Chapter Twelve #3
“I always did like you, even if I disagreed with your choices,” Azriel said, his voice dipping low. “But I love that girl like she’s my own, and I will not see her come to harm by your hand.”
“Then I suppose you can’t die, can you? You’ll have to keep an eye on me, at least for a while.”
Azriel scowled. “Don’t jest. Whatever happens to me, you must promise you’ll protect her. No mistakes, Yuriel. Not again.”
Yuri flinched, ducking his gaze for several seconds before he joined his elder against the wall. “We’re not meant to get attached to them.”
“Xadriel’s a fool if he’s still spouting that nonsense. Spend two weeks here and tell me it’s possible not to get attached. Spend a month, and tell me that you do not love that girl.”
Yuri sat up, certain he’d misheard. “Love? That’s—”
“We may not act on our feelings, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any.” Azriel’s forehead relaxed, the tension easing from his face. Whatever wave of pain he’d felt seemed to have passed. “Be good to her.”
As if he had a choice.
Silence settled between them, as comfortable as a worn cloak, as both angels worked to quell the emotional pulses of their bonded.
Eventually, the heavy thudding of footsteps shattered the stillness.
Both he and Azriel glanced up to find the king standing at the threshold, flanked by no fewer than a dozen knights.
His gaze was cold, an invisible frost settling over the room.
Yuri was glad to spare himself from having to search for the man, though he didn’t care one bit for the look in his eyes.
“I ask that you step away from Azriel,” the king announced coolly, each word honed like a blade. It wasn’t a request.
Rage simmered in Yuri’s blood. He’d never cared for the titles humans gave themselves. It was ridiculous that they could see a newborn and decide it would one day be fit to rule. The hierarchy of angels made far more sense—acclaim earned through deeds, not birth.
Yuri pushed himself upright, ready to demand precisely who this king thought he was. He stilled only when he felt the pulse of Azriel’s magic within him, soothing the tension stiffening his spine.
“Leave him be,” Azriel warned, the words spoken directly in Yuri’s mind. “It gives these people peace to think they have power over us.”
“We could destroy them,” Yuri shot back. “Cities have burned for less.”
“I can see now why you’re a Soldier. If we burned every city over one fool’s disrespect, there’d be nothing left but ash. We want people to worship us because they admire us, not because they fear us. Otherwise, we’re no better than the demons.”
Azriel was right, but it still took great effort to stand and show deference for this king.
“For what reason would you have me leave?” Yuri demanded, managing somehow to keep the bite from his voice.
The king’s gaze raked over him, unreadable. “We’ve no precedent for this situation. It would be best to confine Azriel until we know whether he’s a risk to us or himself.”
“Confine him?” Light, these people were heathens. “You would cage one of the Divine?”
“To speak plainly, we need to protect you as well. We hoped to have two angels aiding us in our fight against the demons. Now I need to ensure we keep at least one.”
Yuri understood the need to protect the kingdom, but the thought of Azriel caged up like some flightless bird left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Azriel, however, didn’t protest. “I don’t need you to fight my battles, Yuriel.” His voice was steady despite the effort it took him to rise, shaky on his feet. “King Edric speaks wisely. It’s better that we play this safe until we know how I’ll respond to Varen’s change.”
Yuri’s wings bristled, but he gave no argument.
“Very well.” He shot a final look back at his elder. “I swear that I’ll do everything in my power to fulfill your request.”
Azriel stumbled past, the knights forming a protective ring around him. He paused just long enough to meet Yuri’s eyes and give a small, grateful nod before allowing himself to be guided forward.
Yuri remained there until Azriel was gone, watching each knight to ensure the angel was treated with the reverence he deserved. The king followed at the rear, but before he crossed the threshold, Yuri put out a wing to stop him, admittedly because he suspected it would irk the man.
“She wants to see her father,” he said when the king flashed him a dark look.
“She’s too valuable.” The decisiveness of those words was immediate.
“Tomorrow, you’ll begin her training. After that, we need to assess him before we decide anything.
And Yuri”—the angel stiffened at how casual his name sounded on such a tongue—“you would do wise to remember that your loyalty is not to her, but to me. That girl is as steady as smoke. Collar her, and forge your bond in iron. Maybe then we’ll all have a chance of getting out of this alive. ”
Yuri did not withdraw his wing, blood simmering on behalf of a woman he’d only just met. Still, the king pressed forward, and as he watched the knights escort Azriel down the hall, Yuri had but one thought.
He’d come to Rhovar to fight demons, but no one had prepared him for just how human they could appear.