Chapter 58
TRISTAN
After whatever his name was and I secured Cain in his cell, I seemed to lose myself inside of the castle.
I passed by strangers who continuously stared at me like I was some kind of… creature. When their eyes would meet mine, they’d usually gasp or cover their mouths as they quickly passed me by. I felt so fucking out of place.
The only good part of any of this relied solely on the fact that I knew Morrigan was around here somewhere. Just touching her silenced the endless noise that stirred in my head, and would erase the faces I’ve had to see for the past couple of hours.
But as I strode through the endless halls, I heard a slight commotion nearby. Turning, I found myself at the entrance to the courtyard, where I had seen Morrigan with two other girls she’d spoken of before, Lyra and Eowyn.
Just outside of the doors, I heard Malakai’s voice rising in frustration. “You can’t be serious. Come inside!”
I approached curiously and saw Azrael sitting on the top step with his arms crossed. He had a long piece of cloth tied around his head, covering his eyes, and the sight of it made me frown.
“Why is he blindfolded?” I asked Mal, stepping out into the blinding—and extremely uncomfortable—sunlight.
“The little vermin insisted on it,” Malakai snarled.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone!” Azrael barked back at him.
“You aren’t going to hurt anyone.” I made my way to the stairs and sat beside the boy.
“I will.” I noticed the slight moisture beneath his nose and realized that he had been crying at some point.
“I’ll mess up. I’ll get angry, and I won’t be able to control it.
And then, if I hurt someone, they’ll take me away.
They’ll send me to—” Azrael started hyperventilating. “Lord C-Cain always said that we—”
“Hey,” I whispered, pulling him into my side and resting my head on top of his. “I won’t let them take you. They’d have to go through me, Mal, and Morrigan before they could even consider touching you. You know that, right?”
I felt his little body shake as more tears began to burst free. “He made me hurt so many people,” he cried. “I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore.”
Malakai shifted behind me, and I could sense his irritation growing. Mal knew that Cain was somewhere in this castle, and the bond he had formed with Azrael ran deep. He had all but accepted him into his pack, like a little omega. Even Naomi had taken a liking to him, and Naomi liked no one.
“What if I can help you?” I asked him quietly.
“How?” He sniffled and sat up straight, turning to face me but unable to see through the fabric.
If Morrigan was outside and saw him like this… I didn’t even want to think about how she would react.
“What if I can take it away? With my light returned to me, I can remove the small parts that remain within you.”
Azrael frowned, considering my offer. “But… But if you take it away, how will I protect the princess?”
Mal chuckled behind us. “I don’t think your princess needs much protecting anymore, little wolf.”
“She needs me,” Azrael insisted, snapping back at Malakai.
“Of course she does.” Placing one hand on his shoulder, I used my other one to remove the blindfold. Azrael looked worried as the fabric slid from his face, revealing his big, grey eyes. “Just because we are here now, doesn’t mean anything has changed.”
“I’ll still train you,” Mal assured him. “I’ll make sure you’re strong enough to defend your princess.”
“M-Maybe…” Azrael stuttered. “Maybe I could get to see… other kids, too?”
I tried to hide the way his words affected me. I saw myself in him so much—the loneliness in his eyes.
“What? Are we not good enough for you?” Mal scoffed teasingly, and for the first time since I had walked out here, a small smile cracked along Azrael’s face.
When he turned back toward me, he straightened his spine and nodded like the little knight he was. “I want you to do it.”
“Are you positive?” I asked him. “Understand that, no matter what you choose, I will not allow anyone to lay a hand on you. This is your decision, little wolf.”
“I want you to,” he insisted. “I want… I want to be normal. I want to be free and safe and… I want friends.”
I shared a glance with Malakai who, to my surprise, nodded in agreement.
This world wasn’t ready for someone as strong as Azrael, but one day, they might need someone like him.
Someone with a heart of fire and gold, who wanted nothing more than to protect the one person who cared enough to truly see him for the first time.
Sound familiar? I asked myself.
I could take away the light… for now. “Try to remain still.”
I had to do something similar to this when Malakai was stuck in his shifting state.
I didn’t need to fully remove Mal’s light, but I had to shift it around in a way that unchained whatever magic had gone wrong.
It was easy enough to do once I figured it out.
But to fully remove the light? I needed all of my power for that.
I placed my hands at his temples and let my magic reach out to him.
My shadows slowly seeped into his skin, searching for the small trickle of light that had been passed down to him.
When I found it, I watched as his eyes began to glow.
I could feel his power push back, a small defense mechanism trying to push its way into my head, but it didn’t stand a chance against me.
His eyes glowed brighter, and I coaxed the power away, pulling it from the very essence of his soul. Azrael jerked a little.
“I’m almost done,” I promised him.
His hands gripped my arms, and his breath came in nervous, small pants.
But all it took was one final pull. Azrael gasped as a small white light curled out from his temples, and the glow in his eyes extinguished completely.
The light slid into my hands, burrowing itself with my own, and I locked it away—separate from my power.
“Is it…” Azrael breathed out heavily. “Did you…”
Suddenly, the sound of rushing feet ran our way from inside the castle. I twisted to find Morrigan sliding to a stop at the doors.
“I felt… Actually, I don’t know what I felt. What did you just—” Her words paused as she peered down at Azrael, and without speaking again, she ran to him, lifting the boy into her arms. “Oh, gods, Azrael... I've been looking for you!"
“Princess, Tristan… He-he—”
“Azrael asked me to remove his light,” I finished for him.
Morrigan reeled back to look at Azrael, confused. “Why would you do that?”
“C-Cain used to tell us we were monsters. He said that if we ever left the tunnels, they would h-hurt us. That we didn’t belong up here…” Morrigan’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she listened to him. “I want to belong here. With you.”
She pulled him back against her, tightening her arms around him.
Malakai took it as his cue to leave, and bowed his head as he made his way down the steps.
He likely needed to check on his pack. They would be lurking somewhere in the woods, and the agreement was for them to remain on castle grounds until everyone felt comfortable enough to let them roam.
Malakai agreed with that decision. They hadn’t been in this world for three centuries. We all needed some adjusting.
I moved toward Morrigan and Azrael, placing a hand on his back as I gazed down at her.
Something was different. The power I sensed in her… I could feel it in my bones, but it wasn’t just mine anymore.
“You will always belong here,” she whispered to him, and hearing her tell him that healed some part of the child inside of me that died long ago.