The Whispers of Shadows - A&A One Shots

nightmare turned reality

Air refused to make it into Aurora's lungs. She twisted and thrashed, clawing at invisible hands that held her down. There was no weapon, nothing beyond her own self to save her. Kicking, a scream was caught by those hands as she attempted to call for Azriel. Last she remembered, he was laying behind her with an arm around her waist. Now, she was in complete and utter darkness, on cold ground.

"S-stop," Aurora managed, tears of rage building in her eyes. She wouldn't die like this, not now, not ever. Reaching out with her nails, she felt them sink into flesh. She jerked her arm back, pleased when she felt the skin tear with them. Faces began flashing, monsters of the past, those she nearly expected when the darkness took over. She kicked and thrashed, aiming for any of their faces.

Feral and animalistic rage took over. As many nights that she had spent crying for the blood she spilled, she was hungry for more. They chanted her name, appearing and disappearing in the same moment. Aldric, Oberon, Cormac, Beron, Eris, Tamlin, Lucien, and countless other faces she remembered from beneath the ground of the Winter Court. Flames kicked up and Aurora sent them towards the faces as they appeared. Their laughs were haunting.

Those hands still grabbed at her, even with the faces of the males in front of her. Desperation took over and Aurora fell back into that panicked fear she had always felt. Fists flaming, she felt herself be turned and shoved face down. Her arms flailed until they hit metal; the hilt of her dagger.

Aurora fitted her fingers into place and began swinging desperately. The slightest release on her shoulders urged her to throw her weight back. Within seconds, Aurora was on top of her assailant, darkness still suffocating.

"Aurora!" They snarled, her knees pinning down their arms. She tracked the voice in the dark to pinpoint the vibration, the blade now pressed to it. "Damn it, Aurora! Wake up!"

The voice sounded familiar, her stomach flipping. She felt the tears of rage and fear rolling down her cheeks and over her bared teeth, unknowing if her attacker could see her face. She couldn't see them, she only knew the darkness. The arms beneath her knees moved as if trying to pull away, hands gripping her ankles.

"Wake up!" They screamed, completely and utterly frantic now. A grin spread across her face, the words not registering. Their shouts drowned out the laughing of her torturers, their fear was delectable. A sweet taste of revenge on her tongue, and Aurora savored it. She pressed the blade down just enough to frighten them, whoever they were, just to hear them. They whimpered, clawing at her legs.

Aurora gasped when she felt an arm slip from beneath her, and then the other. Rage fluttered again when a hand wrapped around her wrist and tore the blade from their throat. The rage turned to fury when she felt knuckles clash with her cheek. In this darkness, she didn't know where they were, why she could still hear laughing.

She lunged again, aiming that dagger to their throat. Would the laughing stop if she killed them? The hand around her wrist tightened and the blade fell from her hand as her fingers spasmed. Another fist to her jaw had Aurora whimpering, though still baring her teeth and threatening death. Anything to get the laughing to cease.

Whatever hand that had punched her now gripped her jaw, forcing her head up. Aurora felt the rage burn brighter, but then dimmed all together. That hand. The soft, cold touch of that hand. Aurora felt her tight muscles loosen, her chest tightening.

"Az?" She whispered. The hand on her jaw slackened enough for her to look down. As if his shadows had been blinding her, they rolled away to reveal moon and starlight. Azriel, face twisted in horror and panic, was panting beneath her. Her breath hitched, eyes roaming over his unruly hair and bloodied cheek. Three deep cuts ran along his jaw, already healing but still reddened and angry.