Their Fireheart

Chapter Twenty Three

Azriel

A cool breeze roused me from a deep sleep, igniting goosebumps that had me reaching out for the delicate figure of my mate, intent on tugging her closer into my chest. My fingertips grazed over chilled silken sheets until they brushed against warm skin and I grabbed onto a solid arm -

A solid male arm.

My eyes shot open, and I was instantly wide awake.

My hand is gripping Rhys's forearm, the space between us empty - the same space where Aelin had lain only hours before.

I immediately tensed, but tried to stop myself from jumping to the worst possible conclusion - telling myself that just because she wasn't in bed, didn't mean that she'd disappeared entirely. She could be in the bathroom, or getting a glass of water.

For perhaps the thousandth time, I cursed this wretched kingdom for cutting off access to my shadows - half a thought to the shadow I'd permanently affixed to my mate is all it would have taken to discover her precise location back in Prythian. Hell, the shadow would have alerted me the instant she slipped from the bed.

But no, I couldn't rely on them here.

Exhaling a low breath, I honed in on the scent that is as familiar to me as my own. Lemon, jasmine verbena and embers.

A vicious snarl rips free when I realize her most recent scent trail leads from the bed, to the closet - and out the fucking window.

My brothers jolt awake at the sound, instantly positioning themselves with their backs to the center of the bed - where Aelin should be - looking around the decadent, moon-bathed room wildly. Rowan pulled out a dagger from cauldron-knows where, holding it aloft in preparation to end any threat to our mate.

Our mate who isn't here.

It only takes a few heartbeats for them to realize there is no immediate threat, and they all relax slightly into the bed.

Cassian blinked sleepily at Rowan, still only half-awake. "Did you sleep with that under your damn pillow or something?"

Rowan just grunted, ignoring him while he scanned the room with a careful eye - likely sensing that something was wrong, even if there wasn't a visible threat. I watch as Rhysand reached an arm back for Aelin, freezing when he feels nothing but empty air.

"Azriel," Rhys growled, "Where is Aelin?"

Cass and Rowan flick their gazes my way, dawning comprehension transforming their expressions from caution to slowly simmering rage almost hot enough to burn through the blankets when they realize she's missing - again.

"It would seem," I drawled, my voice tight with leashed anger, "that our lovely mate decided tonight's adventures were not complete. For her, that is."

The words taste like ash on my tongue, but their effect is instantaneous - the small room exploding with the furious curses and growls of my brothers.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Cassian snarled, tossing the blankets back from around his legs to rise from the bed.

I really wish that I was.

Rowan is already up, grumbling under his breath as he stomps over to the closet and begins to pull on a fresh tunic and pants. Rhys and Cassian are close behind him, the latter stumbling in his haste to get dressed.

I squeezed my eyes shut, attempting to calm my thundering heartbeat, my bound wings twitching with the urge to burst free, to take flight and find my mate, not resting until she's safely cocooned in them.