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

Chapter 22

"I was only saying that I wanted to show you something. "

"I don't want to see it." I huffed and collapsed on the bed.

"Why not?" Azriel prodded.

"Because I don't want to!" I exclaimed.

He frowned and kneeled down on the side of the bed. "Are you sick?"

"No." Because I wasn't. "I just want everyone and everything to shut up." I did.

He tilted his head to a side and thought for a moment, "What if I tell you that I can take you somewhere that's really quiet "

I sighed and buried my face in the pillow, "I don't want to get up."

"You don't have to. I will carry you." He offered.

"Is it far away?" I glanced at him.

"No, it isn't." He smiled and squished my cheeks. "We'll come back before you know it."

"You have to ask Alcina." I reminded him.

"I will take my wife wherever I want to." He rolled his eyes but after a moment of me staring at him, said. "I already asked her."

I snorted at how he still had to ask her permission if I was going outside the house, even after our marriage. Turns out, Alcina was a lovely wife but not such a lovely sister-in-law when my pregnancy could go wrong at any moment.

As I lay there, watching the sunlight bounce off the sharp planes of his face and our shadows curl softly around each other, I thought back to the day when we had gotten married, alongside Morriagn and Alcina.

As soon as Alcina had declared that I could walk, we had started the preparation of the wedding. Azriel did not want to welcome our child while their parents were still unmarried and understandably so. I had obviously been overjoyed but did nothing much except watch Morrigan pick out a dress for me while Cassian commented on how the colour didn't go with my eyes.

Eventually, they had all agreed on a dress and I could never forget how the silver of my dress was in contrast with Azriel's black and he said that I did, indeed, look like a wishing star.

Morrigan in a beautiful scarlet and Alcina in the delicate shade of the same colour could not stop smiling at each other as they were both declared wives. Even Amren had laughed when Cassian wiped his tears and complained about being the only single one left. Right before getting ridiculously drunk.

"Fine." I answered. "I'll go with you. Only because you say it's quiet. "

He grinned from ear to ear as he picked me up and I nestled my head in the crook of his neck before winnowing out of Velaris.
We stopped somewhere in the middle but I didn't bother checking where.

When we finally reached where Azriel wanted to bring me, I craned my neck. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light but when I saw what was in front of me, I gasped loudly.

So loudly that I scared a peacock. The white peacock had found a corner in the porch to relax on as it had before, when my father was alive.

"I would rebuilt our home if I outlived all this." I had said to him.

And that was exactly what he had done. He had rebuilt our home for me.

Granted, it wasn't exactly the same, but it was there. Wood, brick, steel - all of it, on the same soil where my parents had built it.

The ash of the rest of the houses had been swept away and there were flowers growing in there places. Little gifts were left for all who had lost their lives.