His gaze glowed a dull gold with my touch, and an assault of pain, sorrow, and regret poured into me. Images flowed into my mind, no longer restrained by his magical shackles. Unlike before, these revealed everything Raithian had ever put him through or forced him to do.
Anguished roars marred every memory. The cries of Azazel’s soul, trapped in the body of the monster Raithian turned him into. One after the other, I saw him burn entire families down, their shelters, the Castle of Dragons, and even terrorize innocent people during Raithian’s horrid games. All while he desperately tried to fight against doing it. It was a battle he could never win because that wasn’t him. Azazel was possessed by a force bigger, stronger than he ever was… Raithian’s wrath.
Agony sliced through me, tears burning my eyes while I witnessed his merciless suffering for so many years. Every kill. Every atrocity. Azazel lost part of his soul because through all of it, he was still there, trapped, perfectly aware but unable to stop it.
Tears slid out of his eye, splashing the ground while we held each other’s gaze, sharing everything like soulmates did. It destroyed me that I never knew. That I was never there for him… that I wasn’t able to save him from Raithian.
His memories suddenly lightened, and the one of my mother in the lake, caressing her belly, returned. An overwhelming swell of love accompanied it. The love he felt for me extended to my father as the memories evolved, showing them flying together, training together, fighting for our people with Tharion, Knight, Storm, Nocte, and Ardor.
Honor coursed through him when he fought alongside my father. He was proud of the good he’d done for our kingdom, and so was I. Azazel loved my family as much as he loved me because they were my family, and we were connected.
My jaw strained to contain my emotion when that terrible night appeared in his mind. The night my father died. The agony that flowed from him and into me was so overpowering that I could barely breathe. Like the others, anguished roars filled his memory. It was the sound of Azazel’s cries while he fought against Raithian’s disturbing command, but he was unable to resist it.
His green fire engulfed the man who had been his friend, the one he loved and fought beside of for me.
“Forgive me…” Azazel begged.
Sharp pain threatened to cut my being in two, but I didn’t let it out, I couldn’t, or I feared it would destroy me. Forcing a settling breath through my lungs I looked up at him again, my hand caressing his rough skin.
“I forgive you,” I whispered, unable to fully speak, rubbing his hollow cheek over and over. “That wasn’t you. It was him.”
“Free me,” he breathed into my mind, showing me a new vision, one I didn’t want to see.
Shocked, I glanced up at Tharion, noticing burns and slashes along his body too, but he stood strong. He had done what was necessary to stop Azazel from what Raithian wanted him to do, even at his own peril.
“You must do as he asks, Filius,” Tharion admitted. “He needs to ascend by your hand since he fell under the Warlock’s…”
Grinding my teeth, I glanced at Azazel’s golden eye again and slowly nodded, summoning my sword. It materialized within my grasp, my fingers tightly gripping the hilt. It didn’t make what I had to do any easier, but I understood he needed me to.
Only I could truly set him free.
My soulmate showed me the vision again. “Please…”
Weighed by his request, I walked along his neck, seeing him claw at the scales right above his chest until they fell. Azazel’s head curved towards me, and he nudged my side with his nose, forcing me to look at him. A silent goodbye passed between our gazes. Before I could think, I plunged my sword into his heart, swiftly ending his suffering…
A wave of boundless relief swept through his being instantly, leaving his lips with his last breath. Something ripped inside me as our soulmate bond vanished. The pain threatened to choke me until I fell to my knees, searing tears carving their way down my face.
Evie’s warm touch cupped my cheek after a few moments, and I lifted my head to look at her, the reflection of my pain glistening in her endless blue eyes, and in the eyes of all my brothers and sisters who gathered behind us—standing in solidarity with me.
My fingers slipped from the sword as I finally let Azazel go, and I stood with Evie, taking her hand in mine. Kingston, Asher, Imogen, and Willow stood beside me. “May you rest in peace, Azazel.”
“May he rest in peace…” everyone echoed.
EPILOGUE
Two years later…
EVANNA
“Break. Break!” Braxton urged, laughing his head off and making me stomp my foot against the pedal.
“I’m never driving this death machine again!” I shrieked like a crazy woman, my heart slamming against my chest at about a thousand times per sun-minute while everyone else chuckled behind me.
The large bus jerked to a stop in the parking lot, forcing our bodies to jolt forwards and then bounce back on the seats. Thank the Sky Gods for seatbelts.
“‘This will be fun,’ he said, ‘you will love driving’ he said, ‘once you start, you’ll never want to stop’—”
“He said,” Skylar finished for me with a chuckle. “And he was right. This was super fun!” With a wink, she rushed past me to open the door, jumping out of the bus.
“You’ll get used to it. I found it exhilarating this morning,” Asher assured, laughing when I made a face at him and exiting after his mate.
“Give me my Dragon back,” I grumbled, standing from the driver’s seat, and slamming the keys onto Braxton’s hand.
My mate’s lips twitched as he glanced down at me, putting the keys of the rented transportation in what he called the glove compartment—even though there weren’t any gloves in there.
“You just need practice, that’s all.” He stole a kiss from my lips, which I was happy to allow, and pulled me out with the others.
Fixing my jeans and shirt after sitting for so long, we walked along the parking lot over Grey Whale Cove, to find the other three buses arriving. Braxton’s friend, Josh, parked in front of us, letting out all the people. A brilliant smile curved my lips the moment Frank stepped out, and I walked to his side. I was so happy to see him again after so long.
I’d met him the first time I came to the Mirror World, looking for the Harbinger. He was homeless and didn’t have much, but he’d helped get coins so I could buy food in Braxton’s coffee shop and do an offering. Now I knew the truth, of course, but I considered Frank my friend.
“Thank you again for doing this, Evanna. You barely know me, yet you came back to look for me. To help me.” Frank took my hand tenderly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes becoming more prominent with his smile, sincerity shining in his brown eyes.
“Of course,” I assured, not understanding why that seemed strange to him. I was raised to believe that if I had the power to help someone, then it was my responsibility to do so. Didn’t everyone help each other in the Mirror World?
Charlotte, and Harrison exited their busses too while Aaron and Louis began to assist Frank’s friends take their possessions and gather near us. His friends stood with bags hugged to their chests. Their attention focused on us.