A Court of Light and Fire

Chapter 2

---Two Days Later---

POV: Azriel

Azriel and Cassian arrived in Windhaven on a sunny afternoon, the bite of the thin mountain air hitting them like a wall as they winnowed in to the outskirts of the camp. Earlier in the week, Cassian had all but demanded that Azriel help him train the new female recruits, and eventually Azriel had agreed only to get Cassian to shut the hell up. It wasn't that he didn't want to necessarily... He just had other much more important things to do as the High Lord's spymaster. Even though the war had just been won and King Hybern was defeated, there were still tensions between the courts of Prythian and the humans, and his special shadowsinger and spying abilities were as needed now as they have ever been. Still, Azriel had to admit to himself that he was curious to meet this supposed warrior female with white wings.

"I'm telling you they were massive. With white feathers but reddish toward the bottom. I've never seen anything like it" Cassian had told him at dinner the night before. Even Rhys was interested when he overheard Cassian bragging that he had charmed her into agreeing to come to training.

"Cassian you're not nearly as charming as you think you are," Rhys told him before refocusing his attention back on the argument Feyre and Mor were having over who Amren liked more. Cassian only chuckled and resumed his rattling about the fighting techniques he wanted to teach first.

Azriel remembered where he was, making sure his face was devoid of emotion and he was making eye contact with the villagers as he and Cassian made their walk to the training grounds. Coming back to the camp where he spent his teenage years always made him feel uneasy; bittersweet memories always forced their way into his mind about the relentless, brutal training he received here alongside Cassian and Rhys. Almost 530 years ago, he was brought to Windhaven after being tortured by his brothers and left in a dark cell to rot, not able to train or fight or even fly, by his father and stepmother. He remembered the first day he stepped foot in Windhaven like it was yesterday: freshly formed, permanent scars on his hands, wings hanging gaunt and useless on his back. He remembered how much the light hurt his eyes, how odd it felt to be standing under actual sunshine and breathing fresh air. He remembered the rolling shame he felt at not being able to fly, to have to drag his wings on the ground behind him as he walked because he didn't even have the strength to lift and hold them properly. What Illyrian male can't fly? He expected the camp lords to take one look at him and expel him for being weak, but instead they took him in and honed his flying and shadowsinging skills so spectacularly that he became one of the strongest and most powerful Illyrian warriors they'd ever seen. A true living weapon, siphons and all.

As they made their way to the training grounds, Azriel could feel the wandering eyes on him, on his siphons, on his hands, on the large branching scars that stretched all the way across both wings. If his wings were a dark canvas, the scars were like faded ink; they extended from one point on his wings in the fractal-like patterns that characterized a lightning strike. Many of the people he encountered from day to day gaped at him when they saw his wings, none moreso than the Illyrians. To his knowledge, no one had ever been struck by lightning out of the sky and lived to tell the tale. Finally, Azriel and Cassian stepped into the training ring and found a group of about 20 women quietly chatting. Some men stood to watch from outside the ring, no doubt concerned husbands or fathers. Cassian paid them zero mind as he began his introductions.

"Ladies, welcome to your first day of self defense and battle training. I'm Cassian and this is Azriel. We will be your instructors." At the mention of his name, Azriel looked to the women and gave a quick and silent nod. Cassian began explaining how the training would work and which maneuvers they'd be learning first. Azriel looked over each of the women that had shown up and did not fail to notice a few of them blush when they met his gaze. He caught himself feeling slightly disappointed that the white winged mystery girl had not come.

Cassian announced for the girls to pair up, and immediately several hands shot into the air. He called on Vienna, the youngest girl in the group at just 16.

"Mr. Cassian can I be paired with Azriel? Please?" Immediately all the girls whose hands shot up started bickering.

"Aw Vi I was gonna ask that!"

"Well too bad I asked first!"

"No fair!"

"Jane, YOU were the one that didn't even wanna come to this. I think-"

"ENOUGH. There are an even number of you so this time you can pair up amongst yourselves. I'm sure there will be chances for everyone to pair up with the dreamy shadowsinger." Azriel heard Cassian mutter to himself something about being chopped liver and watched the girls start to practice their movements. Suddenly Azriel's spies alerted him that someone was approaching the training ring, and they were coming in fast from the sky. Cassian saw him tense up a second before he heard the booming flap of wings getting closer.

"How many?" Cassian growled to Azriel.

"My spies say just one. But it sounds like multip-"

Before Azriel could even finish the sentence, Alina burst out from the cloud cover and seconds later landed in the training ring with a dramatic thud. She was wearing deep brown Illyrian leathers that hugged her curves a little too well, with two knives secured at her hip. Her red hair was pulled back into a braid that cascaded down her back. She took a moment to fix the hairs around her face from the flight over and took in the other girls already assembled. All eyes were on her as she folded her wings and nodded to Cassian.

"Sorry I'm late. What have I missed?" She asked as she fidgeted with her necklace. It was a good thing Azriel didn't talk much to begin with, because he wouldn't have been able to in this moment anyway. Her wings were breathtaking. SHE was breathtaking. The bastard actually wasn't exaggerating.

"Thanks for finally joining us. Alina, this is my friend and the other instructor, Azriel." Alina turned to face towards where Cassian was gesturing and went completely still when they locked eyes. Azriel felt his stomach drop, and suddenly it felt as if someone had just knocked all the air out of his lungs. In the blink of an eye he felt a bond form and tug on his chest.

Mate. Mate. Mate, his shadows whispered to him.

Holy shit.

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Author's Note:

So here is one of the instances where I've altered the canon - Azriel's wing scars and being struck by lightning. Just trust the process, it'll make sense later! Don't hate me! :))))))

-Lina