AZRIEL

CHAPTER FOUR

He radiated grace.

Dark, black, nape length hair and skin the colour of honey and milk, almost golden. From the half of his face which was illuminated, I was able to trace his strong, pointed jaw and the curve of his structured cheekbone with my gaze. His eyes sparkled with amusement, and were a colour which was unworldly - golden, the colour of dancing flames with specks of brown. My face had become heated by his stare alone.

I tried to take in the sight of his wings. Great, mighty, dark wings - like that of an angel but concealed in black. I couldn't comprehend anything, my mind simply feeling limp and numb. My head seemed to spin and everything was a motion blur except him.

I had to be seeing things. There was no way.

The way he stood with absolute stillness, the way the moonlight radiated off his skin and how he seemed to stand out in the dark - even when wearing all black - made me want to drop everything and run in the opposite direction.

I blinked again - perhaps he'd disappear. He didn't. I took a wary step back and he mimicked my movement, taking a small step toward me into the full spotlight of the moon, his full features now clearly highlighted.

The corner of his lips tugged into a small playful smirk, "You're scared."

"No shit," I blurted out without thinking. I could hear my heart drumming in my ears now, "Are you real?"

"No shit," His smirk widened - amused and entertained, "Is my beauty so beyond this world you'd think I am unreal?"

I retreated another step backwards. If I wasn't in a possible life or death situation, I would've probably rolled my eyes at his arrogance.

He slipped his hands into his pockets in one smooth, graceful motion. His clothes were black, sewn with threads of dark metallic blue which sparkled in the moonlight.

When it became obvious to him that I wasn't going to answer his question, he began to circle me - a predator playing with its prey. "So you're not going to cure my curiosity and tell me what a mortal woman like yourself is doing here during a full moon?" he prowled around me slowly, "Aren't you supposed to stay on your side of these woods?"

I swallowed, my eyes darting around the forest for possible quick-time escape routes. What caught my attention instead was how the multitude of stars in the sky looked like they were moving - floating in whatever direction the stranger would walk.

Either that or I was going utterly crazy.

When I remembered his silence meant that he awaited a response to his question I quickly mumbled, "I was t-thrown in here."

His circling paused behind me, "By who?"

"By my village," I took a deep breath to try and stabilise my breathing while I was coolly interrogated. I was terrified of him, but I wasn't prepared to let him know that, "They said it was a ... a sacrifice written in the Legend. To end the famine in my town."

The circling resumed. When he again passed by in front of me his smile had widened and his gaze was fixed on the ground he tread on. I noticed his side profile, his nose impeccably straight and sharp. I noticed his wings, black feathers with tips of vivid silver. I hadn't ever seen someone so handsome. It really was beauty beyond this world, and maybe that's why my mind was screaming at me to escape.

"Why," He began. A lover's voice. Sensual, rich and seemed to send shivers down every muscle in my body, "Why did they choose you?".

My eyes flickered down to the bow and arrow I still held in my hands. They felt useless now. I felt useless. "Because the Legend required someone who was skilled in combat." My voice was a trembling whisper.