VALORIA WILDEROSE
I refocus my mind on my mission, burying every lie Azrael has fed me over the past week after falling for them again and again.
When will I ever learn, I wonder? Will it be until he kills me or I run the blade through his heart?
But no matter how much I try to focus, I can't stop thinking about his last words and the determination behind them—to ruin everything, to be every bit as evil as the rumors make him out to be.
The foolish part of me—desperate to absolve him for some reason—dwells on the hint of something else in his eyes as he made the declaration.
An emotion he himself might not be aware of.
Loneliness, sadness; a quiet longing.
No, Valoria, you're doing it again—making excuses, falling for his lies.
Azrael has always been evil and not once has he ever denied it.
You just don't want to believe it because he's the only one that's ever defended you against your family.
The only one you've ever told the traumatic story of how your mother died.
