“Chasing the Darkness” by Cassie Sanchez couples scintillating epic fantasy and magical warfare with a slow-burn, passionate, romantic undertone.
Azrael relinquished himself to the harsh, brutal life as a member of the Watch Guard after watching the brutal murder of his mother and sister by a Spectral, a human with magic abilities tied to the natural elements. The Watch Guard’s purpose is to hunt down these Spectrals that refuse to conform to Pandaren’s strict rules. Known as the “Angel of Death,” Azrael is a ruthless assassin with little need for things like compassion, love, or retrospect. All he wants is to find the Spectral who killed his loved ones and amass as much power as he can along the way. All his plans get derailed, however, when emotions interfere with his duties and he lets a young Spectral girl and her brother run free. Soon enough, Azrael finds himself stripped of his post, hunted by those he used to call brothers-and-sisters in arms, and working together with the very people he had sought to eliminate all these years. In order to learn the truth about what happened to his family that night, and about who he really is, Azrael must fight against his instincts to kill first and ask questions later and learn how to re-open his heart to the emotions and human bonds he has closed himself off from since he was gobbled up by the Watch Guard.
