Eternal: Azriel

Chapter Eight

Azriel

Athy.

The human girl's name felt beautiful whenever I said it. Her appearance was sudden. Shocked me that a human could ever possess the powers to go back in time. It left her mysterious.

The more I spent with her the more I felt attached to her. She was different than any other Fae I saw. She cared about every little thing when it came to me. Not letting me rest until she knew I was okay.

I've never had that. The world has always been so cruel to me. Maybe because I'm a child, but I feel like I need her.

My shadows need her. There was a connection between her light and my shadows. And they always wanted more. They whispered to me that that they would kill anyone that touches her. That's how I knew that she was slowly beginning to mean something to me.

She took me out to fly which no one has let me do. She brings me food, risking her mortal life to search the market for it. She comforts me when I feel bad. She brings a smile to my face when I feel sad.

She has done more for me in a few days than anyone has done for me my entire life. My mother rarely smiles as she does. And though I like to see my mother. Her atmosphere is not always as welcoming as Athy's.

How can a human care so much for a faerie like me? An Illyrian nonetheless. We are warriors. Soon to be trained for battle but Athy doesn't look at that.

Her soft brown hair and deep blue eyes always seem to capture me. And I know they shouldn't. She will leave for the future soon and leave me behind. I hate that.

Why does the person who has showed me the most affection have to leave?

When I realized that I needed her, I befriended her further. I took her dancing in order to cheer myself up and maybe by some chance to let her stay with me.

'You said that you're from five hundred years in the future, I'll wait to see you again. After all, I live longer than you.'

My words gave me hope. Hope that I'll see her again. Nothing was going to stop me from feeling her warmth.

I've never really asked much in my entire life because I knew I would never receive it. But this one thing I ask for. To see Athy again.

A wish of a lost child.

But not everything ever goes well. I was punished for Athy's appearance in my room. But for some reason that wasn't the most painful part.

What pained me was that I might not see her if I go to the camps. That we didn't spend the twenty three hours together but less.

I was hoping in all my heart that she remembered where to meet and she was there waiting for me. As if she never left. I don't know why I feel like this, to a human nonetheless.

I got selfish after that, making sure no one else got attached to her. Cassian and Rhysand were obstacles towards reaching my goal.

Whenever they got to close I would bite back at them. I found Athy first therefore she was mine. I felt like a son begging for his mother's attention compared to his other siblings. And I was going to win.

In my attempt to find her, I marked her with one of my shadows. I told her that it was a promise in between us. In reality it wasn't all that. It was a way for me to sense her. To find her when the five hundred years passes.

Though Athy may think I'm an oblivious kid, I'm more cunning than she knows. Cass and Rhys were the first ones to notice this which is why they hated me. But they won't get in the way of my goals.

And then she left as if that was what needed to happen in order for her to go back. I was upset at first. Her presence not near me felt like torture but then I reminded myself that I'll see her again. Five hundred years and we'll meet.

*******

My wish came true sooner than expected. Nineteen years, five months, two weeks, and three days later.

My shadow tattoo burned on my wrist as they sensed her presence. She came back to the past and she was close. So I searched, left everything I had to do during the war in order to find her.

I wondered what she would think of me now that I'm older. Will she not like it? I never thought that far. I knew I wanted to see her but what about her? Would she like that I have grown strong like I promised her? I've thought about nothing else but her these past years. Growing stronger so that I could protect her from anyone that tries to hurt her.

She looked the same as I last saw her. As if she were a Fae herself. Still youthful and gorgeous for a human. These past years I've seen humans but none looked as she did. She seemed to shine more than the rest. She also didn't hate that I looked different, just surprised.

'Azriel?' Her voice was like honey when she realized who I was. I wanted nothing more than to wipe the tears off her face. But they were proof that she missed me. And she confessed it herself. She missed me the most out of all those other bastards. I felt pride from that.

When she was with Rhys, I couldn't help but glare. She was laughing at something he said and I wanted him to back away from her. I was captivated by her that I wouldn't let anyone else see her.

Rhys knew something was up and he was going to ask me about it later. I would be confused as well if a human still managed to look the same after nineteen years.

"How is she like that?" Rhys asks as we exit the tent. I don't answer.

"How is she like that, Azriel?" He says in louder voice, stopping me in a secluded area.

"I don't know." I finally answer. "You can't tell anyone about this, Rhys. I mean it."

"I wouldn't even know what to tell them." He sighs.

"Athy's from the future. Something happened to her that makes her go back in time randomly." I tell him, staring him right in the eyes.

"I've never heard of that." Rhys furrows his brows.

"Neither have I."

Rhys stays quiet, thinking of something to say. "Do you love her?"

His words make my eyes go wide. Did I love her? Is that why I wanted her near me?

"That's dangerous, Az. She's human." Rhys lowers his voice, after I didn't answer.

"You don't think I don't know that!" I shout, angered at the reality.

Rhys sighs, looking around the ground. "We'll talk about this later. Let's go."

I returned as quickly as I could after that. I didn't want to stay too far away from her, especially since she can leave in any moment.

She sat next to Morrigan wearing a Night Court style dress. I couldn't help but gawk. It suited her a little too well.

It's strange, the things she makes me do. I comfort her when she feels troubled and it feels good that she turned to me, not anyone else.

And it angers me when another male approaches her, as if they see what I see in her. Eris met her. It made me furious that he ever laid eyes on her.

He most likely saw what she was capable of. He could be interested in her. After what happened with Mor, I can't see him other than a threat.

I have to do all that I can for them not to meet again.

Then she left again as a shimmer of light. Five hundred years without her awaits me. I'll be strong for her, I promised to. And when the shadow band finally burns, I'll see her in the present.