A Court of Horizon and Shadows

13.

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.