SALEM

Although Aella and Corliss both want to track down Razi right now, I shake my head in disapproval and urge Aella that she should rest for the night and look for Razi tomorrow. As much as I'm concerned for the realms, I'm more worried about Aella and her health. I just want her to get better from whatever this thing is that is harming her, but there's nothing that I can do about it. I sigh and let out a breath in relief when Aella finally relents and all of us head back to the palace in the now foggy night that blankets the city like mist. I glance over at Aella from time to time as we're making our way back to the palace and even through the fog I can still see the features of her face that I have memorized so well. Her green eyes the color of bright emeralds, her long, wavy, brown locks, her strong cheekbones and her firm look of determination. Her white wings that never appear to ever be dull or dirty rustle around and my attention becomes drawn to them. Ever since I saw her sitting in front of me in my bed, real, alive, and breathing, I've always wanted to touch them. And when she's in battle she never ceases to amaze me with how graceful, powerful, and beautiful she is. Beautiful -- yes, beautiful, there is no doubt about it. Somehow just the thought of her lately has been taking my breath away. Is it possible that I--

"Salem?" Aella stares at me worriedly as we stand on the palace stairs, "Are you alright?"

"Uh," I rub the back of my neck and smile at her, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just got distracted. I didn't realize that we got to the palace already."

Her perceptive eyes bore into mine and I can feel myself almost stop breathing. She turns her gaze away after a moment and walks inside the palace and I breath in a sigh of relief.

"There you are!" Aeldra gasps, "What happened?"

"Tala was killed," Blaze says with a hand on her hip and sighs, "Hadrian killed her while protecting Salem, Lucilla, Asher, and Aella."

"Oh," Aeldra sighs, "Did anything else happen that I should know about?"

"No," Aella says quickly and I glance at her curiously and wonder if she's thinking about how Alder kept her from being harmed, "Nothing of importance happened other than Tala's death, but Bellatrix did take something of Tala's after she died, a bracelet."

"A bracelet?" Aeldra raises her eyebrows, "How peculiar."

"We're going to search for more answers in the morning," Corliss says, "Most of us need rest and besides, it's too foggy outside now for us to see anything."

"I agree," Aeldra says, "As I mentioned earlier, you may choose a room to stay in for the night, and perhaps even a few nights, depending on how long you need to stay in my realm. You'll always be welcome here."

"Thank you, Aeldra," Svetlana bows before heading off to the room she chose earlier.

"Come on," I say quietly to Aella and grab her hand, causing her to look at me, "I want to make sure that you get some rest."

She nods and I escort her to her room, which is two rooms down from mine and across the hall. I push open the wooden door and step inside to find a purple canopy bed with black pillows and brown wooden floors with tan colored walls. Rain starts to drizzle down the window and as soon as the door shuts behind us she turns around and wraps her arms around me, lying her head on my chest. I stand there for a second in shock before hugging her back and placing my chin on her head.

"Thank you for looking out for me, even though I'm stubborn at times," She says quietly and my heart starts to race.

"Yeah," I give her a lopsided grin, "No problem."

Who would've thought that someone so cynical like me would find a ray of hope like her that constantly shoots into my heart whenever she's around? She has her secrets and her problems too, but she always seems to have this permanent determination and fire to do something around her, I admire it. We stand there for a few moments like that before she pulls away from me and heads over to the purple canopy bed and flops down on it. She lies down so that one of her hands is close to her face, and the other one is a little bit lower, but still in front of her. She closes her eyes and I walk over and grab a blanket and place it over top of her before smiling softly. She falls asleep within minutes, the steady rhythm of her breathing telling me so. I sigh and run a hand through my ebony hair, which is unruly today. I turn back to the door and quietly turn the door knob, open the door, and shut it. I wonder if I could go out and find Razi tonight so that she doesn't have to worry about doing it tomorrow. It would be taking a burden off of her shoulders and the thought of finally being able to help her makes me smile. My smile soon fades away and I walk down the dimly lit corridor and come across Asher's door as a plan forms in my mind. I walk up to his door and knock on it a few times before he opens it and stares at me with a pair of grey shorts and a deep red v-neck on. He raises a brow at me and looks in the hallway to see if anyone else is with me.

"What's up?" He asks.

"I need your help," I say.

"With what?" Asher asks.

"I want to look for Razi so that--"

"So that Aella doesn't have to," Asher finishes for me.

"Yeah," I sigh and run a hand through my hair, "Will you help me?"

"Sure," Asher says, "Now?"

"Yeah," I nod and he pulls his door shut behind him after grabbing a pair of shoes and putting them on.

"Okay," Asher says, "Let's go."

The two of us stealthily walk together and avoid people who might still be awake in the castle. We slip through the front gates, and although we're seen by the guards, I doubt that it'll matter. Asher puts his hands in his pockets as we walk down the dark streets illuminated by curved street lamps with orbs for lights, which help cut through the dense fog.

"Hey Asher," I start after a while.

"Hmm?" He mumbles as we keep walking.

"Do you ever feel like you should try to help her more?" I ask.

"Her who?" Asher raises a brow.

"Blaze," I say, my breath forming in the cool, night air.

"I don't know," Asher sighs and moves his hands out of his pockets to behind his head before chuckling, "I'm used to being known as the "bad boy" who makes smart remarks and doesn't give a crap about others, but then she came along and she yelled right back at me, challenged me, and above all, she mystified me."

"She mystified you?"

"I guess you could say that," Asher shrugs and kicks at a stray pebble, "I could never figure her out, you know, but from the moment I met her I felt as if she were living fire. Her powers seem to match her personality well -- lively, spirited, dangerous, and strong. What about you and Aella?"

"What about Aella?" I narrow my eyes in an attempt to peer through the fog as we stand by a road sign with arrows that point in four directions.

"I'll admit that I care about Blaze, a lot," Asher sighs, "But now you have to tell me about Aella."

"I don't understand," I shrug.

"Don't play dumb with me," Asher rolls his eyes, "It's obvious that you care about her more than the average person does."

"Is it?" I breathe out and turn to face him right in the eyes, "Because I'm not even sure that I know how I feel."

"Well--"

"Anyways," I clench my jaw and cut him off, not wanting to talk about the topic, "Where do you think we can find Razi?"

Asher pauses for a moment before realization appears on his face.

"Razi is a Shadow Assassin, right?" Asher raises a brow and crosses his arms, "So why not hire her?"

"Hire her?" I question.

"If we say that we want Razi to do something for us as a job then maybe she'll appear; it's not like she has a place that's open to the public, because then she would get caught by her enemies, most likely."

"You want to hire her to murder someone?"

"No," Asher shakes his head, "Track someone down, and by someone I mean two someones."

"Bellatrix and Hadrian," I sigh, "Of course. Alright, well, let's give it a shot."

"You do not have to give anything a shot," A familiar feminine voice says from up above us, "I already heard you."

Razi jumps down from a street lamp and lands in front of us, resting her right hand above one of her daggers and placing it on her hip. Her intense and untrusting eyes scan us over before she nods slightly in approval.

"Razi," Asher clears his throat and she turns to him, "You're a Shadow Assassin, right?"

"I am many things," Razi says and paces around, "A secret keeper, a tracker, a bearer of knowledge, a cold blooded killer, take your pick."

"We need you to track down the Time Twins," I state firmly.

"Ah?" She raises a brow slightly, "And why do a human and the Demon Prince want to find the Time Twins?"

"We just need to find them, it's important," I sigh in frustration, "Just track them down for us."

"And what's in it for me?" Razi asks and crosses her arms.

"Money?" Asher shrugs and says almost questioningly.

"Ten thousand dollars in jewels," Razi says and narrows her eyes, "Or no deal."

"Ten thousand?" My eyes widen in surprise.

"Twenty thousand now," Razi shrugs, "Or perhaps I could go up to thirty thous--"

"No, no," I wave my hands and cut her off, "Twenty thousand dollars in jewels it is."

"Then it's a deal," Razi says.

"So how do--" Asher starts to ask.

"I'll meet you outside the Dark Angel palace at noon tomorrow with your information," Razi says before disappearing.

"Do you think that we promised her too much?" I ask quietly.

"Your aunt is rich, right?" Asher shrugs, "I don't see a problem."

"I hope you're right," I mutter as we start walking back to the palace, "Or Aella will kill me if she doesn't already for going without her."