To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Chapter 28: His mate

Five years later

Wylla woke up covered in sweat and gasping for air. She had dreamed of her again. The beautiful fae lady with the dark hair and green eyes. Every time Wylla dreamed of her, she couldn't help but feel afraid.

The young girl found herself outside of Nyxous' window. It only took two light taps before he was swinging it open and meeting her with tired violet eyes. At first he looked like he was going to snap at her for waking him, but he held his tongue when he saw her tear stained cheeks.

He pulled her into a tight hug once she crawled through his window, holding on long enough that her fears and worries evaporated.

"I saw her again. She just kept screaming and crying," Wylla sniffled. "I tried to ask her what was wrong but someone started choking her. I couldn't see who it was but she begged them to stop."

"It's okay," He ran his hand over her tangle of curls. "It was just a dream."

She violently shook her head, "It wasn't just a dream."

Nyxous let go only to peel back his blankets and pat the space for her. Once she was tucked in, he laid beside her with his head on the opposite end of the bed. "You should tell Azriel," he whispered in the darkness.

Wylla was silent for a moment. What was Azriel going to do? He couldn't stop the dreams.

"The crazy thing is, I think I do know her." She whispered mostly to herself. "She feels familiar. I think, maybe, that's why I feel so bad for her."

Wylla drifted to sleep at the steady rhythm of Nyxous' breathing. He always brought her comfort; that's why she came to him.

She dreamed of walking through an empty castle. Chairs were knocked over, curtains ripped, glasses and plates shattered on the floor, and not a soul in sight. It was unlike any castle she had seen- both her Aunt Aelin's and Uncle Dorian's were much nicer. This castle was filled with closed doors. She didn't understand why a place would need so many.

Her footsteps was the only sound as she turned down a hallway; it was her curiosity that led her to open the first door. An empty bedroom. The next room was the same. And so was each room after that.

It wasn't until she came to the last door that she halted with her hand on the knob. Her hand was trembling, her veins cold, heart slow.

"Come in," a voice that sent chills down her spine sounded on the other side of the door.

She pulled her hand back. She wasn't going to open that door, no way. But just as she turned her back and began to run, the door slammed open. She refused to look back- every instinct in her screamed run. That's precisely what she did.

A scream ripped through her as she was grabbed by the arm and slammed into a wall. It was no human nor fae that pinned her but a creature of nightmares. Its skin was made of darkness and its eyes looked like holes filled with blood and shattered black glass. She turned her head away as the creature's smiling face moved toward her.

"How did you get here?" The creature asked.

She couldn't winnow out of its grasp, couldn't use her magic, couldn't even move. "I don't know," she cried out.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the creature didn't have to use much strength to pin her, she was only a ten-year-old girl. "I just didn't want you to run away. I need your help."

"My help?"

The creature nodded, "I need you to give a message to the shadowsinger. Tell him to come get her."

Wylla could barely speak, she was trembling so badly. "Get who?"

"His mate."

In the four years Wylla knew Azriel, she had never heard anything about a mate. She knew there was something people avoided talking about when he was around, but Wylla didn't guess it was a mate. If he had a mate, where was she? Did she leave him?

Wylla's own parents were mates and she couldn't imagine them ever parting. They were two halves to a whole. Maybe that's why Azriel always seemed so sad. He missed his other half.

"Wylla, wake up."

Her eyes snapped open. The monster was gone and it was Azriel standing over her with a concerned look on his face. Nyxous was standing behind him, biting his nails. She was still in his room but she could tell it was well into the day. It had only felt like she was asleep for an hour at most.

Azriel pressed the back of his hand to her forehead and shook his head with disappointment. "Nyxous told me to come. He said you were tossing and turning with a fever. You weren't waking up."

That's when she remembered, "Azriel, who's your mate? And why did a monster tell me you have to go get her?"