Page 14 of Court of Twisted Angels (Cruel Beautiful Angels of Aerasak #1)

14

AZRAEL

T he wind whips through the ancient trees, their twisted branches creaking and groaning like souls trapped in eternal torment. My wings itch to unfold, to chase after her diminishing form as Kyrie steps into the darkness of the second trial.

Magic ripples across the barrier between arena and forest - an invisible wall that keeps spectators safe while contestants face their demons within. The air crackles with power, tasting of ozone and fear.

"Steady." I grind the word between my teeth, fingers digging into my palms. Blood wells beneath my nails, but I hold my position at the observation point. I'm not supposed to intervene. But after that fucking... I fight every instinct screaming to follow her.

The forest shifts and writhes, its very essence unstable. Trees melt into mist only to reform yards away. Paths appear and vanish like serpents in grass. Above, storm clouds gather and disperse in an endless dance, casting strange shadows across the arena floor.

I told Kyrie not to use the conduit unless absolutely necessary. She's not trained enough, despite our sessions all week, and I don't want others to see what she can do if we can help it. It will put a target on her back.

Kyrie's auburn hair catches the last rays of light before she disappears into the gloom. My enhanced vision tracks her determined stride, the set of her shoulders betraying none of the terror I know churns in her gut. She's different from the others - stronger, more focused. It makes watching her enter this hell all the more difficult.

"Little bird." The words escape before I can stop them.

My wings rustle, responding to my agitation. The urge to spread them, to tear through the barrier over the forest that keeps it separate from the arena and snatch her from danger, pounds through my blood like a war drum.

But I remain frozen, watching as the forest begins its cruel work. Already the illusions take shape - shadowy forms that dance at the edge of vision, whispers that carry on non-existent winds.

I've seen what this trial does to contestants. How it breaks them, twists their minds until they're nothing but hollow shells stumbling through their own nightmares.

The magical barrier ripples again, distorting my view of where Kyrie vanished. My jaw clenches so tight I taste copper. This is the price of my position, of the game we play. I can only watch as she faces her demons alone.

I shouldn't care. But now that I've had a taste of her, I'm so far past 'shouldn't' I can't even fucking find it.

I track Kyrie's progress. My fingers dance across its surface, weaving subtle alterations into the forest's magic. A deadly chasm begins to form in her path - with a twist of my wrist, I redirect its manifestation twenty paces to her left.

"Watch your step, little bird."

She pauses at a fork between two identical paths. The left leads to a grove of soul-stealing trees, their branches already reaching for her with hungry tendrils. I send a cold breeze down the right path, making the leaves whisper and dance. She takes the hint, turning away from certain death.

My breath catches as a shadow beast materializes behind her - all teeth and claws and murderous intent. Before it can strike, I layer an illusion of morning light across that section of forest. The creature hisses and retreats into the darkness where it belongs.

Sweat beads on my forehead. Each manipulation risks detection by the Praexa. If they catch me interfering... Well, honestly I'd love to see them try and stop me. I have no doubt that Kyrie could handle whatever they throw at her, but I can't stomach watching her have to.

Not when she has me.

Kyrie approaches a clearing filled with beautiful crystalline flowers. Their petals gleam with poisonous allure - one touch would stop her heart. I conjure the scent of decay, just strong enough to make her wrinkle her nose and change course.

"Good girl."

My wings strain as she heads down another path and vines come bursting from the ground. She stumbles, nearly falling into a patch of flesh-eating mist. With a subtle gesture, I shift the wind patterns, dispersing the deadly fog moments before it can touch her skin.

I start to hear some mutters around me, commenting on her uncanny luck. I keep my expression neutral, though my heart pounds with each near miss. Every intervention only draws more attention to her, attention I don't want, but I can't stop. Not when her life hangs by such a delicate thread.

She presses forward, that stubborn determination never wavering. I flex my fingers, preparing for the next necessary deception. The forest has only begun its assault, and I'll be damned if I let it claim her.

As she turns a corner into a wide clearing, I watch as the forest weaves its cruelest illusion yet. The trees part like a curtain, revealing a weathered cottage that materializes from the mist. She stumbles to a stop and I know exactly what it is - it's pulling this scene directly from Kyrie's memories.

Eleanor Kael lies on a simple wooden bed, her skin ashen and drawn tight over bone. The magical projection captures every detail - the threadbare blanket, the empty medicine bottles, the flickering candlelight casting shadows on hollow cheeks.

Kyrie freezes mid-step, her eyes going wide. The tension through her body puts me on edge, but this is not a battle I can fight for her.

"Mother?" Her whisper carries through the magical link, raw with emotion.

The illusion of her mother reaches out with trembling fingers. "My sweet girl... I'm so cold."

Kyrie takes a half-step forward before catching herself. Her fists clench at her sides, knuckles white with strain. "You're not real."

"Please..." The phantom woman's breath rattles in her chest. "It hurts so much. Just stay with me until..."

Blood trickles down Kyrie's palm where her nails break skin. She shakes her head, auburn hair whipping around her face. "No. My mother is alive. She's waiting for me."

The illusion twists, her mother's face contorting in agony. "You abandoned me for these trials. Left me to die alone."

"Stop it." Kyrie's voice cracks, but her spine straightens. "I'm here because of her. To save her."

Pride burns in my chest as she forces herself to turn away. The phantom woman wails, the sound piercing enough to make lesser contestants fall to their knees. But my little bird keeps walking, each step precise and measured despite the tears streaming down her face.

The illusion reaches for her with grasping hands, the cottage melting and reforming around her like a cage of memory and guilt. Yet Kyrie pushes through, her determination burning brighter than the forest's dark magic.

"I'm coming home, Mother," she whispers. "With real medicine this time. I promise."

The cottage dissolves into mist behind her, but I catch the ghost of a smile through her tears. She's passed this test, though the cost shows in every line of her body.

She's finally made it nearly to the end when I see her stop by an ancient tree - its bark gleams obsidian in the ethereal light, branches stretching toward a blood-red sky. She studies it, and then she moves closer.

If I wasn't watching her so well, I wouldn't notice that flash of magic on her palm, the way her hand pushes through the park. But I do. And I see the flare of red - the signature of a gemstone - just before she closes her fist around it.

My head whips around, but no one else seems to have noticed. Probably because no one else is watching her like I am.

When I turn back, Kyrie is moving forward, rushing through the last few obstacles to the exit of the forest. Her hands are fisted as she starts to run, and I know that she is probably trying to get the magic signature out of the forest before someone else - or something else - realizes she has it.

Suddenly, another contestant leaps out in front of her. She nearly goes colliding into him, and the cruel smile on his face makes my blood boil. He’s taunting her, edging her back toward the mist that I redirect from her to keep her from getting burned.

But he’s too busy being cocky to notice when Kyrie sweeps his feet out from under him. She quickly leaps over him, not wasting time with a fight, and finishes the last distance to the end.

Triumph surges through me as she bursts out of the trees. "You've done it," I murmur. She's actually done it.

Then reality crashes back like a physical blow. The gemstone. One of the few that I need to break my family's curse. And there it sits, in the hands of the one person I can't bring myself to harm.

The curse whispers through my blood, demanding action. My family's salvation lies within her grasp. I just have to have her find the last few and then she will turn the gemstones over to me.

That thought gives me both hope and guilt. She doesn't know what she possesses, what I intend to take from her. But she doesn't need to. She can still have what she's after anyway.

I turn, heading down to the arena floor through the tunnels. It doesn't take me long before I catch up to where Kyrie is. She doesn't notice my approach, turned away as she tries to look at the stone and block anyone else from seeing it with her body.

"Well done, little bird." My voice comes out rougher than intended.

She startles, nearly dropping the gem. Those green eyes lock onto mine, bright with triumph despite her fatigue. "I did it." A breathless laugh escapes her. "I actually did it."

The stone's power calls to my blood, an ancient song of salvation and redemption. A part of me wants to take it now, to see if one gemstone will be enough. But I know that it won't - even if I want to try.

But then she smiles, and something in my chest twists painfully.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She holds the stone up, letting its light dance across her features. "I've never seen anything like it."

I force my hands to remain at my sides. "It is. But remember, there are many out there after these stones. Keep them hidden."

She nods, closing her fist around it. "I'll do whatever it takes to get out of here alive."

Before, I would have just ripped the stone away from her, I would have slaughtered anyone who had one in their possession. But now…

Now, I'll also do whatever it takes to get her out of here alive.