Chapter 4

Alyssa

Leaving my family behind to die wasn't easy. I had to force myself to the village. The pressure made me stumble, cry out into the night as I searched the town for a horse carriage.

People screamed at the terrifying beast searching for me; Fabian swallowed plenty of humans while looking left and right in his restless search for my blood.

Fabian crashed through buildings with his heavy leather-clad wings, stomped over horses, and ate anyone who dared raise their gun at him. I'm guessing he felt offended by their courageous acts of self-defense because it's not like bullets could hurt him—Fabian has turned into a monster.

The horse that is pulling the carriage neigh a complaint, and I blink away from my reflections as I return to reality. A farmer is yelling at the horse, whipping it angrily to speed up its pace, and I sigh from behind the heaps of hay surrounding me.

I press my back harder against the wooden planks behind me and pray to the heavens that the farmer won't find me. I'm wearing a stolen red mantle over my nightgown, and my feet are dirty and bare—if he saw me riding in the back of this carriage, he would probably throw me on the ground, and the sunlight would kill me.

"Excuse me, sir, where are you headed?"

My breaths fall silent as I listen to the new voice. The carriage comes to a halt, and I grimace—they better not search through the carriage!

"I'm heading to the angelic castle," The farmer mutters. I can hear him spit on the ground, probably annoyed someone stopped him. "I'm delivering hay to the rich bastard... What was his name again? Azrael?"

Every hair stands on edge hearing that familiar name; indeed, there can't be many Azrael's in this kingdom, which must mean this farmer will take me to the home of that angel!

"Azrael?" I can hear the shiver in the guard's voice; Azrael isn't a popular name in his ears. "I've heard a lot about that man, he rarely leaves his castle, and there are rumors about his garden being the home to magical creatures. Some say they have seen beautiful women standing naked in his garden, sprites, can you believe it?"

"Only rumors, I'm afraid," The farmer snorts. "Azrael's castle is probably the largest one in the kingdom. Its surrounded by a lake and a scary-looking labyrinth, but I haven't heard anything about beautiful women. His maids are all old, nasty women,"

"Oh well," The guard sighs. "There goes my dream of one day visiting his castle,"

The farmer laughs. "It would be a waste of time to see it. Do yourself a favor and find a real woman at the pub instead,"

With those words, our journey continues. The farmer whips his poor horse, and I bounce up and down as we race down the slope. I can't say this way of traveling is my preference, but it's way better than burning to a crisp under the hot sun—I can't complain.

I keep my eyes on my feet the entire ride; hours pass, but I barely register the temperature change. Day turns to night, yet I'm still sitting there, wondering if vampires go to heaven.

My mother might not have been the greatest, but in the end, she chose to sacrifice herself so her daughter could run—doesn't that count as a good deed, or are all vampires still considered purely evil?

Sighing, I glance up at the ceiling above my head. My grandmother is afraid of dying because she thinks all vampires will burn in hell once we close our eyes—I always thought it was such a negative way of thinking.

I genuinely hope my mother isn't suffering in the pit fires; I wish her peace and serenity in some other place. Goddess mistake, I should have told her that I love her before she died—it's my biggest regret!

The carriage stops moving, and I decide to slip out of my hiding place while the farmer takes care of his horse. A cold wind bites my cheeks, but Fabian isn't here, which means I can finally breathe.

I've been traveling for an entire day, through borders and villages. My body is tense and sore. It feels incredible to stretch my arms and smile up at the dark clouds above me.

I walk around the courtyard. The grass is spreading out on both sides of the gravel road leading up to the most magnificent castle I've ever seen. A lake is surrounding its front, and the small gravel road is the only thing leading up to the giant castle doors unless you want to hike through the dark maze on its backside.

Spinning around in the darkness with my arms spread out, I keep my eyes on the sky, convinced my parents are glad I made it here safely. I tear up thinking about them; there is a hole in my chest, an empty place where my heart used to be. Without my parents, I'm not sure if it will ever heal and look the same.

"Who invited you here?"

I cringe, my heart almost hammering out of my chest.

Azrael?

When I turn around, his violet eyes widen with curiosity, but I find myself tumbling backward because it's the wrong face.

There is no glitter, angel wings, or even an angel looking back at me, but a very handsome man. He is older than Azrael and more mischievous somehow.

"Oh..." Suddenly I've forgotten how to speak, how to play cool.

His violet eyes, which stand out against his black suit, glimmer under the moonlight with silent spoken amusement; clearly, he finds my lack of speech funny.

"This is my castle," The stranger says and takes a step closer. He is at least six-foot-four, easily dwarfing my five-foot-two self—it's like looking up at a beanstalk. "I would remember if I had invited someone like you,"

I sneer. "Someone like me?"

The man ignores me and moves over to his next question despite me glaring at him. "Does time pass differently inside the castle which you came from?"

My heartbeat accelerates; how does he know I came here from a castle?

I fix my eyes on his face and find it hard to breathe with his scent of roses saturating the air.

ROSES!

He smells like roses!

I stare dumbly up at his face. "Az-..." I hesitate but press on when violet eyes drill into mine. "Azrael?"

"Yes?"

My mouth runs dry, which seems to amuse Azrael—he draws closer and gathers my hair between his fingertips.

Fabian did this too, but Azrael is seductive and cunning. His lips briefly touch the tips of my hair—I can feel his warm breath travel with the wind, and I nervously skitter away from him with widening eyes.

"W-What are you doing?" I question him with suspicion in my gaze.

"You're so hostile," Azrael laughs in delight. "Maybe this will help,"

Azrael playfully covers his face with his hand, and when he removes it, a younger version of himself is smiling back at me.

My jaw drops to the ground—Azrael looks like the human version of the angel I found in the forest; that's when I remember Maze telling me angels can change their appearance.

I close my eyes momentarily, sighing. "You can change your age,"

"Yes, it would be hard owning a castle as a teenager," Azrael's voice is still amused, way more curious than I ever remember him being. "Now that you recognize me, may I ask what the little vampire is doing in my courtyard? Are you lost?"

I stare at him; Azrael remembers me! I saved his life by offering him my blood, and now I need him to return the deed, but it would be so embarrassing to ask him for a favor!

Hastily, I look around, my eyes landing on a piece of paper hanging on his door; it says: "Now hiring servants,"

I speak without thinking. "I CAME HERE TO WORK FOR YOU!"

When silence folds around us, I lift my chin—Azrael is rapidly blinking at me with a stunned expression. I can't blame him; I practically yelled up into his face.

Suddenly his lips twitch; it looks like Azrael is holding back laughter. His eyes are glittering, lips curling by the edges.

"I'm only taking in slaves at the moment," Azrael says darkly with a glint in his eye. "I doubt you're interested,"

The way he says those words got me wondering if he is messing around with me; still, I'm not about to let this opportunity go to waste!

Azrael's castle is the safest place for me to live. Fabian wouldn't dare to challenge an angel or even set foot on Azrael's territory.

Angels and vampires are enemies, and I think Azrael would win if Fabian challenged him unless the vampire grew even more powerful somehow.

"Perfect!" I exclaim. "I'm the person you're looking for!"

Azrael laughs, and it feels like all blood rushes to my face. I like hearing his voice, and he seems way friendlier than I remember him.

"Alright," Azrael says and motions for me to follow him with a mischievous smile touching his cheeks. "Follow me inside,"

"Gladly,"

Azrael hums. "I have a lot of toilets that need to be cleaned up. Bertholdt, my butler, had a situation this morning, so the entire left-wing is closed off due to the terrible smell. Do you think you could take care of it?"

I grimace but keep following the taller man. I'm not about to tell him that I've never cleaned in my entire life; Catrina did that for me. I've only been a spoiled princess, but if cleaning means survival, I will gracefully take on any challenge Azrael throws at me.

"Not an issue," My voice is fierce, determined—this will be a piece of cake. "I will make the porcelain shine like the stars!"

Azrael turns around with a broader smile; he seems to examine my face, and my heart almost bolts out of my ribcage. It shouldn't be physically possible to be as attractive as this man—I think I'm falling in love with his blonde hair and pretty eyes.

"You're an interesting one," Azrael speaks in a soft voice, and I wordlessly follow him through a door he so effortlessly holds up for me.

Azrael watches me walk past him with his head hanging low, and the intensity of his curious eyes almost got me stumbling over my own feet.

I look up at him—big mistake!

Holy Pancakes.

Azrael's heart-stopping smile combined with the tilt of his head got my heartbeat speeding up a notch.

"Is something the matter?" He asks.

"NOT AT ALL!" I shout.

Azrael gives me a confused half-smile. "Okay,"

Dear Lord, how am I going to survive a day in this castle?!

I'm too self-conscious around this man, damn it! Suddenly even breathing feels like an impossible task since I'm worried about him being able to hear that I'm nervous.

Azrael is back to following me. I'm incredibly aware of his footsteps and curse my ultrasonic hearing.

"I will take you to my office where we can discuss terms and conditions and what your salary will be,"

"Great," I reply.

Azrael chuckles. "I never once thought a vampire would want to work for me; this will be fun,"

I cringe at hearing the playfulness in his voice; somehow, I doubt this will be fun for both of us.