Chapter 13: The Coil - 2
Virelya turned slowly, her eyes locking with Nyxsha’s.
"Nyxsha, darling, you’re malfunctioning," she said, her tone almost pitying, as if diagnosing a broken machine.
"I will claw your spine out of your mouth," Nyxsha hissed, her massive form trembling with rage, her tail cracking the air like a whip.
Virelya’s expression didn’t change, but her fingers tightened slightly on Azareel’s ankle, making him sway.
"If I leave him be," she murmured, "he’ll be claimed. And not by us. By something crueler."
Nyxsha’s tail slammed the ground, splitting the stone with a crack that sent dust billowing.
"I won’t let him be anyone’s prey," she roared, her golden eyes blazing, her fangs bared.
Virelya tilted her head, her lips curving faintly. "...That’s a shame."
With eerie grace, she rose onto her toes, her silk robes shimmering as she reached up and untied the scripture ribbons binding Azareel’s ankles.
He dropped into her arms like a sack of flour, his bloodied frame limp but unharmed.