shadows don't lie

Chapter Eighteen

Azriel flew above the forest with his eyes trained on the ground far below.

It was only seconds after he had winnowed away from Inei, leaving her to scavenge around the ruined estate.

He hadn't been entirely truthful to her as to what he was meant to do, but some selfish part of him just wanted to keep her somewhere safe.

One of his shadows signaled for his attention and he angled downwards, the stuffy spring air breezing around him.

Azriel dropped to the ground in a crouch using his shadows to silence his movement, and he studied the large gouges in the soft earth.

Tamlin had torn up this entire area it seemed, but Azriel couldn't understand why.

When he realized the forest had gone silent, he drew all his shadow in a circle around him, listening for anything that was approaching, but frustratingly, there was nothing.

"Azriel? What happened?" Inei asked him through their shadows, but he didn't respond, only glancing around at his surroundings anticipatingly.

His eyes continued to flit around as his skin prickled, and right as he spread his wings to take off, the High Lord of Spring roared and pounced, dragging his talons down Azriel's back.

"Az, why aren't you answering?" Her shadow whispered, still unbeknownst to the injury he had just recieved.

For a blissful second, he could feel nothing, and in that second of clarity he sent a small shadow to Inei with the best thing he could manage;

"I'm sorry- just wait for me."

Then the pain blossomed down his back, burning, and Azriel groaned involuntarily waiting for the inevitable deathblow from the beast, but Tamlin had paused, just circling him menacingly.

Azriel didn't hesitate to take the open oppurtunity.

He wrapped himself in shadows, summoning his power through the siphons, and he began to sprint away while trying to patch his wings as quickly as possible.

The biggest problem though, seemed to be that Tamlin was still stalking after him dispite Azriel using his shadows to hide his trail.

He ducked behind a boulder, his whole body trembling with effort and pain.

Azriel needed to draw the beast away so he could get Inei and leave, and find the nearest healer so he wouldn't bleed out.

He took a deep breath and focused his mind, and he stepped out from behind the stone, silently slipping one of his Illyrian daggers out of his sheath.

He whistled high and fast, and he could sense the whole forest still as Tamlin's attention turned to him.

"Over here you overgrown rat." He growled, and the beast's blond fur glinted in the sunlight as he lept forwards, claws outstretched and aimed for Azriel.

Only difference this time, was that Azriel was prepared for it.

He flicked the dagger straight into the massive paw closest to his face, dipping backwards and drawing up his shadows.

But just before he could winnow, one of the shadows curled against his wing whispered, "She says that she's coming."

Azriel growled in frustration and began sprinting in the direction of the small village.

He could only try to intercept her now before Tamlin could.

He broke through the underbrush and low-hanging branches, ignoring the increasing agony that any movement brought him, and instead only focused on reaching Inei before she could get hurt.