Regrets of The Fallen (Victis Honor Book 1) by Jake Taylor Read Free Book Online

Like, how about your race? I’m pretty sure you’re elven.”
    “Elf,” Haruka nodded, looking to Isabella. “Yours?”
    “Well, while blue hair is a possible elven feature, I think you’ve noticed my grey eyes ruin that,” she replied, receiving a nod from Haruka, who knew elven eyes were almost always bright and vivid in color, like her green ones. “I’m a second-generation fallen.” She smiled at Haruka. “Both parents.”
    Haruka tilted her head, her curiosity rising. “Type…?” she said, as if unsure if it was okay to ask. But then, Isabella had been nothing but honest with her so far, and if she didn’t want to answer she’d simply say so.
    “Father was a demon, mother was an angel.”
    “Rare?”
    “Not as much as you’d think, actually. So I hear, anyway. I’ve never actually been to the fallen capitol, Haldar, or really seen other fallen at all; my parents met before they became so.”
    That part actually was rare. Due to some racism in certain parts of the world, fallen almost always lived in The Floating City. “From?”
    “Where am I from?” Isabella looked at her as if deciding if she could be trusted. “Areya,” she said softly.
    Haruka blinked in surprise. Areya was far, far to the west; she’d never even known anyone who had been there. There was no point; even where they were now, outside Imperial lands, felt like far enough away from the ‘center of the world’ as people seemed to think of it. Areya was just some distant land beyond the distant lands, beyond the rocky plains of Mithlain, the forest beyond that, and even the mountains beyond that. “Far,” Haruka said, summing up what she thought about it in one word.
    Isabella smiled sadly. “Yes, it is.”
    “Left?”
    “For good? Yes.”
    “Return?”
    “No…” Isabella sighed. “I don’t plan on ever going back. There’s…” She looked at Haruka. “It’s the past. And I can’t go back to that past. I can’t… go back to that place.” She looked away. “I know I’m a coward…”
    Haruka caught her hand, causing her to look back at her. “Not,” she denied, shaking her head. “Difference,” she continued, moving her free hand to one spot to illustrate, “Running,” she moved her hand to a different spot, “Moving on.”
    Isabella smiled at her. “I do like your explanation better. I’ve been running until now, though.” She tilted her head, studying Haruka. “Maybe you’ll help me switch to moving on,” she said in a soft voice as if to herself.
    Haruka nodded. “Focus on future.”
    Isabella nodded as well, walking again. “You’re right, the future is what’s important. One can’t forget the past, though.”
    “Remember,” Haruka cautioned as she followed her, “not focus.”
    “Yes… I suppose I have a tendency to focus on the past sometimes. I can get dreadfully depressed and depressing. I apologize in advance for that, but you’re sweet enough not to mind, aren’t you?” She smiled at Haruka’s blush. “And you thought you were all hard. So tell me, Ruki, what age are you that has given you all this wisdom?”
    “Common?” Haruka asked. Receiving a nod in response she held up two fingers, then nine.
    “Twenty-nine? Me, too!” Isabella grinned. “Do you believe in fate, Haru?”
    Haruka coughed, unsure what to say. She decided on a shrug and a smirk, saying, “Maybe.”
    “You’re a good argument for fate, you know. What are the chances of my randomly meeting you here, in this town where neither of us lives, where neither of us often visits?” She paused, looking back at Haruka. “You don’t visit here often, right?”
    Haruka smiled a bit, shaking her head.
    “Then it’s FATE!” Isabella cried out, raising a hand victoriously. “Finally working in my favor for once!”
    Haruka chuckled. How could you not feel good when someone was so happy about having met you? She was still getting used to this, being around someone who was just glad that she was there .