He met her gaze, the blues of his eyes mixing with silver and black, shifting in such a way that made her feel breathless. "Our people, Nymiria.Yourpeople. And," Her heart started to pound erratically, flashes of her final moments in The Beyond flickering through her mind as she looked at him. "I need your help finding her. You're the only one who can help me. You were Greia's loyal servant—even when you believed her to be dead, you never stopped praying to her, did you? You should be able to locate her immediately."
The taste of Greia's name was still heavy on her tongue from her morning prayers, her knees still aching from how long she kneeled at the altar she'd hidden in her armoire. Dorid didn't want anyone worshiping the Mystic gods. She'd gone to great lengths keeping her faith concealed, even if the goddess she prayed to never replied. She'd hoped that Greia was dead all along—anything was worth clinging to other than the feeling of complete abandonment. Even if Aziel was claiming to be seeking the Anam, she was skeptical. He hadn't done much of anything to gain her trust. And everything about him made her feel…wild.
"You did all of this—chased me and tackled me to the ground—just to ask me to help you find the new Anam heir?" She questioned. She looked over his features, eyes darting from his strangely colored irises to the plump pout of his lips. The wildness she felt when she looked at him came from deep inside of her, like another being was trying to wriggle its way to the surface. It was not unpleasant, but it was unsettling. The further it dug through her, the more the feelings she'd locked away started coming to surface. Anger, confusion, hatred, andheartbreak. She didn't want to feel it. And if being this close to Aziel was what made her feel this way, then there was something that had to be done. But killing him was not an option now.
Even though he roused something inside of her that she'd never felt before, she couldn't end his life. People needed him.Herpeople needed him, if what Phyona told her was true.
"I don't think you understand how important this is, Nymiria. If we do not find her, darker forces will be able to take her power and use it forverydark things. We cannot allow that to happen." He explained carefully, in such a calm manner that Nymiria had to blink to ensure that it was actually Aziel speaking to her. She hadn't heard his voice sound so tender, so sincere.
Nymiria worried at her lip, eyes slowly dropping to the stone. "And you think that I would be able to help you with that?"
Aziel didn't hesitate. No sooner than the words left her mouth, he was already responding with a firm nod of his head. "I do."
Chapter 9
"Ican't help you." Nymiria stated it firmly, her voice not even shaking once, despite the tremors in her hands. She clenched them into fists, turning her gaze to the crow perched on one of the pine branches to her right.
"You can't or youwon't?" He was goading her as always, this back-and-forth game he seemingly loved to play to get her worked up. And for what? None of this made any sense. There was nothing that she could offer him—not a single flicker of her Grace was left that could be of use to his cause.
She gritted her teeth, taking a step away from the podium. "I don't see how it makes a difference, I still will not help you."
The look in her eyes and the movements of her body spoke two entirely different phrases. Aziel had killed enough people to know what fear looked like, and those telling signs were written all over her face. He'd had her for a moment, he saw it—the look of wonder in her eyes, the allure of finding theAnamtriggering something inside of her. But as soon as he saw it, it was gone.
"Have it your way, then." He sighed and pushed away from the podium, turning swiftly on his heel and turning back in the direction of the palace. He walked slowly, smirking when he heard her bristled steps charging after him, the foliage crunching under her feet and a breathy curse leaving her mouth when she finally fell into step beside him. He aimlessly examined the silver buttons on the cuffs of his jacket, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the smooth top. "Changeyour mind?" Aziel arched his brow in her direction, but Nymiria only grunted in response.
"I want my dagger back." She held out her palm to him, making a beckoning motion with her fingers. "It's not yours, you can't just take it."
His smirk turned to a laugh as he stared down at her, her steely eyes showing no sign of amusement. A line formed in between her brows, her lips flat with frustration. "No." He started walking again.
A flurry of curses sounded from behind him, Nymiria's stomps crushing every twig and plant in her path. "What do you meanno?" She hissed. "I want it back!"
"It means exactly what I said—no. I'm not giving it back until you learn that stabbing and punching people who piss you off is not the proper way to behave."
"And who are you to be giving lessons on how I should behave?" She exclaimed. Aziel's long legs were able to clear a fallen tree that lay in their path and he turned his head to Nymiria just in time to see her using all of her strength to jump over it. "You'rethe certified murderer here!"
Aziel turned to her fully, striding backwards towards the clearing. "Now, if we are going to start handing out hateful names that are related to our professions, what should I call you, darling? If I called you what others in this kingdom call the royal courtesans, you'd probably slit my throat."
Nymiria only blinked at him. Because he was right. With a triumphant look shot in her direction, Aziel turned back around and continued going. "For your information, you are the only person that has ever pissed me off enough to want to stab or punch. So that says more about your character than it does mine, I think."
This woman was insufferable. Aziel rolled his eyes, pressing his thumb to the bridge of his nose before turning to her again. "Surely, the very brief interactions we've had haven't given you a good example of what my character is, but I can assure you that there was no need for you to punch me in the throat or try to stab me."
"Every brief interaction we've had, you've acted like a pompousass."
He surveyed her for a moment, his smile returning when he saw the angry line between her brows again. He couldn't resist the urge this time, allowing himself to reach out and poke the mark. "You keep making that face, it'll stay like that."
"If youleft me alone, I wouldn't have to make this face."
In.Sufferable.
"Listen," he sighed. "As much as I would like to sit around and argue with you about which one of us is more annoying than the other, I will leave you here. When I turn back around, we're going our separate ways. Problem solved. And I will give you back your dagger when I can make sure that you won't stab me when I turn my back to you. Which, might I add, isnotright now." He took her shoulders into his hands and turned her so that she faced the direction of her garden. "You go that way."
"I'm not a dog. You can't just—"
"Nymiria,please, I am at the end of my patience and I have plenty of other important things to take care of at the moment. Now—go." He let go of her shoulders and willed himself away from her.
If he had it his way, he would have stayed. He would have kept her in that forest for the rest of their lives if it meant he could convince her—if he could show her who she truly was or who he truly was. But today was not that day. His patrolling shift was coming to an end, which meant that he had thirty minutes to prepare himself to meet with Camalia.
The message he received from her that morning felt like stones in his pocket, but he'd been lucky to have three weeks pass without her calling on him again. She'd been busy with the Shidoshans, planning holidays and celebrations with them as if they'd been friends for ages. He'd sat in on a few of the meetings and the Shidoshan princess, Oran's new fiance, looked like she wanted to make a run for it. Aziel didn't blame her. In fact, he probably would have helped her if worse came to worse.
