Free Web NovelChapter 34: His protective Gaze
Seraphel
"Do you hate me that much, Seraphel, that you strike me that hard on the chest?" Azriel’s voice suddenly vibrated directly inside my head.
What the hell had just happened? I wondered, my breathing coming in ragged gasps as I stared down at my trembling, blood-stained hands.
The suffocating voices that had been screaming in my head only a second ago had suddenly vanished the exact moment I drove the blade into Azriel, as if shedding his blood was the ultimate trigger it needed to satisfy its demand.
"I... I didn’t mean to hurt him," my voice shook terribly as I took a step backward, my eyes completely blown out with horror at what my own limbs had just done. "No, no... this isn’t right."
Azriel stood perfectly still in front of me, his gaze locked onto mine, while Malachi moved with blinding speed, aggressively stepping between us and pressing the freezing edge of his heavy steel sword directly against my throat.
"He attacked the Prince!" One of the concubines shrieked at the top of her lungs, her voice instantly sparking absolute chaos across the courtyard.
The entire harem erupted into a frenzy of shocked gasps, frantic whispers, and accusing fingers pointing straight at my chest.
"He’s clearly possessed!" another concubine yelled, scrambling backward.
"I knew it! He probably hates His Highness for taking him!"
So many voices began to overlap and clash all at once, the loud accusations echoing painfully in my ears. But my eyes stayed entirely fixed on Azriel.
He was just standing there, staring back at me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his immortal body was already healing the flesh or if my strike had actually done some real, permanent damage.
Was he about to collapse? Why wasn’t he moving? I couldn’t wrap my head around the cryptic words he had spoken directly into my mind.
I couldn’t figure out what the hell was happening to him, and the complete lack of control was making my mind spin.
Azriel, I didn’t do it! I... I would never do something like that to you! I screamed out desperately in my thoughts, praying to whatever gods existed in this web novel that his mind-reading powers would pick up on my innocence.
But when he slowly raised his chin, his expression was completely unreadable. In fact, a dark, wicked smirk began to spread across his handsome face.
Why the hell was he staring at me like that? Could he not hear the sheer panic inside my head? I didn’t do it. I didn’t want to.
Hot tears spilled down my cheeks, blurring my vision. Azriel didn’t give me a single verbal answer, offering nothing but that intense, burning stare while thick, crimson blood trailed heavily down his bare chest, soaking right into the fabric of his luxurious robes. freeweɓnøvel.com
He just stood there like a statue, letting it bleed.
"I didn’t do it," I muttered out loud, my voice cracking as I shook my head wildly. "This isn’t me."
"Who sent you, human?!" Malachi demanded ruthlessly, his jaw clenched in pure rage as he pressed the sharp blade deeper into my neck, drawing a tiny bead of blood.
I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could utter a single word, Eiren suddenly rushed forward and threw himself onto his knees right at Azriel’s feet.
"Your Highness, please, have mercy and forgive Seraphel!" Eiren pleaded, his delicate voice trembling perfectly. "He must have acted harshly and lost his mind due to the cruel comments made by one of the lower concubines earlier! He didn’t know what he was doing!"
I gave him a sharp, questioning look, my eyebrows knitting together in utter confusion.
What the hell was this psycho talking about? But before I could open my mouth to call him out, the rest of the harem took Eiren’s cue and immediately fell to their knees in unison, their silk robes rustling loudly against the stone.
"Have mercy, Your Highness!" they all chanted over and over, lowering their heads completely to the ground.
I glanced behind me, watching the pathetic display of them repeatedly raising and lowering their heads like terrified cult members.
Eiren gently raised his face, looking up at me with an expression filled with deep, heartbreaking empathy. But because I knew his true character from the original book lore, I didn’t miss the split-second, sinister glint in his golden eyes.
He was grinning at me knowingly, a silent taunt flashing across his face before he instantly switched his mask back to pure, innocent worry.
"Apologize for striking His Highness this instant!" Eiren yelled up at me, his tone sounding completely pitiful yet laced with a subtle venom that made me look entirely guilty. "I know you must harbor resentment toward the Prince, but that gives you absolutely no right to strike his sacred body!"
That sly, manipulative bastard, I thought, my blood boiling. He was trying to play the role of the saintly savior in front of Azriel, making it look like he was helping me, when all along this entire mental hijack had his disgusting signature written all over it.
I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white, about to scream the truth, but someone else beat me to the punch.
It was Slyven.
"Yes! Get on your knees and beg for his forgiveness, you piece of trash!" he barked from his spot on the ground.
"But I didn’t do it!" I yelled angrily, my frustration boiling over. But my outburst only made Malachi press the steel sword even harder against my skin, forcing my head back. "Why the hell won’t any of you believe me?! Your Highness, I—"
Azriel tilted his head, finally reacting to the chaos. He slowly raised a hand, casually wiping a smear of blood from the side of his face with his fingers, and grinned wickedly at me.
"Really?" He took a slow, deliberate step closer to me, and my heart began pounding like a drum against my ribs. "You didn’t try to kill me, Seraphel?" His soft-spoken words carried clearly across the silent courtyard, sounding terrifyingly calm as he closed the distance between us.
He stopped right in front of me, casually reaching down to lower Malachi’s sword with one finger, and then smoothly wrapped his arms around the back of my neck.
I gave him a questioning look, my heart racing a mile a minute.
Was he about to choke me to death right here? End my life in front of his entire harem because he believed I was a treasonous assassin? frёeωebɳovel.com
I mean I had tried to kill him once but that was entirely different.
This time, I never thought of it. Something evil had spoken into my head and pushed me to do it.
Azriel stared down into my eyes for a long, agonizing moment, his crimson iris boring straight into my soul while his hand rested heavy against my skin. But the expected strangle never came.
Even after a few seconds passed, there was no pressure on my windpipe. Instead, he leaned down and whispered softly against my ear, "I know you didn’t try to kill me, darling. Which is why you should close your eyes right now, because this next part might be a bit too gory for you to see."
"What are you—" I tried to pull back to speak, but he firmly forced my head onto his shoulder, locking me in place.
The next sound that echoed through the garden was a sickening, wet squelch of metal tearing through flesh and bone, immediately followed by a wave of horrified, deafening gasps from the concubines.
What the hell was going on?
