Azaeal crept in the shadows as palms twitched with nervousness. He believed he was not a man who was afraid of much, but after his encounter with that wolf that showed him death, his death, it made him reconsider. Whether what he saw was an illusion or a prophecy didn't matter. What did matter though was the fact that his benefactor, the man he trusted, who might not trust him, was the one who flung him on a spear, ending his life in one of the most painful means next to sunlight.
He shook the image from his head once, and then twice before it finally vanished.
As he walked the wide concrete alleyway, Azaeal could feel the thin glass from broken bottles shattering underneath his boots. For a moment, he remembered the time he felt powerful, invincible. But then he reminded himself of where the true power resided. With his benefactor.
He was an immortal of sense....An immortal...who was also terrified of dying. He needed to distinguish fact from fiction.
Fact: He'd failed his benefactor.
Fact: His benefactor had not called on him since he'd returned to California. The result: he'd been nervous enough to track down and find his benefactor.
Fact: His benefactor had a lover. He'd saw him when he trailed them a few days ago.
Fact: His benefactor also was engaged to Glimmer, the Unseelie Queen. And knowing her, she won't turn a blind eye to this.
He should turn a blind eye to this. He shouldn't let what that wolf showed him get to him. If he were to expose this, his benefactor surly would kill him. But if he played his cards right, maybe Queen Glimmer could save him before that.
He rubbed his temples as they throbbed, all this conspiracy made him truly consider the sacred part of himself. The one he had kept away for the entire twenty-four years of his mortal life and for the forty years of his immortal one.
He was afraid of death.
And his benefactor will probably be the one to hand deliver it on a damn silver platter.
Speaking to the Unseelie Queen without any proof will be suicide. But if the time came, it could still be useful.
The Queen was a possessive creature after all.
This was his trump card.
His benefactor had a forbidden lover, hidden from the woman he promised to marry.
His trick was shady, but he'd done worse.
With a deep breath, Azaeal took a left turn out of the alleyway and strolled through the shadows of the sidewalks. There wasn't a single human in sight.
The stars that littered the night sky were more beautiful than anything he's ever seen. Years ago, he would've hated it. Hell, a few weeks ago, he would've hated it.
But he was a man who was afraid of death.
That, within itself, conjured a newfound appreciation for the finer things in life.
Azaeal would only use his trump card when needed.
But something within him hoped he wouldn't have to.
End of Part 217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22AA3pVEiU
