Page 71 of Above (Darkness Reigns #1)

Azazel

“I tried to scrub her off me, but I still feel dirty.”

A fter Tershetta had left, I was sure my life was over. When Father came in, I knew it was.

“Son,” he drawled, his arms crossed and his chin raised.

I stared at him, feeling a rare moment of peace and clarity.

If I died, then at least I’d be free of him.

“What you’ve done has ruined everything.

You’ve upset the balance of the core families.

More than that, you’ve put my plans at risk.

Your mother is devastated. She won’t get out of bed or eat.

And your death tomorrow will surely push her over the edge. ”

“Benadell Zade has been raping me since my first night at Elite Academy,” I admitted, the shame swelling.

Father didn’t even flinch. It was like he hadn’t heard me.

“She told me that if I fought back, she’d make sure I didn’t graduate.

Sometimes she’d even come for me multiple times a day, and all I could do was let her. ”

Father remained silent for a second longer. Enough time for my hopes to rise before crumbling.

“You’re going to justify your stupidity by complaining about a good fuck or two?

” His voice was angrier now, his feet stomping toward me.

The cell bars stopped him, though I figured he could have gotten past them had he wanted to.

“You are a disgrace, Azazel. A waste of space and breath. Tomorrow, I will kill you with my bare hands, and before your equally worthless mother offs herself, she will bore me a better heir. One that the stars will favor.”

Unblinking, I continued to stare, dread leaving my body as I accepted what would come. Father would not save me. He would be my doom instead.

“Pathetic,” he hissed, turning and walking away. He made it a quarter of the way before he shouted, “Your friends are here to see you.”

Caleb, Quinn, and Priya didn’t immediately appear, rather, minutes in excruciating wait passed before I saw their figures come out of the darkness.

“Az, are you alright?” Pri asked as she clung to the bars, her eyes panicked. “We’re going to sort this all out, don’t you worry!”

“Pri, listen—”

“We know you didn’t kill them. I promise, we’re going to get you out of here.”

“But Pri—”

“Have you eaten anything? Did they give you water? I have snacks I brought for you.”

“Priya, let the man talk for stars sake.” Quinn sounded as exhausted as I felt. He approached the bars with a much steadier gait, always the only one of us slow to anger and quick to think. “What happened, Az? They’re saying you killed Colonel Zade and his entire family.”

A look was shared between the two of them, Priya adding softly, “Except for Talon, who survived. He says it was you.”

Nodding, I let my head fall back on the cool, grey stone. Magic pulsed from it, my own seeming to sway with the beat. What I wouldn’t give to be out screaming at the stars themselves for ever cursing me with this life.

“Benadell Zade came for me in my room. I told her if she didn’t leave me alone then I’d kill her and her whole family.”

“So you did?” Priya shouted, her shrill tone making Quinn cringe at her side. “You killed Dove? She was my best friend, Az! She was your friend!”

“Hold on a second, Pri, he didn’t say that necessarily.” Quinn grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away from the bars.

Behind the two of them, Caleb watched, his eyes sad and mouth in a thin line. I stared at him, seeing the same thought cross his face that had been etched into Tershetta’s.

“Cal?” For a moment, his eyes fell, hand reaching up to rub at them. I knew I had lost him then.

“Dove was our friend. She never did anything wrong. And Talon…I mean we grew up together.” He shook his head, as if he could rattle the thoughts out. I was waiting for the next bit. The part I could see he was itching to say but scared to. “Why, Az? Why did you do this?”

“Go on, say what else you’re thinking. This isn’t just about Talon and Dove.”

Priya and Quinn went silent, their eyes simultaneously going wide as Cal approached my cell.

“They’re all she has,” he muttered, eyes not meeting mine. “She isn’t like Talon. She won’t recover from this.”

My Little Void, always finding her way in, even when she wasn’t there.

“I think you all should go,” was all I said. Though I didn’t want to, I lay down on the filthy, damp stone below me, turning to face the wall as I did.

My friends—my family—didn’t move immediately. Instead, they stood there in silence for a minute or so, as if waiting for me to defend myself or say it was all a misunderstanding.

But I could still feel Benadell Zade’s heart in my hand as I twirled Tershetta’s stolen curl between my fingers, my magic sizzling as I willed the strands to fuse together.

I awoke to the sound of clanking. Sitting upright, I immediately scanned the area, trying to locate whatever potential threat was there. Not that I had any future ahead of me anymore.

Slowly, I made out the dark outline of a figure standing on the other side of my cell. Their body nearly merged with the shadows themselves, but they were there. Watching me.

“Who are you?” Silence. “What do you want?”

“I want what everyone seems to expect of you,” they said, their voice a high hum. “Excellence.”

Breathing out a forced laugh, I muttered, “Sorry, all out. If you couldn’t tell, I’m only producing failure now.”

“I disagree,” they parried. “You’ve officially shown me that you possess the skill set I need to succeed in something very important.”

“What’s that?”

“The ability to slaughter cores.”

Heart racing, I tried to make them out. Who was it? To want all of the cores dead was…ludicrous.“I am a core.”

“I’m willing to make an exception for the greater good.”

Just then, they stepped forward, the click of the lock sounding as the creak of the cell door echoed off the stone walls.

A ball of light burst into existence behind them, revealing two others standing guard.

All three wore dark, hooded cloaks, their faces hidden.

How had they gotten past the wards? I hadn’t tried, but I imagined it was strong magic. I could feel it pulsing.

“Who are you?”

“I am currently your only hope.”

Please. Everyone loves to think themselves the hero. I had no hope. “So you say.”

“Yes, I do.” They removed their cloak, revealing a woman with pitch black hair and skin to match, her face a compilation of straight, fierce lines. “I am Maitoza.”

“Hello, Maitoza.” I was growing annoyed, sarcasm seeping into my tone. “Do explain what you actually need from me so we can get this tedious conversation over with.”

“Spoiled core brat,” one of the people behind her said. I didn’t care. They weren’t wrong after all. And I was exhausted, empty of the energy needed to argue.

“I am the leader of the rebel forces.” She sounded proud. Superior, even. Stars, she sounded like a core . “I have come to rescue you in exchange for you pledging your fealty to our movement.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of you people.” Letting my head fall back, I rolled my eyes, knowing it would piss them off and not caring. “Bravely attempting to overthrow the shaytan forces with no magic of your own. I’m sure we’re all shaking in our boots.”

Unlike the two behind her, Maitoza didn’t growl or scoff. She didn’t so much as sound angry. “Actually, Azazel Altair, you’ll find we have many with magic on our side.”

I couldn’t hide the surprise from my face, utter shock leaving me slow to react.

She wasted no time. “Now, are you with us or against us?”

“Not many options.” What else could I say? Was she lying? What shaytan would join eadi? Who would betray their people in such a way? Briefly, I pictured Tershetta.

“No, there aren’t.”

“What’s stopping you from believing I’ll betray you?”

“Nothing,” she said, little care or emotion to the word.

She even shrugged . “I’m moving with intent and purpose.

Ideally you see the merit in that. Dajahim doesn’t need to be pure, it needs to be better.

That means equality and equity. That means fairness and peace.

I’m willing to make moves some might consider wasteful or dangerous if it means winning the game in the end. ”

Game. Winning. She sounded like Father. “One for the many type?”

“Exactly.” Her smile was bright, menacing for an eadi. Surely that’s what she was. I doubted they’d have a shaytan as a leader.

“If anything, I appreciate your honesty.”

“Will you join us then?”

I hesitated, not sure what this would do to Cal, Pri, and Quinn. Would they try to find me? Would they mourn me?

Stars, I hoped not.

“Yes. I’ll come.” There truly was no other answer.

Because no matter how much I tried to convince myself my future was over and giving up was the best option, I couldn’t bring myself to give in.

I wasn’t made for failure. Which meant I had to look at every stumble as a step in the direction of the finish line.

“Excellent. First rule of business, we’ll get you out of here and back to base, where I’ll require you to raise the wards and begin the slow process of cloaking the island.”

“That’s not easy magic.”

“Good thing we’ve got a core on our side.”

I sat in my new home, the walls bare and the wood worn, considering my next move. Exhaustion was creeping up on me, my heart racing from repairing the rubble that this closet-like home was and cloaking so much land. Land I had once believed to be decimated.

How had they survived? Done something so impossible?

No, I was too tired to think. So I let my head fall back on my flat pillow and pulled the deep green quilt over my body. Normally I hated anything but black or silver, but for some reason when Maitoza asked which color I wanted, the forest green was the one I felt called to grab.

Just as I closed my eyes and welcomed the nightmares that were sure to come, my front door burst open, the sound of rattling glass echoing across the empty cottage. Sighing, I opened my eyes again, surprise flooding me as I saw who was staring at me.