People pushed and pushed crushing Raden and the others into the windows. Raden was looking around frantically for an opening, but the sea of people seemed to never end.

"Is it easy to fly?" Someone pushed up to Raden. "What's it like fighting demons?" Another interjected. "Is it true that you've seen Gods? What are they like?"

"Get off!" Raden pushed back. He trained his neck seeing the others struggling against being pinned. He needed to do something and something quick

"Answer their questions! We want to know," A voice yelled from far back.

A girl to the right was shoving herself forward. "We're here because of you!"

Raden shoved harder causing a few people to fall to the floor. He didn't care at this point and just wanted to get out of there. "Get the fuck off me and out of the way!" His voice was loud and demanding. Those in front of him froze in fright at the look of him. They had never seen an angel which means they had also never witnessed their temper either. He peered around at those closest to him seeing the fear behind their eyes. They back up giving him and his friends some breathing room but that still wasn't stopping the rest of the tavern.

From the bar, Rosemary was watching the attack on Raden and realized quickly what the crowd was there for. She turned and handed full mugs of mead to the two girls. "If you can throw this on the crowd to get their attention."

They nodded and climbed on top of the counter. Rosemary was following behind them. They threw the mead onto the crowd instantly receiving loud protest. Rosemary whistled loudly gathering attention from most of the crowd.

"If you are here for a drink raise your hand." A good twenty or thirty did and she nodded. "The rest of you! Get out of my fucking tavern or so help me..."

"We were told that the angel would be here." A woman yelled from the back.

Rosemary gave her a bewildered look. "I'm not a zoo and he isn't a sideshow. I suggest that you leave before I throw you out myself."

A man below her laughed. "You can throw us all out."

"You want Jessie and his men coming for you?" She placed her hands on her hips. The man's smile was slapped off his face. "Last I heard you owed them money. Hey, Phillip go and grab Jessie for me."

That was one of the cooks. He slipped out of the kitchen running for backup. The man booked it for the door along with a few others. Rosemary locked eyes with Raden and motioned for the door that attached to the inn. He nodded and grabbed his two friends pushing them in front of him. The crowd parted for them as much as they could. The threat of this Jessie guy had sent a ripple of fear through the crowd.

"If you won't leave after Jessie gets here, then I will call for the royal guard." That seemed to be a threat that did it for everyone.

A low mumble followed the crowd out with a disappointing tone to it. Rosemary climbed down from the counter along with the two girls. They started cleaning up as much as they could and continued serving those who wanted to be there. Rosemary went back to the kitchen for Azrael. She still sat on the stool holding her head with a bloody cloth. She perked up seeing Rosemary.

"Come on I have first aid in my room." Rosemary lead Azrael through the trashed tavern. Most of the crowd had dissipated but there were still those who lingered outside. Azrael craned her neck to see people peering through the windows trying to get a glimpse of the famous angel. "Don't worry about them. I've got it handled."

Azrael only nodded.

Raden had sat across from the other two in the lobby of the inn. He was rubbing his face out of tiredness. Both because of the long day also because of the shit he had just endured.

"Man, I thought you said this was a quiet place to grab a drink." One of the men blurted out.

Raden peered up through his hands. "I didn't lie Eli, but someone ran their fucking mouth."

"Can we still get some food though?"

Eli looked over to his friend who asked. "We were almost pinned to death and you're thinking about food?"

Raden chuckled.

Rosemary busted through the door carrying a slightly wounded Azrael. She plopped Azrael into a chair before running to her room for the first aid kit. Raden's mood instantly changed as he stood quickly running over to Azrael.

"What happened?" He demanded.

Azrael looked at him one eye closed now because of the blood pouring over it. "I'm not sure. I just remember hitting the floor."

"Out of my way." Rosemary shoved Raden to the side. She knelt in front of Azrael to get a better look. "Let's see how bad it is." She pulled the cloth off of the wound letting the pooled blood flow down the side of Azrael's face. "Okay well, nothing I have is going to stop this bleeding." Rosemary turned to Eli. "Would you be a dear and go wake up Caleb? His office is a few doors down you can't miss the giant healers sign out front."

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"Will do." Then he was off.

Raden knelt beside Rosemary as he held a new cloth over the wound. "What happened Rosemary?"

She sighed, "Drunk asshole threw his mug at her."

"I'll kill him." Raden stood but Azrael caught him by the wrist. He looked down at her and she shook her head. Raden clenched his fist but reluctantly sat back down. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just hold pressure until Caleb can get here."

Rosemary cleaned up what she could and disappeared again.

"I was going to throw him out," Azrael said. Raden looked down at her with a puzzled look. "Yeah, I told him that if he wouldn't listen that I was going to throw him out of the tavern."

"Oh really," Raden questioned with a smirk playing on his lips.

Azrael nodded as best she could. "I've been able to control my magic better. Why not test it out on the drunk asshole." She smiled.

Raden laughed at the image running through his head. Some large man being made an absolute fool of as a girl two times smaller removing him. "That's my girl."

Eli came walking back with a guest in tow. The guest in question was a fairly older gentleman in quite a nice suit even though it was getting to be the early hours of the morning. He looked straight at Azrael and nodded.

"And what do we have here?" Caleb removed the cloth to inspect the wound. "Ah, that'll be an easy fix. Keep holding pressure if you'll be so kind." He dug through his small bag pulling out two jars. He opened one that revealed a deep red powder and the other a light green. "Alright then. The bleeding should be stopped by this point." Raden took his hand away carrying the cloth with him. There was some bleeding but not as nearly the river gushing from her temple as it was before. The healer dipped a finger in the red powder, then a separate in the green, and rubbed the two fingers together. Once he was content with the mixture he ran his finger lightly over the wound.

Azrael felt a slight tingle and scrunch her nose but it never became painful. Caleb looked it over about a minute later and smiled.

"Good as new my dear. Dragon's blood does wonders." He winked at Azrael. "You will have a nice little scar there but hey you'll have a nice story to go with it." Caleb packed up his bag and stood turning to Raden. "Have you seen Rosemary.?"

"She went back into the tavern."

"I'll pay her a quick visit." He turned to the two others standing in the room. "I'm having a drink while in here you all are free to join."

The one-hopped off the couch practically running. " Don't have to tell me twice." Eli rolled his eyes and followed after glancing at Raden. Raden shook his head passing on drinks.

Azrael turned to Raden. "I'm going upstairs to try and clean off this blood."

"I'll go grab some water and get you a bath ready." Raden kissed her forehead. The smell of blood hit his nose. "How does that sound?"

"Alright."

~~~*~~~

Azrael had scrubbed a good bit from her face by the time Raden had returned. The healer was right about the scar on the side of her temple. It was faint enough but it would be noticeable in the daylight.

Raden had prepared the bath for Azrael and she was grateful. She kissed him on the cheek before disappearing into the bathroom. She sunk into the warm water allowing her muscles to relax before she started to wash up and attempt to rid of any blood in her hair.

As she finally pulled herself from the bath and wrapped herself in a towel, Azrael realized that she had forgotten her nightgown. She huffed at herself before heading out of the bathroom dreading the cold room. To her surprise, a fire had started in the small fireplace and the air in the room was warm and welcoming. Azrael quietly walked over to the dresser but sensed Raden's eyes carefully watching her every step. She pulled open a drawer and sifted through the collection of clothes she had obtained over the few months they had been there. Raden walked over and stood behind Azrael. She was fully aware of his presence but continued her pursuit.

He carefully ran his fingers lightly over her upper arms. Goosebumps rose to trail after his soft touch. Azrael smiled to herself but ignored Raden. He knew what she was doing and was now determined to have her attention. He trailed his hands down her arms finding their resting place on her hips. While his hands explored her soft skin, his lips started their journey from her right shoulder leading with carefully planted kisses to the crook of her neck. Azrael hummed lightly in response and turned Raden's way. She met his eyes as he pulled back from her.

"Let me see all of you," he whispered leaning forward once more. He grazed a phantom kiss across her lips.

Azrael let the towel slip to the floor revealing every curve of the body. The fire danced across the part of her it could reach. She pushed herself forward standing on her toes to reach Raden's lips. Her kiss was light and sweet and it drove Raden crazy. Raden pulled back just enough so he could remove his shirt. Azrael ran her hands down his chest to his stomach stopping resting at the top of his pants. He leaned down not allowing Azrael time to anticipate before kissing her again. No longer was it a tease but something more? It was full of want of need. In one motion, Raden had lifted Azrael off the ground with her wrapping her legs tightly around him and her hands now entangled in his hair. He walked them over to the bed lay her down and proceeded to rid the rest of his clothes.

Raden paused for a millisecond as he took her in. Every curve of her body called for him. He climbed onto the bed. Azrael felt the bed sink sightly under Raden's weight as he dipped down trailing kisses up her leg slowly making his way to her thighs. Each kiss left her wanting more. He continued painstakingly slowly up kissing right below her navel causing Azrael to let out a small whimper. A smile grew on his lips as he journeyed higher and higher. Up between her breast, her hands finding their way through his hair once again. Raden lightly nipped her collarbone. Azrael sucked in a sharp breath as he did. As he kissed the base of her throat, Raden entered her slowly causing Azrael to moan out. He climbed higher and higher and continued to slowly move. He knew it drove her insane. Azrael wrapped her arms around his neck as he picked up speed slightly. Raden could feel himself building and with each thrust, he pushed ever so closer.

Azrael pulled Raden as close as she could feeling his muscles under her touch. He moaned her name causing her stomach to twist in pleasure. She was right there ready to burst. Each thrust sent the bundle of nerves into a frenzy of excitement. Raden began kissing her neck again and with a nip of tender skin, she unraveled underneath him. Raden soon following after.

The crackling fire and their heavy breathing filled the room. Raden turned over to face Azrael bringing his hand to hold the side of her face as he gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "How did I get so lucky with you?"

"I could ask the same thing."

Raden pulled Azrael in close wrapping his arms around her. She fell asleep listening to his steady heartbeat in no time. This was the safest place in the world Azrael had come to know. She was the luckiest girl.