Raden had managed to safely bring Azrael back to the cottage and neither was seen by the villagers. He placed her in bed and quickly glanced over her for any injuries. He found none and relief flooded through him. He looked down at Azrael and a mix of emotions hit him all at once. Anger and contempt for those who had tried to harm this woman, but also a sense of calmness as he sat there watching her in silence. This new feeling in him was one met by anxiety and hesitation. Raden had only known this woman for a few days but would do anything in his power to keep her from harm and that scared him.

A few hours later Azrael began to stir and groggily woke up. Because her bedroom had no windows, the only light was pouring into the main room. Azrael sat up and rubbed her eyes and gave a sigh. She tossed her legs over the edge and paused. She was too tired to stand but she needed to get dinner started.

"So you going to explain what had back in Líadain?" Raden sat in the corner leaning against the wall. His eyes moved to watch Azrael but the rest of his body remained still as a statue.

Azrael let out a yelp and turned to see a haunting figure watching her. She squinted her eyes and saw a hint of a red glow in Raden's eyes. "Who the hell are you!"

Raden didn't move but calmly spoke, "You told me that you couldn't do grand acts of magic, but that back there was something else." He watched her carefully and saw the fearful expression wash over her. Raden soon realized she couldn't see him as easily as he could hear. He stood and began to walk over but stopped when Azrael cowered back into the wall.

"Please don't hurt me." Azrael's voice was so small and weak. Raden paused something in him had switched.

"Azrael, it's Raden." Raden hesitated and waited for Azrael to make the next move. When she didn’t, he walked closer. "I'm not going to hurt..."

Azrael dove into the darkness and wrapped her arms around Raden's neck. "Oh my God, you're alive!" Raden froze where he stood while Azrael's embrace tightened. He was completely shocked at the sudden lack of space between the two and didn't know how to act. Azrael pulled back and Raden saw the relief that swept across her face. "I saw you die."

Raden stepped back hoping to create a bigger space between the two. "What do you mean?"

"You hit the ground. I heard it."

Raden looked rather confused trying to put the pieces together. He furrowed his brows together as his mind raced before turning back to Azrael. "Azrael, what do you remember exactly?"

"Well, I remember getting away from a nasty-looking mage and watching you dive to the ground with something chasing you." She looked up still having a bit of trouble fully seeing Raden, "After that everything went blank. Now that I think about it though it sounds like a very vivid dream."

"So you don't remember knocking three mages on their asses before I got us out of there?"

Azrael shook her head.

Raden sat down next to her and shook his head. "You performed some insane magic that I've never seen. Probably saved our lives." He looked over at Azrael. As soon as he said something, it was as if a light switched on.

Azrael looked over and her confusion soon turned to realization and she whispered, "I did it again." She stood and walked into the other room continuing to repeat 'I did it again' over and over.

Raden quickly followed her and saw her pacing around as she continued to repeat the same sentence over and over. He didn't know what to do and concern washed over him at the sight of Azrael like this. "Azrael?"

She shook her head and continued pacing. Azrael felt her chest tighten and the air being pushed out slowly. She stopped pacing and grabbed her chest; Raden could see the pain set in and grabbed Azrael firmly by the shoulders.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Hey, look at me. What's going on?" He watched her try to form words but something was holding her back from speaking. Azrael just shook her head frantically. Raden could feel the frustration building up inside him. He needed a straight answer, and Azrael was in no shape to give one.

Azrael continued to pace back and forth while Raden watched. The walls around her seemed to start closing in and Azrael crumbled to the floor in a heap of tears. Raden stepped forward and knelt down in front of her. He tried catching her eye, but Azrael had placed her head between her knees. "Please help me," Azrael whispered. Raden had a strange sense she wasn't speaking to him though.

Raden stood again and sat against the wall. He thought it was best to give Azrael space like he would've wanted. Then again that was all he knew to do when emotions ran high. He watched carefully in case something was to happen, but was hoping for enough away that Azrael could figure this out on her own.

A good twenty minutes went by before Azrael seemed to settle down. Her eyes were red and puffy and her hair stuck to her tear-stained face. She felt drained and exhausted but knew that time was of the essence and there wasn't a minute that could be spared. So she carefully started to move around and stand which sparked Raden's attention. He seemed to have dozed off himself.

Raden stood and stared at Azrael a bit awkwardly. "You, okay?"

"Yeah." It was a complete lie, but Azrael couldn't let her guard down again. Especially with a complete stranger practically.

Raden nodded and stretched out. A few pops here and there echoed through the silence. "Good. Well then, I think we should discuss..."

"We need to move." Azrael stood with her fist balled by her side.

"What?"

Azrael looked down at her feet and inspected the ground. Truth be told, she wasn't ready to confront what had happened and the longer she kept her eyes averted front Raden gave her time to come up with a lie. "I just… I think after being caught by those hunters that it's time to go our separate ways." Azrael looked up only staring at his lips. They were formed in a tensed line. "You need to get back to whatever battle you're fighting and I need to..." she trailed off not wanting to give away her secret.

"You need to what? Hmmm?" Raden bend down to try and see Azrael's face but she turned her head away.

"Nothing," Azrael whispered, "Just go on. You seem like you're fully healed and have gotten your strength back."

Raden rolled his eyes and walked towards the bedroom to grab his weapon. "I'm not going anywhere."

Azrael looked up with confusion written on her face. "But the war… What about the others fighting?"

"Fuck that. I was sent with orders and I managed to complete part of those orders. I have no obligations to those assholes and to be frank, they deserve what they have coming." Raden's eyes darkened as he continued and Azrael felt a shiver run down her spine. "Now, sit down and tell me what the hell that was back in the city because I can promise you those mages are going to come for you and I need to know what I'm getting myself into."

Azrael shook her head. "No."

Raden paused for a second. He felt a surge of anger and his grip tightened on his weapon. Those who have denied him have ended up dead at his feet. Raden's eyes narrowed and darkened a shadow fell over his face. "Are you denying me what I want?" His voice was calm but dripping with anger.

"I… I," Azrael was at a loss for words. Everything she was about to say was lost. She realized that she was in the presence of a very powerful and dangerous celestial being and potentially just signed her death sentence with one simple word.

With three long strides, Raden had Azrael pinned against the wall. She tried keeping her breathing steady and gaze set. Raden's wings had blocked out most of the sunlight and Azrael was left staring into vibrant red eyes. Raden leaned down mere inches away from her now. "I don't repeat myself Azrael. Answer my question."

Azrael could feel her heart pounding at the close range she found herself to Raden. She swallowed the fear that had been building in her stomach and spoke, "What happened in Líadain is none of your concern." This seemed to anger Raden more.

"Well if it's none of my concern then I'll just drop you back there before going on my way then," Raden answered in a low voice. His presence now seemed to suck the life out of the room and Azrael felt powerless. "How would you like that?"

"Raden please."

Something in Raden clicked and he immediately backed away. He dropped his sword and looked up at Azrael with regret. Azrael didn't dare move from where she was in fear that Raden would do something. Raden saw how fearful Azrael was and he knew that for just an instant he let his anger overcome him. "Azrael…"

"Get out," Azrael whispered.

Raden gave her one last regretful glance and walked out the door. All of the fear and anxiety Azrael had been holding in became too much and she dropped to the floor and burst into tears again. Whatever had just happened was something Azrael wished to never experience again.