As Auriella awoke, she snuck out of bed, careful not to wake her mate.

She winced as she stepped onto the wooden floor, feeling the soreness in her legs. Heat quickly filled her face, remembering that they both did not hold back with one another the entire night.

Auriella stared at him as he slept, wondering how a male like him could be hers. Tears welled in her eyes as a true smile crept onto her face. She was happy in this moment, feeling every emotion hit her like a sudden wind.

He is mine, she thought, for eternity.

The Daughter of Dawn wrapped his dark robe over herself, making her way to the small kitchen in the corner of the cabin. Her stomach grumbled, seeing as she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. And after all of the sex, she felt as if she was dying of hunger.

Auriella stood on her tippy-toes, opening the cabinets to see if there was anything appetizing in them. But it seemed that the Spymaster rarely ate in his own home, only having a loaf of bread and jam.

She rolled her eyes, taking them out of the cabinet and preparing them. She took out the three utensils that he had, spreading the jam onto the bread.

"What are you doing, sunlight?" Azriel asked, his voice groggy.

Auriella turned to him, "I am preparing us something to eat." She raised the bread in her hand, "Hungry?" She asked him.

The Spymaster's eyes gleamed, "Are you offering?"

She took a bite out of the bread, "I could be. You could always make it yourself." She tells him. She jumps onto the counter, swinging her legs as she savors the sweetness of the jam on her tongue.

Azriel scoffed, standing from the bed. He didn't wrap anything around him as he walked towards his mate, his eyes heated and steady. Auriella almost melted under his gaze, wanting to jump off the counter and pounce on him. Instead, she looked down at her bread and jam, trying to calm her simmered state.

"Could you wrap a towel or sheet around yourself?" Auriella asks him.

The Spymaster chuckles, "Can't take seeing me naked, my love?" He asked.

She scoffs, her heart fluttering at his words, "It's not that," she breathes, taking another bite out of the bread. She tightens her legs together, feeling as if she might combust if he comes nearer in his naked state.

"Then tell me why," He says, his voice low.

Auriella lifts her head, looking directly into those hazel eyes, "Because if you do, then I cannot enjoy my delicious concoction in peace." She tells him.

Azriel chuckles, a smirk creeping onto his face.

He grabs the towel that sat on the top of his chair, wrapping it around the lower half of his body. He walks closer to his mate, settling himself in between her legs.

She lifted the bread, "Would you like me to feed you? Or are you perfectly capable?" She asks him, smiling.

The Spymaster took a deep breath, "I'd rather have you on the bed right now, eating you out-" Auriella stuffs the bread into his mouth before he could say anything else.

"We barely just got out of bed, it's probably mid-afternoon, and you are still thinking about having sex. Are we not able to have a few moments without wasting ourselves?" She asks him.

Azriel sighs, "So, does that mean that we have to take a break?" He asks, feigning hurt.

Auriella laughs, kissing his cheek, "We cannot just stay here and have sex all day. We already did it the entire night and I am exhausted out of my mind. We should get out of here and feel the grass on our feet and wind on our faces." She tells him.

The Spymaster looks at her wearily, "We cannot head back to Velaris too soon. If we do, I might not be able to control myself. If any male lays his eyes on you or makes a move towards you, I might beat them until their blood stains the concrete." He says.

Her eyes narrow, "Is a male that protective of his mate? I knew that there were many things that came with accepting the mating bond, but I didn't know that the male would be violent." She says.

He takes another bite of the bread, "It's not us who are doing it, but it's our mind that wants us to establish dominance, to show other males who our mate is and who they belong to. The mating bond makes us think that other males are a threat. We don't want anyone getting close to what we have claimed." He explains.

Auriella smiles, "Ah, I see. You won't be able to stand seeing me talk with another man." She tells him, lifting a finger to trace his tattooed chest.

He lets out a deep sigh, "I would want to kill anyone who stares at you a certain way. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil." He says, lifting his hand to move the robe, seeing The Being's tattoo that marked her chest. His eyes gleamed with darkness.

"Well, since we are in the middle of nowhere, you won't have to worry about males being anywhere around me. It's just you, me, and nature. Let's go take a walk out there. Take me to the place we ate before I left for the Dawn." She tells him, finishing the last of her bread.

Azriel places his head on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her, "And what will we do after that?" He asks, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Auriella rolls her eyes, "Then... we will go to sleep." She says.

He groans against her neck, making her laugh.

Nothing, she thought, is more perfect than this.

***

The Spymaster and the Daughter of Dawn walk through the forest, hand in hand, breathing in the fresh air of nature. Their shadows had returned to them once again, orbiting.

Auriella looked up at the blue sky, seeing the white clouds and the bright sun in perfect view. She smiled, feeling her heart blossom into something that she really couldn't explain. It was as if she had been reborn, turning back into the girl that bubbled with happiness.

At this moment, she had everything she wanted.

After Under the Mountain, Auriella believed herself to be destroyed; lost in the darkness of her mind. She was at the point where she was about to end her life because of everything that she had suffered. She believed that there was nothing left, nothing good that she had to live for.

But now, Auriella could see how mistaken she was.

She squeezed her mate's hand, checking once again to make sure that this was real, that her mind hadn't conjured some dream she believed to be reality. But she knew that it wasn't, seeing as she could feel everything of him. She could feel the ghost of his touches on her skin, see the light bruises that marked her body, and feel his scarred hand in hers.

It felt as if she would never get used to the realization.

"Is there something bothering you, sunlight?" Azriel asked, turning his head to her.

Auriella shakes her head, "There isn't anything wrong. I've just..." she trails off. "I've never been happier in my life. Being with you here, without any worry, is something that only existed in my dreams." She says.

He smiles, "You've dreamt of this?" He asks.

She nods, "I'm not afraid to admit it. Since the day we laid eyes on each other, you were constant thought. My mind has always gone to you, thinking about you every day. There were times where I would get ahead of myself and stop, but you were still there. I wanted you even when I didn't know you." She reveals, her cheeks becoming red.

Azriel takes a deep breath, "Sunlight, I can't even begin to tell you how you fucked up my mind. You were in my thoughts from the sunrise to the dead of night. There wasn't a moment where I wasn't thinking of you." He tells her.

Auriella grins, "Well, I guess there is something wrong with both of our minds." She says.

As they both get to the clearing, they sit in the high grass, watching the waves upon the gleaming ocean. It was a beauty to behold, hearing nothing but harmony.

Auriella sits in between her mate's legs, his arms wrapped around her, and the sun beaming down upon them. They basked in the silence, staring out to the beyond. It was overwhelming - this peace that washed over them in the midst of the chaos. There was nothing else that mattered.

It was as if everything else in the world had disappeared and left them behind.

"Peace won't last forever," Auriella says, breaking the silence.

Azriel sighs, lowering his head to her shoulder, "I know, sunlight." He breathes against her skin. She could feel his anger radiating through the bond.

"There are still many things that have to be dealt with. I know that I said that I would be honest with you, but in truth, I am still keeping secrets." She admits to him.

He kisses her shoulder, "Secrets you want to tell me, but yet, you still hold back. You know you can trust me, Ella. I have never done anything to make you think you can't." He says.

Auriella nods, turning herself to face him. She sits on her knees, taking her hands into hers, "It's not about trust, Az. I want to tell you everything that I have learned, but I'm afraid that if I do, I will have put you and everyone else in danger." She says.

Azriel's eyes narrow, "What do you mean by that, sunlight? What is so important that you cannot tell others? What happened while you were back at the Dawn Court?" He asked.

A lot, she thought to herself.

Auriella looked down to his scarred hands, the ones that touched her as if she were the most fragile thing in the world, the ones that held her tightly - never wanting to let go. As the tears welled in her eyes, she did not hide them from him.

She wanted him to see her vulnerability, to know that there was something wrong. She wanted him to figure her out, to put the pieces together to reveal the answers. She wanted him to know her every truth, to explain herself with only her eyes instead of her words.

"If I tell you... we would have to make a bargain first." She says, never looking at him.

"And what would it entail?" He asks.

She sniffs, "I tell you everything, but only if you promise to not tell a soul, to keep between us. No one, not even Rhysand and Feyre can know." She says, her voice shaking with nervousness.

Azriel puts a hand to her chin, lifting her face to look at him, "Ella, what have you done?" He asks.

Auriella shakes her head, "It's not about what I have done," she cries, "It's about what I was made to do." She admits to him.

The Spymaster shakes his head, "Sunlight, I still do not understand-" she interrupts him.

"There is a reason as to why I have my shadows, as to why my father let me come to the Night Court. I wasn't..." she trails off, "I wasn't meant to be born this way."

It had been the heaviest weight for her to carry. She needed to let it go, to free the burden of the truth from her mind. She had no one else to turn to, aside from her mate, whom she trusted with her life.

"As I said, my father hid things from Damian and I. He has been holding secrets since we showed up at his doorstep. He hadn't told us until we both went back to the Dawn Court. That is why I stayed. I couldn't come back, not until I made sure that I was doing everything that I needed to do." She explains.

Azriel takes a deep breath, drinking in her every word. He skimmed her face, clearly seeing the toll this was taking on her.

After a moment, he held out his hand, "Make the bargain, my love." He says, putting his faith in her.

The Daughter of Dawn composed herself, taking his hand once again, "If I tell you everything that was revealed to me in the Dawn Court, do you promise that you will keep it between us and not tell another soul until I give you permission to do so?" She asked him.

The Spymaster of the Night Court looked directly into her green eyes, "I promise that I will keep everything that you have revealed to me between us. No one else will know until you give me permission to tell it." He says, sealing the bargain.

After a few seconds had passed, Auriella could see something forming on her left leg. A long tattoo of a black ribbon wrapped around her thigh all the way down to her ankle. She watched as it was made, feeling nothing but the prickle on her skin.

As for her mate, the same tattoo appeared, but it wrapped around his upper left arm down to his wrist. Auriella stared at it, entranced by the power that the bargain held.

It would only be between them.

Auriella shifted closer to her mate, taking his face in her hands. She hoped that he wouldn't think of her differently, that he would still love her after everything she showed him.

She wouldn't be able to bear it, being hated by him when she had just accepted their bond. Her heart hammered in her chest, wishing that she had not made the bargain. It would have become a heavier burden to carry as time passed, but she would have to bear it as she bore the pain Amarantha had inflicted upon her.

Azriel kissed her once, wrapping his arms around her once more, "I will always love you, Auriella. Let go and trust me." He whispers.

Finally, the Daughter of Dawn let the truth flow, revealing everything she withheld.