To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Chapter 67: Settle down

 Rai was unhinged, Azriel thought as he watched her slam her head into the wall. He thought that had knocked some sense into her because she had stopped saying "this isn't real," but then she sat down in front of him and Wylla, blood running down her face from where she hit her head and scratched her cheeks, and then she smiled. As if there wasn't a worry in the world.

He let himself admit it, the mirror took a bigger toll on her mind than he initially thought. He was naive to have hoped she would pop out of the mirror and be fine.

When he realized what exactly she was doing, his senses went into overdrive, telling him his mate's life was in danger. She had already looked drained, her veins were visible under her waxy skin, her eyes were unfocused, but he felt it in the bond between him that she was ready for death.

Her magic was the only thing that confused him. Her skin glowed with power that begged for release- the air around her crackled as if kissed by lightning.

"What are you doing?" Azriel asked as he watched Rai take one of Wylla's hands in both of hers. His instincts told him to pull Wylla away from her, but she was his mate. He should trust her. But he didn't. He trusted that Rai would never want to hurt him but he did not trust Rai with her own life.

This felt like goodbye again.

As if his heart wasn't already ripped to shreds- his mate was choosing to leave him again. He couldn't believe this was happening- only moments before he felt like the cauldron had given him the greatest blessing in the world by safely returning his mate. What a twisted joke this had turned out to be.

"Rai," he said her name as if it would snap some sense into her.

A physical shot of pain in his chest had him hunching over and grinding his teeth to suppress a groan. It wasn't the same feeling of being shot with an arrow, it was the twisting and snapping of the bond as his mate's eyes drifted shut and her life began to fade.

"Azriel," she gave him a peaceful smile. "I'll choose you in the next life."

At that, no amount of pain or sorrow could keep him down. Dark Illyrian wings shot out wide, his eyes burned into his mate as he ripped Wylla away from Rai and climbed to his feet. He ignored the feeling of his ribs digging splinters into his chest and stared Rai down. He knew how he must look- his shadows violently circling him, wings in a defensive position, and a dead girl in his arms, but he didn't care.

Now, he was mad.

"Azriel," Rai bared her teeth at him, her eyes pleading. "Just let me do it. This isn't real, she'll come back and I'll go somewhere else in the mirror."

"No."

Her eyes turned dark. She climbed to her feet, still shaking with an aggressive charge of magic. She took one step forward, he took one back. She paused, anger glinting in her eyes.

"Don't make me hurt you," she shook her head. "Even if we are in the mirror, I don't like to see you in pain, but I will bring Wylla back."

Azriel's smirk was filled with venom, "Go ahead, love."

Her lips pinched together. He could feel the anxiety of fighting rushing through her veins just as it did his. He wouldn't go easy on her. Not when she was trying to sacrifice her life.

If he was going to fight his mate, he couldn't do it properly with a child in his arms. Rai held back as he gently rested Wylla against the wall.

"I'm not losing you," Azriel turned and said with a lump in his throat. Damn, he was being selfish but... he couldn't let her go like this. She needed help, time, to get away from this hell.

"You're not," she snapped. "We'll find each other again and again. We always do."

He shook his head. What did he have to say or do to prove that this was real? That if she died here, that would be the end. While thinking this, he realized he forgot one thing: Rai was fast as hell.

His wings slammed closed in just enough time to hit Rai as she winnowed to his backside and aimed for his neck. Her movements were slower than she had been five years ago, perhaps she was tired or maybe she was hesitating.

Azriel didn't hesitate. He dropped to the ground, spun around and kicked her legs right out from under her. As soon as her back hit the ground, she was flipping over to her stomach and pushing herself to her feet. Azriel was on her within a second, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and lifted her off the ground.

"Just let me go," she growled as she thrashed in his arms like a wild cat. Her heels connected with his shins and she slammed the back of her head into his jaw. If only he could knock her out- but he wouldn't choke his mate into an unconscious state.

"Not until you settle down," he hissed into her ear.

She still struggled against him but her movements grew tired. It wasn't until he felt her chest hiccup did he realize she was crying. "This isn't real," she trembled in his arms. "This isn't real."

Azriel didn't know what else to do. There was only one way he thought of to prove that this was real- the mating bond. It was the one thing he believed in without a single doubt. She was his mate and their souls were connected. He knew this with every fiber in his body.

And so, five years after meeting his mate, Azriel finally marked her.