AZRIEL

CHAPTER THREE

My senses slowly returned to me.

The sound of dripping water first, then the echo of rustling leaves in the wind. A lingering coppery taste coated my mouth - blood. Wincing, I opened my eyes, but could only manage to widen them a little in an attempt to focus my vision and take in my surroundings.

I was in the woods. Probably within the deepest, darkest western caverns of the woods. It must've been past midnight - there was no source of light at all. My already weak body ached as I slowly hoisted myself to my elbows using whatever strength I had left. As my eyes adjusted to the intense darkness around me, I began to make out the outline of an object which had been left on the ground beside me.

My bow.

Frantically, I tapped the ground with an open palm in an attempt to find the arrow to go with it. "Come on, come on," mumbles of desperation passed by my lips as I searched the ground closest to me. Finally I felt my skin come into contact with the hard, slender body of the arrow as I let out a sigh of relief I didn't even realise I was holding in.

Resentment bubbled in my blood - resentment for my village, resentment for its people, resentment for this forest and even resentment for myself. They had sworn this 'sacrifice' was necessary. They had also sworn to kill me the moment I came back - if I came back.

Carefully rising to my feet, I realised I was hopelessly lost with no sense of direction. There was no turning back, even if I tried. I started to take a couple steps north, holding my hands out in front of me to stop myself from banging into anything. Every whisper of the wind or any small movement caused my heart to beating frantically - my head was so dizzy I felt I was going to black out again.

I couldn't panic. No. Adeline, you're not going to panic. I had to keep my wits about me.

Stumbling through the woods at a painfully slow pace, I was able to steer my way into one of the more open sections of the woods with less trees. Here, the full moon provided a source of light. A full moon. The sun had only just set when I was taken from the village - how long had I been unconscious down here?

Think, Adeline, think.

Maybe I should wait till the morning to move. Argh, but what if something predatory finds me in the meantime? Maybe if I slept under an oak tree with a great shadow, I could potentially camouflage into the night. Or maybe I should-

A shadow scuttled across one of the branches of the tree above me. I froze, gripping my bow and arrow tighter and tighter with every passing second. I squinted to focus my vision onto the branch, and the moonlight illuminated the shadow of a small creature.

A squirrel. Thank god.

Relief filled my veins and the grip I had on my weapons loosened as a result. "It's a squirrel," I reassured myself, "Nothing but a goddamn squirrel."

And then there was another dark blur from in front of me.

My breath hitched in my throat as I tried to brush it off, "Get over it, Adeline. It's probably a deer." It didn't take me long to realise how the air had suddenly become a lot colder - a lot more chill and eerie with the wind whistling into the night. I was about to take another step when I heard the crack of a twig, my heart now pounding in alert.

What the hell.

I quickly pulled my bow and arrow to my chest while my eyes examined the dark depths of the trees around me. I hadn't heard any footsteps - surely a human didn't have that much stealth. The sky in the moment caught my eye. A small moment ago it was a dark blank canvas of blues and blacks, void of anything. Now it was packed with small iridescent stars, more than I had ever seen in the sky in my life.

Again, another twig. Straight in front of me. Closer this time. I could've sworn I thought I was going to throw up my heart from how hard it was pounding. I tried to steady my breathing. It wasn't like I hadn't ever hunted an animal like a wolf before - if it was a wolf - I just hadn't ever done it in pitch blackness.

Before I could even gather my thoughts, a dark blur passed by in front of me at immense speed - such speed I could feel the harsh breeze it gave off through my hair. Frantically I began to stumble backwards, feeling beads of sweat trickle down my temple and my breathing so fast it sounded like pants.

You're going to die. Use your bow and arrow or you're going to die.

The ground welled up beneath me as I reached for my arrow to position it within my bow, but that effort was cut short once my back hit something sturdy.

It was sturdy yet smooth against my back, nothing like how the trunk of a tree would've felt. And as I focused, I realised it was slightly warm and moved - moved like the rhythm of lungs within a chest, rising and falling. I kept my eyes straight in front of me though, bracing myself for a knife to slice my throat or another rug of chloroform to clasp my mouth or-

"Now, now. What's a girl like you doing in a wood like this?," said a deep, sensual male voice from behind me.

The accent was clear - classy, like someone from the privileged areas of the city of London. His words were smooth and I could hear what sounded like a smirk in his tone - a teasing tone.

I didn't even try to control the trembling of my hands which were at my sides, my body so tense my muscles ached. Calm warm breath from behind rose hairs on my nape.

Death at the hands of a wolf or any bigger beast would've been a better way to die - but death at the hands of what sounded like a sadistic killer? Only God can save me now.

Look him in the eye, a voice in my head screamed at me, maybe he'll pity you and let you go.

I swallowed hard and turned around painfully slow.

Standing almost a foot taller than me, with the moon illuminating half of his face, was the most attractive man I had ever seen. 

And behind him at either side were two large dark wings.

_______________________

omg no one understands how excited this bitch was writing this chap bc i got to introduce my fave boy :') first impressions of him?

3 updates in one day i'm on a roll ;)

please vote and comment if you enjoyed! thank u!

- jen <3