kissed mine to make it feel better.”

In all my life, I’d only seen Wyatt’s left eye twitch twice. Once for extreme stress during my doctors visits—he’d called them all incompetent and gotten us banned from maternity wards up and down the city. And second; when a biker slapped my ass at a punk rock concert.

The second one landed Wyatt in jail for a night and that biker…last I’d heard of him, he was still in a coma, beaten within an inch of his life.

“Alright.” It was something about the way he said it that rattled me. He adjusted his glasses, the glare of the rising sun made it impossible to see his eyes now.

“Alright? Wyatt–” he held up a hand and gave me a soft smile.

“Don’t worry. It’s done.”

It’s done? Oh shit. I don’t know why I’m suddenly more afraid of the walking ghost than I am of the super brick over there but either way, they cannot kill each other.

“Hey! We got something over here. A hatch. Hurry up, you two! Kiss when it's all over.”

Did this bastard have to say kiss? For fucks sake. I almost wanted to let Wyatt off the leash–not that I actually controlled him.

Wyatt just smiled coolly, took my hand in his and led me towards the other two. A manhole cover, a few feet aboveground, met us.

“Is this part of the city’s sewer system? It’s so high up.”

Guy snorted, “it’s not that high.” His eyes flickered to my hand intertwined with Wyatt's. The tiniest hint of his jaw ticked up into a scowl and then vanished.

“It’s part of the system I designed and pushed the mayor to add before everything went to shit.” The same mayor he blackmailed, mind you that guy was corrupt as fuck anyway.

Wyatt nodded at me, “go ahead, princess. It’s even big enough to keep your pretty pink crown dry.”

30 years old and he still makes me blush like a schoolgirl.

“Wait, Wyatt, how–” he cut me off as we made our descent into the depths down the old metallic ladder.

“Told you, I knew the world was going to shit. I also knew that Cyran City was built on an underground lake. Which is why I had this made.” As we each reached the bottom, we fumbled around in the dark until Wyatt clapped his hands.

All around us was a clear tube like structure, an aquarium that showed all the marsh marine life. Everything was lit up by bioluminescent mushrooms yet it didn’t feel broken—it screamed intentional.

Of course, Wyatt made an underground bunker…with the world's prettiest view. We glanced at each other and shared a sweet smile. But as I took in the sheer number of large metal doors nearby, I couldn’t stop the growing dread in my belly.

“Corre…he could be in any one of these.” Silla whispered.

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