Chapter Thirty Seven

Aerilyn

The girl finally found her way to her quarters, stumbling slightly as she walked. Her power was nearly drained, making every inch of her body feel weak. Her attention was taken by the sound of footsteps, her hand sliding to her dagger as she whipped around. Her fingers grasped the blade as she held it between her and the approaching person. Her eyes locked with Azazel’s, the pain in them so obvious that she almost felt sorry for him.

“I’m glad to see you’re still alive,” she pulled out a sarcastic tone. If he had died, her life would’ve been in much more danger than it was now. The entire kingdom would’ve turned against them, they would’ve been blamed for the attack. The possibility of them making it out of Korth to return to Orissia would’ve been ruined. A smirk formed on his face, but it was forced. His hand moved slightly to reveal his shirt beneath ripped to shreds, blood coating his abdomen. She noticed then how pale his skin was, how his body swayed slightly.

“Only halfway, but I’m happy to hear you were concerned about me, doll.”

With that, Azazel’s legs gave out. Aerilyn acted fast, her hands grasping around his torso in an attempt to keep him up. She swore under her breath, looking over her shoulder for any help. There wasn’t a soul in sight. “Keep those eyes open. Close them and I might kill you while you’re unconscious,” she threatened, trying to pull him towards her bedroom door that was only a few paces away. The man was large, his build strong. His weight was difficult to hold, especially with how weak the girl had already felt.

With her hip, she pushed open the door as she half dragged the man in behind her. She stopped at the couch, carefully helping him lower down onto the cushions. Her heart was beating too fast in her chest, unable to hide her concern as his eyes began to flutter shut. She didn’t wait to get to work, undoing each button of his dress shirt to get better access to the wounds. His abdomen had three long gashes, blood seeping through each of them. She could see the fatty tissue from beneath the skin oozing out, confirming how extensive the injuries were.

“If I knew getting injured would make you take my clothing off, I would’ve done it much sooner,” the teasing in his voice made her want to laugh, but the wound before her made her too afraid to do such a thing. “This might hurt,” she warned him before her eyes squeezed shut, pulling all of her power into her hands. She sucked in a deep breath as she placed her palms on his torso. His groan of pain made her heartache. She’d never seen him so vulnerable before. The king of Korth was dying and she was his only hope.

His entire body arched, attempting to avoid the pain but she pressed her hands down harder. She refused to let him die. As much as he’d put her through, she couldn’t let him die. The plans of killing him slipped away then. She wasn’t sure what changed her mind or compelled her to save him, but she couldn’t stop herself. Her hands were warm against his skin, the soft light shining between them. She didn’t have much strength left, but she used all she had left for him. She watched as the wounds beneath her hands began to slowly mesh back together. The blood still soaked his skin, but within seconds the three long claw marks were just small scars on his pale skin.

“Stay here,” she mumbled before she stood, her legs shaking as she moved across the room to grab a rag. She soaked the material in warm water before returning to the man who was slumped on the cushions. She slid onto the couch beside him, examining the scars to confirm there wasn’t any new bleeding. She dabbed the rag over his stomach, cleaning up any blood that wet his skin.

“Why didn’t you come to find me sooner, Azazel? You could’ve died. If you had waited any longer you would’ve been added to the fallen,” her voice was sharp, the frustration peaking in her tone. “I needed to make sure my people were tended to. Their lives are just as important as mine” he swallowed hard, his throat visibly moving with the action. “Besides, you hate me. Especially after everything I put you through today,” his voice almost sounded broken. “If you died, think about what would’ve happened to me. They don’t want me here. I would’ve joined you in the afterlife. I know you care about your people, but they need their leader. They need you. Promise me you won’t do that again,” she touched a hand to his arm before quickly pulling it away.

“I won’t let it happen again,” he reached out, taking her hand and placing it back on his arm.

“Promise. Me.”

“Fine. I promise, doll,” he finally gave in to her request, placing his hand over hers. “I’m glad to know you don’t hate me,” his voice was barely above a whisper, she almost didn’t hear it. “I don’t hate you, Az. I couldn’t. But you’ve put me through so much, you’ve kept me here against my own will. You’ve killed my friends. I can’t exactly like you when this entire thing is all a lie,” she motioned between the two of them. The look of hurt that spread across his features gave her a spark of guilt that quickly died out as she reminded herself of everything he had done, the harm he had caused.

“Aerilyn, I have to do these things for my people. I have to protect them”

“You’re so narcissistic that you don’t realize the problem with that statement. You can’t do horrible things and blame it on some bullshit excuse. Own up to it,” her words were cruel and she knew that. She couldn’t hold back these emotions any longer. He was weak at that moment. He didn’t have his full energy to fight back. He was silent, his expression hardening as he tried to hide his emotions.

They sat in silence for several minutes before she finally stood, moving to head into her chamber. The entire room was spinning. Each of her limbs began to tingle and go numb, the entire day finally hitting her. She could feel her magic completely drained. There was hardly a drop left. Her head felt as if the air was growing heavy, weighing her body down. In a split second, she hadn’t realized that her body had gone down. She felt the floor crash into her and everything in her vision went in and out of focus. A pair of hands wrapped around her, one slipping under her head to put a barrier between her and the floor.

“Can I pick you up?” His voice was gentle as he cradled her body into his chest and all she could do was manage to nod. He let out a sigh as he stood, carrying her against his hard chest. Her head fell onto him, trying to fight the thought that he still had no shirt on.

“Aerilyn, please listen to my voice.”

She was unsure of her surroundings before she felt the bed beneath her. His arms grasped onto her tightly, his hand stroking along the length of her hair. “It hurts, make it stop” she whimpered, grabbing onto his bicep as she looked up at him. “You used too much magic. I didn’t mean to drain you, I didn’t realize how much you’d already used,” he shook his head, moving his hand onto her cheek. “Don’t let go of me, okay? Hold onto me, doll,” he squeezed her tight before calling out for help. She gripped him tighter, using the feeling on his skin beneath her palm to ground her.

Aerilyn could hear the door open and the loud boots hitting the marble floor. “I need a healer, she’s completely drained” he paused, his gaze going between her and the man standing in the doorway. “And get Everett,” he added, but his voice began to fade. She could feel him shaking her body, could hear his words calling out to her, but it all became too distant to hold on to.