A Court of Light and Melody

Chapter 16 - See Me

Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks.

- Isaac Watts

Song: Iris - Acoustic - Bailey Rushlow

Just an hour later the sun was gone and there was still no sign of the Illyrians returning to their camp. Azriel and Gwyn drank from their canteens and shared a dinner of bread and grapes.

The night chill began to set in. Azriel had been right. Winter was retreating but here in the mountains and the forest in the dead of night, it might as well have been December. Gwyn was thankful for her fleece lined leathers, even if she was still trembling from the cold.

Azriel leaned forward, stretching out his wings to block the wind. They were larger than Cassian's and Gwyn found her mind drifting to that wingspan related "correlation" that Nesta had informed her of...

How big was he? Too big for her?

Something coiled deep inside of her as her mind wandered and she imagined the shadowsinger gripping her by the hips and shoving his length in and—

"Hopefully that's a little better," Azriel said.

She found herself grateful for him disturbing her thoughts. Those thoughts couldn't be allowed to continue. Certainly not. Especially when Gwyn had nightmares of him doing just what she was imagining before she tore his throat out.

"It's a little better. Thank you."

Azriel nodded and peered over in the direction of the camp. "Still nothing."

A shiver went down Gwyn's spine as she hugged her arms. "Damn. They must be some p-piss poor hunters."

The corner of Azriel's lip lifted, but his brows were knitted together. "You're certainly handling this tree well. If I didn't know better I'd say you sit in trees all the time."

Gwyn laughed softly. "Catrin and I used to climb trees in Sangravah."

A moment of silence passed where Azriel held Gwyn's gaze steadily. She nearly shied away, but found herself surprisingly able to meet the intensity of his stare. Able to bask in it.

"Tell me about it. The tree climbing."

"What? Now?"

Azriel shrugged. "It'll take your mind off the cold. Nobody can hear us. Besides, what else are we doing?"

True, true, and fair point...

It wasn't every day that someone asked Gwyn to talk about Catrin. She understood why people avoided the topic though. They often assumed that those who suffered loss were better off avoiding their ghosts. But sometimes ghosts were all you had left. Ghosts were just the memories of things forever lost. And Gwyn was happy to discuss her ghosts.

"We didn't have much to do for fun at the temple. There were other children to play with, but our main focus was our studies," Gwyn explained. "But there was this one tree in the temple gardens. Catrin and I used to climb it. Every time we made it just a bit higher than before. I'd mark our progress in the bark with a rock.

"Catrin told me it was foolish and that we were bound to either injure ourselves or get in trouble. She said it wasn't worth it."

"But that didn't stop you." It wasn't a question.

Gwyn grinned wickedly. "Of course it didn't. Though I would at least pretend to humor her... She was always the more sensible twin. A little bossy. But she was very quick witted," a wistful laugh, "and much prettier than me."

"Oh?"

"Mmhm." She could see her sister in the back of her mind. Beautiful and bright as the moon, where Gwyn was a speckled mess. "She had this thick, raven colored hair and her skin was like a porcelain doll. Not a freckle in sight."