Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

AZIEL

The last thing I remembered was my sister's face. Seeing her, I thought I'd never wake up again. She was psychotic, my uncle's top torturer, and she didn't give a flying fuck that I was her brother. The chances of me surviving an encounter with her were slim to none. And I was too drained from realm hopping to fight back. So when I woke up warm and without any pain, I was confused, to say the very least. I almost thought it was a nightmare, but when I blinked my eyes open, I wasn't in my bed. The ceiling was unfamiliar, what of it I could see anyway. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out why my right eye wouldn't open, but when I reached up to touch it, a gentle hand pushed my arm back down.

"You're on the mend, but I would suggest for now not touching your injuries," the warm voice warned.

Clearing my throat, I turned toward the woman who stood beside my bed. "Why can't I see?"

"When they attacked you, they used a poison. It blocked our ability to heal you. It took a while just to get the bleeding under control, but unfortunately, we weren't able to reverse the injuries you incurred. "

Injuries. A memory of the night at my uncle's home flashed through my mind and I reached again, this time toward my horn. The woman looked sympathetic, once again pulling my hand away.

"How much do you remember?"

"Not much. Where–" My heart stuttered in my chest. Dante. Where was Dante? Did I get him out in time? What about Declan? Oliver? Were they still safe?

The woman's hands glowed as she settled them on my chest. "Deep breaths, Aziel. If you look to your left, you'll see your cousin asleep in the bed next to you. And in the chair by your side is your mate. His little brother is in another bed on your right. They're safe."

It was disconcerting, relying on only one eye, but I took them all in one at a time. Dante was hugging his pillow. It was a quirk of his. He made nests in his bed, I think to make him feel safer. I had to buy him half a dozen pillows when he moved in with me. Oliver was sprawled on his back, snoring lightly, drool dripping out of the side of his mouth. And Declan held my hand, his chin resting on his chest, his breaths deep and even. His clothes were torn and bloodstained, but I couldn't see any injuries on him. When I shot a questioning look at the healer, she smiled softly.

"He was seen to when he arrived. A few smaller injuries, but luckily, no poison was used. He made a full recovery after a few hours. His healer has checked on him a few times, he has nightmares of the events, but otherwise, he's just fine."

The relief was dizzying, but there was still the matter of my uncle. Was it even safe here? I didn't even know where here was. And what about my friends? I didn't remember enough of that night to know whether they'd come for me or not, but I wouldn't have gotten out without help. I wasn't supposed to survive.

"Healer Malatesta, I could use some support," the healer murmured, poking her head into the hallway. When Mama Malatesta stepped into the room, her soft smile cracked something inside me and I gritted my teeth against the urge to cry.

"Oh, Aziel. You've been through so much. It's alright."

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hold back the stupid tears. I hated it, and it only pissed me off, but I couldn't stop it. I averted my gaze, glaring at the wall as the tears streamed steadily down my face.

"I attempted to ease his anxiety, but his mind is turbulent."

"As is expected. There is only one person that can help him now."

I expected more healing magic by Mama Malatesta to settle me or something. She was one of the best healers around. But Declan's hand released mine and when I jerked to face him, he was climbing into bed with me, pulling me into his arms. The dam broke, and I let him hold me, careful of my injuries, my face buried against his shoulder. I was sure he'd ridicule me for it later, until I felt tears hit my neck. He didn't say anything, he just shushed me lightly, petting my hair and holding me until both our tears stopped.

There was no hurry from either of us to pull away. I soaked in his comfort and took the time to process what happened. I'd never see correctly again. I'd get stares and questions about the horn. It was humiliating and infuriating, and I worried about what Declan would say. I wasn't the same as before. I never found myself particularly handsome, but I could only imagine what I looked like now. He might not want to mate with me like this.

"I can practically hear you overthinking right now," Declan murmured. "Whatever is running through your head, ignore it. You're still perfect to me."

I let his reassurances wash over me, letting out a slow breath. When I finally pulled away and looked at him, his gaze trailed over my face, and he smiled softly.

"It's a little badass, honestly. You're gonna intimidate the hell out of any little shit walking into my shop hoping to scam me."

Huffing out a chuckle, I shook my head. "It might not be smart to let me near your customers. I'll scare them off."

He made an irritated noise, shooting me a dirty look. "If they act like that, then I don't want them in my shop anyway. Fuck them."

If he'd said any bullshit about how no one would ever do that, I would have brushed him off. But Declan didn't lie to me. He supported me and would tell the world to fuck off if they messed with me instead.

"I love you. "

He smiled softly, cupping my chin as he dipped to press his lips gently against mine. "I love you too."

"Aziel?"

I stole one last kiss from Declan before I leaned around him to look at Dante. He was sitting up in bed, a worried look on his face. When I waved him over, he scrambled off his bed and into mine, hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry he hurt you."

I hummed, resting my head against his temple. "I guess we match now."

He sniffled, his bottom lip trembling as he sat back and frowned at his hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was embarrassed. My brothers always made fun of me, even though they were the ones who did it. Them and my dad. I won't… I won't ever be able to fly."

"Don't be so sure about that," Athena demanded, hobbling into the room. "You're young still. The future is full of surprises." She stopped at the foot of my best, smiling at me. "How are you, dear one?"

"Alive."

It sounded like a dismissal, but to me, it was the most important thing in the world. I was alive. And the people I cared about were alive. Slowly, one by one, they filled the room. Oliver moved to sit at the foot of the bed once he woke up. All of my friends and their mates joined us. Even Callum's family stepped into the room. I wasn't sure how long I had before my uncle came for us again, but for now, I was alive and that's all that mattered.

Mama Malatesta only let the visitors stay for so long. She said I needed my rest and they could come in smaller groups a little later. She was going to have me stay at least a week to make sure the poison was well and truly gone. It was my sister's favorite weapon. She painted her claws with it so when she hurt people, they stayed hurt. I didn't know what I ever did to her to make her hate me that much, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like I'd ever run into her again.

After everyone left, Callum's parents took the boys to the cafeteria for breakfast while I met with a few members of the council. They'd been after my uncle for years, so they were eager to bring him to trial. Declan stayed by my side, his face tense and anxious as I went over my part in my uncle's reign. Because I was directly related to him, a witch stood by with a truth sphere to check my story, while someone else recorded everything on video. I was honest with them about gathering information and acting as security. I knew I had some burden to bear for all the people he hurt. He wouldn't have gone after them if he hadn't gotten information from me. I held my breath when I finished, waiting for them to tell me I'd be punished right along with them, but councilwoman Melvina dismissed everyone with a smile.

"Your testimony will help us greatly, Aziel. We're going to put your uncle away for a long time. You don't have to worry about that."

"What about me?"

She pursed her lips, her brows drawn together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he hurt people because I gave him information. I played a part in it."

"Ah." She waved a hand dismissively. "Not a willing part, I'm sure. Besides, none of the information you gathered was obtained illegally. There's nothing illegal about listening in to other people's conversations. And if it wasn't you, Camus would've had someone else gathering that information. You're not in trouble for following orders to stay alive. We have special laws regarding family members under duress. And Dante told us what happened to your parents. That kind of threat would make anyone buckle under to survive. We're more interested in Camus and his sons than you."

"Dante?"

She shook her head. "No, not him. Though, I do have news on that front. Since your uncle signed the paperwork to make you Dante's legal guardian, we won't need to jump through hoops to send him home with you. We were going to have to terminate Camus's rights to Dante, anyway."

I frowned. "But he only signed the human paperwork on it. They did nothing in the Other Realm."

She smirked. "It's still legal. We've gotten a lot of confusion from paranormals about human legal documents. They think they're not bound to them just because they're paranormal. Utter nonsense. We work with the humans, not parallel to them. Once you're released and Camus's rights have been terminated, Dante will be in your care."

Relief slammed into me hard, knocking the wind out of me. My uncle was gone, finally in the hands of the council. Dante was safe from him and legally mine. Declan and Oliver were safe and didn't have to hide in fear anymore. It all seemed too good to be true. At least until Athena's words crossed my mind.

Submit to the white tiger and find your freedom.

I submitted to Declan the day we agreed to tackle my uncle together. I stopped fighting the idea of him being my mate. I didn't fully believe I'd get to keep him, but I greeted each day determined to embrace whatever time I had with him.

Damn. She was going to be impossible to live with from here on out.