A court of shadow and spying (Azriel X OC)

the attack

We disappeared into Ashbury's house.
My thoughts triumphed with pride and conviction, I had done it, we had done it. And yet it wasn't all over yet, because it had only just begun.
When Ashbury, holding me in his arms, simply disappeared, literally vanished, I knew he had transported us. He winnowed. And that made it harder to admit that Ashbury wasn't powerful. Because clearly, he was, and more powerful than we would have expected. This would probably be one of the more important pieces of information to Rhysand. But I couldn't bring myself to think about it now. Ashbury's steps were heavy, a little wobbly, and I could only hope it was from the serum.
And yet, I wasn't sure how long it would take for Ashbury to be completely knocked out. The healer had told me it would depend on the individual, so I guess I couldn't gauge how or when he would be knocked off his feet.
Ashbury kept muttering to himself, barely intelligible words, but he seemed to be in a hurry as we walked through his door and he locked up just behind it. We were still in Hewn City, I knew that, since we had found out the exact location of his house, thanks to Azriel. I knew which paths would lead me to my rescue, which would confuse Ashbury if he somehow followed.
So, everything seemed safe. And yet this feeling nagged at me that something was wrong here. Yes, I had invaded his house and would probably soon uncover all of his most hideous and cruel secrets, but I felt queasy. How many people had ever seen the inside of Ashbury's house and come out alive? How many of them had been women?
I registered every step I, every step he, every path we took; every turn we made. Fortunately, his house wasn't too big. They said he lived here alone, his most important possessions were here, and only Ashbury could enter the house together. Well, that had already worked.
At least I couldn't see any guards in front of the house and nobody seemed to be in the house. There was dead silence, except for Ashbury's eerie muttering. I pressed myself against him, trying to keep up the innocent girl's expression and not look like someone watching the whole house and your every move.
His grip on me tightened and I hissed softly. If this bastard didn't let go of me soon....
Inwardly I was already imagining the methods and attacks I could use to defeat him. But at the moment I could do nothing more than let him lead me, as I assumed, into his bedroom. I felt dizzy at the thought of what he might do if he were in his right mind, and for a moment I was glad that he was carrying me. While I had never seen a woman dismissed shortly after the act with him, we all knew that the reason Ashbury's house was so far out of Hewn City was so that no one would hear you. Because that's exactly what he wanted.
That people would scream and beg and howl and he could feast on the screams of women for as long as he wanted. Either way, there would be no one there to save them. The pleasure of a woman, broken, bloody and used, this was the greatest for the men of Hewn City anyway.
When we entered his bedroom, I felt a few degrees colder. On the walls hung a variety of weapons, bows with arrows and knives, swords and all such devices from which psychopaths would probably have enjoyed. On his desk were daggers, small, nasty and extremely sharp, all lined up, one more devious than the other. They flashed in the dark moonlight that fell through the window slit. The room was dark, the bed voluminous, with grey sheets and pillows, rustic. Nowhere was the room even decorated, except with weapons hanging on the walls, but always ready to be used.
I had barely noticed that Ashbury had thrown me down on the bed, and set about tying up one of my wrists, so busy was I with all his tools.
And when I realized what he was doing, a horror-filled panic set in very slowly, seeping through my skin, deep into my bones, and my eyes went wide as I tried to kick him away, tried to fight back, but my first wrist was already anchored iron-firm.
My foot hit him in the stomach, but he didn't move a bit, the next one into his soft tissues. He jerked up briefly, and I was beginning to think that this was my chance to escape and knock him out but, he only let go of my other wrist before turning to my feet with a stony mad face.
My brain was too busy to remember any helpful tricks from training as he tied me up. To the bed, and spread out before me now lay an arsenal of weapons, and I had no doubt that he would try them on me. And he would enjoy my screams.
Tears of despair stood in my eyes, how would I ever survive this, how in the world would I get out of here?
I tossed and turned on the bed, barely noticing that he had not pulled my other wrist tight enough, it would have been the chance.
But I only felt his pure and yet absolutely disgusting hands on my skin, my body pressed to the bed and all I could do was nothing.
Nothing at all.
My body had begun to tremble slightly, a sign of the panic that continued to take over my body, penetrating further, deeper into my bones, shattering me to the core. My breathing became shallower, small black dots entered my vision; I could not pass out here. It would be my death sentence, guaranteed.
Breathe Jenna, just breathe! I need you to listen to me.
For a moment I thought I had gone completely insane, because hearing Azriel's voice in my head was absolutely absurd. And yet I noticed how I began to focus on his voice.
Jenna.
I almost sighed when I heard him again. I didn't know how I could have answered him, so I hummed as softly as I could as Ashbury walked towards the knives with faltering steps.
Breathe in and out Jenna. Listen to me. Breathe with me. In and out.
I followed his instructions, the black dots disappeared, oxygen entered my circulation and I noticed how I began to relax, as much as one could in such a situation.