"When the Daughter of Darkness comes, only Death awaits."
Born unlike anyone else and forced to work as the king's Aviary, Azria has only known one thing: she is a monster. The people of Izmera fear her and her powers, but when a chance comes to lea...
Rất tiếc! Hình ảnh này không tuân theo hướng dẫn nội dung. Để tiếp tục đăng tải, vui lòng xóa hoặc tải lên một hình ảnh khác.
Exhaustion clung to Azria and yet she flew, her powerful wings never missed a beat. The bitter, frigid wind cut its way through her cluttered mind and sharpened her focus to the path ahead. She couldn't sleep. Not after the conversation she had with Orin.
As soon as Wynnloc left the training room, Orin proceeded to tell her all the reasons why he thought she was losing her mind.
"You have a death wish, girl," he had said.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Stretching out the muscles in her neck, she groaned. She ached everywhere.
He scoffed. "You're planning on appearing in front of the king unannounced. That's like walking up to a nightwalker and spitting in its eye. You're asking for a fight. What's gotten into you lately? You look like you haven't slept in weeks, Azria." His brows furrowed. "I only say this because I care about you, but you need to be more careful."
"You haven't gone soft on me, have you Orin? You wouldn't want to damage your reputation."
"It's not my reputation I'm worried about. It's yours. You need to be careful that you don't lose sight of who you are when you pretend to be someone else, pretending to be this cold, uncaring thing. I know the importance of putting on an act, trust me. But you must remember who you are, my girl. You're strong and brave and honourable. You're no one's servant and no one's property, not even the King's. Not even he can control your spirit. There is a light within you, Azria. I can see it even if you can't." He paused and glanced at her. "And with that in mind, I have some news that you may find interesting."
Azria sat on a bench and began cleaning the knives strapped to her thighs with a cloth. His speech made her uncomfortable and she was glad for the change of topic. "Oh, do tell. You know how much I love gossip. If it's about the preacher that was caught cheating on his wife then I already know. Overheard the guards talking about it on duty. Apparently, he was wearing ladies' underwear and his mistress was holding a horse whip. Not that I'm judging or anything but it paints a funny picture." She snickered to herself.
Orin sighed and rolled his eyes. "Not that kind of news. There have been reports of an Old Soul that dwells in the Rift."
Azria's laugh died and her head snapped up. "Old Soul's don't exist, Orin. They're just a myth."
"Some say the same about you."
She ignored him. "Is your source reliable?"
He grunted. "Jonah and Digg have been keeping an ear out for me in the Fens. Stories circulate there, people want to get their minds off the fact that life is shit." He spat on the ground. "Usually the boys don't pay any mind to tall tales, but they said this one seems to hold a grain of truth. It's worth a shot by me. I'm sure if anyone would have answers for you, it would be an Old Soul." Orin turned to her and grinned. "I wonder if there would be an opportunity for you to visit our northern border sometime soon? I hear the Ignitai have been causing trouble for travellers up there. It would be a dangerous trip back to Raheim for our noble guest, especially if there was no one there to guard him." With a wink, Orin turned and left the room, leaving Azria to her racing thoughts.
