Olethros

fifty - azriel

I didn't return to Velaris with my brothers. I couldn't sit in that damned House and dwell on what was happening to my Freyja. I needed a distraction, so I went to the next best place.

Cloaked in shadows, I walked the snowy streets of another war camp. It was not Windhaven; at least I was smart enough not to return to the grounds I haunted. This camp was further west of Windhaven, at least three camps away. I'd been here twice. Never to slaughter, but I was bloodthirsty.

My mind was clouded by the images of Freyja crying with come on her chin, her begging me to hurt her. I thought of Carys denying her food. I thought of Tamlin kissing her. Rage heated my blood to a fucking boil. My knife in a tight fist, I stalked through the dormitories of the younger legion.

I heard laughing, clinking of glasses, snoring. I filtered through the sounds, eyes cast to the snow swept ground as I drew closer to the windows. My teeth ground together as I continued to think of the female I loved. She was being raped in this very moment, and I couldn't do a fucking thing without starting another war.

Slaughter them all.
Steal her away.
Revel in the sounds of their blood choking them.
Make her forget who once touched her.

I stared at one dimly lit window, the wooden logs around it chipped and weathered. I heard a male's grunt. A bed squeaking. I heard a muffled cry. I stepped closer, leaning my head in. I scented his arousal, but I did not scent hers. My eyes snapped up, seeing the silhouette of a naked winged male. Hips thrusting, arms stretched out in front of him.

That rage simmered into something like satisfaction. I grinned, becoming my shadows. I stepped into the room, and it made me sick to know I was right. A female face was being pressed into the bed, her hands desperately clawing at his hand that held her down. The scent of blood filled the air; hers.

This may have been a mistake, but it would be therapeutic for me. I let my shadows fall away, blade glinting in firelight as I stepped closer. The fucking idiot didn't notice me, too wrapped up in his thrusts. I kept my shadows to my face as I flipped the blade in my hand, coming up behind him.

A shriek left him as my blade cut through his lower back. His arms spasmed as his legs lost their feeling, sending him to the ground. The female screamed, clamoring up the bed and gripping a blanket. The male was still in shock, so I took the chance to look up at her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, shaking hands holding the blanket to her chest. Her dark hair had my heart stuttering, but it was her brown eyes that reminded me she was not my love.

"Do you want to watch?" I asked her, lifting the blood streaked knife. Her eyes widened as she shook her head. "Then get into the skies. Go home, take a long way so no one follows."

I turned my focus down to the male so she had the privacy to dress. The male was clawing at the bed, desperately trying to get to his feet. I reached down, grabbing him by his hair. His wings moved weakly as he cried out. I lifted him, lifting my shadows enough for him to see my smile.

"You can't find a female willing to sleep with you? You need to fucking take it from them? You're a coward, a fucking coward who can't handle rejection," I spat at him, my blade dripping into his hair. His eyes were wide, a blend of fear and anger in them. I grinned wider, already tasting his screams, but a small voice interrupted.

"I cannot fly."

My head turned to the female, now wearing a tunic but no pants. The blood on her thighs had my own blood singing.

"You cannot fly?" I repeated. She shook her head, chest rising and falling rapidly as she glanced between me and the male.

"I've been clipped. Years ago now, but I am afraid to walk home."