For the first time in her life, hatred flowed through her. The search for Gabe, in particular, has brought her nothing but pain and trouble. Yet, it was the place she was that she hated the most. It was a tent designed for more permanency than camping equipment, not quite large enough for her to spread her wings. An uncomfortable wooden bed sat on one side and a set of chains ran from the center support beam to her wrists.

Raziel pulled herself into a tighter ball upon the bed, covering herself with her wings. Pain coursing through her reminded the half angel that this was not a dream. She had lost track of time since her arrival here, but she could tell the passage between torture sessions. Why could they not believe her that she had no idea where Gave was, and century-old stories of who he was? “She’ll break,” they say.

How can one break when they were not keeping secrets? What more could they do to her? They already broke seven fingers and a thumb, each one at odd angles. If she did not get her hands tended to soo, Raziel would lose her primary sense, the one she relied on most. Blood coated her hands from deep lacerations along several fingers, and holes where nails had been driven through the center of her palm. Several ribs were sure to be broken, yet Raziel lay there silent, despite the cold intensifying the pain.

She did not flinch as the furs of the tent were lifted, a frigid draft caressing her face. Someone closed the distance between them and lifted her wing to look down upon her. ”Trying to hide? Won’t help. Just tell her what she wants to know, and it’ll all be over.”

”Don’t you guys get it? I already have. I don’t know who Thelron is, nor do I care. No one knows a thing about Gabe, so neither do I.”

”Who is he to you for such loyalty?”

”No one but a name.”

”Then why seek him?”

”To learn the past… To heal someone…” Her mind retreated to safety, allowing the conversation to hang in the air awkwardly. The visitor unchained her and began to carry her to the torture cave they had built underground.
[br]
Everything was the same, from the walk to the chains barely long enough for Raziel to stand flat-footed, the questions asked and answers given. So it wasn’t until a combination fo sensations registered at all. A loud crack rattled her mind as it screamed “FIRE!” but it wasn’t fire as she instantly tried to pull on the chains, trying to get weight off of her ankles.

As the agonizing fresh pain gripped her, Raxiel could hear the screams and crying from some poor wretch bouncing off the earthen walls. Another crack as her pain increased. It was then she realized it was she who was screaming, her own throat growing raw, tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. ”Now, perhaps you’ll be more forthcoming?”

”I don’t know!” Raziel screamed, begging for it to finally be over.

Something wasn’t right. Out of the blue all plant life started to wilt away. It started with Kohaku’s cries over his gardens when he found all of his herbs and food rotten. Ensarrian didn’t think anything of it at the time, figuring the fox had mistakenly used the wrong fertilizer or something, as unlikely as that seemed. But then Nelanna spoke of spotting dead plants on her way to Zanar’s temple one morning and even more on her way back home. It was only then that Ensarrian payed attention to the plants around him. The amount of dead plants just on his way to Mamlak alone was enough to unnerve him, and it seemed to be spreading. But what could he do? If Kohaku couldn’t even help his own gardens, who is an expert with plants, then there was nothing Ensarrian could do to help. He could only hope things will settle soon.

He turned over onto his side, pulling on the blanket on the bed. His eyes opened, fluttering when the morning light shone on them through the window. It had already been left open… A quick glance behind him told him that Isedora had already gone. Lately she’s become distant, just getting her to stay the night turned into a chore, and each morning she left earlier and earlier until it was too early to tell him goodbye. She never told him why, always brushing him off whenever he brought it up. It left him confused, wondering if he had done something wrong. Was she bored with him? Or was she just busy?

He forced himself to sit up with a wide yawn before he got out of bed. Ensarrian slipped on his dark sweater-like shirt and ankle high boots. There was no need to change his pants, simply because they are the only pair he has currently. He foxed the bedroom then left the inn, not even bothering to make his unkempt hair. He didn’t even manage to walk a single block before a familiar little familiar appeared from the skies. It was Azula, Raziel’s snowy owl. “Ensarrian!” She spoke to him frantically, giving him no time to respond before going on, “Raziel has been kidnapped!” Ensarrian blinked, the sudden unexpected news sinking in slowly. When it did it was like he had been hit by a wave of alarm.

“Where is she?” He asked, hiding his growing concern with calm determination.

“She is being held captive. I can take you to her.”

Without missing a beat he followed the owl, only taking up his dragon form once they were out of sight. He flew as fast as he could with Azula sitting atop his head, making a place for herself to perch comfortably among his many horns while she gave him directions, his massive wings beating with urgency. As the lands changed below he tried to keep his mind from imagining what was happening to his dear friend. He severely hoped he would make it in time…

Eventually they arrived in the northern parts of Itjivut. Below he spotted a group of tents and the moment he drew closer the scent of blood entered his flaring nostrils. His heart lurched. He tucked in his wings and dove from the sky with impressive speed. Ensarrian landed on the ground with a loud crash, the snow instantly melting under the heat of his body. People quickly swarmed from their tents, ready for a fight. But Ensarrian would not allow any delays. He could smell Raziel, and knew that she was there somewhere, for the smell was very fresh. And that wasn’t all. He could clearly match the blood with her scent. His own blood boiled.

With one swift move he burned everyone who approached him, reducing them to ash in seconds. Finally he transformed back into a human, eyes like the blazing fires of hell as he made his way down underground, following her scent. Suddenly, a bone chilling scream reached his ears from further ahead. It gave him pause, hoping, begging that the voice did not belong to Raziel. And then he heard it again, and he knew.

More people came.

“Get out of my way,” he snarled, body heating until it steamed with the freezing air around him. Without delay he burned everyone in his way, cruelly slaughtering his way to Raziel. Each door her passed was burned just as well or slammed in, left dented and broken. Soon enough Raziel’s screams were drowned by the screams of his foes as they made their attempts to flee, or bravely, foolishly attempted to stop him. He didn’t care what he had to do…he would give in to the savage beast if he had to. Ensarrian didn’t give a damn. He only cared about finding Raziel, and killing the bastard who’s hurting her.

Morgana snarled with impatience. ”Someone, go turn our unwanted guest away!” The sound of destruction was unmistakable. They may be running out of time. Was this creature worth saving? The dark angel shifted her wings as she contemplated the half breed before her. ”I’ll make you an ultimatum. If you can walk out of this room, I’ll leave you alone. Forever.”

With a nod, one of the cultists, Morgana gave up learning their names long ago, released Raziel from the chains. She yelped with the sudden weight on her broken ankles, having been pulling on the support above her to hold herself off the injury. The mixed blood crumpled to the floor, whimpering pathetically as she groveled to Morgana. Honestly, she had enough of the same words over and over. “Please. I don’t know. Let me go.” It was sickening.

How much more would it take to break this one? So many before her broke far sooner. This one was strong. For a moment, she watched Raziel try to crawl with her forearms, dragging her legs behind her uselessly. When she was tired of being nice, Morgana went to walk around the crawling form, deliberately stepping on a deformed hand, taking great delight in the sound of anguish she caused. ”Oops, was that your hand? I didn’t see you there.”

On the word “see”, Morgana kicked at Raziel’s ribs. She watched the angel curl in on herself, the screams music to her ears. ”Tell me what I want to know! What have you heard about Thelron? His location, his agenda, everything.” Thelron tasked her with ensuring his whereabouts stayed dark. If anyone opened their mouth carelessly, Morgana swiftly found them and dealt with the problem of loose lips. But this girl was getting far too close for anything to be a coincidence.

”I don’t know anything!” Frustrated, Morgana kneeled and yank on a fistful of that lavender hair, another yelp escaping the angel. ”I grow tired of your lies, half-breed. You’re keeping something. It’s only a matter of time before you spill everything.” ”Well, if you asked the right questions nicely…” It was a defiant response, which was quite admirable considering the tremendous amount of pain she was in. This session was about to come to a close, as it won’t be long before she passed out. Morgana, however, was greatly infuriated as she roared and began yanking out white feathers from Raziel’s wings, creating a bloody mess of the beautiful plumage.

Vivid memories of his past resurfaced from the last time he had taken a life. Ensarrian recalled very clearly how horrible he had felt afterwards. Their screams filled his dreams each night, preventing sleep for months. Since then he swore to himself that he would never take another life ever again. Yet, here he was, killing everyone in sight. And he felt nothing for them. Nothing but unchained fury. This time, another life was on the line.

Quiet the halls soon became as his foes either turned and fled, or became ash. The air was littered with the smell of fire and burning flesh, the floors coated in a thin sheet of ashes. Even the walls had been scorched to black. He made his way down the halls with Azula at a safe distance behind him. Blazing eyes turned on a certain iron door, and he paused, sniffing the scents on the other side. Raziel was in there, and his ears twitched at the sound of her cries. Another was present as well. Without sparing another moment, Ensarrian placed his hands on the door and let his inner flame go wild.

The heat from his hands quickly started melting the door. The hall and room filled with steam, revealing a pool of liquified iron in the doorway once the steam cleared. He was frozen at first as he laid his eyes upon the scene before him. Raziel was on the ground, ankles twisted, holes within her palms and oozing blood with a streak of red trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were filled with tears, cheeks stained from ones she had already cried. And standing over her was a dark winged woman, hands full of Raziel’s white feathers. Her wings were bloodies from what had been ripped from them.

If it were possible for him to become even more enraged, he did in that very moment. The fury of this dragon was enough to frighten a god. His body trembled. With one quick move he wrapped his hands around the woman’s neck and forced her against a wall. Already his black scales started forming across his arms and face in certain places, with premature horns along his brow and within his hair. His body heat burned her skin as his hands slowly added pressure to her throat, a vicious snarl revealing his fearsome snake-like fangs. He didn’t care why this woman tortured Raziel, he only cared that she had.

“No one touches her without messing with me,” he hissed, the sound much like the chilling hiss of an alligator. His chest and throat started glowing red as he fought against the fire rising like bile. “You will regret you ever even set your eyes on her.” With that, he sunk his fangs deep into her neck and injected a massive amount of venom. Then he let her drop to the floor, licking away the blood on his lips. Burning her would be too quick. He wanted to watch her suffer, to hear her scream in agony.

“What have you done!?” A new voice gasped.

Her search for her father was finally starting to bear fruit. Thelron was a sneaky fellow that was hard to follow, however not even a person as cautious as he went without making mistakes. Ramiel caught wind of another looking similar to his race sighted on the cold island of Itjivut. She followed the rumors and spent many a days searching the island. If she were not alone, or if she had the ability to use her wings, her search would go much quicker, and she would know sooner if this was a wild goose chase. All in all it was a waste of time.

However, her persistence proved otherwise. In the north she discovered a camp. At least what was left of it. Some of the snow was missing with dark powder scattered across the ground. The camp was oddly silent and lacking any signs of life. But she found something far more interesting. An evil presence was nearby, and it seemed the powder made a trail going in the same direction. Ramiel followed, quickly finding herself underground. The same powder covered the floor down the hall with black on the walls. Down here there was no breeze to carry away the scent of fire and burnt flesh. Her nose wrinkled with disgust. Was the powder the ashes of people? How horrible!

As she continued down the halls she noticed all of the doors had either been burnt or broken down. It made her curious. Was someone looking for something?

Soon enough the ashes came to a stop, right next to a pool of hardening silver liquid where a door used to be. She looked inside the room and her blood froze. A bloodied angel lied on the floor, while a young male pinned a woman to the wall. His anger and heat filled the room, frightening her for a bit. But by the time she realized who it was he was attacking, he had already bitten her.

Ramiel’s gasp turned his attention on her. The fury in his eyes made her gulp, momentarily wishing he hadn’t noticed her. But she forced her gaze to harden. She would not show weakness in the presence of a foe. She drew her sword and took a step into the room. “I cannot allow you to kill that woman!” She said firmly. His eyes flashed when she took another step, and he came straight for her. She yelped when the force from his body colliding with hers sent her flying. Her back slammed against the hallway wall. She groaned.

“Who are you to stop me?” He challenged, eyes boring into her as he stood in the doorway. “I need her alive,” Ramiel replied, attempting to take up her sword again. He attacked a second time, ripping her weapon from her grasp and tossing it out of reach. She was then pinned against the wall. “What reason could you possibly have for her to stay alive?” His breath was hot, like a flame that licked at her skin. She attempted to wrestle him, but his strength was outstanding. Clearly he wasn’t human, tha much she could tell just from his appearance. He was no demon, either. Despite his anger, there was no evil aura coming from him. He seemed more like a feral beast than anything else.

Though his strength was impressive, there was one weakness she knew he had. He was a male. Following her father’s advice, she kicked up her knee in between his legs with as much strength as she could muster. He groaned and dropped to the floor, curling in on himself. Ramiel took her chance while he was stunned and ran for her sword. Suddenly her leg was pulled out from under her. She yipped and tumbled forward, her chin slamming against the hard ground and sending a wave of pain through her jaw. She forced herself to find her sword and reached for it. Her fingers touched the hilt, but she was yanked back before she could grab it.

She was forcefully turned over onto her back. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t break loose from his grasp. Another attempt had been made to stun him, but the same trick would not work twice. He set himself between her legs to protect himself, and her arms were pinned down. “Fine!” She spat, stopping all movement save for the heaving of her chest. “I’m looking for someone. Only she knows where to find them.” The male paused, eyes unblinking and unwavering. He leaned down until their faces were an inch apart. “You see what she did to me friend there?” He said lowly. “She must pay for that.” Ramiel turned her head to look at the angel, brow raising in realization.

He wasn’t there on a killing spree for nothing. He was protecting his friend. Looking over the angel once more, Ramiel’s heart twisted. She looked back up at the male, brow furrowing. “Then we are not enemies,” she said firmly. “Let me question her, then you may do as you see fit. We can both get what we want.” He seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then her released her. She stood, dusted herself off and picked up her sword, the entered the room. The male stood between her and his friend protectively, but she ignored him and approached the dark angel. Pointing her sword down at the woman, she demanded, “Where is Thelron?”

Raziel, even with her screaming and crying, could feel the temperature rise. She tried to latch onto the sensation, to pull herself from drowning in the overwhelming agony dealt by Morgana’s hand. There was no escaping feathers being ripped out viciously, however. ”Stop…” She begged, the heat reaching its maximum. ”Please…” Whatever was causing the heat caused Morgana to finally stop, allowing Raziel to curl in on herself protectively, crying with the hopes that this nightmare was soon over.

Silence and tension hung in the air, palpable enough to cut with a knife as something was waiting. ”How dare you interrupt me!” Morgana hissed with danger dripping from her voice as venom from a snake. Raziel could not keep track of any movements, everything seemed to be moving too fast. Her torturer made a choking sound, another voice hissed a threat. Cries stopped as she recognized the voice. Ensarrian.

Hope and relief flooded through her as a fluttering of wings swooped in, landing on her shoulder. ”Azula?” She had disappeared that night, leading Raziel to believe she was alone. But instead, she pulled in one of the few people she could count on for anything. ”Brother mine…” she spoke weakly. Morgana screamed, and yet a new voice registered in her pain-addled mind. In defense of Raziel, Ensarrian would kill this woman and any who got in his way. Fearful of an innocent dying needlessly, Raziel gasped out his name as he attacked the new stranger.

Metal clattered against stone, Morgana writhing in pain, the stranger being attacked and there was literally nothing Raziel could do. Ensarrian groaned, a sound matched to pain blossoming in an intimate place on the male anatomy. ”Ian! Don’t hurt him!” Raziel screamed out. Whoever was fighting him was not fairing well against him. She could hear the words passing between them, and somehow it clicked what the woman wanted with Morgana. An agreement was made and footsteps approached, one set stopping far closer than the other.

Raziel attempted to crawl forth, one arm before the other, pushing through the pain with only one driving thought. Get to Ensarrian. One word, however, changed everything as Raziel froze, listening intently. Morgana glared up at the sword wielder, hands clamped to her neck futilely.

”Don’t know ‘im.”

”Liar!” Raziel interjected. ”Pull her wings as she did mine!” She threw herself into a painful coughing fit as Morgana began to laugh.

”Do you honestly think that will work, pathetic half-breed? You are an abomination, weak and useless. You don’t deserve those wings, nor the title of ‘Angel’. Shame is what you spread in your wake. Nothing else!”

Azula gave a shriek, a bolt of lightning arcing toward the dark angel. The woman screeched in agony as she convulsed. When the twitching subsided, the angel sneered at the group, putting on a bravado facade despite her own pain. ”Do your worst, but you won’t get answers from me.” Raziel hated her. If it wasn’t for her broken fingers and mutilated hands, she could punch that wench over and over. Kicking would be good too if her ankles weren’t broken. As it was, Raziel could barely breathe.

The second the stranger said she needed the dark angel alive Ensarrian almost snarled with disapproval. But he resisted the urge to attack. Until she stepped too close to Raziel. His protective nature kicked in and took over his body, attacking the angel. Despite his greater strength, the other would not give up the fight and instead used her brain to gain the upper hand. Kicking him in the groin was a dirty move, but clever to use his own sex against him. But his high tolerance to pain did not keep him down long enough for her to escape his grasp, and the next moment he was pinning her to the ground. She looked at Raziel with pity clear on her face before she made a proposal.

Ensarrian couldn’t care less what information the dark angel had, but it wouldn’t be fair to keep this stranger from getting what she wants as well. Besides, the longer the woman stays alive the more painful her slow death will be. Ensarrian would very much love to see that. And so he let her go and stood next to Raziel protectively. The white angel questioned the dark one, but of course, she denied knowing anything. Suddenly Raziel shouted out, making Ensarrian blink down at her until the dark angel opened her mouth again. The dragon flared at her, hands balling into fists as he locked his jaw. Now resisting killing her became far more difficult. But he knew watching her writhe in agony would be far more satisfying.

“Are you so sure about that?” He said with unnerving calmness as he approached the dark angel. He crouched in front of her and rested one arm on his leg while the other reached into a pouch on the back of his belt. “Have you ever seen what dragon venom does to a person?” He asked. “I have, and it isn’t pretty. You writhe in horrendous pain that only intensifies. It is a very slow death that eventually paralyzes your entire body, so you can’t even scream.” He pulled out a small bottle and showed it to her, swirling it with the purple liquid moving in a circular motion. “Imagine having a flame inside of you with heat that makes lava pale in comparison, and you don’t die near as quickly. Some have even said that it feels like the sun is burning inside of them, while others claim that doesn’t do it justice, that no words can truly describe how severe the hot pain is.” He grinned sinisterly, “You are already feeling the heat, yes? And it only gets worse. However, this here is the only anti venom in existence that can save you from such a miserable death that could take days. I am willing to give it to you, if-” he pulled the bottle out of reach, “-you tell us what we want to know.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Ramiel threatened, pressing the tip of her blade to the other’s wounded neck. Her threat was ignored when the smaller angel, too, claimed the dark one was speaking lies. At first Ramiel was curious how the tortured one knew that while Ramiel was going off of her gut. She had no proof this woman is in any way connected to Thelron. She laughed at the young one, spitting insults that offended Ramiel just by hearing it. And she wasn’t the only one. Surprisingly the male stepped in, either because he really was kind enough to lend aid, or he didn’t like someone spewing insults about his friend. The fury hidden behind his eyes made it clear it was the latter.

A bottle was revealed along with an explanation that answered a few of her own questions. As suspected, he was no human nor demon, but she never would have guessed as dragon. One with deadly poison at that. He went on to describe the pain brought on by his venom. She imagined the heat burning so intensely, and she almost felt pity for the dark angel’s fate. Almost.

But she was not expecting him to offer anti venom. “Wait a minute,” she started with disbelief, but the glare he sent her way made her think twice about continuing. The anger had been so fierce, his desire to kill the dark angel so clear. He slaughtered his way just to get to her and save his friend, and even attacked Ramiel for standing in his way. And now he offered to save the woman? After he went through all of the trouble, even to poison her, he denies revenge for his own friend?

She watched and waited to see how things play out, withdrawing her sword. The dark angel looked at the male, then the bottle, up at Ramiel and back again. The sweat on her made Ramiel wonder how bad the heat was already, her skin flushed as well. But the warrior did not think getting information from her would be so easy. “Tick took,” said the male, swinging the bottle like a pendulum. “Better hurry now, before the paralysis sets in and you lose your chance. You aren’t getting this until you tell us all we want to now.” Still, she did not speak, yet it was clear she was seriously considering his offer, weighing the consequences of either option.

Suddenly she startled Ramiel with a bloodcurdling scream. She writhed in agony, and yet the male remained as he was, calmly waiting for an answer. “Where is-” he paused, glancing up at Ramiel. “Thelron,” she finished for him. He looked back at the dark angel.

“Fine, I’ll tell you,” the woman managed to say through the pain. Ramiel blinked with surprise. Was the pain that bad already? “I don’t have direct contact with Thelron. We communicate with carrier bats. He didn’t like that girl getting close to him in her search for Gabe and Rammie. So he told me to find out what she knew. That’s all I know, I swear. Now give me the antidote!”

The male smiled, “Now, that’s wasn’t so hard, was it?” With that, he handed the woman the bottle and walked back over to his friend. Ramiel narrowed her eyes at the tortured as he took her into his arms, gently holding her head up and pressing her against his torso to warm her. He was so tender with her, his eyes showing an almost sibling-like love for her. It was difficult to believe he was the same person that had bloodlust and fury in those eyes only moments ago. “Are you alright?” He asked softly. But Ramiel wasn’t quite done. If this girl was close enough to finding the answers Ramiel sought to get tortured, then perhaps she knew more than the dark angel. But there was only one problem: she’s guarded by an angry dragon. Ramiel would have to be careful.

Crouching next to the pair, she gently asked what she wanted to know, “Is what she says true? Do you know anything about Gabe?”

After the insults, the strange static crackling in the air, and her own coughing subsided, silence descended upon the group. What was going on? Ensarrian finally made a move, moving farther away from her, the click of his heels on the ground echoing through the room. His voice sounded eery in his calm questioning. He went on to describe the torture he inflicted upon the dark one. This should have made her feel some sick sense of glee, but her stomach churned at the thought of what Morgana would endure as a fresh wave of pain made her feel nauseous.

Morgana’s silence was taken as consideration of the proposal as Raziel wondered why Ensarrian would give such an offer of an antidote. Suddenly, she screamed as loud as Raziel had when her ankles were broken. They continued to pursue the quest in extracting information about Thelron and Morgana spilled the beans all too easily. The dark angel spoke about bats used to carry messages and briefly touched upon Raziel’s search. He gave her the antidote, which Morgana greedily uncorked and guzzled down.

Her body quivered with the extreme heat as it began shifting and morphing into something else. Instead of a woman, a slender man now lay in her place. The same dark hair was now much shorter, hateful eyes remained identical as he spat at the wyvern. ”Liar! Deceiver! Thelron will have your heads!” Morgana the man screeched. But the wyvern ignored her as he approached Raziel, his voice ever so soft and loving as he inquired after the huddled angel.

Lavender hair was matted with blood and caked with dirt. She curled into herself as she began coughing again, shivering. ”No. She blinded me, immobilized me…And I’m cold…” It was strange to think of herself as cold, seeing as she was raised in Zets’ki Cradle. The other woman, the stranger walked up cautiously. Raziel sighed and swallowed. Now that she was with Ensarrian, there will not be any more torture. ”I’ll tell you… Everything… After we get away. First, find my bag. It’s in one of the tents outside. All I have, all I am, is in that bag.”

The dark angel took the potion without a second thought. It was very hard to resist a pleased smirk when he watched her drink it all down, every last drop. Funny how desperation makes someone do things without stopping to pay attention to the red flags and ask questions. She had no idea he was playing her for a fool. No idea that she should never trust his word after all she did to Raziel. There was no way in hell he would offer her salvation. He didn’t wait to see the potion set in, instead he turned to Raziel and gently held her in his arms. The heat inside of him cooled so that his touch wouldn’t burn, yet it was enough to help quell her shivers. He frowned at her reply. “It’s alright. I’m here with you now. She won’t harm you anymore.” Ever so gently he caressed her tear stained cheek and tucked a strand of blood stained hair behind her ear.

Ensarrian glanced up at the stranger when Raziel replied to her, yet his protective nature pulled her closer against him with a glare towards the white angel. She blinked up at him, visibly stiffening before she forced herself to relax. It was clear she feared him, knowing full well his strength dominated hers. But she did nothing towards Raziel. “Very well,” she replied with the smallest hint of a smile. Without another word, she stood and raced out of the room. Off to get the bag no doubt. His brow furrowed with a thought. If Raziel is going to answer the stranger’s questions, doesn’t that mean she will be leaving with them?

Suddenly his attention was caught by the dark angel when the potion started working. He grinned, watching her body change into male. She looked at him with pure hatred in her eyes, her mouth spitting accusations. It was sad how people like her assume they could treat everyone else however they please, yet they expect to be some kind of exception and be treated kindly. If that truly is what she believes, then she clearly did not know how the real world works. It isn’t fair to anybody, and it makes no exceptions. In the real world, if you wrong someone, karma comes back to bite your ass. He raised one hand and shot his middle finger at her. “You get what you give,” he said smugly.

Finally, the stranger returned with the bag. “Alright, it’s about time we take our leave,” Ensarrian lifted Raziel and carried her outside, leaving the dark angel to die alone. He wished he could see her in her final moments, but Raziel comes first. Out in the cold, he turned to the stranger, “Will you hold her for a second?”

She glanced at Raziel, then back at him with a raised brow, “Why?”

“I need to be in my dragon form so that I can fly her to safety and get help quicker.”

She blinked, pausing for a moment. “You can fly us?”

“I can fly her. I can’t carry more than one person,” he replied. Why did she say ‘us’? “You have wings. Can’t you fly yourself and follow?” She shook her head, “My wings have not fully recovered from an injury.” Ensarrian sighed with frustration.

It was then that Raziel suggested that she could open a portal that will take them wherever they wish to go. With Ensarrian’s aid, she was successfully able to open a portal that would take them straight to Kohaku’s cottage. He figured it was the safest place they could go considering how secluded and hidden it was. On the other side of the gaping portal they could see the living room. Nelanna was there with the fox, her eyes widening at the sight of them, “Ensarrian! Raziel!” Without hesitation she reached through and helped them across.