A Court Of Moonlight And Shadows (An Azriel/ACOTAR Fanfiction)

Chapter 20

Arcane drifted in and out of sleep well into the late morning. At last, Azriel brushed his thumb against her cheek and she sighed, squeezing her eyes shut tighter.

"You missed breakfast." He whispered, scanning her face for any lingering sign of pain.

"I don't want to eat anything." She shook her head and buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"It won't hurt." He reassured her.

"It will." She mumbled with her lips pressed against his neck.

Her body was feverishly hot and frail as Azriel traced circles on the side of her waist. He chewed on his bottom lip for a second before pulling back.

"How about drinking something other than water, then?" He suggested and Arcane gulped.

She eyed the boiling brass pot in a corner and jerked her chin towards it. "Tell me the colour of the leaves first."

Azriel sighed, "You don't have to do this right now."

"Then I will have to wait for another three months, waiting for the plant to grow." She argued.

He cupped her face, "Then we will wait. Rest for now. There is no threat, right? We can worry about the shield later."

"No." She stubbornly shook her head. "I am going to finish this."

"Arcane."

"Azriel." She held both of his hands and kissed the scars. "I'm okay."

"Then, eat something." He shot back and she groaned.

"I hate you so much." Pressing her palms to her eyes, she turned to lay on her back. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." Azriel nodded firmly. He pushed himself up onto his elbow and kissed her on the forehead. "For me."

She looked at him with pleading eyes and pouted. In the end, she laid on her stomach, facing him and her arms spread out on either sides. "Nothing solid."

Azriel nodded and got up. She called after him, "Come back quickly!"

He replied with a 'Yes.' and shut the door to her room. Arcane eyed the shiny pot with steam rising from it that had been pushed to a side after they had to call the medic. She tried mustering up courage to get up and see the progress that had been made over the hours but her limbs refused to move, getting heavier every second and pushing her into the plush bedding. She hugged a pillow closer and pitifully fiddled with the hem of her dress's sleeve.

She wondered if her father had been informed or if he had been asking about her. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't notice her mate returning until he sat a tray down n front of her. Her red rimmed eyes met his as he carefully helped her to sit up.

"Did someone tell Baba? About this, I mean." She asked.

Azriel shook his head. "No. We thought it would cause too much trouble. He thinks you're busy with healing the shield for the next few days."

She chewed on her lip and nodded, "Good. He is already dealing with a lot of things. I don't want to make him worried."

Azriel scanned her face for something but quickly looked away when she raised her eyebrows. Pouring the juice into a glass, he bought it towards her mouth. "Apricot."

"I hate apricots." She made a face.

"I'm sure you hate being sick more. Open up." He rested his hand under her chin and she reluctantly parted her lips. At the first, tiniest sip, her face twisted in a way that Azriel didn't think was even possible. Thankfully, she didn't throw up and he waited to see if she was in pain again.

"That was bad." She complained and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "And I will hate you for this forever." He chuckled and thrust the glass towards her once again. It was half empty when she stopped him, "Does this count as accepting the bond?" She frowned.

"No. Only the female can accept or reject the bond." He explained. "And I didn't make this juice anyway."

"I can't believe I have to cook for a man." She jokingly scoffed.

Azriel shrugged, "Heat up some soup. That's what Feyre did." Arcane watched him over the rim of the glass as he spoke. "I will cook for you for the rest of our lives."

"Really?" She asked sceptically.

He reached forward to press his lips against her forehead, "Really." She slumped against the bed frame and narrowed her eyes at him. Poking her in the ribs, Azriel set the empty glass down. "I told you I will. Stop looking at me like that."

"I don't think you're very good at cooking." She tilted her head to a side.

He scoffed, "I was the one who cooked for you the last time you missed breakfast. You couldn't even tell the difference between a egg yolk and a tomato." He shook off his boots and scooped her up into his lap.

She clicked her tongue, "Simply because I'm bad at cooking doesn't make you good by default."

He put his finger against her lips, "It does. Go to sleep."

She entwined her fingers with his and rested her head on his chest. "I'm not sleepy anymore. Can I check that?" She pointed towards the brewing twig.

"No." Azriel smiled and pulled her hand back. "You can not." He wrapped his muscular arms around her petite frame and was reminded of how painfully thin she was. He bit back a wince at that and kissed the top of her head. "Maybe once you look like you can stand on your own."

She sighed and faced him, bright eyes peaking from under the thick curtain of dark lashes. "As soon as I can stand, kicking you in the balls is the first thing I'm going to do."

Azriel grinned, "I love it when you talk to me like that."

She smacked his chest and relaxed against him. "I'm trying to sleep. Sing something for me."

To no ones surprise, Arcane was in deep sleep not even halfway through the song. Azriel pressed his face against her hair and breathed in the intoxicating scent of his mate. In the silence, he thought about all the time he had been drunk, or sleeping in the comfort of his house, among his friends. Also, all the different lovers he had and even though he had no regrets, he always knew he didn't love them. They knew this too, he thought.

Shattering his thoughts , Arcane mumbled in her sleep and he smiled. "Of course, I didn't love them. I was yours before either one of us existed."