A Z R I E L (A Freenbecky Fanfiction)

CHAPTER 24

Silence filled the room.

Not the kind that came from peace—but the kind that settled like ash after a fire. Aelia lay unconscious, her breaths shallow but steady, still wrapped in Azriel's arms. Kali lingered nearby, uncertain of what to say or whether she was even supposed to say anything at all.

Eventually, she slid to the floor, chest rising and falling in sharp, shallow breaths as the weight of the last few minutes caught up to her. The burned edges of the mattress smoked faintly, but the room had cooled. The worst had passed.

Kali witnessed how Azriel slowly and gently lay Aelia down on the half-burnt mattress. Her blister-covered hands lingering on the unconscious woman's arm longer than necessary. She didn't speak. Didn't move far. Her eyes never left the girl's face.

Kali didn't speak also, she just sat there on the scorched floor, observing how gentle Azriel is towards Bella, how she stares at her with softness and care, like she could break any minute. Kali couldn't look away, there was something unguarded about the usually unreadable girl, something soft and deeply human.

It was several minutes until Kali found the strength to open her mouth and speak to the girl.

"Thank you." Kali spoke. Staring into Azriel as the woman shifted slightly —enough to show she'd heard. Casting a quick glance to Kali but never letting go of Aelia's hand.

"You saved her," Kali added.

Still no reply.

"How did you know?" She asked quietly.

She didn't answer right away. Just kept staring at Aelia.

"She called for me," Azriel murmured. "In her dream, I think. That's the only reason I knew."

"You felt it all the way from your dorm?"

Azriel nodded once. "Like someone set my blood on fire."

Kali hesitated. "Your powers—"

"No," Azriel cut her off gently. "I didn't have to use my ability to sense if she's in danger. I just..." she trailed off. "I just knew."

"Why?" Kali asked, confused.

Azriel finally turned toward her, eyes heavy. "I ask myself the same question," she shrugged. "I can feel her even when she's far away from me and I'm glad I do." She sighed just as Aelia stirred slightly, whimpering. Both girls leaned forward at the same time—but Azriel reached her first, brushing strands of damp hair away from Aelia's forehead with careful fingers.

Kali watched in silence before speaking again, a realization forming.

"You like her."

Azriel didn't respond. She didn't need to.

Kali stood slowly, stepping toward the bed. She looked down at Aelia's face, finally calm, unlike before.

"I don't trust you, Azriel." Her voice was quiet, but firm.

"Of course," Azriel answered just as quietly.

"But you saved her," Kali continued. "Not just tonight."

Azriel said nothing.

"When Lilith attacked her... it was the same, wasn't it? You felt she's in danger, and that's what brought you there, just in time to save her?"

She nodded

"I was already on campus," Azriel started to explain, "but when I sensed she was in danger, I ran as fast as I could, I didn't even have to think about where she was, I just knew."

Kali's eyes widened as a thought clicked into place.

"During the Harpy attack," She said wide eyed. "It was also you, right?"

Azriel hesitated then slowly nodded her head.

"You were also the one who sent Elethea?" Kali said. It was a statement rather than a question.

Again, she nodded.

"Elethea lived in the enchanted forest." Azriel confirmed, "Her father was a hunter. When he made the mistake of killing a unicorn, he was cursed. Elethea inherited a fragment of the unicorn's healing gift... but it comes with a cost." She continued

"That's how you knew she could heal Aelia." Kali said softly.

"Yes" Azriel answered briefly.

There was a pause.

"They say you're dangerous," Kali said quietly, voice cautious afraid it would offend the other woman.

Azriel gave a small shrug. "Maybe I am." Then her gaze flicked to Kali. "but what does your ability tell you?"

Kali blinked. "You know what I can do?"

"I know what everyone can do."

Kali's lips parted. "You—what?"

"It's one of the many things I can do," Azriel said calmly, without a hint of pride or arrogance, "So, what does your ability tells you, Kali? Am I a bad person?"

Kali didn't flinch.

"No," she admitted. "You have a dark and powerful aura, But it's not... sinister. Not evil." Kali explained.

Azriel didn't respond, but something on her shoulders relaxed.

"You have many abilities, then?" Kali asked, curiosity overtaking caution.

Azriel simply hummed in acknowledgment.

Kali studied her. The way her voice carried weight. The way her presence filled the room without needing to try.

"Why does your voice sound very familiar, Azriel?" She asked the question that had been sitting at the back of her mind since the beginning.

She waited for an answer. But none came.

Minutes passed in heavy silence.

"It was you, right?" Kali said at last. "during my fight with Ronan, you talked to me in my head."

Azriel said nothing.

But she didn't deny it.

And that was enough.

"Thank you." She says it simply. "I don't know if I would've gotten up without that voice. Without you."

Azriel looks at her fully, her expression unreadable but softer somehow.

"I didn't do it for you." She spoke, No malice, just the truth.

"I figured." Kali let out a soft humorless chuckle.

Kali turned her gaze back to Aelia, breathing steadily and figured it's better to get some rest for herself too.

"I'm going back to bed," She informed the woman sitting beside Aelia.

"You can stay, and keep watch." She added. "I figured you wouldn't leave her side anyway."

Kali walked back to her bed.

Azriel didn't say anything else.

She just sat there, hands burned, clothes scorched, guarding a girl who didn't even know the storm she'd survived.

But at that moment, Kali started to understand something,

Azriel Chaidee wasn't there because she had to be.

She was there because the one person who called her name in a nightmare... was the only person she'd answer to.

*****

Hello! Here's a short chapter for today. I'm a little busy, but I'll make it up tomorrow.