Light of the Dawn

21. You're Real

Azriel lay motionless on his bed, his body heavy with despair. He didn't want to move. He didn't even want to breathe. The room around him blurred, his mind consumed by one image—the ghostly vision of his Isarella. His mate. His everything.

In his mind's eye, he saw her, trapped in a cruel, suffocating iron box. An iron mask bound her face, its edges biting into her delicate skin. Her once-vivid features were gaunt, her body skeletal from months of torment. Blood and grime painted her fragile frame, a testament to the horrors she endured.

Her lips trembled as she began to sing, her voice cracked and faint, but still achingly beautiful:
"Dive deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned..."
She clutched herself tightly, her tears spilling silently as she continued,
"Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear, and in her song, all magic flows. But can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows..."

Her song faltered, and she began to sob, her small, broken gasps shattering Azriel's soul. He reached out for her, desperate, his voice trembling. "Isarella..."

Her head jerked up, her movements sluggish. "Azriel?" she whispered, her voice a weak echo of the one he cherished.

He froze. "Can you see me?" he whispered back, his voice raw with hope and pain.

She shook her head faintly. "No... but I can feel you. I know you're here. I can hear you!" Her tears turned into a quiet cascade of relief.

Azriel's chest heaved as his own tears spilled over. "I'm so sorry, Isa. I'm supposed to protect you, and I failed—"

"No!" she interrupted, her voice small but fierce. "None of that, Azriel. You couldn't have known... It's not your fault. But... if something happens to me..."

"Nothing is happening to you," Azriel said, his tone sharp with determination.

"Az," she whispered, her voice breaking. "My love... I love you. I'm sorry I didn't say it before. I was scared, but I'm not anymore. You are the love of my life, and I'm so sorry. I... I don't think I'm going to make it. I'm so weak. I've lost so much blood."

Azriel's heart fractured into a thousand pieces. "No! No! Don't say that, Isarella. I will get you home! We'll be happy together. I'll build you that cottage in the lilac field you love so much. We'll have three beautiful children—just like you always dreamed. I love you, Isarella. Fight! Fight for me! Fight for our children, for the life we'll have together!"

Tears streamed down his face as he spoke, his voice shaking with desperation. Seeing her so broken, so unlike the vibrant, fierce woman he loved, was destroying him.

Isarella sobbed softly, her fragile body trembling. "I'll try. I'll really try... But I don't want to be alone. Please don't leave me, Az."

Azriel clenched his fists, his shadows coiling tightly around him. "You are never alone, Is. I'm with you, always. Do you have any idea where you are? Anything you can tell me?"

She was quiet for a long moment, thinking hard. "Eris... He mentioned something once. He didn't know exactly where we are, but he said it looked like an island. Something Rhys had described once... a castle-like structure on an island."

Azriel's heart raced. "Wait. Did you say Eris?"

Isarella nodded faintly. "Yes. He's been chained next to my... my box since I got here. He tried to help me, but they hurt him. They beat him for talking to me."

Azriel's mind worked furiously, piecing together the fragments of information. An island. A castle. Something Rhys had mentioned before.

And then it hit him.