Ignite: The Archangels Chronicles

Azreal knew there would be much to sacrifice in the months to come, but the demon at her side was a steady reminder that she might truly have a shot at happiness. Walking through the throng of people while they looked at her with such devotion was a quick snap back to reality. Azreal began to feel the crushing weight of carrying all these lives on her shoulders. That she was to be held accountable for so much more than just a few hundred people, she was to rule over an entire continent.

Azreal didn't let her stress and anxiety show on her face. No, her demeanor was cool, calm, and collected. She walked with a straight spine, chin up, the way she had been raised to do. Even when she was surviving by herself in the Black Wood with only spirit beasts to keep her company she always used the correct mannerisms. she had been just as polite to a snotty griffin as she had been too the sweetest porcupine. Her training drilled into her since birth. Azreal consistently had to try harder to look as effortless as her sister.

At the thought of her sister Azreal clenched her jaw tightly and released Belial's hand, feeling guilty for even a moment of hope. The only reason she was to be queen was because the rest of her family was dead. Her sister, the rightful heir to the throne, would have done better than Azreal. Gabriel had been a natural born leader, with her wings always on display. She was almost pure Angel; taking more after their father than their mother.

Belial nudged her slightly and whispered "Are you okay? I'm getting a lot of tension through the bond."

Azreal winced inwardly and tried to imagine the bond closing off, and snapping shut.

Belial didn't say anything but a muscle feathered in his jaw.

'What is it with this damn female?' he thought angrily.

'Excuse me?' Azreal shot back.

Belial's head twisted to the side abruptly as he replied 'i thought you weren't listening in?'

Azreal looked frustratedly back at him "You basically shouted it at me."

Nadie who was walking behind them jested "Lovers quarrel already?"

Belial wagged his eyebrows at Azreal suggestively and said, "Hear that? We're lovers now."

Azreal rolled her eyes, but didn't hasten her steps. The looming palace brought back a barrage of memories that Azreal wasn't quite ready to handle. The once grand stone castle had been severely damaged the night her family was murdered.

Each step felt impossibly heavy.

After the Sacris Family murder, the entire castle fell under siege. The the sacred wards her parents put up had died with them, leaving the continent unprotected. The heir to the throne, who is sworn in at birth, was to hold the shield alone in case both the King and the Queen died in battle. It was unheard of of course, for both the King and Queen to need to handle an invading army.

The Sacris family and the Dragori families were the only two kingdoms with enough magic in their blood to maintain such a large continent as Rellium, and the Dragori family was more than prospering on their own continent of Arne. Only Angel's are powerful enough to charge an island or continent. There are only three exceptions to this rule.

One, The contient of Zima. It's said that the Daughter of the God's Frost fell in love with a Fae man, and when they were shunned by The lady winter's heavenly companions she gave up her immortality to make the contient of Zima, blessing it as a snow kissed winter wonderland, and live out the rest of her still unnaturally long life with her Fae husband.

Two, the Isles of Tempie and its massive, smoldering volcano, were Forged by both the Sacris family and the Dragori family as a working island to make sacred weaponry, forge armor, and house new military recruits.

And three, Mechan, used to be a beautiful and luscious jungle ruled by one of the lesser Angel families, but soon after the False King took Rellium, the isles of Mechan were over thrown and turned into a twisted labyrinth that has only been darkening over the years. It's said that the New Queen Mawu has tainted the land with blood rituals and sacrifices. Dark magic that has been forbidden across the continent for thousands of years.

Without that type of magical aide the land begins to dry, wind blowing stale, everything turning desolate; as is what is now happening to Rellium.

No one knows how the False King was able to slaughter the entire royal family in one go with not a single soldier alerted, but the second the shield fell it was like the sun had exploded, the brightest light engulfed the city before flaming arrows rained down from the sky and fell upon the unsuspecting, unprepared civilians. The castle and the Port of Illium just north of it were taken in a matter of hours. If the Sacris family had ignored their tradition of spending the summer along the coast, they would all still be alive today.

Azreal knew it wasn't good to dwell on the past, but to see the moss crawling up the destroyed bits of crumbling stone that had once been so magnanimous and pristine made her heart sink and her mind try to put the pieces back where they should be.

'would their blood still be on the walls?' Azreal couldn't help but think it as they neared the bottom of the castle and the first set of cave formations appearing just off the coast.

The salty air blew into Azreals face and she let her eyes fall shut for just a second before entering the small cave entrance at the bottom of the castle. Azreal felt it was best to enter through the servants entrance rather than the front doors just in case anyone was making camp inside.

only the entrance to the cave was moist from the water, the rest of the cave was smooth and worn. They would walk through this cave for a few miles before they reached the stairs that had been mined into the wall by her father.

Belial poked Azreal in her side and whispered "Are you always this dreary?"

Azreal ground her teeth a little before giving him her best debutant smile and snapped back "Oh, it's just for you babe."

Belial tilted his head back and laughed, it was deep, burley, and it made her fake smile turn just a tad bit real.