Chapter 015

"Where is the heart?" I asked with hesitation.

"It's okay if you don't want to-" Azriel began, drifting his eyes away from mine but I cut him off.

"I want to!" I said, nodding rapidly. "Where is it?"

My heart pounded in my chest as we stepped into the piano room. Azriel's hand felt warm and reassuring in mine, guiding me to the bookshelves. He reached for an old, dusty book and carefully opened it, revealing a hidden compartment. The door of the shelves slid open with a creak, revealing a small wooden box.

As he opened the box, my breath caught in my throat. The heart lay inside, its pulsating veins and arteries visible through the translucent casing. It was both beautiful and terrifying to behold, a true masterpiece of magic. But as I looked closer, I could see that it was indeed struggling to keep beating.

"It's dying," Azriel whispered, his voice heavy with emotion. "We have to act fast."

Without thinking, I reached out and gently took the heart in my hands. It felt warm and alive, like a small bird fluttering in my palms. I could feel its magic coursing through me, a powerful energy that I had never experienced before. I felt a strong headache and then something trickling down my nose.

Azriel's eyes widened. "Are you okay? You're bleeding from the nose."

I panicked, but I nodded. "What do I do now?"

"Is my magic affecting it?" I asked.

"No, but you can keep him alive until we get to the crystal cave."

I wiped the blood from my nose with the back of my hand, feeling both scared and exhilarated at the same time. Holding the heart was a tremendous responsibility, one that I wasn't sure I was ready for.

But as I looked at Azriel, his eyes filled with hope and trust, I knew that I had to try. With a deep breath, I focused on the heart in my hands, feeling its magic coursing through my veins.

Together, we set out towards the crystal cave, the heart pulsing gently in my hands. With each step, I could feel its energy growing weaker, but I pushed on, determined to see it through.

"What happened to your friend? Why is he like this now? The heart of the hut?" I questioned him, my curiosity burning in stomach, as I walked carefully with the heart in my hands.

"He was fighting Abaddon till his last breath. Abaddon killed him. I tried to save him with my magic but what was only left of him was his kind heart. So I kept it." He looked ahead of him, his expression paining but then a small smile came up on his face as we walked, "He didn't give up though. Not even when his heart was only thing left. It was still beating. It was still alive, meaning he was still alive."

"So you kept it safe in that hut?"

Azriel nodded. "The house became entity. It became magical. It felt like home. And it felt like I had my best friend back. I just wish the house was a human so that I could talk to him. So that I could ask him why did he almost died for me?"

I stared at him as he let his emotions flow for the first time in front of me. Azriel's words lingered in my mind. What was it like to have a best friend? I had never experienced that kind of connection with anyone. I wondered what it would be like to have someone who knew me so well that they could finish my sentences for me. Someone who I could rely on, no matter what. Someone who I could call at any hour of the night and they would be there for me.

I was lost in my musings that I lost the awareness of my surroundings. My foot slipped as I stepped on the unknown rock. I closed my eyes prepared for the hit, locking the little heart in my hands, cupping it close. However the hit didn't came and gravity didn't take this much time to make people fall. That's when I realized two arms snaked around my body, pulling me close to the clothed chest of my guardian.

As I stared up at Azriel, I couldn't help but feel my heart racing faster than before. His eyes were so deep, like ambers and sunflowers, just so bright, and his jawline was sharp enough to cut through diamonds. I had never felt so close to anyone before, let alone someone as breathtaking as him.

For a moment, we just stood there, lost in each other's gaze. I could feel his breath on my forehead, as he stared down at me. It was as if the world around us had faded away, leaving only the two of us in that moment.

Finally, Azriel broke the silence. "Be careful." he said.

I nodded, unable to speak. It wasn't just the fall that had taken my breath away. It was him. And that thought scared me, the reason I was unaware.

The silence between us was palpable, filled with unspoken words and unacknowledged feelings. I could hear the sound of our footsteps echoing against the rocky terrain, a steady rhythm that only emphasized the tension between us. I stole a glance at Azriel, and he was already looking at me, his dark eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and hesitation, awkwardness.

All of a sudden, there was a loud hiss coming from behind us. I turned around to see a big snake, a huge snake, it was bigger than any anaconda I've ever seen. It's scales were beautiful yet scary.

Azriel sighed at the problem in front of us now. Sighed? This snake could kill us. It looked like it could kill us.

"Listen, Selene, slowly walk closer to me."

"O-Okay..." I whispered. I stepped closer to him but halted as soon as I heard a hiss from the snake, and saw it coming towards me. And that was the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes shut.