Chapter 147: Farewell for Verolona
Seraphel
I didn’t want to leave.
When the inevitable morning finally arrived, I found myself clinging to Azriel, silently praying that time would freeze so we wouldn’t have to part ways.
"I am going to miss you so much," I murmured against his neck, tightening my embrace as if I could anchor myself to his chest.
Azriel pulled me flush against his warm form, shifting his weight to wrap his massive arms firmly around my waist, grounding me in an embrace that declared just how painfully he would miss me, too.
"I wish we had a phone so we could talk every day," I muttered wistfully, reluctantly pulling back just enough to look up into his handsome face.
Azriel offered me a warm, puzzled expression, his thumb gently smoothing behind my ear. "Your strange, modern words always confuse me, little lotus," he murmured softly, his dark eyes brimming with affection. "Yet I find myself utterly fascinated by them. Where do you come up with these concepts? What, pray tell, is a ’phone’?"
"In the world where I came from, a phone is a tiny device used to communicate across long distances," I explained, bringing my hand to my ear and mimicking a phone call with a soft laugh. "You just dial a number, and you can talk to someone instantly."
Azriel stared at me silently for a beat, his dark brows furrowed as if processing the absurdity of the idea. Then, a rich, booming chuckle escaped his lips, and he clapped his hands together in delight.
"Ah, now I understand what you mean!" he laughed, his chest vibrating beneath my palms. "You mean a tool for instant communication!"
I nodded eagerly. "Exactly!"
Azriel withdrew his hand from my face and held out his open palm between us. Swirling embers of dark crimson magic pooled in his center, coalescing into a brilliant, translucent red orb that hovered just above his skin. "We may not have your ’phones,’ but we possess communication orbs. Whenever you long for me, channel a drop of your energy into this orb, and I will appear before you."
My eyes widened as he demonstrated its function. With two gentle taps against the smooth surface, the crimson orb lit up, projecting a crystal-clear, three-dimensional illusion of him. It was vastly superior to any video call I had ever made in my past life—it felt as if his spirit were standing directly in the room.
"And that, little brother, will be confiscated under my authority," a cold, smooth voice drawled from the doorway.
Before Azriel could react, Luceriel burst into the chamber. With a casual flick of his wrist, the red orb vanished from Azriel’s palm in a flash of green light, materializing effortlessly between Luceriel’s slender, gloved fingers.
"What in the blazes do you think you’re doing, Luceriel?!" Azriel demanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low growl as he bared his fangs, his eyes flashing crimson with dark fury.
Luceriel, the Prince of Pride, merely arched an eyebrow, tossing the orb lightly in his hand before casting a cool, disdainful look in my direction. "I am merely ensuring order," Luceriel drawled, his tone dripping with condescension. "I am relieved to see that Castiel’s divine light has not yet devoured your fragile vessel from the inside out. However, I am bringing you to Verolona to undergo grueling, uncompromising training—not for a romantic holiday. If you fail your trials, there will be no cozy chatters with Azriel."
"Are you saying you’re going to block our communication completely?!" I demanded, stepping forward defensively.
Luceriel offered a slow, deliberate nod.
"That is absurd!" I snapped, clutching Azriel’s arm. "I am his fated mate—his vessel! We are supposed to stay connected! I am carrying his child, and I will lose my mind if I am completely cut off from him!"
Luceriel’s aristocratic expression remained completely impassive, his posture rigid with supreme arrogance as he peered down his nose at me.
"Azriel, tell him!" I complained, tugging on his sleeve.
Azriel looked down at me, a helpless, pained expression softening his sharp features as he gently cupped my cheeks. "I am sorry, my love. But Luceriel is right about one thing—you must master the divine light inside you for your own safety and the safety of our unborn child."
"Then tell that arrogant jerk to state his points without sounding like an insufferable snob!" I huffed.
"’Jerk’?" Luceriel’s brows twitched slightly in offense at the unfamiliar slang, though he quickly masked it beneath a posture of regal indifference. "Whatever vulgar insult you just uttered is irrelevant. The fate of the realms rests upon your capability to wield the child of prophecy. Your training supersedes your emotional whims. If you possess a fraction of intellect, perhaps you will conquer the first stage within two months. Should you fail, you will prove yourself to be nothing more than a pathetic, worthless waste of our time."
I opened my mouth to shoot back another angry retort, but before I could speak, a crack of black-and-white lightning snapped through the air. Malachi appeared from the shadows, bowing his head deeply before the brothers.
"Your Highness, the lifeless bodies of the former concubines, Eiren and Kaevian, have just been discovered in the lower market district," Malachi reported somberly.
A sudden, icy chill ran down my spine at the sound of their names.
Azriel felt my involuntary shudder, his thumb soothingly stroking my cheek as his gaze hardened toward his commander. "How did they die?"
"Poison, Your Highness," Malachi answered flatly.
"Poison?" I blurted out, stunned. The last thing I had expected was for those two calculating traitors to meet such a sudden end. "Were they cornered and executed by an assassin?"
Malachi shook his head. "No, my lord. We recovered an empty flask beside their bodies containing trace amounts of Letiti root. Evidence suggests they ingested it themselves."
I fell silent, pressing my fingers against my temple. In the original NovelPhoenix plot I remembered reading, Eiren was supposed to survive through the climax, staying by Azriel’s side until the final arcs.
Yet here he was, dead alongside Kaevian.
"Are you alright, Seraphel?" Azriel asked softly, searching my eyes.
I managed a faint nod, though my chest felt heavy.
With every step forward, I was realizing just how thoroughly my presence had rewritten the original fate of this world.
"Mount their heads on spikes at the city gates as a warning to all who dare plot treason against Katula," Azriel commanded coldly, his voice devoid of a single drop of mercy. "As for their remains, burn them to ash."
"It shall be done, Your Highness," Malachi bowed, melting back into the shadows as quickly as he had arrived.
I didn’t object to Azriel’s harsh command. They had plotted against my life and tried to destroy Katula, pitying them was a luxury they hadn’t earned.
"If your tragic farewells are finally complete, we depart for Verolona immediately," Luceriel announced, adjusting his cloak. "The other sins have already set off for their respective kingdoms. I shall grant you three minutes alone."
Before we could answer, Luceriel vanished in a swirl of emerald light.
Left alone in the quiet chamber, I threw my arms around Azriel’s neck, burying my face into his shoulder. "I am going to miss you so much," I whispered again.
"I am going to miss you, too, my little lotus," Azriel murmured against my ear.
He tilted my chin up, leaning down to press his lips against mine in a deep, lingering kiss. It wasn’t a brief peck, but a slow, intoxicating kiss filled with all unspoken passion and longing we were forced to lock away until we met again.
"Be safe," Azriel rasped, pulling back just enough to rest his forehead against mine before placing a tender kiss on the crown of my head. "I love you, Seraphel."
"I love you, Azriel," I whispered back, wrapping my arms around him one last time.