AZRIEL

CHAPTER THIRTY

A D E L I N E

Preparations for The Blossoming Evening had begun. From the crevice of my room I could hear the frantic sounds of servants within the estate rushing to get all the tasks done before the event tonight.

I had been alone for some time in my bedroom, unknowing of what to expect or what to do tonight. Azriel hadn't spoke to me about the night at all, and I was mildly unaware of what lay ahead.

I was just about to get up to start running myself a bath when my bedroom door flung open, and expecting it to be Cirse ready to get me dressed, I was surprised to see Azriel at the door instead.

He shut it tightly behind him, then rested against it - eyeing me head to toe. "What are you doing?"

"About to run myself a bath?" I answered, pulling a face to demonstrate my confusion.

"I think there's been some miscommunication, Adeline." He spoke slowly, "You're not coming tonight."

I frowned, "And why is that?"

The Arch Angel ran a loose hand through his dishevelled black hair, looking somewhat hesitant, "This is a very... Angel ritual. You being in a room of us is setting yourself up. If someone smelt even the slightest scent on you, we are finished. I won't be risking it."

"That is so unfair. You can't just lock me in here, Azriel."

"I'll do what I must to protect you." He answered truthfully, "So please, listen to me."

"Protect me? You can't-"

He lifted a hand as if to touch my arm - perhaps to comfort me, but lowered it before his fingers could graze the fabric of my tunic, "Stay in your chamber, Adeline."

And with that he disappeared, pulling the door tightly shut behind him.

***********

I did as he commanded. Waited for what felt like hours in my room, bored out of control as I looked for some entertainment within the four walls I was confined to. I realised I hadn't even eaten dinner, and the growling of my stomach was becoming more unbearable by the second.

For the past hour Cirse had come and joined me in my room, having not been invited to the event either. We had both talked for a while, but the urge within me to see what was happening was eating me up.

From my window I could see the dozens of bonfires popping up along the far hills, and could hear the classical music and crowd in the Great Hall within the estate. It was a large ballroom I had presumed - a section of the estate I had never visited. I couldn't stop pacing up and down the room, gazing out towards the fires in the distance.

Stay in your chamber.

But a wild voice weaving within the drum beats whispered to me go.

Go and see.

By ten o'clock - only an hour into the event, I could not stand it any longer. I turned to Cirse, taking her hands into mine, "Come on, Cirse. We must go."

She quickly pulled her hands back, hesitant and nervous. "We haven't been invited, ma'am."

"And so? You'd rather sit in here all night and rot?"

"Well, perhaps if I had a nice book and-"

"We're going."

I quickly walked over to my closet, throwing it open to reveal gowns hung up neatly. I selected the lacey black floor-length dress I had liked earlier; and pulled out a gorgeous cream-coloured silk slip dress for Cirse.