To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Chapter 62: Obliterate you

Raisa understood the depth of forever. Before, her mind could not process how big the universe was; that it was impossible for her to reach out and touch a star, but now she knew. The universe wasn't just the distance between things, it was time and energy as well. Each world she visited along with every reality was just a different time in a different place.

She tried to think back to a time when the world was just land, water, air, living and non-living things, but that felt so long ago. She could barely remember her life before the mirror. Everything was so confusing, she couldn't tell if her memories happened in her real life or was it all a part of the mirror? Did she even really meet her mate or was it just an alternate timeline?

It didn't matter if their meeting wasn't real. Sometimes, she even wished they never meet, if only to keep him from heartbreak and disappointment. If it was all real... Gods it broke her heart to think about him still waiting for her.

That was one of the many ways her heart broke within this eternity in the mirror. Seeing her mother die broke her heart. Caius broke her heart in a thousand different ways. Losing Wylla broke her heart. Even Azriel broke her heart more than once. What was one of the worst parts of the mirror- seeing Azriel die time after time. But after a while, she started to feel numb each time she watched him die. It's just the mirror, she reminded herself. It's not real.

She wasn't even sure if Wylla showing up in Vallahans's royal gardens was real. The little girl looked older but it didn't make sense that after all these years of searching for her, she would be in Raisa's world. And then Raisa heard Wylla's voice and it lead her to Fenrys and Kya.

Wylla was just sitting with her family as if she had never gone missing, and then she saw Raisa. The little girl gave Raisa hope that she could truly get out of the mirror. But it was all just a cruel joke being played on her by the mirror because that hope was snapped in half as Wylla started to bleed out in front of her then vanished.

Raisa had just stood there for a moment, looking down at her shaking bloody hands. This is Wylla's blood. Why did the mirror have to be so cruel? She deserved it though for what she did all those centuries ago, this was her punishment. Raisa dropped to her knees and tried not to cry, but she couldn't help the tears that formed. She had missed Wylla, and the chance to be free from this prison was something she forgot about; somehow the mirror was creative enough to hit her where it hurts.

"Rai. Please, help me."

She looked up at the blue sky at the sound of Wylla's voice. It felt so far away yet lingered in her ears. Raisa covered her ears with her hands as she heard Wylla begin to cry and scream. It sounded as if someone was hurting her- Raisa didn't want to hear it- she wanted the noise to stop.

"Please! Wake up! I don't care if you're a monster, I need your help!" Wylla cried. "Please, Rai."

A sob pushed through Raisa. She wished she could help Wylla but there was nothing she could do- she was stuck here. Stuck here because she was a monster and a coward.

I don't care if you're a monster, Raisa's thoughts lingered on those words. Did that mean Wylla knew how terrible Raisa had been? And yet, she still asked for her help.

Raisa often feared that if Azriel was waiting for her and she returned to him, he would soon realize that he deserved better. Raisa feared returning to a world where she had no title, no home, and a mate that didn't want her- and maybe that's part of why she stayed in the mirror. In the Ouroboros, she didn't have to face the harsh reality of her world.

None of that mattered though. Not when Wylla needed her help. It didn't matter what Raisa had done or had not because she cared about Wylla and she would do anything to make sure she was safe. For the first time, Raisa wanted to get out of the mirror not because of the horrible things she saw but because she had someone that needed her.

"I'm coming, Wylla," Raisa climbed to her feet. She would rip this world apart to get to Wylla if she had to, she would gladly be that monster.

Raisa woke up in a gasp. She looked around the room and cursed to herself because this wasn't where she wanted to be. She was so fucking tired of this damn vision in the mirror that it made her want to scream. The mirror had ripped her away from Wylla's cries and threw her into her bedroom where Caius was beating Azriel bloody.

How many times had she seen this play out before? It was almost pathetic that the mirror was showing her this now. She had to figure out how to get to Wylla, but first she needed a drink of water.

"Raisa," Caius' eyes widened at the sight of her. His fist paused from hitting Azriel in the face.

She ignored him, stumbling out of her bed on weak legs and over to her dresser. The room was silent as everyone watched her devour two glasses of water. Her throat had been like sandpaper. Then she slowly turned around to see Caius still holding down Azriel, who had one eye swollen shut and the other focusing in her direction. Something was off about her mate though... His shadows are missing.

Raisa looked to Sinna standing in the corner of the room with her Wraiths. That made sense, she must have scared his shadows away. "Give him his shadows back then leave us," Raisa refilled her glass and sat down on the couch. Her body ached with exhaustion.

"No," Caius hissed.

"As you wish, majesty," Sinna curtisied then clapped. As the sound echoed through the room, the light faded in intensity and shadows slowly crept to Azriel and clung on. Another curtsy and Sinna left the room with her wraiths.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Azriel landed a satisfying blow to Caius' temple. More and more shadows began to swarm around her mate and she could tell it made his movements more confident. Raisa covered her smile with her hand as Azriel brutally slammed his fist into Caius as if he was a punching bag.

But Caius had over a century on Azriel and he had always been magically gifted. Caius lashed out with a powerful whip that Raisa knew from experience would be painful but Azriel caught it and pulled Caius directly into his fist.

Azriel hissed in pain as Caius' whip grew in length and traveled up his arm like a snake. Raisa could already smell his flesh burning under Caius' magic.

"Caius," Raisa's voice was calm. "I just want you to know that if you kill him, I will not hesitate to use my powers to obliterate you."

Caius paused, looking at Raisa with a challenging smirk. He jumped away from Azriel, causing his whip to tighten and cut through Azriel's arms. Raisa didn't even respond to the amount of blood that fell from Azriel because this wasn't real. This was just the mirror.

"After all these centuries, you would use your powers to their full extent?" Caius lifted his chin up. He didn't believe her. "Even after what you did to your mother?"

Raisa was tired of this same conversation with him. She rested her head back and sighed, "honestly, I don't really care anymore. I don't even care if you kill him because this isn't real. I'm just telling you I'm obligated to kill you in return."

"Obligated?" Caius laughed and looked to see if Azriel was laughing too.

No surprise, Azriel wasn't laughing. He was staring at Raisa as if they were the only two in the room. His body was leaning towards her and ready to close the distance. She looked away from him and back to her husband.

"Mhm," she kicked her feet onto the coffee table and rubbed her temple. She had one hell of a headache. "Can we just relax for a moment?"

Caius decided to play nice and took a seat in the chair facing her, "Of course, dear, but to be clear, I will end up killing him."

"Fine with me," she rested her heavy eyelids. It felt like a lifetime since she was this tired. She also wasn't bothered because she had seen Caius kill Azriel a thousand times, this time wouldn't be any different. "He dies, you die. But you might want to hear what I have to say because I've learned a few things you would love to know."

Raisa didn't know the first step to getting out of the mirror and to Wylla, but if there was one thing she did learn, it was how to make Caius suffer. 

A/N: Hope you all are doing fine:) Feel free to vote and comment, I always love hearing from you all! Question: Which POV do you like the best: Raisa, Azriel, or Wylla?