Azrael ran like a madman.
His initial pleasure was completely forgotten as he found his way around the empty street, following his mate's terrified scent to its source.
His mate…
She was in danger and it was instinct to protect her. His entire body shivered at the smell of her fear, if anything were to happen to her…
'Fool!' He berated himself as he ran. 'You shouldn't have wasted time like that!'
He clenched his teeth and moved even faster. He had to get there before anything happened to her!
….
Ashelia's eyes darted around but she didn't see any opening… or maybe, she couldn't bring herself to see one. She was so disoriented, so much so that she knew she wouldn't be able to cast a decent spell.
But she had to do something!
She took a deep, shaky breath and extended her right hand, readying herself to cast another spell, similar to the one she had done before, when her eyes caught one of the attackers sneaking behind her Knight!
Her eyes widened. "Edward—!"
But her warning came too late. Almost immediately, the assassin's poisoned blade slashed across the Knight's back in a clean arc.
"Edward!" Ashelia screamed and tried to run toward him.
The Knight's painful bellow cut across the empty street, his knees buckled from the pain and he almost fell but he steadied himself.
He grit his teeth as he turned on the assassin behind him and cut through with force. A ghastly wound made its way from the top of the assailant's shoulder, all the way down to his abdomen.
The man stumbled, his sword slipped out of his grip and as his eyes lost their light, he fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Ashelia swallowed as her feet were rooted to the ground in utter helplessness. Her stomach was churning rapidly, but she forced herself to look.
Edward was doing just fine, he was keeping them at bay just fine, but now that he was injured with a poisoned knife… it would only be a matter of time before he fell.
The Knight managed to block another sword strike but his arms were barely holding up. The wound on his back felt like it was burning from fire at the edges. For the moment, the only thing keeping him on his feet was the need to protect the Duke's daughter.
But that did not determine how much longer his physical strength was going to last. His movements were slowing, his arms had become heavier than they were supposed to be and his legs were begging to give way.
Ashelia watched in panic. If things continued like this, Edward was going to die.
'No!' She screamed inwardly. She would never let it happen.
She had to do something… something!
But she could barely even move, her limbs had become unusually heavy. Her Knight was giving his life for her and she couldn't do a single thing in return!
All her life, Ashelia had never felt so… useless. The urge to remove the pendant hanging around her neck was becoming hard to ignore.
But if she did…
"Run, my lady!" Edward yelled, snapping her back to her senses. She looked up at him with moistened eyes.
She would have to run, but it would be so cowardly, not to mention that her legs still refused to move. Run… she couldn't even bring herself to do just that!
Ashelia bit the inside of her lower lip. She took another deep breath to steady herself and cast a spell but her hand shook so much, she couldn't even aim properly.
She didn't want to hit Edward by mistake. It would be disastrous.
Four of the assassins were now pushing the knight into a corner as he continued to fight, and another two lay dead on the floor.
'What…?' Ashelia wondered uncertainly as she swallowed. 'Where… where were the other two?'
She didn't have to wait for the answer to her question for long. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted one of them sprinting towards her at the same speed she had seen earlier.
Her eyes widened.
The man lowered his center of gravity, ready to strike upwards at her. The blade of his dagger was dangerously close.
Ashelia's body tensed and her hands moved instinctively, with speed she didn't even know she had.
She lifted the ceramic jar in her grasp and forcefully smashed it onto her attacker's head with all her strength, shattering it and sending splinters flying.
Ashelia staggered back, her breath coming out in heavy gasps, her body trembling intensely as she watched the assassin crumple to the ground.
Before she could even begin to recover, another one of them appeared in front of her, his blade raised menacingly.
Before she could register the situation enough to react or even let out a scream, she was jerked back with so much force that air seemed to vanish from her lungs as the world around her blurred.
Only a second later, she had managed to regain ground and herself, now facing a towering man with his back to her.
His thick mane of black hair flowed down to his waist, and blood dripped from his right hand.
Ashelia gasped as her legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground, still shaking. She looked up at the stranger as tears filled her eyes. "Y–you…"
He had taken the blade for her? Why?
Azrael smacked the back of his bloodied arm across the assassin's face with so much force that it sent him reeling back.
His jaw clenched as he slowly bent down to pick a stray sword on the ground and examine it carefully. "Why is it that you always end up in this kind of situations, my lady?"
"What…?" Ashelia looked at him like he was losing his mind. "This… this isn't the time to make pointless discussions–!"
"Answer me." Azrael stated firmly, making her flinch.
Ashelia pursed her lips as tears started to flow freely. "I… I don't know either! I just came here to get tea and… and…"
A vein popped at Azrael's temple, his voice was icy. "What would you have me do to them?"
Ashelia blinked. "P–pardon…?"
Azrael flicked the sword. "Tell me, before I decide for myself."
Ashelia clenched her fists on the ground. There was no point trying to be merciful to people who tried to kill her. "Kill them…" She whispered.
Azrael tilted his head back. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."
"Kill them! Every single one!" Ashelia said more firmly.
Azrael smirked as he brandished his sword. "As you wish, my lady."