AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do I even have a choice?” I asked, scoffing at the idea. As if I were in control of my dreams anymore. “Will you find me every time I close my eyes?”
You drank my blood, Arya. In return for its power, I now have access to your mind. Blood magic always comes with a price.
“Noted.”
I’m assuming you got my message.
Her voice was colder now, turning into little more than a hiss in my ear. “Yes,” I whispered to the abyss surrounding me. She didn’t reply. She wanted more from me, wanted to hear the anguish in my voice as I begged her for information concerning Azriel. “Just get to the point, Adzehate. What have you done with him?”
I’ve done nothing with him, little one. I’ve kept your little bird safely in his cage where he belongs. If you want to visit him, the mountain is always open to my chosen.
“You said you’d get rid of him. Why have you kept him alive? What are you waiting for?” The voice in my chest started to waver with irritation. I only wished she’d show her face so I could spit in it.
You have something I want, and I have something you need. I believe we can make a fair trade, Arya. A life for a life. How bad do you want to save him?
“Your bargains mean nothing. Your promises are empty.” There was nothing she could say to change my mind. I needed nothing from her, not anymore. Not her approval and definitely not her bargains.
At my defiance, her voice amplified, erupting through the dark and startling my composure. If the floor in my dreams were made of a real substance, I was pretty sure it would have trembled at the sound.What do the watchers plan on doing with the stones? Hoard them for the rest of eternity in their floating palace just to ensure I’ll never be free? They can keep me locked in this mountain, but they will only keep humanity forever trapped in this night in the process. Face it, Huntress, you need to free me so you can free humanity.
“Then I will go to West Mirth and execute you. Once you’re destroyed, the gods will return and restore our world. I don’t need the watchers, and I definitely don’t need you.”
Oh, you stupid girl. You can kill this physical body, but you’ll never touch my true form until you’ve unleashed it from its imprisonment.There was a whisper of movement to my side, a flickering shadow shrinking from the light. Gone as soon as it appeared.You should have never trusted those winged traitors with the leystones. They certainly won’t risk setting me free just to save humanity and bring back the sun. Your people will serve me to the end of their days underneath a black sky and withered world. At least under my reign, I will have the power to bring back the sun, create a new world in humanity’s image as the dawns brings a new day, a new era.
“You lie, you don’t care about humanity or bringing back the day. The watchers remain in this realm to protect us! They will always support human—”
They protect their precious gods first and always, Huntress. Believe me, they’d rather keep the world shrouded in night if it means keeping the gods safe from my wrath, from the blasphemy which weakens them.
“That’s not true.” I protested. My voice hushed in my throat, barely convincing myself with my defenseless rebuttal.
Then ask them,she said simply. You know what you need to do to save your realm, little one. You know who you are, and so do they. If they want to help your people, then they will support you.
“And Azriel? What will you do to him if I decide to leave you to rot in the mountain?” I advanced my steps in the void, my hungry strides searching for the subject of my fury, of my pain. I lowered my voice, drawing her near to hear my words and heed their threat. “I never minded the darkness, Adzehate. The Era of Shadows is proof humanity can thrive, even in the most desolate of circumstances. You’re going to have to do a better job convincing me if you want my help.”
You have three days, Huntress.The same amount of time the gods had to save your people from my clutches.She sharpened her tongue, words forced through invisible teeth.Each day, I will tear a wing from his body and gift it to you to keep in his memory. But on the third day, I will kill him. You can hide in the darkness behind the watchers like their pet or destroy your demons at last and save your love in the process. It seems like quite the easy choice to me.
My stomach churned and pushed bile through my throat. This ultimatum was obvious, I had prepared for something like it before I even rested my head against my pillow. “One man isn’t worth unleashing you to the world, Soulreaper. I will not let you bait me.” I lied. The words stung my lips like venom from my mouth.
I’ve heard ripping the wings from a watcher is like ripping their soul from their body. The pain is unbearable, their screams are heard across the realm, and the agony unending until the last snap of bone—
“Shut your filthy mouth!” I hissed through gnashed teeth.
Once they are finally dissected, they are no longer a watcher, forever cast aside with the damned and forgotten. They lose their immortality, lose their identity, and they roam as living corpses of their former glory. I promise death will be the kinder of the two, but I will give them both to Azriel, so he doesn’t miss out on a single thing.
My breath heaved in my chest, the panic brewing at an alarmingly exponential rate. I couldn’t think of words, nor did I have enough air to speak them. It was like I was drowning, the air around me transformed into the swells of the sea. The salt in my sweat choked my throat in waves of unyielding mercy.
What’s wrong, Huntress? Have you lost your tongue like one of my soldiers?
I squeezed my eyes shut as the image of the citadel came to mind. The memory of Mitch and his band of renegades sneaking me through the damp tunnels of their fortress, risking their lives to warn a simple stranger of the impending doom in humanity’s near future. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for them. I might have never taken the chance and met Azriel if it weren’t for their warning, and the queen would be free to roam the realm without regulation. We’d be knee-deep in her wrath if it weren’t for their bravery. Could I dishonor them by giving in to her now?
“I don’t care, Adzehate. Do what you want. Find someone else to terrorize, but you will not bait me.”
I’ll be sure to let Azzie know your choice. In fact, I won’t let him forget it—
“You’ve played the wrong pawn in your game of power, and you will lose. Azriel knows how I feel about him, and he knows where he stands. There is nothing between us you can use against me.” I repeated the words he’d spoken to me even as they broke my heart. I was doing this for the good of the world, to protect the sacrifice of everyone who’d made my position possible, but it didn’t make me feel any less of a terrible person. He deserved so much better.
Her laugh sounded like the scratching of claws against glass. The miserable sound made me twitch involuntarily.I only wish you could’ve seen his face when you said that.
My heart fell somewhere inside my stomach. “He can…hear me?”
