A Court of Shadows and Stars (Azriel Fanfiction)

Sixty One- Loyalty

Sixty One- Loyalty

Azriel's POV

It hated that it made sense, the full realization of who my mate really was hit me like a ton of rocks. By the Cauldron I wasn't expecting my assumptions to be true. I knew she had a dark side to her- something I thought stemmed from her association with Prince Klaos.

But not this.

Not one of the Vlag.

And she had kept it a secret from me, from all of us by the look of shock and guilt in her face. The commander that stood before us looked smug as he took in her weary expression. He had addressed her as if she were royalty, by the look on her face he wasn't wrong.

She slid off my lap, the events that had taken place before the intrusion now drained from her body. Anger replaced mine and I couldn't help the feeling of betrayal that overtook me. I was foolish to stop being weary of her, to believe that she was working with prythian's best intentions at heart. Instead here she was, the enemy itself.

I couldn't help but be disappointed but alas it wasn't surprising.

She had turned to face me, her expression pained, "Azriel I-,"

"Save it," I said raising a hand before, with a swift maneuver- had the commander thrown into the seats of the booth we were in. My dagger drawn and aimed at his throat. He wasn't expecting the attack from the startled look on his features, nor was Kaira as she slightly tumbled backwards.

The commander managed a chuckle, "you can kill me Shadowsinger but my people will still come and there's nothing you can do to stop us,"

"Bold of you to assume we'd let them," Kaira had found her voice again, steel coating her words as her impenetrable mask of icy cruelty slipped back over her features. She was glaring at the commander, almost as if she didn't want him here- as if she was against him and the rest of her kind.

The thought made my head spin. Where exactly did her loyalties lie?

Almost as if she heard my thoughts, she leaned closer towards the commander. With her own dagger raised and poised at his eye she spoke with vehemence, "Tell me where the rest of your army is,"

The commander glared at her, "You may be my Queen but your loyalties lie elsewhere, I will not betray my people like you would,"

I couldn't help the conflicted thoughts that almost threatened to consume me. Kaira didn't meet my eye as she leaned in closer, the Commander paled by a fraction, his eyes zeroing in on her throat.

"I won't ask this again," her tone was harsh and the commander couldn't help but flinch when the tip of her dagger made contact with his temple, "You either tell me where the army is or you won't live to see another day," she still didn't meet my gaze and putting my confusion aside I pressed my dagger harder against his throat. A startled sound followed but it wasn't from the commander, I turned to find the red haired serving girl staring at us with fear evident in her eyes.

"The Crimson room," I said and with a quick bob of her head she made her way across the room. Before Kaira and the commander caught wind of what was happening, I winnowed us to the same room where Kaira and I had conspired against the commander only a few hours ago. It was just the same as it was, from outside I could hear the serving girl make her way towards us before she slid a key from under the door. Good, we had the privacy we wanted.

The Vlag commander thrashed against my grip and Kaira's and with a growl of frustration Kaira rammed her dagger into his shoulder blade. Blood splattered against her cheeks, red war paint against her tanned skin. "I'm not a patient woman," she growled, "I-,"

"Save your threats," the commander said cutting her off, "Your father told me about you and what you're capable of," a sly smile, "things you yourself are yet to find out,"

That seemed to shake her and her grip loosened by a fraction giving him the perfect opportunity to push against our restraints and get to his feet in a fluid motion. The dagger at his shoulder was discarded like it was nothing but dirt and before I could attack him he rounded up against Kaira with his sword at her throat. She stilled, knowing a lost battle when she saw one but I could see the cogs in her head turning already, she was looking for a way out of his grasp.

"Let go of her," my own words seemed to shock me and Kaira at the same time. The commander only laughed, his tone mocking, "You find out about her true nature and still your loyalty to your mate has no bounds. Pathetic!" He spat out just as he tightened his grip around Kaira's throat. She moved to kick him but he saw the maneuver coming and sliced his sword over her cheek.

Red bloomed over her cheekbones and the shock of the attack seemed to awaken something in her for she stilled, her eyes going an obsidian black in the process.

It all happened at once. One moment she was trapped behind the commander's sword, the next he was hurtling across the room before slamming against the wall with a loud thud. Her pupils had disappeared behind a curtain of darkness and black flames roared at her fingertips. An invisible wind seemed to shift through her hair and clothes making her the vision of a storm. She wasn't looking at me, her gaze fixed solely on the commander who was getting to his feet.

Before he had time to recover she stretched out a hand and from it tendrils of smoke and lightning poured out and slithered across the floor and to the Vlag demon who screamed in agony as they made contact with him. His head rolled back, the whites of his eyes showing as he started to twitch uncontrollably. It was like he was being poisoned, froth gathered around his lips and his body began to convulse. Kaira didn't stop the attacks, her face pulled into a wicked snarl as she tortured the demon. She only stopped when the snap of his neck echoed through the room and the Vlag demon dropped down lifelessly.

Everything stopped, the buzzing in my ears and the unmistakeable smell of smoke and lightning seemed to abate just as Kaira dropped her hands to her sides. The cut at her cheekbone had stopped bleeding but her crimson blood remained smeared across her cheek.

She finally brought her gaze to mine, her eyes had returned back to their brilliant gold.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

Before I could reply an explosion shook through the tavern and it didn't take a genius to figure out who was behind it. She didn't look at me before sprinting out of the room and to the chaos that awaited.