I began rubbing his head, threading my fingers through his hair to soothe him as Guinevere… mymotheronce did for me. Then, with the image of her fresh in my mind, I began to hum her tune that always put me to sleep.
I’ll keep you safe,I whispered in my mind, not wanting to keep Azrael from sleeping.I’ll find a way. I’ll burn every fucking monster here that tries to touch you. Even if it’s the last thing I do, Azrael.
Iwouldprotect him. Because deep in my heart, I just wished someone would have protectedme,too.
Chapter 12
MORRIGAN
Ihad almost dozed off, when a strange clicking noise made my limbs stiffen.
It wasn’t coming from inside the cave, but somewhere within the trees outside. The clicking was strange—animalistic. Like something you would hear in a nightmare.
I quickly shook Azrael awake before crouching forward and peeking through the moss. I didn’t see anyone or anythingoutside, but the clicking didn’t stop. Instead, it seemed to grow louder as whatever it was made its approach.
“We have to go,” I whispered, snatching Azrael into my arms. “Don’t make a sound.” And with that, we emergedfrom the shadows.
As we walked, more clicking began from different directions, and Azrael froze in my arms as I tiptoed through the forest. I was careful not to step on any fallen branches or dead leaves around us, but with every step, Azrael grew heavier. I hadn’t rested, hadn’t eaten. The blood I had taken from Cain was wearing off, and I could feel the fatigue settling into my bones. Who knew how long we had even been in that clearing before we finally woke? I was running on nothing more than adrenaline, and eventhathad begun to fade as well.
Just keep pushing,I told myself, until, finally, the clicking sound faded into the background, and I slumped against a tree in relief.
“What do you think that was?” Azrael asked quietly.
I shook my head, feeling the world tilt from the dizziness suffocating my head. “Who knows what lives here…” I answered weakly. “But none of it isgood. We need to find a way out?—”
My words were cut short at the sound of something burning, sizzling the grass nearby. When I turned, I found the same black substance that had followed us before. “Shit,” I cursed, pushing off of the tree and running in the opposite direction. As I approached a clearing ahead, I had to pause in my tracks as a singlelargebeast jumped in front of us.
“It’s behind you!” Azrael yelled in my ear, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the monster that now crouched before me, teeth bared and ready to attack.
With one hand around Azrael, I extended the other one out in caution. “I can’t catch one fucking break,” I muttered under my breath.
The beast resembled a wolf, but was at least three times the size of one. Its fur was white and thick, but sticky with a crimson paste that I only assumed could be blood. With its lips curled back, revealing large fangs that stretched beyond its jaw, I could see the hunger in its icy, grey eyes. Behind me, I felt the heat of the strange, thick mist that devoured everything it came into contact with.
Out of options, and too stubborn to give up this fight, I did the only other thing I could think to do...
I closed my eyes, searching for the fire that clung to the last ounce of will I had in me. The more I used it, the easier it became to find. Like a flame hidden deep within, all I needed to do was add fuel to it, allowing the embers to spark until I felt the buzzing of energy in my chest.
I opened my eyes as the power bloomed, spreading to my shoulders… down my arms… As my eyes began to glow, the light illuminated the darkness around us, and the beast cocked its head to the side. In an instant, all of the hunger vanished from his eyes. But just as the heat reached my palms, something grabbed at my ankles.
“What—” I looked down to find that the darkness now covered my feet, but… it didn’t burn this time.
Suddenly, Azrael screamed as he was yanked from my arms.
“Azrael!”
I turned to find him, but the mist covered every inch of the ground nearby. I couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Azrael!” When I tried to move, I found that my body was stuck in its position. The darkness slowly consumed my legs, slithering up my hips and to my chest. “Azrael! Azr… Az…”
I could no longer form my words, as a heavy fatigue washed over my mind. Drunk from exhaustion, I fought until the very moment my eyes closed, then I succumbed to the darkness.
I woke slowly, my entire body feeling groggy and tired.
Wherever I was, it was clearly a lot brighter than where Azrael and I had been before. The light nearly blinded me as I sat up, rubbing my eyes. But I froze when I felt the soft, silk… sheets.I’m… laying on a… bed?
My senses sharpened quickly as I snapped my gaze to where I lay. The bed was large, covered in charcoal-colored sheets, with a thick comforter bunched over my legs.How did I get in a bed?I had to be dreaming.
I went as far as to pinch my arm, expecting to wake and be stuck in the same clearing again, cornered by the black mist and that…beast. Nothing happened. I remained in the strange room—one I had never seen before.
