AZRIEL

The Shadowsinger wasn't used to surprises. In fact, he hated them.

For the eleven years, he lived in a home of nightmares, being a bastard-born child came with its consequences. His half brothers would do all kinds of things to him. They would taunt him, beat him, and remind him every day that he was nothing to them.

There were still scars on his body from his young years, his most noticeable were his hands, which were burned from his brothers because of their antics and curiosity. Azriel had no choice in the matter, being forced to do whatever they wanted with him. He remembered begging them to stop, telling them that it might not go well.

And he was right.

Azriel remembered screaming, fanning his hands up and down to put out the flames, but nothing worked until the guards came and did it themselves, but it was too late. The damage had already been done.

The aftermath of what his hands had become had shocked him; surprised him. In his dark room, filled with nothing but silence, he cried. He tried to feel the stone beneath him, but his hands were temporarily numb from the ordeal. It was a feeling he never wanted to experience again.

Even though he didn't like surprises, his life never stopped giving him any. Being allowed in Rhysand's Court, falling in love with his friend, finding out the unexpected; they were all things that took him by surprise.

But locking eyes with his mate, was the biggest one of all.

Before those doors opened, Azriel could feel his heart rate rising. He could feel some part of his mind trying to connect together like a current. He was confused at first. He wondered if his brothers' felt the same thing but Rhysand and Cassian looked fine, silently waiting to be let into Thesan's throne room, along with the rest of them.

Azriel thought that he should ignore the feeling, but it tugged tighter. He pleaded for it to stop, not wanting to distract him from what was important.

But once those doors opened, everything went away.

The Daughter of Dawn's green eyes beheld his, shining like the jewels on her champagne dress. Azriel felt like the sun could never compare to such beauty. She was the only one there; the only thing that mattered. At that moment, she was his priority above all else.

Eventually, he snapped out of the trance, recollecting himself before he sat in the chair. He could feel her eyes follow him there; a heat that seared his skin in a different way, a sensation that he could not explain. It felt like all of his secrets were laid upon the table, available for her to view, and he dreaded it.

But soon, her eyes were off of him and all he could do was hide behind his own face, not wanting to reveal to anyone what had happened. No, he would keep it to himself for now.

As the meeting went along, he stole brief glances at her, looking at how attentive she was and how involved. She wasn't at the meeting for mere decoration. No, she was a part of it. She cared about what happened to her court and her family.

Her words to Tamlin and Beron only solidified that.

When she spoke out to the High Lords, Azriel knew that it wasn't Auriella speaking, but it was the Daughter of Dawn. Two different people in the same body and yet, without knowing anything about her, he knew the difference. He was quite proud.

But even if his mate showed strength, it didn't mean she had any in her. When he would steal glances, he could see her deep in thought, her expressions changing time after time whenever certain topics were brought up, especially about Under the Mountain.

Azriel would see her guard go up, snapping to attention, and preparing to hear others' thoughts and experiences. He needed to know why.

The Spymaster, along with Cassian, sat on the rooftop of some tavern, drinking their ale and savoring the night view of the Dawn Court. It was beautiful. Yellow light posts illuminated the brick pathways as if the sun was still shining in the darkness. People lingered out in the streets, laughing and talking, or going into the tavern to drink away their worries.

Azriel took another swig of his sixth bottle of ale, and yet, the moment he met her still replayed in his mind, trapping him in an endless loop that he wanted to get out from.

Cassian seemed to have noticed his despair, "Are you alright? You are already on your sixth bottle while I'm here on my fourth. If you would give me a minute, I can catch up." He says.

Azriel shook his head, "It's nothing. I can't believe we all didn't kill each other in that room. I was expecting war to start at any moment." He tells him.

Cassian scoffs, "Says the one who almost choked Eris to death. You were going to get us into a war with Autumn. If Feyre hadn't stopped you, we'd already been preparing our troops back in the Night Court." He says, finishing his fourth bottle and starting his fifth.

It would have been entertaining to watch.

Yes, it would have. Azriel wanted everyone to watch. He wanted them to see the eyes pop out of Eris's sockets. He wanted them to know what would happen when anyone tried to talk foully about his family, especially Morrigan. He would defend her, to the end of time, he would defend her honor and protect her, not caring if she knew about his feelings.

Morrigan would never be his and he had accepted that. But that didn't mean he would ever abandon her, especially when her wicked family were still treating her as if she didn't mean anything; as if she hadn't accomplished more than them.

Azriel felt a hand slap the back of his head. He cleared his throat, looking over to Cassian, who was leaning back on a metal post, "Thinking about nothing, huh? You looked like one of those terrifying statues that are at the Court of Nightmares. I mean, you look like them either way." He says.

Azriel gave him a stern look, making his brother chuckle. "One day, brother, you will put yourself into a situation that not even your wits will get you out from. I only hope I'll be there to see the day when your girl tells you off." He says.

Cassian rolls his eyes, "Ah, but no one can resist my charm. All I need to do is work the "Cassian touch" and everything will be as if nothing happened." He says.

The Spymaster shook his head, staring at his bottle of ale.

After a few moments of hesitation, he spoke, "What do you know about the Daughter of Dawn?" He asked his brother.

Cassian shrugged, "Rhysand told me a few things about her. Auriella was with him Under the Mountain. She was one of Amarantha's..." he trails off, "main prisoners. He told me that she tortured her in front of everyone, using a whip on her back until she bled. It was brutal." He says.

Azriel could feel the bottle cracking in his hand.

"Also, from what I could see, it seems that she knew Clare, which causes problems." Cassian states, "She might have a developing hatred towards Feyre."

When Beron had revealed the truth about what happened to the human girl, he could see the realization take over his mate's face, piecing everything together. His heart tightened when she spoke, hearing the fragility of a wound that never closed.

Wait, you're the reason why Clare was Under the Mountain?

His High Lady didn't say a word. She didn't have to. The answer was plainly on her face for everyone in the room to read.

Azriel shook his head, "She won't do anything to harm Feyre. Thesan wouldn't let his daughter cause problems for their court." He says.

Cassian shrugs again, "I don't know, brother. Anger and grief mixed together make Illyrans like us do stupid things we may or may not regret. The Daughter of Dawn is intelligent, from what I heard, which makes me believe that she wouldn't try anything, but I can't say I know for sure." He says.

Anger and grief. Another thing Azriel despised.

Cassian was right, nothing good could come from it. He had felt those emotions numerous amount of times; let them take hold of his mind and control his way of thinking. It felt like a fish was caught on a hook, trying to worm his way out, but to no avail.

"Why do ask about her anyway? Does Rhysand need more information on her?" Cassian asks.

Azriel only nodded. No, it was himself who needed information. Any little detail that he knew about the Daughter of Dawn was important to him.

He remembered when Auriella excused herself from the room. Azriel stared after her, seeing how she tried to hold her composure, but tears were already streaming down her face. His heart was yearning for her to come back, to not let her out of his sight, but he ignored the feeling. Instead, he sent his own worried emotions down the bond.

Azriel looked over to the golden palace of Dawn, where she lived. He wondered what she was doing. Was she crying? Was she with her fathers? Was she thinking about him as he was thinking about her? He wouldn't dare ask her.

As he came out of his thoughts, he could hear Cassian's awful singing echoing through the streets. He looked over to his brother, "You sound like a broken dog," Azriel huffed.

Cassian laughed, drinking his ninth bottle of ale, "Well, brother, you didn't seem like speaking so I had to resort to measures that weren't so pleasant. Don't blame me. Blame the ale." He says, continuing his broken singing, earning a lot of attention from Dawn Court residents.

Azriel scoffed, going back into his thoughts, his mind thinking about the shining green eyes, instead of those familiar brown ones.