“Azrael, make him stop.”
Azrael steps to the edge, features tightening with worry.
“I can’t. He doesn’t listen to me. His will is his own.”
Fuck. Me.
My fists curl at my sides as desperation tears from my throat. Even if I attempted to go after him, my arms would pass right through him if he willed it.
“Azrael!”
Now chest deep, Azrael’s shadow shifts to face us. The starry points of his eyes glow from within his hood, focusing on me.
The word is a growled plea.“Don’t.”
He ignores me entirely. Continues drifting further and further towards the center of the river, until he disappears beneath the surface. His canvas tarp-cloak is carried away on the river’s surface.
“Fuck.”
Tears tremble on the edges of Violette’s eyes as her eyes leap to Azrael.
“Is he coming back?”
Azrael throws his hands in the air. “No fucking clue.”
Violette sniffles as she reaches for a tendril of hair at the base of her head and uses my blade to saw it off before passing it to Azrael, who does the same, looking more frustrated than I’ve ever seen him.
“Now what?”
Sighing, I wave a hand in the river’s direction. “Try offering some gratitude for safe passage when you toss it in.”
They follow my instruction, and then the three of us stand there at the edge. Waiting.
Each passing moment intensifies my feeling of foolishness.
A shadow is cast over us, and my eyes lift to see the sky sealing shut with the return of thick, gray clouds blocking out the sun and likely harkening snowfall.
Growling, I turn my back on the river to begin pacing.
Great.
Half a day in and we’re already down one man. One... person?
A few more hours and we’re going to fucking freeze to death.
With empty stomachs.
After nearly forty years of human limitations I have to remind myself we aren’t so fragile, but ourrelativeimmortality does nothing to assuage the guilt and naivety that I thought I could protect us in this alien world filled with unfathomable threats and inconceivable possibilities.
Magic that I am only just coming to know.
It reminds me of my father, arrogantly leading his family through a world of crime as though he were untouchable.
My shame at the realization runs deep.
Violette clears her throat behind me.“Levi..."
I hang my head, stilling my feet, doing my best to remove the bite from my tone.
