Chapter 10
Kyla showed Azriel the deep spot at the creek where she usually washed. He was using the wooden crutches she had built him and had become reasonably adept at moving across the rough terrain with them. His shattered leg was protected by the heavy clay cast, but his wing still hung loose and limp from his back. The sun was shining but there was a hint of autumn in the air. Some of the leaves had turned red or yellow making a beautiful mosaic of colour in the forest.
"Don't you dare get that cast wet!" she instructed him as he looked forward to his first real cleaning in...time? How much time? Two dozen books. Fourteen winters. Days and nights of no defined length. At first Azriel lay on his back with his head and shoulders floating in the stream. He used the soap to wash his hair and body, and Kyla used the bucket to rinse him off. He hobbled to a nearby boulder to sit while she refilled the bucket and brought it up to him. Azriel didn't move but sat there with his arms crossed, fidgeting a little. He looked like he was struggling for something to say.
"What is it? What do you need?" Kyla asked.
"I don't mean to be rude but could I have a little privacy for this next part?"
Kyla looked at him incredulously but a smile crept onto her cheeks and up to her eyes. She tried to hold it back but it just made her face shine even more.
"You were unconscious for a long time...there's nothing I haven't seen before," she tried to say with a straight face. But the laughter in her face gave her away and she had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. Azriel did not find this funny at all and he straightened his shoulders and looked around the forest. At that Kyla really did laugh out loud.
"There's certainly no one here to spy on you! Believe me, I checked," she joked about her own situation. She dropped the bucket and soap by his feet and then crossed her arms and stepped back.
"Inside, when I was sick, it was different. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate everything you did for me, but now I am capable and...conscious...and I...would like a moment. Please."
"Fine," Kyla said with a smirk. "If you say so. But if you fall I don't think that I can pick you up again. You're really heavy, you know that?" she called over her shoulder as she walked away.
Kyla walked over to where she had carried Azriel's leathers and began undoing buckles and clasps so he could put them on over this clothes. The deep blue stones mesmerized her as she rubbed her hands over them.
"What are these called again?" she shouted over to where Azriel was washing.
"Siphons," he called back. "They're used to channel my power. A warrior usually has only one or two, but Cassian and I have seven each." He tried to sound humble in this statement, but there was a hint of pride in his voice.
"So is that where your shadows come from? Is that why you don't have any now, because you haven't been wearing the Siphons?" she asked. Azriel didn't answer right away as he considered the question.
"No," he said remorsefully. "The Siphons do not create the power, just channel it. They help me focus it...I don't know where the shadows have gone."
Kyla let out a huff while she stared at her reflection in the stones. "An incredibly powerful faerie has landed on my doorstep, and this wretched place has broken him too." She shook her head in frustration.
A cough sounded behind her and Kyla spun on her guard. But it was Azriel standing in his clothes some water still dripping from his hair. He used one crutch like a cane but could move fairly easily now the leg was supported by the cast.
"Hey careful! That leg may be feeling better but I don't want to start over," she cautioned him as she handed over the leathers.
"Thank you for taking care of these," Azriel said as he took a piece and strapped it to his body. "You didn't even know what they were and you treated them well. Just like you didn't know me and showed me the same courtesy."
Kyla didn't know what to say to that. She blushed and looked at the ground, scuffing the leaf litter with her foot. "Is that not normal? Is that not what people do out there?" she asked innocently.
Azriel wouldn't look in her eye with that direct question. He continued putting on the armor until he resembled the warrior she had found on the forest floor.
"Actually, no. Not everyone would. Particularly a human for a fae. Things have been...tense recently. There was a war. Still some battles. Each side has done...terrible things. It's hard to find common ground."
"Oh, so have I helped the enemy? Because if so, this just got really awkward," she joked as usual. Azriel gave her a genuine smile.
"No. No I don't think so," he said. "But I am missing a clasp for this arm piece, so that's kind of like sabotage. Maybe you're secretly a spy?"
"A spy of the spymaster? Well that's a plot twist!" she laughed. Kyla turned to the Cabin. "You stay here and enjoy the sun. Use it to charge up that pretty jewelry and I'll get the clasp."
"It's not jewel—"
"Whatever you say!" Kyla cut through the trees back to the Cabin, the red and gold leaves blocking her view until she reached the outhouse at the back. She was smiling to herself thinking of how much Azriel had improved since he was able to get outside. It was almost like the sun really was recharging him. But he was tired when he returned to the Cabin and could barely finish his meal before falling asleep.
Maybe it's the Cabin, she thought. Maybe the building that kept the other fae male out was trying to keep Azriel's power out too. That could be why he wasn't healing. The Cabin kept Azriel sick because she had let him in, but the other fae was locked out. The other fae...was standing at her door.
Kyla dropped to the ground immediately and ducked behind the woodpile. Panic swelled up in her chest and she struggled to catch her breath. She looked back behind her and could just make out the boulder that Azriel was seated behind. Azriel would try to fight him and he wasn't strong enough yet. Kyla couldn't let the two meet or else they would both die. No, that's not true; she wouldn't die, but he definitely would. She snuck a peek at the Cabin and saw that the male had heard her scramble for cover and was approaching the woodpile with a disgusting sneer on his face. She had to run past him to lure him away from Azriel. But he would certainly catch her, she didn't stand a chance. What choice did she have?
She leapt up from the woodpile and made a dash for the Cabin, knowing she'd never make it but hoping she could distract him long enough to get him away from Azriel. A loud crack rang out and she screamed as she felt the whip rip across her tender back. She fell to the ground and the fae was on her in seconds. His hand reached out and clasped her throat tightly. He lifted her off the ground like she was a child. Her feet were dangling and she was choking in his grip.
"Your time is up, little witch. I've figure it out and now I'm going to play my hand, even if you won't give me anything for it." He looked her up and down. "Well, nothing I haven't already taken."
A disgusting scar marked his face from his brow down to his chin. It was ragged and raw, like it wouldn't heal and was rotting his face. Her theory was confirmed. It was the Cabin. The Cabin was preventing the fae from using their powers, such as healing. That's why Azriel felt better when they walked in the forest. Azriel.
To her horror Kyla looked past the male's shoulder to see Azriel limping toward them with venom in his eyes. He had no weapons, not even the knife, but his purpose was clear. Through the trees she saw the rage in his body as he approached. She wanted to scream at him to run, that she would live through this as always and but if he were discovered the fae would kill him. She kicked at the fae holding her and struggled to get free. He laughed at her pathetic attempt to fight him but it turned into a scream of pain.
The fox had jumped onto his arm and closed its jaw around the fae's neck. He let go of Kyla who crumpled to the ground. She gasped for breath and scrambled to her feet while the male wrestled with the animal. The fox was too small to do much damage but it distracted the fae long enough for Kyla to stumble away.
"Run!" she cried with any breath she could find. She grabbed Azriel's arm and pulled him away from the fox and the fae, trying to overcome his instincts to fight. Together they half-ran, half-limped through the forest. They sloshed through the creek, Azriel's cast cracking and chipping as he hopped and limped as fast as he could. Kyla could have outrun Azriel but she wouldn't leave him. Branches caught in her air and scraped at their faces. She tripped over a fallen log and landed hard on her wrist. Azriel stopped to pick her up but she scrambled to her feet on her own.
"Keep going!" she ordered. Azriel spun and continued his painful escape. They didn't stop or look back but pushed on blindly.
Azriel was panting hard, his jaw clenched in pain. He nearly knocked Kyla over as she skidded to a stop. She clutched her side as she turned in circles, searching the forest around her. Her eyes were huge and jaw open as she looked around and up at the trees. Tears started pouring down her cheeks.
"Kyla, what's wrong? Are in you hurt?" Azriel grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to look at him.
"No. No, I'm not hurt. It's just - I've never been here before," she answered quietly. "He did it."
"What? What did he do? I heard you scream and came as fast as I could. I just - I couldn't run. I'm so sorry, I couldn't get there." He was rambling through his thoughts practically begging for her forgiveness. Kyla didn't even look at him. This moment wasn't about him, or his male instincts to protect, to fight. It was about her and her first steps away from the only place she had even known.
"We didn't break the spell, he did," she explained to the trees around her. She ignored the concern on Azriel's face and just looked around. "He said he had figured it out, and now he was going to take me... somewhere. So he did something to break the spell, but we ran. We ran through the door he opened." She looked at Azriel and then did something that surprised them both. She giggled.
Azriel just stared at her incredulously like she had lost her mind. But she couldn't stop laughing. She clutched her side as the movement sent pain shooting through her ribs and she collapsed to the ground in hysterics. Azriel didn't know what to say but couldn't see the humour in their situation. Between fits Kyla tried to explain.
"He did this!" she cried. "After all this time...planning, scheming, theories...it was him!" The thought made her want to vomit. She was laughing and crying at the same time, unable to process all the emotions that were flooding through her. Azriel had been leaning against the tree but pushed himself up and approached her.
"Kyla, we need to keep moving. He's healthy and can outrun us easily." He had gone into warrior mode, thinking only of the predator and their immediate defense. Kyla looked up at him and brushed the tears from her face, smearing blood and dirt across her cheeks. But instead of moving she froze when she looked at his armor.
"Azriel! Your Siphons, they're glowing!" she cried. Azriel brought up his arms and saw the cobalt shining slightly. His powers were returning.
He bent over to get Kyla on her feet, so he didn't see the arrow that came out of the trees. It missed his shoulder only because Kyla was rising, and instead embedded deeply in her thigh. Kyla screamed and clutched her leg as Azriel shoved her back to the ground to take cover. They crawled over to the boulder and scrambled to look around for the shooter.
"Where is he? I can't see -" but his cry was cut short when an arrow found his abdomen. Kyla looked over to see Azriel clutching his stomach as blood seeped out between his fingers.
"No no no no no no!" cried Kyla as she scrambled over to him. She reached for the wound and put pressure on it with both hands. It had caught the edge of his armor and hadn't gone that deep.
"Pull it out!" Azriel said through clenched teeth.
"What? No! It'll do more damage. We need to apply pressure to stop the bleeding."
"It's fine, I'll heal. Just do it!"
Kyla pursed her lips and didn't hesitate. She ripped the arrow straight out and quickly covered the wound. Another arrow cracked on the rock above their heads.
"You need to take cover!" shouted Azriel.
"No, it's fine, I need to shelter you. He won't kill me; he's aiming for you." The fae had unsettled business with her, but Azriel was expendable.
"How do you know he won't kill you? It really looks like he's trying to kill you. With arrows, currently," Azriel pointed out.
"Because then I win. He doesn't get what he wants," Kyla said, looking over her shoulder for the next shot.
"What? What could he possible want from you? What wouldn't you tell him?"
Kyla looked up from the wound with fire in her eyes. "My name."
Azriel was dumbfounded. A thousand emotions floated across his face from astonishment to disbelief, anger and pride. His thoughts tumbled together as he tried to figure her out. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on their current situation.
"It's okay to let go of the wound. I can feel it healing," Azriel told her. Kyla nodded and released it but didn't move from her position above him. Instead she gritted her teeth and reached down to her thigh. She gripped the shaft of the arrow and broke it off. She let out a sharp groan and nearly passed out with the pain but Azriel put his arms up to catch her. She leaned into him with her eyes closed until she could gather herself. Azriel's voice pulled her back. "My power is returning, but we need time. We need to put some distance between us until I can winnow us out of here."
Kyla looked at him in confusion. "Windows? There are no windows here."
"Not windows, win - nevermind. Just run!" He lurched to his feet and began hopping and dragging his broken leg through the forest. Kyla lurched to her feet and ran after him, tripping over branches with her wounded leg, but kept herself between the fae and Azriel.
They pushed on, crashing through the trees, careless of where they were going. An arrow whizzed by above her head and she felt some smug satisfaction seeing it miss its mark entirely. Except instead of hitting Azriel it slammed into a large nest of sticks and leaves in the tree directly above. Winged faeries the size of birds fell out of the nest and landed on the ground before them. Azriel skidded to stop and changed direction, but it was too late. The angry faeries found the perpetrator and began to swarm them.
"What are they!?" cried Kyla. They were crawling up her legs and landing on her back. She swatted at the creatures trying to peel them off her. It like felt she had landed in a nest of spiders that were crawling all over her. The faeries were angry and they pulled at her hair and clothes and clawed at her skin.
Beside her Azriel was also engaged in a bizarre dance of squirming and writhing as he tried to keep them off his wings and back.
"They're Myotes! They won't stop while their nest is threatened. Don't let them sting you!" he shouted. He reached over and ripped away one climbing her shoulder as she bent down to grab a weapon. With a stick in one hand and a rock in the other she began to hit the Myotes out of the air. But there so many and for every one she knocked away, four more appeared. Azriel shoved her and yelled, "Keep running! We need to get away from the nest!"
They took off as best their broken bodies could manage, stumbling through the woods. Kyla couldn't see where she was going as she ducked her head to keep the Myotes off her face. They continued batting and swatting the faeries away as they ran, until the forest opened up before her. Just in time, Kyla skidded to a stop at the edge of a deep gorge with a river way below. She turned to yell for Azriel to stop but only saw a blur of armour as he crashed right into her, knocking her off the cliff edge.
Azriel wrapped his arms around her body as they fell together. Kyla didn't scream or struggle, but just looked right at Azriel with a calm wonder.
He winnowed.
Azriel took them to the back patio behind the townhouse. It took every bit of power he could gather, but he got them there. They landed with a crash on the stones next to the table and chairs. The Myotes that had been crawling on them had been winnowed as well and he quickly sat up to continue swatting them away. Kyla rolled over and scrambled to her feet looking around wildly and squirming with Myotes as well. She smacked at one on his wing and then batted it out of the air. She stomped on one right between his legs and whirled to knock another off his shoulder.
Azriel heard the doors bang open and saw Cassian and Mor run out to where he sat on the ground. Relief flooded through him draining the last of his energy, and he lay back on the stone feeling his wing crumple beneath him. But Kyla stood and assumed a defensive position between him and his friends. He almost smiled at the thought of Kyla taking on Cassian.
"It's alright, Kyla. It's alright," he gasped. "They're friends."
Kyla didn't back down but swallowed deeply and adjusted her stance. "You sure? Because I've got this rock and this stick, and I'm pretty sure I can make the big one at least flinch before he kills us," she said between breaths. Cassian snarled at her and unfurled his wings to their full width. Kyla's eyes went wide with fear and she dropped the stick and spun around. "On second thought, we should run. Get up, get up! We need to run!" She reached down and pulled at his arm. "Come on Azriel, you really need to get up!"
Azriel held her hand and tried to calm her down, "It's alright Kyla. We're home. We can stop," he mumbled weakly. He was beyond exhausted and couldn't lift his head. But his eyes went wide when he saw her wind up with rock as though she was going to slam it down on his face. A hand reached across his body and grabbed her wrist, throwing her aside. It was then he noticed the Myotes crawling out from behind his wing, headed for his face. He rolled and smashed it into the stones.
Mor was there suddenly, crouching over him with concern on her face. She ran her eyes over him quickly trying to take in the sight of him and tears spilled from her eyes.
"Az - Azriel, you're here…" she breathed. "We thought...we thought you were...we didn't know...we couldn't find you.."
Azriel reached out and closed one hand around hers. Rhys appeared above him and immediately began assessing his injuries. Cassian looked over and cringed when he saw Azriel's shattered wing. Everyone was talking at once.
"What the hell happened to you?" Cassian exclaimed.
"Where are you injured?"
"What's on his leg?"
"Where have you been?"
Feyre appeared at the door, followed by Nesta and Elain. Lucien had a sword in his hand as he raced across the patio. The chaos and shouting was overwhelming and Azriel squeezed his eyes shut to block out the sounds. Hands touched his wings and stomach and he could feel Rhys' healing power flow into him. It was too much and he twisted away to get them to slow down. As he jerked his head he looked over and saw Kyla on the ground, off to the side. She was staring at him, breathing hard, wide-eyed with fear. Her eyes were pleading but she didn't speak. He reached out to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.
But she wasn't fine. She was sweating profusely and couldn't catch her breath. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she lost consciousness. "No!" he cried and pushed his friends aside to get to her.
"Don't move Azriel! Stay still!" they cried, but he didn't listen and dragged his body closer to Kyla.
"No! Kyla, look at me! Open your eyes, Kyla. He doesn't win like this!" he collapsed within arm's length and reached for her hand. His vision was blurring and a numbness crept up his limbs as he reached the end of his energy stores. "You win," he mumbled before the darkness took him.