Page 8 of His to Break
KARA
I crouch beside Azrael, my heart hammering in my chest as we navigate the shadowed corridor. The fortress looms around us, a maze of stone and darkness. My fingers tremble around the hilt of the stolen dagger, a fragile weapon that feels far too light against the weight of my fear.
The oppressive silence hangs heavy, broken only by the distant clinking of chains and muffled steps echoing from somewhere deeper within the fortress. Each sound sends adrenaline coursing through me, making my skin prickle. I can’t shake the feeling that we’re about to be discovered.
Azrael motions for me to follow, his eyes glinting like shards of obsidian in the dim light. I nod silently, trying to suppress the rising panic that threatens to overwhelm me. We slip past a guard post, barely breathing as I keep my gaze locked on him.
He leads us deeper into the labyrinthine hallways, each step drawing me further from the safety of our shared moments in his chambers and closer to danger. Sweat drips down my back, pooling at my waist. This is reckless—an impulsive move that could cost us everything.
What if we get caught? The dark elves are merciless; they wouldn’t hesitate to punish us both.
“Keep moving,” Azrael whispers, urgency lacing his voice.
I force myself to focus on his words rather than my spiraling thoughts. He’s right; there’s no turning back now. A part of me revels in this—this defiance against our captors—but another part screams at me that this is a mistake.
Still, I follow him, heart racing and pulse quickening with every step. I can’t let fear dictate my actions anymore; not after everything we've been through together. I will fight for our freedom—or die trying.
The exit looms ahead, a sliver of light in the oppressive darkness of the fortress.
My heart races, each beat echoing the urgency of our escape.
Azrael leads me with confidence, his towering figure a beacon amidst the shadows.
The closer we get to freedom, the more I can taste it—a heady mix of adrenaline and hope.
But just as we near the door, a guard steps into view, blocking our path. His eyes narrow as they lock onto mine, and I freeze under his gaze. Panic grips my chest; this is it—our plan crumbles before we can even touch freedom.
But then something strange happens. A warmth blooms in my chest, radiating outward like sunlight breaking through clouds. It wraps around me, and I can feel it stretching toward the guard, softening his features. His stance slackens, his grip on his weapon loosening.
“What…?” I murmur, bewildered.
I step forward without thinking, an instinct guiding me. “Let us pass,” I say, my voice dropping to a sultry whisper that feels foreign yet powerful. The words roll off my tongue with an ease I’ve never known before.
The guard’s eyes glaze over as if he’s caught in a trance. He blinks slowly but doesn’t move—his body stiffens as if paralyzed by some unseen force. My heart lurches with confusion and fear; what am I doing?
Azrael grips my wrist firmly, pulling me past the entranced guard just as panic threatens to drown me.
Once outside, I stumble into the open air, gasping for breath as reality crashes back in. The cool night wraps around me like a balm after the stifling heat of the fortress.
“What… what did I just do?” I ask breathlessly, my hands trembling at my sides.
Azrael watches me with dark curiosity, his expression unreadable yet intense. “You seduced him,” he replies slowly, almost with admiration lacing his tone.
My stomach twists at his words. “I didn’t mean to,” I whisper back, shame flooding my cheeks as realization sinks in. The power that surged through me—was that part of this incubus bloodline awakening?
His smile deepens—a dangerous spark igniting in his eyes. “You didn’t need to mean it; you simply did.”
I shake my head, confusion swirling in my mind like a tempest. “This isn’t right.” But deep down, an intoxicating thrill flickers beneath my fear—a glimpse of strength that had lain dormant within me for so long.
Before I can collect myself further or question him more deeply about what happened inside those walls—my thoughts are interrupted by Azrael suddenly collapsing to the ground beside me.
“Azrael!” My voice rises in alarm as he writhes on the cold earth. His muscles convulse violently beneath him as curses spill from his lips like venom.
He grits his teeth against whatever torment grips him and snarls through clenched jaws. “We can’t go… not yet,” he gasps between labored breaths.
“Why?” Panic floods through me again as I kneel beside him. His pain radiates outward like a dark cloud suffocating any hope left within me.
“The contract binds me… to this mine until it’s destroyed,” he spits out between fits of convulsions.
My heart drops at his words; the chains that bind him are more than physical—they reach deep into magic that constricts his very essence. This wasn’t just about escaping anymore; it was about unraveling everything keeping him prisoner—not just physically but magically too.
“How do we destroy it?” The urgency surges through my veins again as adrenaline spikes anew; we have to find a way—together.
Azrael’s eyes narrow painfully against the ground but find mine nonetheless; there’s fierce determination there mixed with agony—the kind of resolve only born from desperation and rage combined.
He grimaces again as another wave hits him harder than before—his body arching involuntarily off the ground before he falls back against the earth once more, panting heavily for breath like he’d run miles instead of lying still on grass under moonlight skies.
“Tell me!” I plead desperately; every second feels precious now that time drips away like sand through fingers—the urgency thickening between us both under shared weight bearing down upon our fates entwined together by threads spun from darkness itself.
He clenches fists into fists tightly against dirt and grass while forcing himself upright slightly before looking directly into my eyes again—the intensity there seeping through even past pain written across every line carved deep upon his face over centuries spent fighting battles unseen yet palpable within haunted memories buried underneath layers carefully hidden beneath strength forged through fire itself built upon loss too painful ever truly forgotten even after ages gone by:
“Get me back inside.”