1. Seraphic

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏. a diplomatic council

a z r i e l

☽ ☾

The second the carriage door slammed shut behind him, it took off, hurrying to leave the royal palace's grounds.

Azriel sat down between Kol and Morana, glaring ahead at Malachai who was beside Kara, both squirming slightly despite the determination in their eyes.

"What the fuck is this?" he said in as calm a voice as he could manage. He exhaled slowly, letting out a few breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

"I could not leave her," he said. "Because yes, fuck it, Kol was right. I do love her. More than anything. And if you could take me in, then why can we not let her stay, too? She wants nothing to do with my so-called people. Excluding Sera, of course."

"Did you even wish her?" Kara asked.

That was exactly what he wanted to know.

"I... No. I couldn't," he said. "I was going to, but she was talking to you." He looked at Azriel. "And by the time I could get anywhere near her, they had walked in."

"Okay," Kol said, giving an amused Morana a look as she visibly held back a laugh, "why don't we all take a deep breath and go through this rationally? Hm?" he suggested. "Kara is staying. She wants nothing to do with the royal family. I am sure she can stay with Kai if she does not mind." She shook her head. "Perfect. Just steer clear of this one's way. He tends to be... irritated easily."

Morana sniggered. "Irritated?"

"Mor," he said in a low voice.

"Okay, okay." She rolled her eyes with the dismissive wave of her hands.

"This one?" Kara said. "Surely he has a name."

"No," Azriel snapped. "You can call me Salvatore, or nothing at all. You do not get my name."

Not before Seraphina did. Certainly not. Not that he would even give that Kara his name.

He wanted to hit himself just for that thought alone.

"You had better commit to this," he said, scowling at her. "Once you are there, you do not get to go back to your fancy life at some noble's home. Leaving this place is not an option any more than it is a risk. I will not have the lives of my people endangered because of your little love story."

"You would understand if you had the capacity to fall in love," Kol said. "In the nicest way possible," he added at Azriel's glare. "But in this situation, it is like asking Mor something about combat or... or cooking."

"Eggs," she said proudly, smiling widely.

He gave her a look. "No."

"But how do you know it is not related?" she asked. "For all we know—"

"Stop," Azriel groaned. "I am trying to do something here." She frowned at him. "No-one saw you two get in?"

"No," they answered.

"Speaking in unison? Adorable," he remarked sardonically.