A court of Shadows & Blood (An ACOTAR / Azriel fanfiction)

Chapter 20

It was too dark for me to see as the rock slid into place and I was barricaded from the rest of the world.

The space was narrow and I struggled against the grip of the man. He was breathing heavy and I let out a gasp when his hands reached my stomach.

Not my child, I thought and elbowed him in the face before rolling to a side. I heard shuffling on a side and pushed myself to my feet quickly. It was too dark for him to see anything and was I borne of darkness.

He whipped his head around, trying to catch me again and I pressed myself against the wet walls.

"You think you can escape, huh? You will die and so will your family." He snarled.

I grinded my teeth and focused on my breathing. In and out. It's going to be fine. I consoled the baby even though I knew it couldn't hear me.

One of hands still on my stomach, I tried to remember where I had heard this man's voice before. I was sure I had, maybe I had seen him too but I couldn't remember.

He smashed his fist against and the wall and hissed in pain and something on the side of my eyes moved.

I caught that movement again, this time near his hand. The darkness - flinching away from him.

I sucked in a sharp breath. A shadow witch.

He didn't use the shadows though, only thrashed about. Maybe he had never learnt how to use his magic. The Ideosy had been vagabonds for centuries. Slowly, they had lost their knowledge of magic while we preserved ours and passed it down generation by generation.

What was a shadow witch doing here? How was he alive?

There was no time for such questions and the answer to most of them was the same - he was trying to save himself so the rest of the members don't turn on him and hold him hostage against Lucifer.

He knew that if they found out one among them could replace me and Azriel; they would use him to threaten the Devil. Why would they go to such lengths to capture me or Azriel if they could just use him?

And this is where his scheme to protect himself had led him to - alone, in the dark, with a shadow witch, with no knowledge of how to defend himself. He did not know how to use his powers as a witch and he wasn't fae. That's why he had kept to the rock - because I would find out he was vulnerable.

Right when I was about to step forward, the rock jerked in it's place.

Someone was trying to get inside.

With it came light and he lunged upon me. I grabbed his neck and my knee connected with his stomach.

Something smashed against the rock again. I have to hurry.

His adrenaline washed away and he realised what he had done. He tried reaching out toward the door but I stabbed his outstretched arm.

One more push and I was about to lean against the rock to stop the Idesoy from pushing their way in when I saw a bit of leather peeking through.

I threw the man towards a wall, his head smashed against a wall and he wailed.

I hooked my fingers in the small cracks and threw my weight backwards. It took it a few moments but somehow I managed to push it open just enough for him to slide in.

"Cassian." I breathed out his name. "Why are you-"

He hit the man in purple with the hilt of his sword and he collapsed in a heap. "I can't let you go alone." He jerked his chin towards my stomach.