Kheir stepped through the portal, his dark muscles bunched with tension. He'd never travelled this way before, then. Az didn't know much about V'haiv, but he'd always had the sense they were more magically advanced, compared to the Vassal Empire's machines and beastkind labour.
Bryon went through the gateway without a word or even a grunt, his grimness akin to marching to war. Az knew he didn't want to be here, but they needed him to guide them.
"Take a breath, Az," Jaro said, bringing up the rear, and Azrail frowned at his friend's concerned glance, the furrow between jade eyes. "This isn't all on you, you know? We're a team."
"I know." And he did. But... "I'm the leader of this rebellion, the name everyone knows. If anyone gets hurt, it'll be in the Sapphire Knight's name."
Jaro's expression turned wry, and the way he patted Az's shoulder took him back to a dozen different nights at the River House, with Az worrying himself to distraction and Jaro talking sense into him.
"We're all the Sapphire Knight and you damn well know it. Don't be stubborn. Let us shoulder some of the weight."
"Alright," Az agreed, and flashed a grin. "As soon as these monsters are dealt with and Ismene is six feet underground,thenI'll consider letting you take some of the responsibility."
Jaro groaned, feathering a hand through his red hair, and Az's heart leapt. Maybe they could get back to the bond they had before he screwed everything up with Maia. Maybe.
"Stop overthinking it," Jaro chided, a familiar remark that made Az smile even as he rolled his eyes.
"If I stopped overthinking, I wouldn't be me," he replied, a familiar response.
He gestured Jaro towards the circle of branches, and only when he was safely through, when there was no one left to protect on this side of the gate, did Azrail step through the sticky film of his magic and push through to the other side.
The Forest of Skies was too quiet when he emerged from the gateway, allowing his magic to snap it shut behind him. The trees rustled back into place, one errant branch trailing across his shoulder like a benefaction.
His eyes went straight to Maia, and a tightness unravelled in his chest at the sight of her even if she was scowling at Bryon, her mouth set in a hard line, and her arms were crossed over the dark grey leather of her bodice.
"What did I miss?" he asked, hitching the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder and looking between the five of them.
"Oh, nothing," Maia answered too flippantly, a manic light in her gold eyes. "Which way are we going, O wizened tour guide?" she asked Bryon in that too-sweet tone that made Azrail's blood roar.
Bryon muttered something too low for them to hear and stalked off through the trees, branches cracking under his punishing footsteps. Maybe Az had made a mistake bringing Bryon along.
Maia gave them all a pleading look, her face dappled in this light and so damn stunning. "Can I kill him?"
Az laughed loudly. He expected a few birds to take flight at the noise, but the forest was eerily still. He could feel the thrumming life among the trees, plants, and the roots buried in the ground, but they held themselves frozen, like they were afraid of the reborn saints in their midst.
"Not today, love," Jaro replied, linking his fingers with Maia's.
"We'd better go before Bryon deserts us," Azrail sighed, ushering them between the two vast trees the soldier had stomped past.
As pissed off and disgruntled as Bryon appeared, they found him waiting, straight-backed, only a few paces away. His flinty stare travelled over all of them, darkening when it settled on Maia before swiftly moving on. Azrail straightened and watched Kheir and Ark do the same, even Jaromir's chest rumbling with a soft warning growl.
"Lead the way, asshole," Maia said, waving her hand at the overgrown path. Az gave her a curious look, but she just shrugged when Bryon turned his back. She didn't know why he hated her so much, either.
Az hooked her close with an arm around her neck, dropping a kiss on her silver head. "He lost his family. His wife and son were beastkind," he said, pitched low so his voice didn't carry. "He has every reason to despise the Vassalian royals. They executed his wife and son when they broke their indentures."
Maia jolted, giving Az a stunned look. "He lost his kid?" she whispered.
Azrail nodded. He didn't know how old Bryon's son had been, but he couldn't have been older than ten.
"Shit," she breathed. "No wonder he hates me."
"He doesn't know you," he countered, kissing her hair again as they walked, drunk on the freedom of touching her whenever he wanted. "He hates the idea of you, and your family. It's a wonder he hasn't gone for Ark yet. He hates all guards, too."
Maia's lips pulled back from her teeth, a snarl of warning in her throat. Azrail found himself thoroughly charmed by her protectiveness, and he couldn't keep the smile off his face even with what they walked towards.
But his smile faded when magic pulsed around Maia, as strong as anything he'd felt on the palace steps while they fought the golden fae. He exchanged a look with Kheir and tugged Maia's arm until she stopped. Her breathing came in rough pants, her fangs still bared.
"Breathe, Mai," he murmured, running his fingers through her hair. "No one's going to hurt us. Bryon wouldn't do that; he's loyal to me and he's not a bad guy."