••{RHIANNON'S POV}••
The wind screams past my ears, swallowing everything else.
I keep my eyes shut because I don't want to see the world rushing toward me.
I don't want to see the ground rising to meet me.
I'm waiting for the moment everything stops. For the snap of bone, the burst of pain, the final darkness.
I'm waiting for the end.
But suddenly…
It stops.
The wind.
The fall.
Everything.
For a heartbeat, I don't understand if this is what dying feels like.
Silence. Stillness. Weightlessness.
Did I hit the ground so fast I didn't even feel it?
I slowly push my eyes open, expecting darkness.
But all I see are two furious, blazing golden eyes staring right into mine.
Azrael.
He's holding me against his chest, his arms locked around me as if I'm something fragile he refuses to drop. And we're floating—suspended in mid-air like gravity itself bends for him.
"No," I breathe, my voice shaking. "No, no, no. Let me go."
His answer is sharp, cold.
"No."
"Let me go!" I scream, pounding my fists against his chest. He barely reacts. His jaw tightens, but he keeps his arms around me.
He levitates upward, carrying me back toward the tower I jumped from. I twist in his hold, trying to break free, but he's strong—so impossibly strong. We drift through the window and the moment his feet touch the floor, he strides to my bed and drops me onto it with a rough exhale.
I bounce against the mattress and push myself upright. My body trembles from the mix of fear, disappointment, and fury fighting in my chest.
Azrael stands a few feet away, his shoulders stiff. His anger fills the room like smoke. I can see it in the lines of his face, the tension in his hands.
"This is unbelievable," he mutters, dragging a hand through his red hair and turning his back to me.
"Why do you care?"
He spins back toward me. "Why do I care?" His voice cracks like thunder. "You tried to kill yourself!"
"And why should that matter to you?!" I scream back. "It's a better fate than being trapped here like livestock for you to feed on, or a womb you can breed whenever it pleases you."
"I'm not an object," I say, rising to my feet despite my trembling legs. "I'm not something you can imprison or own. I'm a person. I have feelings. I have a heart, and—"
My voice breaks. "I have a heart and it hurts!"
Azrael takes one step toward me, his expression darkening in a way that makes the air thicken.
"You think this is what I want?! You think I'm doing any of this for selfish reasons?"
"Yes!" I scream. "Yes, because what else could it possibly be?!"
"That's not true."
"It is!" My hands drag through my hair as frustration and grief tear through me like claws. "You killed the man I love! You ripped his heart out of his chest in front of my eyes! How do you expect me to see anything but a monster when I look at you?! I hate you, Azrael Bloodbourne. I hate you with every part of my being. I hate you so much it burns!"
Azrael breathes sharply, his nostrils flaring. "You can hate me all you want. But listen to me carefully. I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing it for your sake. And for the sake of humanity."
I laugh. A broken, miserable sound. "I'm sick and tired of hearing that stupid excuse from you and Nayeesha. Tell me, Azrael—where exactly is the good in any of this? Is it in kidnapping me? In locking me in a cage? In forcing me into a marriage with you?"
"I tried to tell you," he snaps. "But you wouldn't let me speak!"
We stand inches apart, furious and glaring at each other. The room is silent except for the sound of our breaths. Then I sink back onto the edge of the bed, folding my arms tight across my chest.
"Fine. Say it," I mutter. "Make me understand how any of the horrors you've done is 'for a good cause.'"
Azrael lets out a long breath, and his shoulders lower. His eyes drop to the floor and for a moment, he doesn't speak.
"I have a twin brother," he says finally.
I blink. "What?"
He lifts his eyes to mine. "His name is Samael."
He stretches out his hand, and a chair glides across the room as if pulled by invisible strings. It stops in front of him. He sits, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He buries his face in his hands, and for a few heartbeats, he stays like that.
When he looks at me again, the expression on his face…
I've never seen it before.
It's not cold. It's not commanding. It's not cruel.
He looks tired.
Worn down.
Human.
"I wasn't supposed to be emperor," he says quietly. "I never wanted the throne. It was Samael's birthright."
I stay quiet. My arms tighten around my ribs.
"Samael hated our father's ways," Azrael continues. "He wanted more. Why stop at nine kingdoms when he believed vampires should rule the entire world? He wanted war. Conquest. He wanted the human race to be hunted down and enslaved."
"Can you even imagine a world like that?" Azrael asks, looking into my eyes.
A chill crawls down my spine. I try imagining it—but my mind refuses.
"Samael was obsessed with power. Obsessed with becoming emperor so much that he couldn't wait to inherit the throne… so he killed our father, Malachar."
I swallow hard.
"Some noble houses supported him," Azrael says. "They believed in his vision of domination. And once he killed our father… the empire fell into civil war."
"You fought him?" I ask softly.
"I had to," he answers. "I rallied every house that opposed Samael and I fought against him for ten long years. When I finally defeated him, he fled. I captured some of his allies and had them executed for treason. His other supporters vanished since their identities were hidden. I couldn't find them, even if I wanted to."
His voice drops lower, almost to a hush.
"But I know they're still here," he says. "I know they're still in the empire. I know they're in my kingdom. Even in this very castle."
His eyes darken. "That's why I trust no one.
My heart begins to race.
"How… how do you know they're in this castle?" I ask.
"Quite a lot of people know about the angel who fell from the heavens," he says, his tone chillingly calm. "The one who still had half his divinity and took mortal lovers. Some call it myth. Stories. Legends. Others… believe it's true."
My hands curl into the bedsheets.
"It's been three hundred years," he continues, "three hundred years of searching for any descendants carrying his blood. I did it alone… because I couldn't risk anyone knowing what I sought." His golden eyes glint with a quiet intensity. "Until recently, that is. A few months ago, I found out I was being followed by a strange man during one of my travels. Before I could interrogate him… he set himself on fire and burned to ashes." He pauses, letting that hang.
"But he confirmed what I already feared. There's a spy in this castle. Maybe more than one, but all I know is I'm being watched. And they wanted to know what I was searching for."
I stare at him, horrified.
"Do you think… they're connected to Samael?"
Azrael nods once. "Of course they are."
He reaches for my hands. My instinct is to pull away, but his grip is firm, and unrelenting. I feel the warmth of his palms against mine, and something about his presence is grounding, even as my heart pounds in warning.
"Rhiannon," he says softly, his voice steady, "the reason I took you from your home… It's because of Samael."
My brows pull together. "What… what does any of this have to do with him?"
"When Samael planned to conquer the human kingdoms," Azrael says, "he already knew the one thing that could slow him down was the sun. And he knew about your bloodline and already began searching before I even started my search for Nytheriel's descendants."
My breath catches.
"If Samael found you," he says, voice dropping to a whisper that makes my skin crawl, "he would drain just enough of your blood to become unstoppable. He'd strengthen his armies just enough to march on every human kingdom—even in broad daylight."
His hands tighten around mine. "If that happens… your father, your sister, your brothers, your people… everything and everyone you love will be gone."
My heart drops to the bottom of my stomach. All of a sudden, I can't seem to breathe.
"I don't know if he's still searching," Azrael admits. "But I know he's out there somewhere. And when I discovered your bloodline… I couldn't leave you unprotected. I just couldn't."
I stare at him, frozen and shaken to the core.
"Now," he says, his voice softer, "do you understand why I'm doing all of this? Now do you see why I had to take you from your family… even if it had to be by force?"
I close my eyes, trying to absorb it.
"I didn't bring you here to feed on you," he continues. "I didn't bring you here to use your body to make offspring, or to make myself more powerful. I'm marrying you… to protect you. And even after the wedding, I won't touch you. I won't ask for anything."
I slowly open my eyes, still trying to grasp it all.
He studies me carefully. The sharpness is gone from his expression; what's left is softness I've never seen.
"Look into my eyes," he says, "and tell me you still hate me after everything I've told you."
Slowly, hesitantly, I turn my face and look into those golden eyes.
I understand him now.
A part of me does.
I see the logic, the reasoning behind his actions. The dangerous necessity. The care he claims is behind it all.
But understanding isn't forgiveness. It doesn't bring Cyrus back. It doesn't erase the hatred clawing at my chest.
I slowly pull my hands from his, pressing them against my cheeks. My eyes sting as tears roll down my cheeks.
"I've heard everything you have to say," I whisper.
Azrael nods once. "Alright. I know it's a lot to take in… but take as much time as you need to think about everything I've told you. And please… don't throw yourself from the window again."
"I won't," I say quietly.
He exhales slowly, a sound that seems to carry all the weight he's been holding. He rises, towering over me, and says softly,
"Goodnight, Rhiannon."
I don't answer.
I listen to his footsteps until he reaches the door, opens it, and leaves.
And when the room is silent again, the weight pressing on my chest grows so heavy I can barely breathe.
Because now… I'm even more terrified than before.
Now I know it's not just about my blood, and what it can do. It's about the lives of the people I love. My father, Rayn, Jesenya, little Darren.
It's about the lives of so many innocent people.
It's about the fate of the entire world.
And I'm the center of all of it.