A/N: Hello loves and new readers! I found that I like writing Wrathis a whole lot more than I like writing Abaddon. I think it's because I didn't see enough good father-daughter relationships in TV and movies when I was a child. Not that theirs could be considered a very close or very good relationship, but I think Wrathis is trying to be patient and welcoming with Bloom, so she appreciates him more than her mother.

Please please please leave some love on the way out! There are 98 followers on this thing; please review! Hope you loves enjoy the chapter! XOXOX

Chapter 20

Bloom was drying her swollen knuckles from a long, hot soak when a familiar voice echoed across her bed chamber.

"You should not fight so hard, take a rest."

"Ha ha," Bloom laughed dryly with no real humor. It was such a ridiculous concept, to take a break. She tossed the soiled towel to the ground, flexing her abused hands. They would be alright, but only if she managed not to hurt them between now and the next training session. "You try telling her Majesty that."

She didn't mean to sound as bitter as she did. But she could not help her tone, not when she was aching not only in her hands but in her head. Bloom had been nursing a terrible headache for the past week, and it had only been getting worse. The reason her hands had taken such a beating was because she had to use them as a shield in the arena when a blare of light caused her head to throb so violently she tripped and nearly threw up.

Of course, Abaddon was there to witness the embarrassment. That rejection only made Bloom's mood worse.

"Ah, I see."

Wrathis stepped into the room, his sigh knowing. Not that Bloom was doing anything to hide her displeasure, but her sire was a very intuitive creature. He did not push; he did not press. One of the reasons Bloom liked him so much. He did not force her to talk, knowing that eventually what Bloom wanted to say would come.

"Tell me all the reasons you love her," Bloom said, flexing her fingers one last time to make sure they still worked properly. "I need something to keep me from strangling her."

"As I have told you before, I admire Abaddon for a great many reasons: her determination, her devotion to her people, her unfailing strength - "

"Yes, but why do you love her?" Bloom asked again, this time meet Wrathis' eye. "Admiration and love are not the same thing."

"Love is a human concept. It is complicated, messy," Wrathis said, his nose wrinkled as he stepped closer. "Lust, admiration, those are sustainable, practical emotions. Those are the emotions the succubi practice. Love is..."

" - not a thing succubi do, got it," Bloom finished, heaving out a sigh. She should have expected something like that. Didn't mean that it was any less of a let down. "The problem is, as much of me is succubus, there is an equally big part that is human. If not genetically then spiritually. I need love to function. It's how I was raised to live, and Abaddon thinks she can just...beat that out of me."

"I suppose that method is not succeeding?" Wrathis guessed, a smile playing on those ridiculously perfect cupid bow lips.

"The only thing she is succeeding in is making me hate her," Bloom confessed, feeling like a traitor just for thinking it. "I don't want to hate my own mother, but she just..."

"She can be a lot to take, especially when she has placed so much on your shoulders," Wrathis sympathized, giving no hint that he was offended by Bloom's choice of words. "Perhaps I can talk to her - intervene on your behalf?"

"No, no that's fine. I need to settle this myself," Bloom insisted, rubbing at her sore temples. "All this stuff with Abaddon is murder on my head. I feel like my brain is going to pound out of my skull."

"Allow me," Wrathis said, reaching out for her.

In a rare display of affection, Wrathis ran calloused fingers through Bloom's hair, brushing just against her temples. She hissed at the sensation, the skin in that area sore and throbbing. Wrathis only chuckled, rubbed at the surrounding area soothingly, and pulled away.

"Well, I would not worry too much," he said, a thin grin on his lips. "It seems as though you are finally starting to grow your horns."

"What?"

Bloom scrambled up to the floor-length mirror in the corner, leaning in close to inspect her head. Sure enough, beneath the wild tangles of red hair, just as Wrathis had said, were two tiny, curved stumps. They were dark brown with a texture like fingernails, and easily missed due to their small size. Still, it was startling for Bloom to see actual proof of what she was. Until now, no physical manifestations of her succubus nature had presented except for her unnaturally curvaceous figure and the tendency to sprout claws and slitted eyes when enraged.

These were not manifestations of her rage; these were permanent bodily transformations.

Bloom was truly a succubus now.

"It will take nearly a decade for them to grow to their full size," Wrathis continued, coming up behind Bloom so that she could see his reflection in the mirror. It was studious, but proud. There was probably some part of him that was doubting her ability to assimilate to succubus culture, but this had to have alleviated that worry.

"How big will they get?" Bloom asked, curious as she gently probed the horns, still disbelieving of their existence.

"Hard to tell the shape and size this early on. Each succubus and incubus is different, though offspring tend to take on the physical features of their sires," Wrathis explained, cocking his head to the side as he studied Bloom. "Abaddon's horns are quite formidable, but generations of royal blood and selective breeding runs through her veins. Yours have the makings to be her equal, if not even larger."

Bloom tried to picture it: herself with horns as large as a ram's expanding from her long fiery hair to double the width of her head, the ends tapering down to rest on her shoulders. Would it be heavy? Would she learn to carry the weight? Bloom would much rather prefer horns like the ones Wrathis had - slick onyx that blended in with his hair, wrapping around his ears close to his skull so that the tiny points just barely brushed his throat when he turned his head. Succubi had much larger horns than incubi did though. Bloom would likely be a disappointment if she turned out to have such small horns.

"You are displeased?" Wrathis commented, looking concerned.

"Not displeased, just...overwhelmed," Bloom admitted, feeling just as lost as she did when she first arrived. "I know this is what I am supposed to be, but it's still so new, and still just as weird, and..."

Bloom didn't really know where she was going with that. The more she rambled, the harder it was to sort her feelings. All she really knew was that she wanted an ice pack and a long nap. Exhaustion from both a hard day of training and new revelations had taken its toll.

"I understand. No need to explain," Wrathis assured, cutting her off. "You will come to find your balance in time. Take as much as you need."

A wave of gratefulness washed over Bloom. Thank the Dragon at least one of her sires was understanding. She did not know what she would do if she had no one at all on her side.

"Thank you," Bloom replied, sincerity in her tone. "I should probably go wash up before dinner."

"A wise idea," Wrathis approved and inclined his head, leaving Bloom in peace.

Bloom heaved out a sigh and threw herself back down on her bed. Washing up could wait a while. Right now, she just needed rest.

Musa was pacing along the far wall of the conference room, her friends and Headmistress around her talking about their next move, when the atrium doors below rumbled the arrival of someone they thought was lost.

"Aisha," Musa let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank the Dragon you're alright. Where have you been?"

"I'm fine. Those witches got the upper hand on me, tried to kill me but I gave 'em a good run for their money," Aisha grumbled, throwing down her broken weapons on the table. The prickly princess looked like she had been through hell and back: her clothes dirty and torn, her hair a mess, her body a canvas of bruises and cuts. But there she stood, just as furious and full of hellfire as usual. "They knew we were coming. The position had been compromised. That's how they found me."

"Fuck," Musa hissed, slamming both her hands down on the table in frustration. She had practically begged Aisha for help, and this was what happened? It was a miracle the succubus hunter would even look in Musa's direction without wishing her dead. There was no way Aisha was going to want to help now...no way...

"What are we going to do now?" Flora asked, her tone quiet but stoic. She had become far more reserved these days.

"Maybe I can get in touch with Riven? See what he knows..." Musa tried, knowing it was a long shot at best. Whatever information Riven knew was too risky to get this close to the cusp. Plus, it was too late to arrange a safe house for the exchange.

"We should evacuate," Stella suggested, studying the map on the wall. "There's enough time between now and daybreak where we can take the remaining Red Fountain cruisers and make a run for it. I'm sure Solaria will be willing to take us...well, me at least."

"That is desperate and beneath us," Miss Faragonda rejected the idea, frowning in Stella's direction. "We shall not abandon our home, not when it needs us most."

"Look around! The school is gone! This is nobody's home!" Stella shouted, throwing her arms in the air. "We've wasted so much time fighting your war - some of us actually have families and responsibilities to other planets to get back to!"

"What would Solaria do if that cruiser was shot out of the sky by Icy's hail storm or Stormy's tornadoes, and their precious princess went down with the ship, hmm? Would you really risk your life and your peoples' future because of your impatience?" Miss Faragonda hissed, displeased with Stella's insubordination.

"What is Solaria going to do when three psychotic witches with an army of zombies and the Dragon Flame comes for it and its princess is too busy running around a dead planet on some stubborn old woman's suicide mission?" Stella replied cooly, her voice barely restraining its disgust. She stepped into Faragonda's space and jabbed a finger into the Headmistress' breast bone. "I may be impatient, but I'm not the one who's wrong. It's been a year. Nothing is going to change. Accept that. Because the longer you keep us here, the more of us are going to die, and those deaths are on your head."

With that, Stella turned on her heel and stormed off. As impetuous and bratty as she could be, Stella did make a few good points. They made a lasting impression on Flora, who began to step away from the group, her arms wrapped around her torso in comfort. It was no secret that she was terribly homesick, that she longed for her mother and sister. And out of all of them, Flora was the most affected by what had happened, not only with the witches but by Bloom. Flora wanted out more than anyone, and Musa feared that Stella may have tipped the nature fairy onto her side.

The Headmistress, who was now thoroughly enraged, stormed off towards her office, no doubt plotting some kind of terrible chore or reconnaissance mission to punish the whole for Stella's outburst.

"Now that the show is over, if you will all shut up for a moment, I may just have a plan," Aisha spoke over the crowd that had started murmuring, drawing the attention back towards her. Musa was stunned, far too grateful for the girl's continued assistance when helping them had brought Aisha nothing but trouble. It truly spoke volumes to the strength of her character. "When the witches had me, they got lazy. They thought I was unconscious, so they slipped up and mentioned their latest plans."

"That does not sound like the Trix at all," Tecna commented, arching one eyebrow in suspicion. "In all the time we have been locked in this war, never once have they made a mistake that egregious."

"I don't know what to tell you," Aisha shrugged with a sharp look, obviously not liking being questioned. "All that power must've gone to their heads, especially after that disaster of a last battle. They must think it'll be a matter of when, not if, they win at this point."

"Aisha's right," Flora chimed in dimly, her eyes flat and heavy. "We are hanging by a thread. There's barely a handful of us left, and we've only got rations to last through the end of the month. The Trix are going to win..."

"Come on Flo, have some faith! We've made it this far!" Musa encouraged, hating that she too felt the dread settling in her soul. "Tell us your plan, Aisha."

It was the only option left.

"We need to take the fight back to them at Lake Roccaluce," Aisha spoke with confidence, both hands splayed on the large meeting table to hold her up, everyone's attention on her. "They weren't just opening a portal. The ice bitch said something about an entity in the lake that would help unlock secrets of the Dragon Flame - whatever that means. They'll be there tomorrow night when the moon is at its fullest, finishing what they started."

That was a lot to ask. Musa sucked in a breath through her teeth, the wounds from the previous disaster at the same lake smarting. They had yet to heal, and from the looks of it, no one looked too keen on returning any time soon.

"And how are we to be assured that the Trix had not simply let you overhear their plan with the intent to lure us into a trap?" Tenca commented offhandedly, her brow still furrowed. It was no secret that she did not trust or even like Aisha, and there was even more dislike in the tone of her comment.

"I guess we don't know. But what do we have to lose?...other than our lives," Aisha countered, arms crossed as she stared Tecna down.

"All in favor," Musa called for a vote, her own hand raised.

"The risk is astronomical," Tecna implored, grabbing onto Musa's wrist in urgency. Those bright, teal eyes had never begged for anything, but they were begging Musa to reconsider now. However, Musa could not put aside what could be best for the group just to satisfy Tecna's suspicion. There was too much at stake to just sit still and do nothing when an opportunity like this arose.

"Even if it is a trap, it's still our best bet at getting to the Trix while they're unarmed," Musa replied, freeing her wrist and returning her attention to the group. She purposely ignored the waves of hurt coming from her side where Tecna was nursing her wounded pride. "So I vote we go."

"So do I," Aisha backed Musa up, smug pride sneaking in at her victory over Tecna.

Musa cast a glance over to the most silent member of the group, the nature fairy worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "Flo?"

The girl looked guiltily over at Tecna before saying, "I'm so tired of war...I just want to go home. If this gets me there, I say we fight. One last time."

"One last time," Tecna echoed, resignation and defeat etched in every line of her body. Musa remembered Tecna saying that she would always support Musa; Musa wondered just how far she was willing to drag Tecna and the girl would still go. By the way everyone was acting, it seemed as though she was dragging them to their graves.

"We will win this," Musa said with confidence that she did not have.

"Of course," Tecna replied and tried to smile, but it was ghost of the ones they used to share, not at all convincing and very heartbreaking. "I shall go inform the others of the new plan. Excuse me."

Tecna did not even wait until she had finished her sentence before she started walking away. Musa felt her heart ache and stretch after her lover. This was not how she wanted to end this conversation; she always hated it when they had squabbles. The last thing Musa wanted to do was go into this battle at odds with the one person she cared about. But Tecna needed space, everything about her radiated that message. Musa just hoped there would be time to fix things before shit hit the fan.

"Don't worry about her," Aisha said, drawing Musa's attention from the back of Tecna's magenta head. "She'll come around. In the meantime, we have a strategy that won't plan itself."

"Yeah, you're right," Musa sighed and shook her head, getting back into the game. This was no time to lose focus. "Now, what we really need is the element of surprise..."