She hated that his name would always be a reminder of everything she did to ease the pain of his death.
"I'm not going to kill him." Nymiria decided it as soon as the words came out, with not a single chance to argue with herself about it any longer. Desi was right, after all. Even if Aziel was an annoyance, and probably even evil, she had to admit that he was needed. She watched as her friend deflated with relief, slumping into the chair beside Nymiria's bed.
"Thank the gods."
But there wasonething that Nymiria was curious about. Philter had told her that Aziel couldn't be killed by human weapons. Was this common knowledge or was it something that only someone with Philter's experience would know? She leaned against the post of her bed, fingers still mindlessly trailing over the flowers on her dress. "Did you know that he can't be killed by human weapons?" Nymiria blurted.
Desi's eyes snapped to hers, an unreadable look crossing over her face. "Yes. And it's not humanweapons, Nym. It'shumans. Creatures like him cannot be killed by humans."
"Why not?"
Desi stared at her for a moment before she stood and walked to the door. After making sure that no one was standing behind it, she moved to the shadow in the corner of the room and whispered something into it. Within seconds, Nymiria tumbled backwards, landing directly on her bottom when a figure of a man emerged from the shadows. He was tall, even taller than Oran. His hair was cropped short at the sides, one side of his head covered in what looked like burn scars.
He wasn't a menacing or ominous presence, but there was a sureness about him—a strength that was just as cold and icy as the shadows that were now crawling across the room like thick plumes of smoke. He strode towards her, eyessoft as he extended his hand in her direction. She took it into her own, marveling at the scars that covered his dark brown skin. But she didn't have a chance to stare at him for too long because the man was pulling her to her feet, jerking her back to reality.
"I'm Demetrios, but you can call me Trio. Desi's brother." The man said, offering her a crooked smile that pulled at the scars on the side of his face. His teeth were white, incisors sharp enough to make Nymiria run her tongue over her own.
"You're a Mystic." She stated.
Trio smiled even wider. "Yes.Half, anyway. Just like Desiree and Aziel."
Nymiria's eyes shot to Desi, but her friend only met her with an apologetic shrug. Ten years. Ten years together and Desiree had never told her that she was a Mystic. And all this time, she believed it was just her and Owen alone in this world together. Nymiria shook her head in disbelief, but instead of feeling any sort of anger, it was just understanding. It was relief.
"This still doesn't answer my question. And why are youhere?"
Trio gave a small smile to his sister before the room was completely shrouded in the smokey darkness that spilled from his feet. Once the last semblance of light was gone from the room, the sounds outside vanished with it. There was not a single chirp from the birds outside her window, nor was there a single footstep or the faint sound of people talking down below. All she heard was the soft whirring of the shadows encasing them.
"We just needed a little bit more privacy. And Desi, here, also believes that I can tell this story a little better than she can." Trio shrugged. She watched as his darkened form moved across the floor, relaxing into the edge of her bed. Desi wasn't far behind him. The moment she propped herself against the post of Nymiria's bed, a small orb of light ascended from the center of her palm, large enough and bright enough for Nymiria to see their faces. "There is something you need to understand, Nymiria. And that is that Aziel Haze is not like the otherMystics in this world. I know that you have heard the stories about children who were blessed by the gods at birth."
It was a faint memory. But the more she strained trying to remember, the more the vein in her temple seemed to pulse. Any time she thought of her childhood or her life before Yaarborough always caused some sort of pain—emotional or physical, depending on the day. "So, he's a godling." She inquired.
Trio looked at her with something akin to pride, the small nod of his head and the kindness in his eyes making her want to smile back at him. "Something along those lines. But when a child is born with a blessing from the gods, that god also gifts them with a plethora of abilities to help ensure their survival; one of those being the ability to withstand being killed by anyone who doesn't have a certain degree of magic." Trio looked at her thoughtfully, his head tilting to one side as if deep in thought. "I once watched Aziel get stabbed seventeen times—one went directly through his heart. And while it did slow him down, he was up within the next five minutes and was able to kill the asshole."
Nymiria eyed the man in front of her. He spoke of Aziel fondly. Almost like one would a friend. "I assume that the two of you are close."
"He's my best friend." Trio shrugged.
"And you?" She swiveled her head in Desi's direction, eyes narrowing. "Are you friends with him too?" Desi gave her a solemn look before nodding her head. "Well, that's justperfect. Here I was, thinking that you loathed him as much as I did! You said you were thrilled that I punched him in the throat!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, wishing that there was a hard object she could bang her head against.
"To be fair, I still want to see you do it again."
"You punched Aziel in the throat?" Trio chuckled, his dark eyes practically glowing with amusement. Nymiria nodded. "I believe he forgot to divulge that bit of your interactions with me. Thank you, Nymiria." He spoke as if cataloging the information to use at a later time. Nymiria certainly wanted him to. She would love to see Aziel's face when the moment was brought up in conversation.
Their friendship made sense, though. Desi had lived in the palace foryears. And given the fact that Desi and Trio were both Mystics, it only seemed natural that Aziel would confide in them and befriend them. This place was hell if you had to navigate it alone.
"So, I can't kill him?" Nymiria asked. "If I wanted to, I mean—"
Trio's smile fell, his brow furrowing before he looked to his sister. "She's planning to kill him?"
"It was theoretical." Nymiria added quickly, her feet carrying her forward to grab his hand. She gave him a pleading look, her fear more than evident. When Trio looked down at where they were touching, she jerked her hand away and took a small step back. "Listen, I have many people asking me to do many things and I am just trying to find answers—I'm trying to figure out what's going onhere." She placed a hand over her pounding heart for emphasis. "I don't know what I want or what I believe, but I'm trying to figure it out."
"I'll give you some advice, Nym—can I call you Nym?" Trio arched a brow at his question, to which Nymiria only nodded. "If anyone in this world understands what it's like to be in your position, it would be Aziel. Desi and I would be the first people that can attest to the fact that Aziel can be…"
"An asshole?"
Trio smirked. "Yes, but he means well. Most of the time." He moved towards her slowly, taking her hand into his with the gentleness of someone who understood the pain and confusion, with the care of a friend. Nymiria went rigid, eyes darting to Nia. "Trusthim, Nym. Listen to your heart. It will rarely lead you astray. What Phyona told you is true. Aziel is leading the rebellion against the Yaarboroughs. He has been working towards this for the last ten years and now that we finally have a place to house all of those misplaced and imprisoned, we cannot let the leader of this operationdie. So, I beg of you, think twice before you lift another blade in his direction."
"But I'm not a godling." Nymiria insisted, pressing a hand to her chest. Trio made no moves to object to the statement, but there was a look in his eyes thatsaid otherwise. "AmI a godling?" The sentence was more of a whisper to herself than to the others in the room.
