Chapter 011

"Your-Your-Your m-mom." I stuttered.

Azriel raised an eyebrow at me, confusion etched on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

My cheeks burned, "Your mom is angry!" I shouted at him. "And you should wear clothes!" I yelled. "And come downstairs for breakfast!"

As I stumbled over my words, Azriel's lips twitched in amusement. "My mom is angry with me most of the time." He stared at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "And I am wearing clothes." He added, gesturing to the towel on his waist.

"What- Shut up! Id-Idiot!"

"Look at how flustered you are," He walked closer to me, closing the distance till my back touched the wall. "Enjoying the sight?"

"N-no. You have some nerve to assume that I'd be distracted by you." I could feel my cheeks reddening and the heat spreading through my body.

"Is that so?" He raised his eyebrows.

I nodded, "Yes, uh-huh."

"Alright. I'll come downstairs in a bit." He smiled slightly, teasingly disappearing back into the washroom.

I went down the stairs with flushed cheeks, him following soon after.

"He's coming." I said, still in a daze.

Mara's scowl transformed into a relieved smile as she saw Azriel finally making his way down the stairs.

"Well, it's about time," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I was about to send a search party for you."

Azriel chuckled, ruffling his damp hair with a towel. "Sorry, Mom. Lost track of time."

Mara rolled her eyes, but the tension in her shoulders seemed to ease. "Just sit down and eat before your food gets cold."

As we sat down at the table, I stole a quick glance at Azriel, trying to calm my racing heart. It was going to be a long day.

Yale, who sat in front of Azriel, glanced at me, "Did you get hurt by the creeper?"

I shook my head as no. "I-I didn't."

His eyebrows furrowed, "You- Then why do you have that mark on your neck?"

Whoever was in the dining room with us, snapped their heads at me, looking at my neck.

Azriel eyebrows came down together as he turned my face toward him, holding my chin, leaving his breakfast alone.

"When did he leave that?" Azriel spoke, venom in his voice as if it angry at himself. "Did you feel him touch you?"

"N-no. Um, why?"

He breathed out angrily and for the first time it looked like he was about to shout at profanities at him, "He must have left that on you when I was unconscious and when your whole focus was on saving me somehow. You couldn't notice it, Selene"

"As I expected from him, he's not dead yet." Yale spoke.

Azriel's fists clenched at his sides as he tried to control his rage. His eyes glinted with a dangerous intensity that made me shiver.

"But he fainted," I said, a little unconfident. "He fainted and then he disappeared. He didn't come near me."

"That's the thing, Selene. You don't know when he comes close to you. You couldn't feel him touching your neck, because you don't know how to be fully aware of the surroundings yet." He sighed, not knowing his statement offended me. I pursed my lips, angrily but soon shoving it in back of my mind.

"I just can't seem to kill him. I have tried so many times." Azriel frustrated voice spoke out.

Just then Mara said something, that widened my eyes in shock, "I don't want it. I don't want my son to kill my other son." She said, softly. Her eyes, saddest in that moment.

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Mara, Azriel's mother, didn't want him to kill the creeper, who was also her son?

Azriel looked at her mother, "He's evil."

His mother stared back at him, tears in her eyes. She gave Yale and Azriel one last look before turning around and going to her room.

Yale spoke up, "Why do you do this, Azriel? You know how she takes this."

"She needs to accept the truth, uncle." He uttered. "Abaddon is evil."

I could see the pain etched on Azriel's face as he spoke those words. It was clear that he had struggled with this decision for a long time, but he knew that it was necessary for the safety of everyone around them.

What had happened? Curiosity burned in my chest but I kept my mouth shut. I shouldn't interfere now. I would ask Azriel later, alone.

Yale spoke up after we finished our breakfast, "You guys should go. You shouldn't stay here for more than 20 hours. You know that."

"Why is that?" I asked, my voice unconfident again, but filled with curiosity.

"This is heaven, kid." He smiled at me. "And you guys haven't died yet."

My eyes widened. So all of the people here are dead?! They're basically ghosts! Well, of course, they are, this is heaven. And I am alive and dumb for not knowing that. I sighed. It was just like in the stories my grandmother used to tell me as a child. Only now, it was real.

As we got ready to leave, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and wonder at the world we had just glimpsed. It was a place of beauty and peace, of light and love, and it filled me with a sense of hope that I had never felt before.

Azriel and I skipped on the waterfall of problems, the water sparking beautifully.

"Abaddon is your brother?" I asked, turning to face him.

Azriel's expression changed, and he turned to look at me with a sharp gaze. I could tell that he was hesitant to talk about it, but I was too curious to let it go.

"He was. I don't consider him my brother now. He isn't," he replied, his voice stern and cold.

"Why?" I asked, pressing him further.

"Something ugly happened. You don't want to know about it," he sighed, his hand patting the pup in his arms. The little dog ran away, jumping into the forest and disappearing from sight.

I could sense the hesitation in his voice, but my curiosity was overwhelming. "I do want to know," I insisted, hoping he would tell me.

But he didn't. He shook his head as no. "No, you don't."

"Oh, okay. But I hope you can tell me what the mark on my neck is about? We didn't talk about it before, and I was wondering what it is for so long, but I couldn't ask. So now I want to ask what it is," I spoke, my words spilling out in a rush.

"You sure ramble." He murmured.

But his expression turned serious as he answered my question. "Abaddon left that mark on you for a reason. I don't know what his plan is, but I do know that it will put us in a lot of danger. Especially you, Selene," he said, staring into my eyes with an intensity that made my nerves shake with fear.

"He will try to control you because he wants your power for himself. I won't let that happen," he said firmly as he stopped walking and turned to me, "I'll protect you no matter what, Selene. That's my job."

He said the words he knew I needed to know. I hated that I was starting to admire him somehow. I glanced away from his eyes, and stuttered, "What-Whatever."

His corner of the lips turned upwards as we started walking again.

"Also, I want to you to tell me everything you feel from now on. So that I can protect you." He spoke.

Azriel's request for me to share my every feeling caught me off guard. I wasn't used to being so open with someone, especially about my emotions. But I knew that Azriel had my best interests at heart, and I trusted him. So when he asked me if I would let him know if I felt anything weird, I nodded my head.

"Yes," he said simply, his voice firm.

We continued walking towards the hut in silence for a few moments before I hesitantly spoke up. "I have been..." I trailed off, reaching up to touch the spot on the back of my neck where the strange mark was.

"I have been feeling a chill on my neck for a while," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

As I spoke about the chill on my neck, I noticed Azriel's eyes widen in surprise. His gaze darted to the spot where I had been touching, as if trying to see something that I couldn't.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, concerned by his sudden reaction.

He looked back at me, his expression guarded. "It's just...strange," he said slowly. "That chill you feel on your neck, it might not be just a sensation."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my heart racing in my chest.

He didn't answer me as we made our way to the hut. I could sense the tension in Azriel's movements. He was on high alert, his senses tuned to any sign of danger. I knew he was still recovering from his injuries, but he wouldn't let that stop him from protecting me.

Suddenly, we heard a deafening roar, followed by the sound of something hurtling towards us. Before I could react, Azriel had pushed me to the ground and shielded me with his body. I felt the impact of something heavy hitting the ground beside us, creating a massive dent in the earth.

I looked up at Azriel, my heart racing. "What was that?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"It's that black orb he throws," Azriel said calmly, his eyes scanning the surrounding area for any sign of Abaddon.