AZRIEL

CHAPTER NINE

ADELINE

I woke the next morning to meet utter darkness again, excluding the bright luminous moon and stars which owned the night sky. Azriel had promised me a tour around Velastille - guided exclusively by him, which of course he said I should be honoured about, when he’d be free one evening.

A casual question tossed in Cirse’s direction revealed that a nameless threat had broken out onto the lands today, and so Azriel and Celeste were called away to deal with it. I had further inquired Cirse to tell me what it was, but she herself had no knowledge of what was going on. 

“What I can tell you-,” Cirse said to me as we walked alongside the hall together to the dining room for breakfast, “-is that since Master isn’t on the premises, maybe we can take a stroll around the exterior of the house. Take a look around?”

I huffed, “Honestly, I’d enjoy that. I feel like I’m on house arrest.”

Cirse simply smiled in response and linked her arm into mine as we made our way outdoors, the cold air glazing my pale skin and breezing through my frail hair. Emerged in conversation, we both hadn’t realised we had reached the outskirts of the property until we heard a voice from behind us. 

“You ladies aren’t making a run for it, right?”

Cirse and I both froze midstep, instinctively turning to look over our shoulders at the one who called out to us. There stood Azriel’s beloved acquaintance - Julian, dressed in a rich chestnut leather jacket to protect against the cold. Around his waist hung a belt equipped with multiple hunting knives - from sharp tall blades to short blunt ones. His somewhat warm hazel eyes scanned us both, and I noticed how they briefly fixated on Cirse before looking away.

“We were just - just going on a walk before breakfast,” I said, not understanding why my words were catching in my throat. Julian didn’t appear as intimidating as his friend, but perhaps it was the height, or the variety of knives he had on him, or simply just the fact he was an angel which made my breath still hitch in his presence regardless.

Cirse gave my hand a quick gentle rub of reassurance and bowed in a small curtsey before Julian, turning to leave. I observed as he also lowered his head in return. His hazel eyes observed her as she retreated back to the house, leaving him and I alone. 

“Morning, Adeline,” He said smoothly and I tried to hide the stiffening in my shoulders, trying to smile a bit, “Sorry to have cut your walk short.”

“It’s not a problem, we were going back inside anyway,” I simply replied. 

I was just about to turn to leave, but from a short distance behind him I could have sworn I had heard the whinny of a horse combined with the stomp of a hoof on gravel. 

A horse? On angel lands?

Julian must have picked up how intrigued I was from my expression alone and smiled, stepping back slightly so I could see the stables in the far end of the gardens. Three horses stood tall - chestnut, white and black, hoofs stomping against the gravel.

“I’m on patrol in the outskirts of the woods. If you like, you could join me for a ride and back?” He offered, hand indicating toward the stables. “Besides, I’m curious to hear some more about you and perhaps see some of your archery skills, I can’t lie.”

But my kind of hunting couldn’t be done on horseback. I was able to hunt with plans consisting of stealth and careful stalking, but I had never shot an arrow on the back of a horse. However, I wasn’t going to let him know that and so I shrugged, “I have nothing better to do I suppose.”