Page 23 of Court of Twisted Angels (Cruel Beautiful Angels of Aerasak #1)

23

KYRIE

I jolt awake with a violent gasp, my body arching off rough wooden floorboards. The world spins, fragments of memories crashing through my mind like shattered glass. Pain radiates from my chest where Azrael's magic entered me, but it's different now - a steady pulse that thrums beneath my skin, foreign yet familiar.

My fingers tremble as I press them against my sternum. Warmth radiates outward, nothing like the icy burn of before. This feels... alive. Like drinking sunlight, or catching lightning in a bottle. The magic courses through my veins in steady waves, making my skin tingle and my breath catch.

"Gods above." I push myself to sitting, watching in wonder as faint blue wisps dance across my fingertips. The magic responds to my thoughts, curling and weaving between my fingers. My conduit - the metal band wrapped around my palm - pulses in sync with each beat of my heart.

I flex my fingers, watching the blue light ripple and flow. This must be how the xaphan feel all the time - connected to something vast and ancient and powerful.

But there's an edge to it, a wildness that makes my heart race. This isn't my magic. It's his. Azrael's power thrums through my body like a second heartbeat, dangerous and intoxicating.

"Little bird." His voice cuts through my wonder. "Breathe."

I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath, too caught up in the sensation of raw power coursing through my veins. The magic flares at the sound of his voice, recognizing its true master.

I push myself to standing, legs trembling but steadier than before. Azrael's magic pulses through me like liquid starlight, and though part of me wants to scream at him for forcing this power into my body without permission, I can't deny how it heightens every sense.

"The trial." My voice comes out stronger than expected. "How much time do I have left?"

"You're still breathing so the trial is still going." He steps closer, and the magic inside me surges in response. "Show me what you can do with it, little bird."

The massive tower looms before us, its surface etched with ancient runes that glow faintly in the dim light. I press my palm against the cool stone, and the magic responds instantly - not just flowing through my conduit now, but singing in my blood.

Where before I'd struggled to find handholds, now I can sense the very structure of the rock. Each crystal, each mineral vein, each tiny imperfection becomes a map beneath my fingers. I pull myself up, and my body moves with an alien grace that takes my breath away.

"Holy shit." The words escape in a whisper as I scale higher, faster than I've ever climbed before. The crushing weight of the enhanced gravity still bears down, but Azrael's power forms a barrier around me, letting me slip through the pressure like a fish through water.

Twenty feet up. Thirty. The poisonous atmosphere that had burned my lungs now parts around me, the magic creating a bubble of clean air. My muscles burn with effort, but it's a good pain - the kind that proves I'm still alive, still fighting.

I reach for another handhold, and the blue light dancing across my skin illuminates patches of crystal embedded in the wall. They resonate with the borrowed power inside me, creating stepping stones of pure energy that only I can see.

This is nothing like the crude climbing I'd done before. This is dancing with the stone itself, letting the magic guide my movements in a deadly vertical ballet. And though I hate to admit it, I understand now what Azrael meant when he said the map wouldn't help me. It didn't. But he did.

And in those moments when I thought I was going to die, I finally let go of my anger and understood. Azrael wanted to help his family, the same as I did. So he did what he had to. He never thought he was hurting me, and I can see now he would do anything to keep me safe.

Later, I'll have time to process it all. But right now, I'm going to revel in being bonded to a xaphan - something I never thought I'd say.

A shadow falls across the glowing crystals above me. I barely twist aside as a blast of sickly green magic shatters the stone where my head had been. Fragments rain down as I press myself flat against the wall, heart thundering.

"You should've died in the forest." Dax's voice drips with malice. Through the swirling toxic mist, I glimpse his form silhouetted against the distant peak. "But it seems you keep clinging. Let me fix that oversight."

Another burst of magic hurtles toward me. This time, instead of dodging, I let Azrael's power surge through my conduit. Blue light explodes from my palm, meeting the green head-on. The magics clash in a shower of sparks that illuminate the entire tower face.

"How-" His shock gives me the opening I need. I launch myself sideways, catching a jutting crystal formation. The enhanced gravity tries to tear me down, but the borrowed power keeps me anchored.

"You're not the only one with tricks." I channel magic into the crystals beneath my fingers. They respond instantly, growing and spreading like frost across glass. My attacker scrambles backward as crystal spears erupt from the wall around him.

He snarls and throws up a barrier of crackling energy. "Stolen power won't save you."

His words barely register. I'm too focused on the way the magic flows through stone and crystal, mapping every flaw and weakness in the tower's structure. There - a massive crystal vein running diagonally beneath his position.

I slam my palm against the wall and pour everything I have into it. The crystal vein explodes upward in a shower of razor-sharp shards. His barrier shatters. Blood sprays as fragments tear through his leg and side.

His scream of pain cuts off as he loses his grip. For a moment, he hangs suspended in the poisonous air. Our eyes meet. Then gravity claims him, yanking him down into the swirling depths below.

The toxic mist thins as I near the summit, revealing a sight that steals what little breath remains in my burning lungs. The spire's peak isn't stone at all - it's a crown of crystalline formations that pulse with their own inner light. Each faceted surface catches and amplifies the magic flowing through the tower, creating a dazzling aurora of power that stretches toward the stars.

At the center, three massive gems hover in a triangular formation. Their surfaces ripple like liquid metal, colors shifting between deep sapphire and molten gold. The same energy that flows through my conduit resonates within them, but a thousand times stronger. These aren't just decorative crystals - they're the heart of the tower itself.

I press my palm against the nearest one, and Azrael's magic surges in response. I recognize it instantly. It's just like the red one from the second trial.

These are the gemstones Azrael's been after.

Understanding hits like a physical blow. These gems aren't just power sources - they're keys. Keys that could potentially break the curse destroying his bloodline. The realization of what I have to do makes my stomach twist.

Without hesitation, I wedge my fingers beneath the first gem's housing. The metal burns cold against my skin as I channel magic through my conduit, searching for weak points in the ancient bindings.

One by one, the strands of silver unravel under my touch. The gem comes free with a sound like breaking glass, its surface now swirling with angry red patterns.

The tower shudders. Warning pulses of magic ripple through the air as I pry loose the second and third gems. Each one feels heavier than it should, as if weighted down by centuries of accumulated power and memory.

I cradle the three gems against my chest, their combined energy making my heart race and my vision blur. The spire's magic begins to fluctuate wildly around me, the very air crackling with unstable power. I've just done something irreversible, and I pray I haven't doomed us all in the process.

The tower gives one final groan before the stone beneath my feet crumbles. I clutch the gems tight against my chest as gravity claims me, the enhanced weight of the trial's magic dragging me down like iron chains.

But something's different this time.

Azrael's power surges through my blood, no longer content to remain dormant. It spreads through my body in waves of tingling warmth, transforming the crushing pressure into gossamer threads that slip harmlessly past. The toxic atmosphere parts around me like a curtain, leaving me suspended in a pocket of clean, sweet air.

My stomach swoops as I slow my descent, the magic creating invisible currents that catch and cradle my body. The sensation steals my breath - like diving into warm water, but without the weight. Without the constraints. The borrowed power lifts me higher, defying the tower's enchanted gravity with ease.

It's almost what it felt like that day training with Azrael, with the wings. This absolute freedom, this perfect harmony between body and sky. The magic sings through every fiber of my being, transforming the terrifying plunge into something beautiful. Something sacred.

Chunks of crystal and stone rain down around me as the tower continues to collapse. But I'm dancing between the debris now, letting the power guide my movements in a deadly aerial ballet. Each dodge and spin comes naturally, as if I've done this my entire life.

The ground rushes up to meet me, but there's no fear now. Only exhilaration as Azrael's magic carries me safely through the chaos of the crumbling spire.

My feet touch the ground with impossible grace, Azrael's magic cushioning my landing. The three gemstones pulse against my chest in sync with my racing heart, their swirling colors casting ethereal patterns across my skin. Debris from the fallen tower rains down around me, but the borrowed power deflects it effortlessly, creating a shimmering dome of protection.

The arena falls silent. Thousands of faces stare down from the floating observation platforms, magnificent wings and horns of various races catching the late afternoon sun. Their perfect features twist with disbelief as they process what they've just witnessed - a human not only surviving the trials, but claiming the tower's heart itself.

A child's voice breaks the spell. "She flew!" The words echo across the stone amphitheater, bouncing off ancient pillars carved with scenes of past trials.

The crowd erupts. Wings snap open in displays of gold, white, and silver as the xaphan rise from their seats. Their cheers roll like thunder across the arena, mixing with the crystalline chiming of magic bells that mark a trial's completion. Even the Praexa in their private viewing boxes lean forward, their multiple sets of wings shifting with interest.

I stand tall despite my exhaustion, letting them see the blue light still dancing across my skin. Let them see what their "lesser creature" has accomplished. The gemstones warm against my chest as if in approval, their ancient power humming through my bones.

A human has completed the trials. Their perfect system lies in ruins around me, along with their tower of impossible challenges. The magic thrumming through my veins feels like victory itself - wild and bright and utterly untameable.