by Deirdra Eden
I pressed my face into the pillow to muffle my sobs. How could I pick up the shattered fragments of my heart and be whole after losing Azrael? Even after years of not seeing him, I still loved him. My love for him would last longer than the existence of this Earth.
I imagined Azrael, now a glorious being released from his human form. He would be in a kingdom where silver moons dotted a pastel sky at night. During the day, a star brighter than the sun showered pure, white light, revealing colours and dimensions that mortals could never imagine. The silver spires of the White Temple stood like a mountain against the backdrop of the Neviahan Sea.
One day, when I left my human form and returned to Neviah, I would join Azrael by the sea of glass and gold in our garden of crystal flowers. That was the hope I had. Not the “wasted hope” Alamar had accused me of harbouring. Erebus had won this time, but in my sorrow, I vowed I would find a way to destroy the Shadow King’s kingdom. I could not surrender and would never stop fighting for the Kingdom of Light.
I sat up and watched as light came through my window when morning finally made its entrance from the east. I stood and walked to the window to soak in the light. The dawn brought with it other hopes I hadn’t thought of yet. Hope that I could be the warrior Zacaris had tried to train me to be and that Alamar had helped to train me to be. I could control my powers. I could control even Starfire. I had faced my fears and won. Even the water we sped across toward the sanctuary held no fear for me now. We would be there soon.
On deck, I sat in a pile of coiled ropes while the sun hit my opal skin. I kept my eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of land. Occasionally, I glanced at Alamar on the upper deck as he guided the boat at full speed toward the sanctuary. But I couldn’t soak in enough sun to raise my spirits. Eventually, night came and Alamar insisted I try to get some rest. He assured me the boat would still continue on its course while I slept.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “Get some rest.” Alamar nudged me toward the cabin with a soft push on my good shoulder. “My sanctuary is this ship and if what you say about the Shadow Lords avoiding water is true, then I will be safe on the sea, where I am at home.”
It was true. As long as we stayed on open water I could rest. “Thank you.” I returned to the captain’s cabin without another word and lay on the bed. I tried once again to push the bone back into my body. My skin monetarily split from the pressure then healed itself around the white bone like a gruesome deformity.
I closed my eyes and fought against falling into a deep, survival sleep. Every time I felt myself drifting too far, I would force my eyes open. The night seemed particularly cold. I wrapped the blanket around my shivering body. Hours passed and the air grew icy. I sighed and exhaled a warm breath into the frosty air. I sat up. Something was wrong. The seas had always been warmer near the sanctuary. I tried to look out the window, but the glass was covered in thick frost. I burst from the captain’s cabin to find the ocean littered with icebergs.
“Alamar?” I called and raced to the upper deck. Something awful must have happened to him for the ship to sail this far off course. Maybe he had fallen asleep and missed the sanctuary completely. But he stood at the wheel, steering the ship with confidence.
“What are you doing?” I asked, confusion sweeping over me as I shivered.
Alamar didn’t hesitate to answer. “Forgive me, Auriella, but I will always be a pirate, and I have decided to make you my last plundered treasure—stolen from the druids. It is for your own good. You will thank me someday.”
“You promised to take me to the sanctuary if I helped you capture Red Beard. We had a deal,” I argued.
Alamar shrugged at me and smirked. “I have found a loophole in our deal. You denied me the privilege of killing Red Beard myself.” He reached for me, gripping my arm and pulling me closer. “You are blinded now because of your pain. You will see in time that you do love me.”
I yanked away. “If you truly cared for me, you would take me to the sanctuary.” I thrust my injured shoulder forward. “I need healing and survival sleep—I need to be protected!”
“By Azrael?” he shouted at me, his face contorting in a passionate rage. “He is dead. I will protect you. You are mine to protect, and I will not allow the Watchers to use you.” The ship plunged forward through the icy seas, throwing me off balance. I grabbed hold of the railing to steady myself.
“Protecting me?” I retorted. “Alamar, I am one of them. I need to go to the sanctuary. It’s the only safe place for me to heal.” Every time I closed my eyes I was afraid I would go into survival sleep. In survival sleep I could easily sleep for a decade or more. Alamar could even grow old and die before I woke up. I needed protection only the Watchers at the sanctuary could give me.
“No!” An icy wave dashed high into the air at his words, responding to his anger. “You are mine,” he repeated, driving the ship faster.
“So I am to be your prisoner?” I countered. “Is that what you think love is, Alamar? He ignored me. I had to hold tightly to the railing as he recklessly commanded the sea.
“You are the one who knows nothing about love.” His face contorted with anger and pain as he waved his arms at me and a wave slapped me down. I rose to my feet, shaking off his icy reprimand and letting heat rise within me to dry my clothes. Flames leaped off my fingertips and sizzling in the cold, sea spray surrounding us. “I will burn down your ship if you do not take me home.” My voice shook with anger and betrayal.
He narrowed his eyes, tipping the ship to one side as a warning. “Then you will sink to the bottom of the ocean again.”
I slipped on the wet, icy deck, but regained my balance quickly. He pulled the ship to one side as icebergs parted then closed behind us in a solid blue wall. He would not stop. He would not see reason. I had to take control of the ship. I rushed toward Alamar.
A frozen wave slammed over me and locked me in icy chains. Using fire and immortal strength, I broke through the ice. Snow blanketed the deck with sleet, freezing my feet to the planks.
I took a deep breath, making one last attempt at peace. “Stop this, please,” I begged, holding my arms out in desperation. “Do not make me fight you.”
“Then stand down,” he called back to me.
“Take me to the sanctuary.” Fire sprang from my fists in warning.
The ship careened to one side. “Never!”
My heart broke in that moment. I would destroy the ship if I had to. I could not give him the love he craved from me. I could not forget my Neviahan heritage or abandon my fight against the Shadow King.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimmer of hope that could change my advantage in this sea battle. A Celtic warship appeared on the horizon and a blue banner waved from the highest mast like an answered prayer.
Help was coming.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Celtic Warrior
I shot a stream of fire up the mast. No one could miss that distress signal. Besides, I had to keep Alamar’s attention to give the Celtic ship a fighting chance to reach me.
Another bitter cold wave crashed over me and the mast, dowsing my flames. The cold water weakened my energy reserves. I sprayed fire toward the ropes and barrels on deck. Everything was too wet to ignite. Arctic wind howled around me. My breath rose above me in heavy white puffs as I tried to judge how much energy I could expend and still keep my body warm.
Alamar maneuvered around the icebergs while staying on guard and waiting for me to react. Ice crystals crunched under my bare feet and I slid dangerously across the frozen deck.
Alamar steered the ship toward a labyrinth of crystal blue razors protruding out of the sea. The Celtic warship wouldn’t be able to move across the currents the way Alamar’s ship could. I had to do something fast. I stepped to the railing of the ship, staring out over the ice-littered sea. “Alamar, if you don’t let me go I burn your ship down.”
Alamar shook his head. “I know how you feel about water,” he said condescendin
gly.
From the corner of my eye I glanced at the sea. The Celtic ship didn’t seem any closer and I doubted I could swim the distance before drowning. Alamar swerved to miss an ice shelf. The ship careened to one side and scraped along the ice. Ice and wood splintered into the sea. I slipped from the deck and toppled over the railing. As soon as I hit the freezing water, I involuntarily gulped in the icy liquid. The inside of my body became as cold as the outside. Every joint ached as I struggled toward the surface. I was like a stone desperately trying to keep afloat.
A jolt shoved me toward the surface and back onto the deck of Alamar’s boat. I stayed on my hands and knees, coughing out the water from my lungs. My frozen hair hung in icicles around my face. Frost crystallized on my skin and glittered like silver dust. I blinked several times to free my frozen eyelashes. Expending as little heat as possible, I thawed myself out.
“See how you do not need to fear?” Alamar shouted. “I control the sea, Auriella. I can keep you safe, not the druids.” He stumbled on the steps to the upper deck and gripped the wheel. His eyes scanned the horizon. “What—?” Alamar narrowed his eyes. He had seen what I had tried to distract him from. “Are these your Watcher friends?” His eyes blazed with anger.
I glanced back at the Celtic ship. My fall into the ocean slowed Alamar long enough for them to get closer.
“Alamar, you have to let them take me,” I begged. “I need to heal. I need the energy of the sun. I need to go home.”
He didn’t reply. He gripped the wheel of his ship as though frozen to it. The cold air sucked the moisture from his skin and his knuckles cracked. Blood trickled from the wounds and froze on his hands. The growing blizzard blocked my view of the Celtic ship and my hope briefly dwindled.
“Alamar!” I cried. “You have to turn around or you will kill us both.”
He pressed his blue lips in a straight line and focused on the maze of icebergs ahead. “We will be on the other side of the world soon.” He tore his hand from the wheel, but a layer of frozen skin ripped from his fingers. Blood froze onto the sleeve of his shirt. A wave pounded me with chunks of ice. My feet froze to the deck before the ice from the sea fell over me, locking me in a transparent cage. I strained against the ice, trying to break free. A few sparks sputtered from my hand and melted the frozen trap just enough for a stream of cold water to run down my back and freeze to my spine.
I tried to clench my hand into a fist and smash my way out. I freed my thumb on my right hand, but my other fingers were still locked in the ice. A blur of motion in front of me caught my attention. Something in Alamar’s hand blinked dully in the small bit of light coming through the clouds and reflection off all the ice around us. I peered through the walls of my icy prison, relief pounding in me when the wood from the helm of the Celtic ship came into view again. They were much closer this time. I scolded myself for not saving my energy. I probably could have jumped and swam to freedom.
Alamar lifted his arm and sent a wave of icebergs cascading toward the Celtic ship. The icy tsunami rushed toward my rescuers. But the wave slowed then miraculously receded back into the calm ocean. An enormous tornado whirled from the sky and pushed a path through the iceberg-riddled water.
Azrael?
It wasn’t possible, but my heart raced with hope. I thought Azrael was dead, but what other explanation was there for the Celtic ship catching up so quickly? And the tornadoes? Did Azrael know how to create tornadoes? I had only ever seen him use his powers to perform small and gentle acts.
Alamar swore.
My body warmed as the ship got closer. My blood ran hot and quick, the way it reacted when only Azrael was near. Fire burned inside me and burst out, shattering the ice cage. I breathed hard while on my hands and knees, and looked up to the sky were a form flew through the currents of the wind to me. “Azrael?” I whispered. I blinked in disbelief.
He landed between Alamar and me. The planks cracked under his perfect immortal feet. The ship swayed to one side, but Azrael stood firm. The wind rushed through his shoulder length, dark hair. His cloak waved like a red banner. Light blue Celtic war paint streaked his face and bare chest. Decades of fighting with heavy Celtic weapons had enhanced his muscular body. A blood-stained leather kilt hung around his waist, matching a leather strap wrapped diagonally across his sculpted chest to hold a scabbard on his back. He glared like a fierce dragon, reached to his back, and unsheathed the Flaming Sword of Neviah. White fire blazed off the blade as he tightened his grip around the handle and advanced toward Alamar.
Alamar slunk several steps back, away from us. Azrael threw a paralyzing warning glare at the pirate before his gaze softened as he turned all his attention to me. “Aura,” he whispered, and touched my fingertips. A lavender spark jumped from his hand to mine. Waves of energy ran up my arm and burned inside my heart. It felt like my heart started beating again, and I took in my first full breath of air after fifty years of separation from him. It was him. It was really him, not an illusion or a dream.
He lifted me into his arms in an embrace. I stroked his warm face as shared energy rushed through me like a hot bath after a long journey in the snow.
“You’re alive,” I said.
Azrael took my hand in his, kissing my hand and holding it to his lips. “My Aura.” Shivers that had nothing to do with the cold surrounded me and raced over my skin. Blue flames danced around us and sparks of energy skittered across the deck.
“My Azrael,” I returned, emotion thickening my voice. After so long it was surreal to be held in his arms. Hot wind embraced me with assurance and cloaked me in a protective bubble. In Azrael’s arms, the arctic world felt like a Mediterranean summer.
I ran my fingers through his hair and guided his head toward mine. His lips caressed mine with desperate eagerness. I pulled him closer with all my immortal strength, as if hoping to melt into him so we would never be apart again.
Azrael pulled away and gazed into my eyes. Tears glittered around his dark eyelashes. He lowered his chin and rested his forehead against mine.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
It felt like every part of me was healing—including my broken heart. For the first time since I had died, I felt whole again. “I’ve never felt better.” I pressed my cheek against his chest, closed my eyes and exhaled every doubt and fear.
He reached for my hand and kissed each of my fingertips. “Your shoulder.” Azrael ran his fingers gently over my wound from the Shadow Lord.
I opened my eyes and took only a brief note of the bone. “It’s from the same weapon I thought killed you.” I gripped his warm immortal hand, intending to never let it go again.
Eventually, Azrael’s gaze peeled from me and he put me gently down. He pointed the flaming sword at Alamar. I had forgotten the pirate even existed. “What should we do with this fellow?” Azrael pulled me under his free arm.
Alamar’s eyes glinted with fear, waiting for my answer. “Leave him. I want to go home,” I told Azrael. I just wanted to forget Alamar’s reckless, vain passion. I just wanted to leave this place and go home.
Azrael lowered the flaming sword and helped me to the railing, where I could see the starboard side of his ship, the Windcatcher. Baby waited on deck. His striped tail whipped wildly through the air and his ears perked forward when he saw me.
“Baby!” I’d missed that overgrown kitten.
The shriek of unsheathed metal pierced the silent arctic. Alamar charged toward us with his brandished sword. Azrael caught the blade in his immortal hand and bent the tip at Alamar like a giant hook. Alamar froze, his mouth hung open as he glared at Azrael.
Azrael kept his voice calm, but fierce. “I am not afraid to kill humans or Watchers like you. I’ve done it before, and I will do it again.”
Azrael released the blade, but Alamar wasn’t about to give up. The pirate turned the bent blade and swung it like a sickle. Azrael stepped in front of me, blocking the strike with his arm. The sword clanged off Azrael’s arm.
&n
bsp; Alamar’s eyes narrowed and his face twisted into a scowl. He shouted in anger. “Auriella is mine,” he cried. “I will take her deep into the ocean, where not even you can retrieve her.”
“You have much to learn about love, boy,” Azrael barked. “Do you think she would be happy at the bottom of the ocean? She needs the sun to survive. Why would you want to take her from the light?” Azrael kept his voice calm, but fierce. “Auriella offered you a gift,” Azrael said. “The truth, but you have refused it.”
“She. Is. My. Property.” Each word Alamar said sounded as if spoken in utter desperation.
Arctic wind tore the weapon from Alamar’s hand. The weapon glinted across the frozen sea before hitting an iceberg. The force of the blow cracked the ice and a sheet of frozen mountain tumbled into the ocean.
“If you dare touch Auriella again or send waves to terrorize her, or even look at her with lust in your eyes, then I will hunt you like an animal and seek revenge, even after we return to Neviah.”
Alamar screamed at him, “I hate you! All you druids. You will pay for this!”
Azrael ignored the threats. He took my hand and locked me in an embrace. Azrael kissed my forehead. The remnants of his kiss tickled my skin as the wind rushed under our feet and lifted us into the air.
“Azrael,” I said. “You can fly.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. I watched as we rose above Alamar’s ship and glided toward the Celtic ship.
“It’s a new trick I picked up from the High Druid of Wind.” The wind swirled around us in warm waves, lifting us higher into the air. “I wish I could fly us to the sanctuary, but my energy is weakening, and I need to get to the ship.”
I nodded. He was stronger than any other Watcher I had ever met, but after creating tornadoes and battling with his powers under an overcast sky, I understood why he was fatigued. We landed on the deck of the Windcatcher. Azrael raised his hand and the ship jolted forward in the direction of our sanctuary home.