Azrael recalled her throwing knife, the weapon reappearing in her hand and leaving a gaping hole in the center of the skeleton’s head. It collapsed in a heap, its weapon skittering across the ground as its comrade lunged from Azraels left. She danced around the curved blade, bringing her weapon around her chest in a horizontal strike before angling it up at the monster’s neck. The skeleton’s head tumbled to the ground in time for Azrael to duck behind its stumbling frame and avoid a blast of fire from the skeletal mage on the other side of the room. The two warriors had been protecting it up until now and she hadn’t been able to get a proper line of sight. She winced against the heat that roiled over the skeleton, flames licking through its bones and singing the hairs on her arm.

She hissed against the pain, “Kaleb!” She shouted over the roar of yet another ball of fire, “Mage!”

The gruff bark that came in response was something she still hadn’t become accustomed to. She had always understood that summoners formed almost immediate bonds with their summoned creatures, Teyva was an excellent example. Yet for her, she’d found that the wolf she had summoned to help stand guard while she slept was just like any other hound she had encountered in her life. Certainly, he was bigger than a hound but he was nowhere near as aggressive or intimidating (to her anyway) as a true wolf. To her, he was just an enormous dog. Though she wondered if other people would see him the same way, was that perhaps the summoners bond talking? The complicated thoughts had been working their way through her mind since the first moment she’d laid her hand on the creature’s head.

A raspy hiss of anger broke her out of her momentary distraction and she shoved the skeleton off of her body, turning her attention on the skeletal mage that was now struggling to break free of Kaleb’s grip. The wolf was huge, big enough for a child to ride on and look natural. Its fur was a dark brown with streaks of black tracing his back, tail, and face. His eyes glowed with a bright blue that made him look almost possessed at times. Kaleb snarled, tugging hard against the skeleton’s arm and pulling it to the ground. Azrael rushed to his side, raising her weapon and bringing it down on the skeleton’s head. It crumbled beneath the force of her blow.

She let out a relieved breath, sheathing her weapon and putting a hand on Kaleb’s head. “Good boy,” She said, smiling a little as he straightened his back and raised his head proudly with the praise even as his tail gave away his delight. She shook her head, “Teyva is never going to let me live this down,” She said, turning toward the opening leading into the next winding set of halls. She sniffed at the air, searching for that strange wintery smell she had been following. She recognized it of course though she’d never pointed it out to Teyva. She figured Teyva didn’t want to know she smelled like a winter morning to someone with senses like hers.

Azrael had caught the scent the day before while wandering the halls. The twists and turns had made her feel hopelessly lost and it was only the chance encounter with Teyva’s scent that had lifted her spirits. She had been following it ever since, occasionally running into patrols of skeletons but conveniently finding none in the rooms that she stumbled into. Teyva likely having cleared them out ahead of her. Azrael rested her hand on her weapon and glanced over at Teyva’s stats again. Just a few hours ago she’d seen Teyva’s mana drop rapidly along with her stamina and that had been enough reason to pick up her pace. Based on how strong the scent was she knew she wasn’t far behind. Fortunately the drop in mana had stopped and from the looks of it, Teyva hadn’t been injured in whatever fight she’d been in. It did seem like she had put a lot of effort into whatever it was.

“Come on, we’re almost there,” Azrael said, scratching the back of the proud wolf’s neck and resuming her march. She skipped over looting the corpses, pressing herself for time, every second apart from her lady was another second she wasn’t there to do what she’d sworn to do. A sour feeling worked its way into her stomach and she fought it down. She knew that both times, this one and the last, was not her fault but it still felt like every time Teyva needed her support Azrael was pulled away. She scowled at the path ahead, gripping the hilt of her warden blade and trying to quell the rising irritation. Then she smelled blood. The coppery scent itched at her nostrils. She broke into a run, following the scent until she turned down another hallway and spotted a brightly lit opening in the distance.

With Kaleb close behind she sprinted down the hall, sliding to a stop when she made it to the opening and drew her weapon, poking her head inside. Empty. Only an enormous pile of dust and a massive bloodstain on the floor.

“Damn,” She cursed, walking over to the pile of dust and kicking it. What the hell had Teyva fought that was so big, and on her own? She looked up at the ceiling and considered the evidence. “Probably has Behemoth with her.”

“Analytical, stoic, proud, just like a wolf. Azrael Unabi.” Came a familiar voice from behind her. She spun and threw her knife, snarling in the direction of the lich. The blade vanished in mid-air and returned to her hand. She straightened up and stared at the skeletal figure standing at the entrance she had just come through. His gaunt frame seemed to blend into the gloom behind him. Kaleb let out a low growl and Azrael raised a hand to calm him.

“What do you want, Paraklytus?” Azrael demanded.

“To talk.”

“Not interested,” Azrael spat, turning away only for the Lich to appear in her path, blocking the exit.

“Only a moment of your time,” He said, tilting his head, “Surely you can spare that much.”

“Every second counts,” She ground out, striding toward him. She angled for the space between him and the opening, intending to brush him off if she could.

“Teyva can do nothing without you, yes? Helpless, afraid, alone,” He jabbed, “Or is it perhaps that this is the second time you have failed to be at her side as she’s fought dangerous creatures? What good is a knight that cannot defend her lady?” The lich continued.

Azrael came to a stop and pointed her sword at him, “Watch your mouth.”

The lich vanished and reappeared, drifting past and around her. She spun, trying to keep him in her line of sight but he moved far too quickly. “Is that what you’ve reduced yourself to? The princess of a people throwing away everything for the sake of some woman she just met? Swearing your fealty to a lord that does not even know where they’re going in life? Though I will admit, she’s grown quite powerful, hasn’t she? Far more worthy of being called a princess by the Azar. Wouldn’t you say?” He pressed, dancing around her vision as she struggled to pin him down.

“That title means nothing to me,” Azrael bit out, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Do I? Because I think you hate yourself,” He hissed in her ear.

Azrael spun and swung her sword, cutting through thin air. “Face me if you want to face me! Enough of these games!”

“You will never be your father’s match in power, that is what you think. Never worthy to be his successor. You throw away your title, becoming a warden to earn at least some recognition from someone you care about. The hero you have admired since you were a child. Only for this stranger to pull back the blinds and reveal that she is not as perfect as you thought,” The lich said, “Teyva is taking everything from you and you’re fine with it. You aren’t jealous. You’re practically giving it all away because you loathe yourself, a failure. Heavens! You even chose to fight at her side instead of helping the man you love.”

“I said shut your mouth!” She bellowed, a ripple of sound erupting from her body as she channeled the sound into an [Arresting Howl]. The room went silent as she caught her breath, the words biting at her mind. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to will herself to calm down. He wasn’t wrong and it hurt. Her chest ached as she thought about her father, about how proud he was of her despite how little she’d accomplished. How she’d spent her life coming to terms with the fact that she would never be good enough to take his place one day, let alone serve as a peer to the four.

She looked at her hands, the power she wielded now wasn’t something she’d come up with on her own. It had been given to her by Teyva as part of her oath. “You’re wrong,” She muttered, sheathing her sword.

“Oh? Am I now? Elaborate then,” The lich pressed. Azrael turned to find him standing at the exit again.

“I don’t know,” She spat.

“You’ll have to do better than that, little warden,” The Lich said, raising his head to look down on her.

“Get lost,” She muttered, casting her gaze to her feet. She didn’t have an answer for him. Not yet. She needed to think, she needed time. He wasn’t wrong but she couldn’t dare admit it to his bony face. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. “If you aren’t going to fight me then get out of my way!”

“Very well,” The lich said, “But we will see one another again very soon. I hope you have an answer for me by then,” He trailed off, his voice fading as he vanished into a cloud of mist. Azrael sat down and let out a sigh. She held her head in her hands and forced herself to breathe. A moment later Kaleb came in to check on her. She reached up and stroked his head, “I’m fine, I’ll be okay, I just need a minute,” she murmured, trying to collect herself. She’d felt herself waver beneath his litany and it made her heart ache. She needed to be better. She swore to herself that she would never fail like this again. On her oath to Teyva and on her title as a princess.