Alyssa
I wake up on top of a warm, soft surface. Something beneath me is moving, though, causing my eyes to fly open. My heart is pounding a mile per second. Where am I? I'm struggling to move because I'm stuck beneath something hefty.
"Are you awake?"
The hairs behind my neck stiffened, and my body pause. Azrael's newly awakened baritone voice travel straight to my heart. The angel is not in his human form. He is still enormous and caught in this ethereal glow and smiles a little before leaning back against a cliff.
"I have no clue where we are," He mumbles and lifts his other hand to his eyes to rub them. His blonde hair is messy, and I stare at him, taken by his stunning appearance—something he doesn't fail to notice.
His smile widens. "Hi, I hope I'm not freaking you out by staying in this form. I'm drained off magic and can't seem to gather enough strength to take a human form without eating."
I hear a loud rumble from his stomach
Alyssa I'm rendered speechless after Azrael's spoken words, left staring up into his eyes that gleam brightly. He doesn't need an answer today. Azrael knows to be patient. We have gone through a lot, and yet, my heart is dicing into pieces. I'm not sure if my kind can perform the mating ritual with two people, but it's evident that I want Azrael. Blonde hair is hanging down in thick clusters into his eyes, spiking along the top and giving him that look of having just rolled up from bed. His lips are looking soft, curving as he tilts his head at me, and I have to hold my breath because he smells so damn good. Leaning in to sniff him would be a crime, and resisting will leave me with regret. "Where do you want to start looking for Sleepy?" He asks. I gather myself, cursing my weak brain cells for already having fallen victim to Azrael's charm. He seems to notice the attention and smiles wider when he catches me checking him out. Cockiness doesn't come t
Alyssa I'm trying not to laugh while Azrael is sitting in front of a tree branch with his knees folded underneath him. He is holding one of the cat people as a prisoner in his hand. Thick fingers are curled around the poor creature while I'm sitting on a tree branch level with Azrael's hand. With a deadpan expression, I fold my arms underneath my chest. "I will ask you this question once more, cat man, and don't even try pretending that you don't understand English because I heard you talking moments ago." Azrael has to glance away while biting his lower lip. I've gone total mafia boss, and the angel seems to find it amusing. His wings are folded behind his back, and his hair is flowing around his skull. He looks too angelic to be one of the bad guys, but I think I'm doing an excellent job inspiring fear in these cat people. "I-I don't understand what you're talking about!" The cat man shouts. "Please, release me! Put me down!" Finally, the ca
AzraelI kick up sand on the beach, watching it cover my foot before a salty wave takes it away from me. The sun shines into my eyes, and I squint at it with a small smile tugging on my lips. I've always been a man in control, afraid of letting other people close in fear of them falling for me.But now, the tables have turned because while I'm head-over-heels in love with the woman searching for her mate, I'm unsure if the feeling is mutual.I glimpse ahead, observing Alyssa search through some bushes while being down on her knees. Earlier, we realized Sleepy might be in his fairy form, and now we are looking under every rock."Sleepy? Are you in there?" She is staring into some hole in the ground with her flaming hair falling to one side of her shoulder. "Make some sound if you're in there! Please!"A sharp tinge of pain bites at my heart, and I'm forced to look away, pretend I'm not wishing Alyssa was using that tone for me. I stare at the glitte
Azrael Without speaking a word, I'm flying with my eyes set on the mountain ahead of us. Alyssa and Sleepy are using me as a taxi, lounging in my cupped hands pressed to my chest as we approach this "mountain of life" that looks like a snowy mountain. My eyes lift to the sparks of electricity traveling above the clouds, and I swallow bitterly at the familiar colors. "It seems there is a portal on top of the mountain. I would recognize those lightning bolts everywhere, and the air reeks of magical energy." Alyssa gasp. "The prophecy said I was supposed to face Fabian on the mountain and defeat him, but it said nothing about a portal!" Sleepy laughs in my hands, but the sound is grievous. "Perhaps the reason we are fighting that monster on the mountain has something to do with the portal—if we push him into it, then Fabian will be no more. The ones who wrote the prophecy must have planned that. It can't be a coincidence." "He will reign in anoth
Alyssa The entire walk through the forest got my stomach in knots. I'm nauseous thinking about having to face Fabian again. I haven't had time to practice my magic, and it bothers me that the prophecy spoke of me having two mates, while in reality, I'm only bonded to one. "Man, these acorns are killing my feet," Sleepy complains. He is walking behind me, muttering at everything he steps on. No shoes are covering Sleepy's feet—the fairy is in some battle for power against the angel, which means he is refusing to be in fairy form. Men can be so ridiculous. It's as if Sleepy believes I would look at him differently if he sat on my shoulder. "If the ground is too hard for your poor feet, I could always borrow you a shoulder," Azrael teases. He winks behind him, and I stifle a laugh seeing Sleepy turn beat red. "I'm fine walking!" Sleepy barks. "Using you as a taxi was a one-time thing, not that I understand why you changed into human form."
Alyssa As we walk through the forest searching for Azrael, a screech bounces off the trees. The sound reminds me of a dying animal, something unearthly that's been possessed by a demon. A shudder travels up my spine, and I close my eyes. I recognize the terrifying sound of Fabian. "Well..." Sleepy says, covering my shoulder with his large hand. His smile is sweet when I find his eyes. "At least we know the monstrosity is here, waiting for us to defeat him." I listen to the rustling of the canopies above us, allowing nature to calm my drumming pulse before I ask the question that is weighing my heart. "You think it's possible to beat him?" "Definitely." We keep on trampling grass and moss, pausing when the screech approaches us as if the giant bat is moving. Sweat trickles down my spine, and I hold my breath. "You hear that?" I ask. "Perhaps Fabian left the mountain." I throw a glance over my shoulder, screaming when Sle
AlyssaA sense of loss wrecks over my soul the moment feathers of an angel circle in the sky before vanishing into thin air. I'm broken. Azrael gave his life to save me, yet it suddenly feels like I'm dying, drowning in grief. My eyesight is already blurred from all the tears.I still can't believe what happened.Azrael pierced his own heart with his blade.I sit on the mountain, down on my knees, while the sky is clearing up and the portal closes. Nothing is right, and I whimper when Sleepy places his hand on my shoulder. His calloused fingers massaging me are the only thing keeping me from screaming at the world.Did Azrael plan this?Probably.That thought makes it harder to breathe. My chest is constricting, and there is a headache forming behind my eyelids. Scenes are playing inside my head: our meeting in the clearing, the first time I saw him in human form, and him saving me from Arachne, then kissing me. I witness our quarrel,
Alyssa Two months have passed since we defeated Fabian. And I still long to hear your voice again, watch your lips as you form the words to call me princess. I've been working hard on getting on this boat, and Sleepy has been making money too. We are fine. We are smiling. We are surviving. Yet I still miss you. "I swear to god that I will commit suicide and throw myself overboard if we eat the same slobbery fish for another day!" I grimace at the bitter flavor and shudder in disgust. "Surely, there must be better things in the sea. Why aren't they catching shrimp or lobster?!" I grumpily dig into the fish again, aware of the amused laughter coming from above. "Hey! It's not that bad!" Sleepy hangs his head like a bat and smiles down from the top of our bunk bed. Green hair falls around him like a mane, and I laugh at his big smile. We are eating dinner and praying the boat won't sink and disappear in the waves—t