To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Chapter 69: Death asked

Azriel had just marked his mate and yet.... She walked away from him. It didn't feel like rejection but what else would he call it? It wasn't the right time, she wasn't thinking clearly, he wasn't thinking clearly. This whole thing was a damned mess. He shouldn't have marked her. Now wasn't the right time but at least she calmed down.

Or so, he thought.

In his centuries of life, Azriel knew exactly what the swell of power before the release felt like. He himself had even released a wave of magic so deadly it shattered through four of his siphons and the first floor of one of Rhys' summer homes. That was when he knew he needed a fifth siphon for more control. In all those times someone else lost control of their magic- especially if they were incredibly powerful- he got the hell out of dodge.

His shadows panicked, howling for him to winnow away. Forget them and leave. Wylla is already dead. He jerked the shadows away with his wings. The air around him was becoming thinner as Rai's body glowed brighter with her magic rising to the surface. Her body was shaking with the magic and he knew any second now, everything around her would turn to ash.

He didn't feel like running anymore. His knees went weak and he dropped to the floor, just staring at Rai's glowing back. She was like the sun, bright and beautiful, but capable of burning everything in her path. Maybe that's what he wanted. To touch the sun. He remembered as a boy yearning for the sun on his skin when he was trapped in the darkness. The sun had always brought him comfort, he liked its warmth and the tingle of his skin when he spent too much time in its presence.

His eyes drifted shut and he saw his brothers' faces. He saw Cassian getting hit in the face with a snowball and Rhys laughing as he ducked behind his snow fort. He saw Mor sitting on the couch across from him and talking to him all night with a smile, even if she was exhausted, just because she knew Azriel didn't want to be alone. He saw Elain knocking on his bedroom door with a small potted plant in her hand. She brought it all the way to the House of Wind to show him simply because it was shaped like a butt and she wanted him to laugh. He thought of all the others who had touched his life: Feyre, Amren, his mother, Rhys' mother, Wylla, Rhys' sons, and even Nesta.

He was thinking of them when he whispered, "Thank you for this life."

He waited for the blast to hit him. He knew it would knock him right into the afterlife and it would be so quick he wouldn't feel a thing. His lungs filled with a shuddering breath, he held it, knowing it would be his last.

When Rai finally released her magic, it was the loudest thing Azriel had ever heard. The sound itself was like a punch that left his ears numb and ringing. He kept his eyes firmly shut and waited... and waited.

That's the funny thing about death, he thought, he had never experienced it so was this it? Silence and darkness. His body still felt heavy and ached but he wasn't burning alive. His hand went up to his ear to feel a wetness that must be blood, he kept his eyes shut though in hopes that death was still coming for him.

Death took its sweet time. At least, Azriel had thought, but when he opened up his eyes, he saw that Death had arrived, but not for him.

"Rai!" He roared, climbing to his feet.

Death took the form of a monster. Even Azriel's shadows cried out at its presence and pleaded for him to stay away. But Death held Rai in its grasp, its dark taloned hand wrapped around her throat and holding her up to its red eyes.

Rai did not look at Death with fear in her eyes, she almost looked relieved. She had a broken smile and her body was slumped in Death's grasp.

Azriel pulled out Truthteller, not caring that he was thinking about going up against Death with a blade, and he flared his wings out, "Let her go."

Death looked at him and smiled, it sent shivers down Azriel's spine. Did this beast think it was funny or was it mocking him? This only made Azriel's anger turn cold. Death's gaze shifted to Rai, its expression was almost humor filled as he set her on her feet and steadied her.

"Have you calmed down now?" Death asked her. "Or do I need to silence your magic again?"

Rai nodded slowly and Death patted her on the head, "good."

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

It was an odd sight. Death was so large that it had to crane its neck to keep its head from touching the ceiling, Rai almost looked like a child standing beside it- but she wasn't afraid.

Death's head slowly turned until it was looking past Azriel. He didn't have to turn around to see that Death was looking at Wylla. Azriel's face twisted with sadness he couldn't hide. This was it, this was really it. Wylla was dead and Death was here to collect her. It was all his fault and he hated himself for it.

"This isn't real," Rai lunged for Death as it took a step towards Wylla. She grabbed onto its arm, her eyes were filled with tears. "Right? Please tell me this isn't real."

Death sighed, "You may spend the rest of your life asking yourself that question, but I'll go ahead and prove to you right now that this is real."

"How?" She choked out.

Death pulled away from her, it didn't pay attention to Azriel as it passed by and came to gather Wylla into its arms. Wylla was so heartbreakingly small. Azriel could have sworn Death looked sad as it rocked Wylla like a mother does her baby.

"When the King died, his magic died with him and I was able to escape the prison he built for me." Death brushed back the tangles of Wylla's curly hair. "And when I die, so will the magic of the mirror and you shall never fear it again."

Rai stormed past Azriel, panic was written all over her face, "When you die?"

And that's when it clicked. This monster was not Death. It was Bryaxis.