Chapter 53 – Azaria
AZARIA
Silence.
Not the respectful kind, not even the stunned kind. The kind that said every single person in this room was staring at me like I’d lost my godsdamned mind.
Reyna was the first to break it. Her eyebrows shot so high I thought they might disappear into her hairline. “What the actual fuck, Azaria.”
Kael just leaned back on the railing, mist curling lazily around his fingers. “Didn’t see that one coming,” he drawled. “Of all the strays you’ve decided on, this one’s new.”
Lirael made a quiet sound that might have been agreement, while Lyra’s eyes darted between me and Kalias like she wasn’t sure if she should be awed or terrified. Zeph looked like he was already planning bets.
I didn’t flinch. “You’ve all seen what he is. You’ve felt it. Shifters are strong, and more importantly—they’re immune to the Abyss. That matters more than you realize.”
Their faces shifted. Doubt and surprise giving way to thought, to calculation.
Dain’s gaze lingered on me longer than the rest. He knew. He always knew. My intention wasn’t just curiosity or risk—it was strategy. And after a beat, he inclined his head, subtle but sure. Approval.
I turned back to Kalias. “You would be free to roam Kareth as a free citizen. You would be under mine and High Lord Tywin’s protection, so nobody would try to stop you or arrest you on your journey.”
Kalias wasn’t stupid either. His pale eyes stayed on me, assessing, weighing.
He knew exactly what I wanted from him, but he also knew what he stood to gain—people who would not hunt him down for what he was.
Guidance and purpose. A chance to find what he was looking for without bleeding himself out on Dravareth’s borders.
Finally, he nodded once. “Very well. If you will have me, I will join you.”
The squad erupted again, half disbelief, half argument, but I kept my eyes on Kalias. On the man who had just shifted into a wolf of silver moonlight in front of us all and leaned into my touch like he’d been waiting for it his whole life.
I knew exactly what I was doing.
The tension had settled—somewhat. Kalias had agreed to stay, and I could feel the squad’s energy shifting from shock to curiosity.
I stepped forward, arms folded loosely across my chest. “If you’re going to stay and train with us, we’ll need to make accommodations for you.”
His brow lifted slightly in surprise. “What kind of accommodation?”
“You’re a shifter,” I said evenly. “That means your needs won’t be the same as ours. So, tell me. What does your wolf need?”
The room stilled. Everyone waited.
Kalias’s mouth quirked faintly, amusement sparking in his eyes. “He needs space,” he said at last. “To move. Hunt, sometimes. To be outside, especially during full moons. If I keep him locked away too long, he grows restless. It is not good.”
Beside me, Dain shifted, his posture tightening by a thread. “That could be tricky. A massive silver wolf running loose in the forest? You’ll spook the locals. Or worse, end up shot by a patrol thinking you’re some rogue beast.”
Kalias didn’t bristle. He nodded once. “I know. I have been hunted before.”
There was no pride in the words. Just the fact.
I took a slow breath, scanning the squad, then met his gaze. “I’ll speak to High Lord Tywin. We’ll find a solution. Perhaps an area beyond the eastern ridge—secluded, out of the patrol paths. But you’ll need to report it. No secret prowling.”
His eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn’t expected me to offer. “You would do that?”
“You’re one of us now,” I said simply. “If you’re going to protect us in the field, we’ll protect you here.”
Dain raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. Quin remained silent, arms folded, his eyes firmly on Kalias.
“I will not abuse it,” Kalias said. “I am not here to hide or cause trouble.”
“Good. Then we’ll make it work.”
A beat of quiet followed. Then Kael, as always, cut through it. “Can’t wait to write the patrol report. Large silver predator roaming the east woods—friendly unless provoked. Should go over well.”
Despite myself, I grinned.
Thorne leaned forward, eyes bright with curiosity. “We studied shifter lineages in Thalor. Your markings, the silver coloring—that’s an elder bloodline, isn’t it?”
Kalias’s attention sharpened on Thorne, something shifting in his expression. “You studied in Thalor?”
“I did,” Thorne said evenly.
Kalias nodded slowly, something like respect settling in his gaze. “Then you know more than most. Thalor is the only territory on this continent that still teaches our history.”
I finally glanced toward the door. Tallis was still lingering there, looking like he’d just witnessed a myth step off a page.
When I caught his eye, he straightened at once and gave me a sheepish smile.
“I should get back to the cells before someone realizes I vanished,” he said.
“Though I’d like it noted that this is, by far, the best excuse I’ve ever had. ”
A laugh tugged at my mouth. “Go, Tallis.”
He tapped two fingers to his temple in a lazy salute. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think the palace will recover from this anytime soon.”
Then he slipped out, pulling the door shut behind him.
I left Kalias with Dain and the others, already deep in conversation about shifter territories and wolf instincts. I headed straight for Tywin’s study.
The fire crackled softly in the vast room, casting restless shadows across the maps and records lining the walls. He sat behind his desk, fingers steepled, gaze unreadable as ever. I stood before him, posture straight, the broken circle sigil catching in the firelight.
“He shifted,” I said, breaking the silence. “In front of the entire squad. A silver wolf, head at my shoulder. The Truthteller already confirmed he spoke true—you saw it yourself.”
Tywin’s eyes lifted to mine. “I did. And now you’re here because you want more than supervised access to a training ground.”
“I want him in my squad.”
His brow twitched, just barely. “You want a shifter—an unknown one, from across the sea, from a land we know next to nothing about—placed within your already unconventional unit?”
There was no mockery in his tone. Just measured caution.
“Yes,” I said simply.
“Why?”
I drew a slow breath. “Because shifters are immune to abyssal magic. Because he’s powerful enough to shift into a wolf the size of a warhorse without flinching.
Because he crossed the Dawn Sea alone to follow a prophecy, and instead of fighting his way through our territory, he surrendered peacefully and answered every question we put to him.
And because this could be the first step toward re-establishing diplomatic ties with the shifter continents in two centuries. ”
Tywin rose from his chair and moved to the tall windows. Outside, the towers of Tempest stood proud against the fading light, banners shivering in the wind.
“I’ve heard of shifters,” he said at last. “Tribes that don’t channel the elements but the beasts. Men who become wolves. Hawks. Lions.” He turned back to me. “But I’ve never seen one. Never has one stood in this palace.”
“He isn’t a threat,” I said quietly.
“No. Not yet.” Tywin’s gaze sharpened. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t become one.”
I stepped forward. “Then let me keep him close. Let me learn what he is. I’ll be responsible.”
“You already carry too much, Azaria.”
“I can carry this, too.”
The silence stretched long and heavy before he finally exhaled. “You believe in him?”
“Yes,” I said. “I don’t know why yet, but I do.”
He studied me for another moment, then returned to his desk. Slowly, he drew the parchment forward, signed, and sealed it with his ring.
“Very well. But I want regular reports. If anything feels wrong?—“
“I’ll be the first to say it.”
He slid the scroll across the desk. “Welcome him. But watch him, too.”
“I will.”
I didn’t move to leave just yet. “There’s more.”
Tywin looked up again, waiting.
“Kalias and his wolf will need accommodations.”
His brow arched. “Such as?”
“He says his wolf needs space. To run. To hunt sometimes. It isn’t just instinct—it's a necessity. Suppressing it too long could be dangerous, for him and for us.”
Tywin’s fingers drummed lightly on the desk. “A large silver wolf roaming the forests near the capital. That won’t go unnoticed.”
“I know. Dain already raised the same concern.”
At that, Tywin’s mouth tugged faintly. “He’s not wrong.”
“I was hoping we could designate a controlled perimeter. Secluded. Ward it, mark it. Keep it under watch if you must. But give him the freedom to let the wolf out.”
“You’re asking me to trust an unproven outsider with free run of Kareth’s land.”
“No,” I said firmly. “I’m asking you to trust me.”
The pause stretched. Then Tywin leaned back, folding his hands. “You’re very good at making me do things that go against protocol, Azaria.”
“I’ve had practice.”
That earned the faintest flicker of a smile.
He sighed. “I’ll arrange it. A sector near the southern woods—quiet, away from patrol lines. You’ll handle the wards?”
“I’ll speak with Kael. He and Dain can help me set the perimeter.”
“Good.” His tone hardened. “But Azaria…”
I looked up.
“If this goes wrong—if even the slightest thing feels off—you come to me first.”
“I will.”
He nodded once. “Then go.”
I turned toward the door, scroll in hand, pulse thrumming with something fierce and certain.
Something was shifting. And I had a feeling it wasn’t just Kalias’s wolf.