Shadows of Our Souls (Azriel x OC Fanfic)

1 ~ The New Chasm

~ Azriel's POV ~

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He cuts through the night sky, moving with the embrace of his shadows, and he knows that no one will see him, even if they try. Rhys wanted him to come here, wanted him or maybe Cassian come to the edge of Spring and the mortal lands, and search for any signs of something.... off. Azriel's shadows whisper in his ears, and as he reaches the boarder of the mortal lands, he finds a giant chasm with smoke billowing out of it.

Azriel lands on the grass with barely a thud, and and he looks at the ground below him. He looks down at the chasm, and realizes that it is not smoke that flows from the hole in the ground. No .... it is shadows.

Azriel spreads his wings, and he readies to ascend, when he hears footsteps approach. He looks up, and sees Tamlin in his beast form, and he chuckles low in his tthroat, his horned wolf form hulking in the night.

"What do you want, Bat Boy?" he asks.

Azriel says nothing, simply gestures to the chasm. Tamlin looks at it, and backs up. He seems to sense it, the .... off sense of this place. Azriel looks at Tamlin.

"You sense it, too," he says.

"What is that?" Tamlin growls. "What have you done?"

"Nothing," Azriel replies. He looks into the shadows, willing them to part,  but, it seems, they do not yield to him. Suddenly, something in the pit shifts, and shuffling sounds in the chasm filter up through the forest and up to them.

Then, a hand emerges from the shadows of the pit, a hand swathed in shadows and mud. But the hand is pale, and then, another hand reaches up and grabs the earth below him, and Tamlin steps back. His fur rises. Azriel readies himself, but then, a female voice calls out.

"Ugh, this sucks," she hisses. She sounds wounded. Azriel does not take the bait. But then her face is revealed as a shaft of moonlight streams down onto her and the two Fae standing before her. The girl — or whatever she is — struggles to emerge the pit.

Finally, Azriel bends down, and holds out his scarred hand. The female takes his hand and pulls, yanking the Illyrian off his feet. He sinks to his knees, never releasing her, as she climbs free of the pit and slumps into the grass. Azriel finally lets her go and jumps up, readying his daggers and his shadows.

"Back off," Tamlin growls. He steps forward, drawing closer to the mysterious female. "You're in my Court now, Bat Boy. Let her speak."

"I do not take orders from you," Azriel snarls. But, he knows he should let her speak before slitting her throat. So, he just stands there, watching her closely.

The pale female stands up on shaky legs, her huge, pitch black bat-like wings absorbing all light around them, and she coughs into her elbow. She is presently wearing nothing at all, besides swaths of shadows that are embracing her chest and waist, obscuring any view of her private areas. She simply faces them both, her eyes silver in the moonlight, her face pale as the moon itself.

She has long, blonde hair, and she seems to be the same height as Amren. Azriel watches this new female warily. She just looks between him and Tamlin, saying nothing.

"Who are you?" Tamlin asks, finally breaking the silence that stretched between the three of them.

The girl looks down at herself, her cheeks turning rosy pink, and then back to Azriel instead of Tamlin. She says simply, "I don't know. I .... don't remember."

"What do you mean by that?" Tamlin asks.

She glares at him. "What do you think it means, dog boy?"

He snarls. "I am the High Lord of the Spring Court. My name is Tamlin, but you call me High Lord."

She rolls her eyes and looks at Azriel. He stiffens when he sees her gaze sweep over him, from his face to his boots. Then she sighs, and her breath hitches, and her hand goes to her side, where she holds herself tightly.

"Are you hurt?" Azriel asks.

She looks at him, then shrugs. "I think I've suffered worse."

Tamlin prowls forward. "You will suffer worse, if you don't tell me who you are."

"Threats bore me," she says, flaring her wings. She looks at him, sizing him up. "Something tells me that you, High Lord, are no true authority of this land. I may not remember my own name, but I sure as fuck know how to fight. So, tell me, Tamlin, is this worth losing your life over?"

Tamlin growls, but at the last second, he steps back. Turns to Azriel. "She's your problem now." Then he turns and vanishes into the woods.

Azriel looks back at the female swathed in shadows. She smirks in Tamlin's general direction and then looks at Azriel once again.

"So, I presume you're going to threaten me next?" she asks.

"You said that a High Lord had a chance of losing his life in a fight with you." She nods. "Do you know how powerful the High Lords are? Do you know how powerful Tamlin is?"

She shrugs. "I may not remember much, but I recognize another Shadow-Warrior. I would never fight to kill you, my friend."

"So I'm your friend now?" he asks.

She nods again.  "We Warriors of Shadows must always be close allies. Otherwise, those who control the light would always win."

Azriel opts to store that sentence away for later, but then he stretches his wings. "Can you fly?"

The female nods, and he watches as her shadows wrap around her thin, small form. Then, they seem to solidify around her, like a suit of living darkness. Her hand comes away from her side bloody, but she doesn't seem to care. Sue flies up after him, and they head to Velaris.