“The littlevermininsisted on it,” Malakai snarled.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone!” Azrael barked back at him.
“You aren’t going to hurt anyone.” I made my way to the stairs and sat beside the boy.
“I will.” I noticed the slight moisture beneath his nose and realized that he had been crying at some point. “I’ll mess up. I’ll get angry, and I won’t be able to control it. And then, if I hurt someone, they’ll take me away. They’ll send me to—” Azrael started hyperventilating. “Lord C-Cain always said that we?—”
“Hey,” I whispered, pulling him into my side and resting my head on top of his. “I won’t let them take you. They’d have to go through me, Mal,andMorrigan before they could even consider touching you. You know that, right?”
I felt his little body shake as more tears began to burst free. “He made me hurt so many people,” he cried. “I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore.”
Malakai shifted behind me, and I could sense his irritation growing. Mal knew that Cain was somewhere in this castle, and the bond he had formed with Azrael ran deep. He had all but accepted him into his pack, like a little omega. Even Naomi had taken a liking to him, and Naomi likedno one.
“What if I can help you?” I asked himquietly.
“How?” He sniffled and sat up straight, turning to face me but unable to see through the fabric.
If Morrigan was outside and saw him like this… I didn’t even want to think about how she would react.
“What if I can take it away? With my light returned to me, I can remove the small parts that remain withinyou.”
Azrael frowned, considering my offer. “But… But if you take it away, how will I protect the princess?”
Mal chuckled behind us. “I don’t think your princess needs much protecting anymore, little wolf.”
“She needs me,” Azrael insisted, snapping back at Malakai.
“Of course she does.” Placing one hand on his shoulder, I used my other one to remove the blindfold. Azrael looked worried as the fabric slid from his face, revealing his big, grey eyes. “Just because we are here now, doesn’t mean anything has changed.”
“I’ll still train you,” Mal assured him. “I’ll make sure you’re strong enough to defend your princess.”
“M-Maybe…” Azrael stuttered. “Maybe I could get to see… other kids, too?”
I tried to hide the way his words affected me. I saw myself in him so much—the loneliness in his eyes.
“What? Are we not good enough for you?” Mal scoffed teasingly, and for the first time since I had walked out here, a small smile cracked along Azrael’s face.
When he turned back toward me, he straightened his spine and nodded like the little knight he was. “I want you to do it.”
“Are you positive?” I asked him. “Understand that, no matterwhatyou choose, I will not allow anyone to lay a hand on you. This isyourdecision, little wolf.”
“I want you to,” he insisted. “I want… I want to be normal. I want to be free and safe and… I wantfriends.”
I shared a glance with Malakai who, to my surprise, nodded in agreement. This world wasn’t ready for someone as strong as Azrael, but one day, they mightneedsomeone like him. Someone with a heart of fire and gold, who wanted nothing more than to protect the one person who cared enough to truly see him for the first time.
Sound familiar?I asked myself.
I could take away the light…for now. “Try to remain still.”
I had to do something similar to this when Malakai was stuck in his shifting state. I didn’t need tofullyremove Mal’s light, but I had to shift it around in a way that unchained whatever magic had gone wrong. It was easy enough to do once I figured it out. But to fully remove the light? I needed all of my power for that.
I placed my hands at his temples and let my magic reach out to him. My shadows slowly seeped into his skin, searching for the small trickle of light that had been passed down to him. When I found it, I watched as his eyes began to glow. I could feel his power push back, a small defense mechanism trying to push its way into my head, but it didn’t stand a chance against me.
His eyes glowed brighter, and I coaxed the power away, pulling it from the very essence of his soul. Azrael jerked a little.
“I’m almost done,” I promised him.
His hands gripped my arms, and his breath came in nervous, small pants. But all it took was one final pull. Azrael gasped as a small white light curled out from his temples, and the glow in his eyes extinguished completely. The light slid into my hands, burrowing itself with my own, and I locked it away—separate from my power.
