Shadows like mine

Bonus Chapter

"I hate you for doing this."
Azriel leaned against the wooden pillar, looking at Aurora as she kept straightening her dress. It was hard to focus on... well, anything at all.
May the Mother punish him for not being able to think about anything else than fucking Aurora right here on the floor, with that dress on.
"You seem to hate me a lot these days," he mentioned as his eyes roamed up and down again. He had been doing that for the last couple minutes. Aurora was so nervous, again, that she didn't notice it. "And I think this was your idea."
"No, no, no. I insisted on doing it," she made clear and held up a finger as a warning. Her eyes seemed to glow.
"Of course," he said, trying not to smile. Aurora tried to erase invisible folds in the fabric of her dress. "My love, you look enchanting. Don't do..." He gestured at her restless hands. "That."
"You're not helping me."
Azriel chuckled and walked up to her. She wore a dark blue dress. In fact, it was so dark that it was almost black, but the Fae lights made the little sapphires shine. The dress was long and slim around her body, showing a lot of skin.
Now Aurora was her mate, he wasn't very fond of the idea of hundreds of people being able to be mesmerised by her like this.
He never had a problem with Aurora being so comfortable with her body, and not minding to show it. But...
"Can you stop that?" she asked with a sharp tone and her shadow seemed to prick him in his foot.
"What?"
"I can hear every stupid word," she said between gritted teeth. "If you don't want people to see me like this, than neither can you."
Challenging she raised her brows, as Azriel blinked confused with his eyes. Of course, the bond. Sometimes he forgot to shield his thoughts for her, so his mind overflowed her.
"What do you mean I can't see you like this?"
"You heard me. I'll be walking around in sweats for the rest of my life." Aurora raised her chin high in the air and Azriel couldn't keep his laugh.
He took her waist between his hands and pulled her towards him. Aurora looked away very dramatically, but he could her her racing heart and a hot blush spread on her cheeks. Normally he loved seeing her like that, especially when it was his doing.
Alas, he had nothing to do with her tensed body.
"I wouldn't mind that," he said and stroke with his fingers over her bare back. Her breath was unsteady for a moment. He grinned. "You always wore sweats when you came here."
"I can do that again."
Nowadays, now the curse had been broken for almost a year, Aurora developed a very significant taste in fashion. She and Mor always went shopping, having the same style. Slim fitted clothes, deep cleavages, boat necks and bare backs...
In the beginning he hated and loved it. Hated, because now everyone was turning his of her head to look at his mate. Loved it, because it made him dream about the worst things.
    "I'll be delighted to watch you walk around in those sweats again." Aurora made big eyes, like a puppy. "Way easier to take off."
    Aurora smiled and rolled her eyes at him.
    "Is that the only thing you can think about?" she teased him, but through the bond he saw many, many moments of them together like that.
    "We both think about that, my love," he responded and returned some images. Old fantasies from when he worked at his desk, when Aurora seemed unreachable as a partner.
    "You thought very dirty of me."
    Azriel pulled an innocent face. "Don't act like you didn't enjoy all those positions."
    His desk moved to their mansion. They had spent many hours at it, making all of his fantasies reality. It had turned him on so much that she only needed to touch his wing to make him finish.
    Aurora blushed more. "I'm not!"
    She looked at the closed curtains in front of her and breathed out deeply. Azriel pushed a lost stray of hair behind her pointy ear, which was decorated with topazes, matching her eyes.
    "Why couldn't you sing with me?" she asked and turned to him. "I'd be a lot less nervous."
    He shook his head. "You know I only sing for you and horrible songs."
    "Sea Shanty is indeed terrible," she admitted and grinned. "You have a lovely voice."
    "Not lovely enough to please an audience."
    "Enough for me!" With a finger she traced the lines of his tattoos in his neck. "My day will be perfect if you sing to me when we get home."
    When Aurora found out that Azriel also had a singing voice, she demanded him almost every day to sing for her. As a teenager, he tried to get away with it and was very holding back.
    But when they sang together, the world seemed to lit up. He loved singing with her. It was the best feeling, the best moments in his life.
    They felt alive, the world was vivid when they sang.
"You need a drink?" he asked when she started to lean heavily against him. With his fingers Azriel carefully combed her wavy hair. He didn't want to make it messy, Nesta had been doing her very best.
"Oh please." Aurora waved it away as if it was nothing. "It's just an audience of like, 500 people?"
Azriel smiled at her and grabbed her chin, turned her head so he could look in her eyes.
"Just focus on your guests."
"They're all my guests."
Azriel rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss on her warm forehead. They had five minutes left.
"I meant our family," he said and Aurora nodded, grabbed his hand. Thoughtless she followed the lines of his scars. When she started doing that about a year ago, his body always became tensed, all his muscles seemed to freeze. But over time, he started to get used to it. Accepted the fact that Aurora also loved his hands, even though they did horrible things.
Now, whenever she did that, his body relaxed.
"Who else?" she asked and follows a scar over the palm of his hand. She tapped against the blue stone on his hand with a long fingernail. He wore them all tonight. More as a formality. Suits weren't made for him.
And besides, Aurora liked him more when he wore leather.
"Varian," he said and curled up the stray of hair around his finger. "Lucien, somewhere on the balcony. Thesan."
Aurora seemed to shrink for a moment, but relaxed quickly. After her first meeting with Thesan, Aurora cried for days. Tears of happiness, of relief. The aching in her heart never came back.
Because the High Lord of the Dawn Court was so interested in Aurora, he sometimes came by with special occasions.
"Okay." Aurora nodded and looked at him. "I think I'm ready."
Now placing his hand on her cheek, Azriel leaned forward to kiss her. He had been staring at her for minutes long, now he had the chance. A promise for later tonight, when they went home to the mansion. Azriel moved in with Aurora, away from the House of the Wind.
They all ought it a good idea that two sets of horny mates wouldn't live well together.
Aurora answered his deep, slow kiss and grabbed his neck, pulling him closer as she pushed herself against him. It took every ounce of self control to suppress his cravings. If he let himself go, the whole theatre would smell his excitement.
Her tongue danced over his and Azriel allowed himself to enjoy her for a moment, then let go. Her eyes sparkled, bright as a sun and a rosy colour covered her cheeks.
"It's time," he said and quickly placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll be here the whole time."
"You have to take some tension away when we get home," she said and through the bond she send him something so exciting, that Azriel needed to gasp for air.
Thank the gods for this woman.
    "And I can't wait for you to sing to me."
    "You bet I will sing Sea Shanty."
Aurora smiled at him and then faced the red curtains. A deafening applause rose up from the theatre and Aurora stepped towards the stage, her shadows elegant around her.
She waited until the applause was over and then smiled so broad, so bright, that it overwhelmed the Fae lights.
"Welcome everyone," she said and Azriel admired her for keeping her voice from shaking. "My name is Aurora and tonight I will sing for you." Quickly she glanced at Azriel behind the wings. "Everyone of you."
When Aurora sang, the whole theatre and everyone in it seemed to hold his or her breath.
Azriel was only able to smile.
Aurora never sang to other people. She only sang at Elain's birthday party. But it was the last time since she stood in front of an audience. Aurora did sing for Azriel, when he couldn't sleep or had a stressful day. She would go with her fingers through his hair and sing softly, until he fell asleep or was able to let go of the stress.
She sang for Nyx, when he had to go to bed and Aurora would babysit him.
Singing in front of an audience, was something she never did again. Until now. After Mor and Feyre finally talked her into it.
Weeks she had been practising.
And now the moment was here. When Aurora was done, she could only laugh because of excitement when people stood up and applauded for minutes.
It looked like Velaris had a new star in its midst.