A court of shadow and spying (Azriel X OC)

doing research

I sighed. I had tried to follow Azriel, but as usual, of course, it had been unsuccessful. His footsteps were inaudible, his shadows hid him from my sight, and I had absolutely no idea where he was.
'Where the hell-' I began as I rounded a corner. But I didn't get the time to finish the sentence, because I felt his presence before he pressed himself against me. His rough, harmonious voice came to my ear.
'Well, that took you long enough', he spoke roughly as he looked down at me from above, our bodies barely touching, but his arm was leaning against the wall above me. I emitted a disapproving hiss before stepping up to him.
'You think?' I asked, sliding my thumb into his waistband before pulling him to me with a jerk. I grinned mischievously at him, but pushed past him before he could answer. When he noticed my bag off my shoulder, I winked at him.
'Are you going to show me the way, or are you just going to stand there?' I asked, amused. He just stood there, a hint of confusion mixed into his features before he took control again, coming to me with a grumble. My grin only widened as I realized I had won this round. He led me a little further through the wind house, through corridors and rooms, but they all seemed not to be mine. I was admiring the many windows of the large dining and living room when Azriel suddenly stopped. I, of course, ran completely into him and had to restrain myself from losing my balance.
'Watching would help', Azriel said helpfully as he wrapped an arm around my waist. With his head he pointed to the door behind us.
'That one's yours', he said softly, his sensual mouth so close to my face that he didn't have to speak louder. I sparkled at him as his hand briefly pinched the skin of my waist. He looked at me again urgently before breaking away from me with a mischievous grin. 'How nice of you, thank you', I muttered slyly as he disappeared out of reach. But I could have sworn I saw him grinning. I opened the door and was blown away by my room. The bed was huge, with lots of pillows and blankets that looked simply divine. A large closet adorned an entire row of walls. I wondered how I was ever going to fill this one, with the one bag and the little money I had. I had a balcony, outside was an armchair which looked incredibly fluffy and comfortable. It made the balcony that much more inviting. A basket full of blankets and pillows stood next to the wicker chair. The view was simply breathtaking. I looked down at Velaris. I saw the sea on the horizon, how the beach kissed the sea, I saw the lively streets, the sidra which meandered through the streets. I heard the distant laughter, the sweet murmur of the city. I smiled at the sight. God, words could not describe how much I loved this city. I turned back to my room. A desk stood in the other half of the room, chairs framing it, giving my room a welcoming feel. Next to my closet, a door led to the adjacent bathroom, which was equally beautiful. I really could not complain here. I ran my hand over the mahogany of the table before placing my only bag on it.

I did not know quite what I should expect now. I was now officially living with the inner circle, with my High Lord of my court. It was kind of strange. I had gotten an offer from them because one of my closest friends had spied on me, which is why I was now standing here, ready to perform whatever tasks my High Lord gave me. And yet I had not expected that everything would turn out to be so complicated. The relationship between me and Az was kind of, well, weird. I knew I was attracted to him, he brought my senses to a whole other level, my heart drummed every time he touched me and I felt warm and tingly. It was all so confusing and strange, since we had just met a few weeks ago and I could hardly imagine how my life was going to be now. This was not the only thing that was bothering me.
I still couldn't believe that everyone here trusted me, maybe they didn't, but everything here was so welcoming and accommodating. I didn't know how I could ever repay them for all this, in money or in deeds. I was grateful to them, definitely, but I couldn't completely trust that they wouldn't let me down.
I shouldn't.

In the past, my father had told me that it was dangerous to trust too many people. I didn't understand him, at that time I had tons of friends. I was only 10 years old and wanted to be friends with everyone. Trust had never crossed my mind. But with each passing year, even when we moved to Hewn City, I realized what he meant. I couldn't trust anyone, because everyone in this city was out for information and manipulation. How could you ever make real friends when everything they did wasn't real?

Everyone makes mistakes, but it's not the words that make up for those acts, it's the actions that follow.

My father's wisdom buzzed through my head as I continued to think about my options for what my life would be like after all of this. I doubted they would want me here, I also doubted I would want this. It had been enough when I stayed with them for two nights in the townhouse, but this was a whole other level. Maybe I would get a townhouse, or one down by the ocean. Or...

The thought came like a flash. I was home again, I could just see if my old house was still standing, if I still owned it, if there was someone there waiting for me. I could move in there and operate from there. But doubts mingled in my thoughts. My mother would never have kept this house; she had been too convinced of the Hewn City to ever return here. Perhaps it had already been sold and someone else now inhabited it. Maybe everything we had left behind in this house was just gone. I remembered the photo albums we had always looked through when I had been younger. My mother and father had shown me the photos and told a story about each one. I remembered that I liked the story of their wedding day the best. My mother had been wearing such a beautiful dress and my father had just stared at her. He always said he was speechless, dazzled by her beauty. Back then they looked so in love, so incredibly happy, that I always wanted to be like them. Their eyes shone when they looked at each other, they were one heart and one soul, I could tell that just from the pictures. I had never known what had broken between them back then, or why their marriage had failed. I had thought they were indestructible, and yet I had been wrong. For nights on end I had lain awake listening to their cries, sometimes a glass had broken, and then they had both gone to bed in a rage. Then when my father disappeared I didn't know what my mother felt. She had always been good at covering her feelings like a mask, something she had passed on to me for the most part. She had become absent and cold and after a few years, after dragging me to Hewn City, she found her spitting image, someone just as cold and emotionless as her. And then she had decided to take her second husband. For me, however, years of terror followed. I was always afraid that my stepfather would come into my room, do and say things that I would forget. Sometimes I got blows and bruises from him, but he didn't seem to dare to do more. And I was happy about that. Then, when I turned 17, I decided to start my own business, moved further away from the Hewn City neighborhood where we lived, and put myself in the prostitutes' neighborhood. So I had finally found my job and had lived my life, hateful and in terror. And now here I was again, in Velaris, the city of starlight, and I had no idea how to process all that had happened to us in this city. The knock on the door was quite convenient, it pulled me out of my thoughts and put me in a different mood. I gave an approving hum for the person to enter. Rhysand entered.

'We'd better get on with the plan', he said firmly, and I started to turn around, my eyes averted from the city.

'Yes, all right', I said, and then followed him through the many corridors of the wind house.