Cursed

This was it.

The day she became a hero.

Many trials waited before she became a sanctioned defender: years of study, training, and a probationary assignment as a sidekick. But today, she spread her wings for the first time.

The world admired the Bless clan for the strength and utility of their lumomancy, but Sia knew their greatest advantage was the hereditary nature of their gift. For centuries, Bless daughters had received the same power. Talent and hard work determined how it developed, but there were generations of knowledge for them to learn from.

Those generations surrounded her, her sisters, cousins, and aunts singing to her in a beautiful chorus. Leading them was her mother, her golden wings so large the stone chamber could barely contain them.

Something inside her resonated with their voices, expanding. A giddy smile curled her lips as she imagined her maiden flight, taking to the sky alongside her sisters instead of in her mother’s arms.

Just as the energy was about to burst forth, warming her skin with anticipation, a spike of pain turned her smile into a grimace. Where it lodged in her chest, a terrible cold spread, rapidly engulfing her body.

As tears welled in her eyes, the whispers started. A dozen voices chanting in a snarling language she imagined monsters might bark at one another. The chanting grew louder, and the spike was driven deeper, the pain worsening—

“Sia.”

She looked through blurry vision to find her mother standing over her, wings gone. Her mouth was smiling but her eyes were sad. The chorus had ended. Sia hadn’t sprouted her wings. They thought…

“Nooo.”

Her pained moan was silenced by her mother’s embrace. “It’s alright,” a comforting voice whispered against her ear. “You’re still my angel.”