"Train me?" Irina asked, wanting to turn to the door and leave this uncomfortable situation. But not before she got answers.
"Yes. Train you." Azazel repeated, "I don't need harpies and imps to follow you around the second we step outside. I would rather not have to get my hands dirty."
"Then... does that mean training me... as in fighting?" Irina felt dumb asking but she needed to know. No where, or at any time had she needed to physically defend herself.
"At the request of your father."
Irina's eyes bulged out of her skull, "Dad asked you-"
"He asked me to train you in case another faerie makes their way inside." He said, "When you were little, a faerie managed to sneak past the walls. I think he fears if he leaves you alone it will happen again."
"I- I dont remember that."
Azazel shrugged, "You were a child. Always following me around; going places you shouldn't. A pain in my ass."
"Is that all you see me as?" Irina murmured, both curious about the answer and terrified to ask.
"Irina-" Azazel sighed, pressing the pad of his thumb against the bridge of his nose, "I'm assuming you already know of Harpies, yes?" He asked, skipping over her question.
His lack of answer did not ease her nerves. In fact it pushed the notion he hated her more than she previously thought.
"Yes. They settle at the River..." Irina turned away to hide her disappointed expression, "I have never seen one."
"Good. They're hideous." Azazel's shoulders visibly bunched and his head shook like he was shaking off clinging images draped over his eyelids, "They cannot be reasoned with. They are inhuman and evil. I don't plan on you ever being alone, so I will be there to defend you in case one chooses to attack."
"Then, what will I be doing?"
Azazel sat upright, and leaned forward, "You are going to learn to be quiet and hide." He said, pointing a finger at her.
"You said you were training me to fight."
"I'm training you to never need to fight."
Irina didn't ask anymore questions after that.
Her entire life she had been bubble wrapped and tossed in packing peanuts. There were very few times the outside got in and harmed her, so there was no need for her to know any real skills to defend herself.
This all came as a complete and total shock to her and she didn't know what to do with all this information.
"I'll come get you... later." Azazel said, waving her off and looking towards the balcony doors.
"When?" She asked, covering her finger tips with the knit sweater, her nails poking through the stitches.
"Later." He repeated, stoping himself from glaring over at her. Instead he kept his attention straight and narrow, avoiding her.
The truth was he didn't want her to leave. He didn't know what would happen as soon as she was out of his reach.
What if he burst into flames again?
YOU ARE READING
Halo Of Horns
Romance"Stay still." He took his sharp talon and moved aside a piece of her blonde- practically white- hair, still damp from the bath, and tossed it over her shoulder. His claw glided down her slender neck to her shoulder and slipped under the strap of her...
