Page 5 of His to Break
KARA
D ays blur together in the dimness of the chamber. I’m still reeling from the encounter with Azrael, my body responding to him in ways I can’t explain. The memory of his touch lingers, a sweet torment that makes me crave more while also filling me with dread.
When he calls for me again, I hesitate at the threshold. His voice slices through the air, sharp and commanding. “I need you to help me.”
I step inside, confusion knitting my brow. He paces the room like a caged beast, chains clinking softly with each step he takes. “Help you? How?” My voice is small, almost timid, but it’s hard to ignore the tremor of anticipation beneath my fear.
Azrael stops and turns to face me, his intense gaze piercing through me like fire. “There’s magic in you. I can feel it,” he says, his fists clenching at his sides as if holding back a storm.
Magic? The word feels foreign on my tongue. I recoil slightly, doubt creeping into my mind like an unwelcome guest. “I’m only human,” I protest weakly. “If they catch us?—”
“Do you want to stay a slave forever? Or do you want to take your revenge on them?” His growl silences my fears, hitting me like a punch to the gut.
My heart races at the thought of revenge. It’s something I’ve fantasized about during long hours of labor in the mines—a sweet dream drowned by hopelessness and despair. But now? The possibility hangs in the air between us like a charged spark.
“What do you mean?” My voice shakes as I ask, fear wrestling with an unexpected thrill.
“I need you to unlock whatever power lies dormant within you,” he insists, stepping closer until his presence envelops me entirely. The air grows thick with tension, a magnetic pull drawing me nearer despite my instincts telling me to flee.
“But how?” I stammer, fighting against a swell of emotions—curiosity mixed with fear and desire.
Azrael leans down slightly so that we’re eye level; his intensity is suffocating yet strangely comforting. “You must focus your will,” he explains slowly as if unraveling a complex riddle. “Your bloodline holds potential—an incubus heritage waiting to awaken.”
I blink up at him, trying to process his words. “But what if it’s too dangerous? What if it hurts?”
A flicker of frustration crosses his features before he softens slightly, though there’s still that predatory glint in his eyes. “Everything worth having comes at a price.” His gaze pierces mine with an intensity that makes me tremble.
The prospect terrifies me but also ignites something deep within—a spark of defiance I thought long extinguished.
“What if we fail?” My voice barely breaks through the tension between us.
“Failure is not an option,” he says firmly. “I refuse to remain shackled by these dark elves any longer.”
His resolve resonates within me; suddenly, the chains don’t seem as heavy as they did before.
The air in the room feels electric, charged with something primal and intoxicating.
Azrael stands before me, his presence overwhelming, and I feel a stirring deep within—a dark energy bubbling to the surface.
It whispers promises of power, of revenge, and suddenly survival doesn’t seem like enough anymore.
“Power,” he murmurs, stepping closer, his voice softening like velvet. “I can give you power.”
His words wrap around me, tugging at my core.
My heart races as he continues, “Power to destroy them. Don’t you want that?”
The answer lingers on my tongue—a yes that’s been trapped beneath layers of fear and despair.
I want it more than anything. I’ve spent years buried in the dirt and grime of servitude, each day blending into the next like shadows creeping through the mine shafts. But now? Now a fire ignites within me.
“Imagine it,” he says, his eyes dark with an intensity that draws me closer despite myself. “You could have your freedom. You could make them pay for every lash they’ve laid on your back.”
I swallow hard, envisioning their faces twisted in fear as I unleash whatever magic lies dormant inside me. The thought sends a shiver down my spine—part exhilaration, part terror.
“What would I have to do?” My voice is barely a whisper, caught somewhere between curiosity and dread.
Azrael closes the distance between us, his towering figure casting a shadow over me. He reaches out slowly, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear with fingers that feel both gentle and electrifying against my skin.
“Just trust me,” he breathes, his voice low and seductive.
My breath catches as he leans closer still, his gaze locked onto mine with an intensity that threatens to consume me whole. There’s something about him—something dark and alluring that beckons to parts of myself I’ve kept hidden for too long.
“What if it changes me?” I ask hesitantly, uncertainty creeping in like fog through the night.
“Change is inevitable,” he replies softly. “But think of what you’ll gain—the strength to fight back.”
He moves even closer now; I can feel the heat radiating from him, enveloping me in warmth and danger all at once. His fingertips graze my collarbone again before trailing lower along my neck. The contact sends shockwaves through my body; desire ignites like wildfire as instinct battles reason.
“What if I don’t want this power?” My voice trembles under his touch.
He pauses for a moment, searching my eyes as if trying to read my soul. “Deep down,” he whispers, leaning closer so that our breaths mingle in the charged space between us, “you know you crave it.”
His words send a jolt through me; he’s right in ways I can’t comprehend yet fully acknowledge. The idea of rising above my circumstances pulls at something primal within—a hunger for more than mere survival.
But then doubt washes over me like cold water snapping me back to reality.
“I… I can’t.” The weight of fear settles heavily on my chest again—the familiar chains binding not just Azrael but also myself in this suffocating life as a slave.
“I shouldn’t be here,” I murmur finally as panic rises inside me.
As if sensing my retreating resolve, Azrael takes a step back but not without keeping his gaze locked onto mine—his expression morphing from desire to frustration. “You’re afraid,” he says quietly but firmly.
I nod slowly; the truth spills out before I can stop it—fear has always been a companion since being thrust into this life of servitude under dark elves’ whims.
“Don’t let them control you any longer,” he urges gently yet intensely. “You deserve more than this.”
Desire warred with fear within me as his words echo like thunderclaps against my heart. But those shackles are deeply ingrained; uncertainty holds tight around my throat.
“I need time.” With that desperate plea escaping my lips, I turn away from him—every step away feeling like tearing apart an invisible thread binding us together even while fear clings like ivy around my heart.
I escape into the dim corridor beyond the door—the weight of possibility lingering behind as dread pulls at my heels like an angry shadow refusing to let go.