The Whispers of Shadows - Azriel

20

When Aurora woke up the next morning, the sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was closer to noon. She stretched and shoved the blankets off, padding to the bathing chamber. After relieving herself and turning on the sink, she yelped at the pain from the hot water. Her knuckles were split and bruised. Aurora's stomach dropped when she remembered what she had done to Cassian, and then how Azriel stepped in when Rhysand had charmed her to sleep.

Aurora washed the dried blood off carefully and hurried to her wardrobe to change into a clean dress. Smoothing the fabric over herself, she opened the door and made her way to the staircase. Aurora found comfort in being barefoot, shoes felt too stuffy to her. Her bare feet padded down the stairs, her unbrushed hair tickling the back of her neck as a breeze ran through it. She didn't have time to braid it yesterday before Cassian aggravated her, so through the night it had tangled into a mess.

Voices sounded when she neared the sitting room, her feet nearly silent as she crept up to it. She peeked her head through the massive doors to see Nesta in Cassian's lap, holding a bag of ice to his eye as he spoke to Rhysand and Azriel. Feyre was nowhere to be found, and Aurora's stomach twisted when she wondered if she had spoken to Nesta. Her need to be near Azriel was stronger than her fear of Nesta, so Aurora stepped into the room. Heads turned and she stopped. Fingers dug into each other as she met their gazes.

"How did you sle-."

Rhysand didn't get to finish before Nesta was on her feet and rushing to Aurora with utter fury in her eyes.

"You fucking punched my mate? You little bitch, why can't you stay the fuck away from the people I love?" Nesta shouted, throwing a punch towards Aurora. She reacted quickly, dodging and kicking her foot out to trip Nesta, who hit the floor with a grunt.

"Please stop," Aurora whispered, voice breaking. She didn't want to fight anyone else, she felt as if enough fragile relationships were severed.

"Nesta," Cassian warned, Azriel and Rhysand already to their feet. Nesta scrambled up and launched herself at Aurora, who caught her around the waist in an attempt to throw her down but Nesta's body weight was much more than Aurora's with her muscle gain, so they both hit the floor. Aurora knew she had messed up. Her hips were pinned to the ground by Nesta straddling her, and her hair was pinned beneath her rear. She couldn't lift her head, a mistake that she would never make again. Nesta's hands wrapped around Aurora's throat, thumbs digging into her trachea. Aurora gagged on air, unable to get a breath in. Her eyes desperately searched for a way out of this, feet kicking.

"Fuck! Rhysand!" She heard Azriel shout, and then the sound of a fist hitting leather.

"Don't. She was able to take Cassian to the floor, I want to see what she can do with Nesta," Rhys responded. Nesta didn't seem to hear, her teeth bared and sharp eyes like daggers on Aurora's face. How the fuck would she get out of this? Aurora could feel the blood from Nesta's arms dripping down onto her face as her nails clawed at her. Her vision was going black.

Aurora felt Nesta press her thumbs harder and felt a pop in her throat, knowing something just moved that wasn't supposed to. Aurora's eyes frantically searched around her, falling upon a candle. Yes, fire. Aurora's eyes squeezed shut, her body feeling warm as she tried to summon the magic that had always been buried within her. A flash of warm light burst between them, and Nesta screamed and sat up quickly. Aurora gasped for air, but Nesta's glare returned to her. When she began to move, Aurora panicked and threw a fist up, slamming into Nesta's jaw. The female yelped and fell to the side, freeing Aurora's body.

She scrambled back desperately, hand going to her throat as she leaned on one elbow. Her wide eyes watched Nesta as she climbed to her feet, an feral growl in her throat.