Chapter 45: Even Gods Fall

••{RHIANNON’S POV}••

I can’t believe my eyes.

Am I imagining things?

Is this my mind playing some kind of cruel trick?

I close my eyes for a few heartbeats before opening them again.

She’s still there, standing only a few feet away.

"Nayeesha?" I pant, my voice coming out thin and filled with disbelief. "How are you... you’re awake?"

Her face is pale and slick with sweat, her dark hair clinging to her skin. She sways the moment she takes a step toward me, but she steadies herself before taking another.

Then another.

By the time she finally reaches me, her knees give out and she drops to the ground beside Azræl.

She nearly slumps forward but I grip her shoulders to steady her, forcing her to look at me.

"You don’t look so well," I say, panic creeping into my voice.

Her lips twitch as she tries to smile.

"I’m a little drained... but I’ll live," she says breathlessly. "Right now, he’s the one that matters."

My gaze snaps back to Azræl who now lies terrifyingly still.

"What is happening to him?" I ask, my voice trembling. "Why isn’t he healing?"

Nayeesha reaches for the sword still buried in his chest and wraps her hands around the hilt. Before she can pull, I grab her wrists.

"Wait. W–what are you doing?"

"The sword is forged from Nightbane," she says urgently. "I need to remove it now before it causes more damage and kills him."

My brows pull together.

"What?" I say, my tone filled with confusion. "I don’t... I don’t unders—"

Before the words can finish leaving my mouth, Nayeesha wrenches the sword free with one brutal pull and tosses it aside.

Azræl’s body jerks violently. A gasp escapes me as blood gushes faster from the wound as he begins to convulse, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

"No, no, no, no," I say frantically. "What is happening?!"

Nayeesha moves quickly, her fingers fumbling with the buttons of his shirt as she rips it open.

"I don’t understand," I cry as tears blur my vision. "He recovered almost instantly from a wound like this before, why isn’t he healing now?!"

"Because Nightbane is poison to vampires," she answers sharply without sparing me a glance.

My heartbeat stutters.

"P–poison?"

Once Azræl’s chest is completely exposed, a look of relief flashes across Nayeesha’s face.

"Thank goodness the blade missed his heart," she breathes. "He would’ve been dead by now if it did."

Before I can let myself feel that relief too, something catches my attention.

My face twists into a frown as the skin surrounding the wound slowly turns black and creeps outward like veins, almost as if the wound itself is beginning to rot.

Nayeesha quickly presses one hand against his chest, using her fingers to force the wound closed as best she can. Then flames burst to life in her other hand, casting a bright flickering light across Azræl’s face.

"Hold him down," she says.

My stomach twists into knots. "Nayeesha—"

"Now!"

I grip Azræl’s shoulders with everything I have, pinning him to the ground as hard as I can.

Nayeesha presses her flaming hand to the wound and his back immediately arches off the ground as he lets out an ear-splitting scream.

A flight of birds burst into the air from nearby trees, scattering into the night sky as his wails echo through the night.

Tears roll down my cheeks as his body bucks wildly beneath my hold, the hammering of my heart growing more painful as the agonizing cries continue ripping out of him.

When Nayeesha finally pulls her hand away, the wound is burned shut.

Azræl’s chest heaves as he gasps for air, tears trickling down the side of his face as he lets out broken sobs.

"Help me sit him upright," Nayeesha says, her tone filled with panic.

Carefully, the both of us lift him until he’s sitting upright.

My hands tremble as I cup Azræl’s face, turning his head so his eyes meet mine.

"Stay with me, please," I whisper desperately. "You’re going to be alright. Do you hear me?"

His lips part, but the only thing that leaves them are labored breaths, and his eyes are barely even open.

He looks so fragile and helpless.

Nothing like the Azræl I’ve come to know since he brought me to Darkholme.

"I’m here," I whisper, resting my forehead against his. "You’re going to be alright."

"R–Rhiannon..." he rasps.

"What is it?" I ask gently, brushing strands of his hair away from his face.

"I..." He coughs violently, blood spilling from his mouth. "I’m sorry."

"You don’t have to apologize," I sob, shaking my head slowly. "I’ve long forgiven you."

He tries to give me a smile, but his lips tremble and the expression dies before it can fully form.

"Rhiannon, I—" he lets out a pained grunt. "I..."

"You what?" I ask, searching his eyes desperately. "Talk to me."

"I..." he breathes. "I lo—"

Nayeesha presses her flaming hand to the wound in his back.

Azræl’s eyes widen and veins bulge at his neck as he lets out a blood-curdling scream.

I wrap my arms around him immediately, cradling the back of his head and holding him tightly against me as if I can shield him from the agony. He embraces me too, curling his fingers into the back of my gown and burying his face against my chest as he cries.

Eventually, Azræl falls silent and his arms go limp.

Nayeesha removes her hand from his wound, then I pull back just enough to look at his face.

Azræl’s eyes are closed and his body sags against mine.

"Is he going to be alright now?" I whisper.

"No," Nayeesha says quietly, shaking her head. "After suffering from a wound like this, I’m not sure if he’s going to recover."

My head spins and I suddenly feel like collapsing onto the ground.

"Are you..." I swallow, "are you saying he’s going to die?"

For a few heartbeats, Nayeesha does nothing but stare at me in silence.

"We need to get him to his chambers. Now," she says.

She hooks his right arm over her shoulder and I hook his left over mine before we carefully pull him to his feet. His head lolls from side to side as we move toward the castle entrance.

Every time I take a look at him, my heart aches brutally.

Azræl’s promises made me believe I was untouchable. That as long as he was here, no one would ever dare lay a finger on me.

But everything that just happened tonight completely destroyed that illusion

Now, there’s this dark voice in the back of my head, saying the same thing, over and over again.

"This is only the beginning."

"Something far worse is coming."

And for the first time, I don’t believe Azræl, or even his power as Emperor, can protect me anymore.