“He won’t hurt me. I promise… Trust me, Sator.”
His flight faltered with my request, and he lowered his speed, falling back to give us space even when his fear sliced through me. The other’s stood above their Dragons, watching me disappear in the distance.
Turning to face Azazel, I found one of his heads focused on me. He blinked, taking in the full sight of me in his hand while the others focused on the way ahead of us. Not knowing where he was taking me, I decided to study him.
The moment I glanced at him so closely, truly looked at him, what felt like a thousand tiny blades sliced my being. Bones protruded from his chest, back, and arms, muscles wasted and weak underneath, his parched and paper-like skin stretched thinly over his body, caving between the bones to show his skeleton. The grayish skin was anything but healthy, flaking before my very eyes while I swept over large patches of cracked and missing scales.
Slashes and scrapes that never quite healed attempted to form scars along his body but couldn’t protect him from the hate the Warlock King had unleashed against him for almost twenty years. Even when he didn’t know about me or who I was, Raithian had taken Azazel from my father and that was enough reason to hate him and torture him like this.
The truth was that my soulmate seemed barely alive as it was. He looked like a zombie. Kept alive only to follow Raithian’s evil commands, and that realization caused an inferno to awake in my throat.
Placing both hands on his chest, while he cradled me close to him, I closed my eyes and sent every ounce of healing energy I had into him. I knew it would never undo the years of trauma and abuse Azazel endured, but at least it could heal his latest wounds. Golden energy rushed out of me, and he whimpered as it spread over him—even my healing it stirred his pain.
Fresh wounds along his side and shoulder began to close, the dry blood peeling and falling off him, the slash on his face now gone. Some areas my healing reached didn’t fully return to perfect health, but the wrinkled, dehydrated skin became a soft grayish blue—similar to Draco’s coloring. Light blue. Azazel had been a blue Dragon before the Warlock King got his claws on him.
“You must have been gorgeous…” I whispered, caressing his chest with both hands, my entire being tensing at the feeling of his bones under my touch.
My feet suddenly touched something solid, and Azazel let go, flying back to look at me. Shock rippled through me as I swiftly glanced at my surroundings. TheLost Kingdom. Azazel had brought me back to the Castle of Dragons, setting me on the highest tower, right next to the broken statue of the Dragon perched on top. Nodding towards the castle, he droned, almost saying it was where I belonged.
Azazel knew who I was. He knew I was the Devenish Prince.
Heart slamming against my ribs, I lifted my arm, silently calling him back to me. His main head tilted while he watched me, searching for something inside of me. The green light in his seven eyes flickered to gold in that instant, and he pressed his main forehead against my palm.
Pulling from the pieces of theAnima CrystallumI carried, I sent all the energy I could muster into him. Azazel froze under my touch, and my magic intensified in his eyes, turning them permanently gold. The next second, a full color memory crashed into my mind.
My mother sat near a gorgeous turquoise lake, lime green mountains extending across from it while a lush forest flanked her. Her back rested against a tree as she slowly caressed her belly, singing what reminded me of a Nordic style lullaby. Her beautifully haunting voice echoed in the breeze, making me feel like I was right there with her.
A gasp escaped her when a healthy and young, four-headed Dragon landed before her, water splashing in every direction. Fear transformed her features, and she backed farther against the tree, but it began to disappear when he gently lay his main head beside her. Azazel moved purposefully slow, careful not to frighten her even more, until his nose gently inched towards her belly—scenting me.
My golden light illuminated his hazel eyes in that moment, pulling a gasp from my mom’s lips.
It was done. We were connected.
Azazel had claimed me as his soulmate.
Panting out of the memory, I placed my other hand on him and pulled harder from the crystals and my core, sending all my magic into Azazel to keep him here, to set him free. The family tree burst to life around us, shimmering light rushing through the branches and leaves as it searched for his essence. For his place among my own.
A brand-new thread formed abruptly, extending from the nothingness towards me, shimmering as it fought to reach me, but then the green glow flickered in his eyes.
“No!”I shouted into his mind.“Fight him, Azazel. Don’t let go!”
Azazel blinked, the golden glow flickering back, and I pushed even harder, watching the thin thread begin to grow into a branch on its way to me. I just needed a bit more. Only a little more magic. Jaw clenching, muscles jerking along my back, I fought to keep him with me, using everything I had, but Raithian’s power kept cutting through our connection.
Currents of pain mixed with the energy as I drew harder and harder from my essence, from my ancestors, frantically trying to get Azazel back. From green to gold, and gold to green, his eyes changed, the branch dimming next to him. Suddenly, Azazel pulled away from me, Raithian’s energy becoming brighter in his irises.
“No!” I raged out loud, running to the edge of the tower and planting my hands on him again before he could leave me. The railing dug into my stomach, but I didn’t let him go. I couldn’t.
My golden light reappeared, and the branch began to form once more. A wave of overwhelming love slammed into me the next instant, flowing from his essence and into mine. Daunting in their loyalty and ferocity, his emotions continued to engulf me, followed by anguish, and crushing shame. Azazel felt so defeated.
Whimpers escaped all four of his mouths, turning into a roar when Raithian retook control. The force of his breath sent me back to crash against the brick wall, but I scrambled to my feet. Thrusting my hands forwards, beams of my light crash into his forehead.
“Fight him, damn it. Stay with me!!”
Azazel’s eyes flickered back to gold, but the pain he projected into me then was debilitating. All four heads jerked in different directions when he tried to do as I asked, a couple spewing fire towards the abandoned gardens and leaving steaming craters in their wake. He reared back when the rage gripped him once more, his claws ripping into the castle. Bricks exploded into dust with his frantic swipes, spires fracturing and falling several feet to the ground.
The broken chains on his wrist slammed against one of the large balconies below us, glass shattering and raining everywhere.
“Away. Safe. Away… me,”His broken plea slipped into my mind, and he pulled back. The ground shook when he fell on all fours, losing the battle against Raithian. A cloud of rocks and dust expanded along the land, mixing with the rising smoke.“Safe,”he shared one last time, his gaze permanently turning green.
