A Court of Death || ACOTAR

19

Tension hung heavily in the air of the townhouse when Astryn arrived back. She half wondered if everyone was so tense because they were waiting to see whether or not she would even come back, or if she would get spooked and cause some natural disaster. She only half wondered because she knew it was true anyway.

She could feel Mor staring at her as she walked past her. Then she could feel Rhys's stare as she went past his study. That door was rarely open when Rhys was working. She knew he left it open only so he could see her when she arrived. She was tempted to stop at his door and tell him he was a coward for not just admitting that he still had no trust in her and would prefer it if she stayed inside. She didn't tell him that, didn't speak to him. Azriel was waiting in their room, staring at a book he wasn't really reading. His eyes flicked up to her before returning to the book.

The shadows hid away in the corners of the room and under the bed, as if they could sense a fight and wanted to run from it.

"How long is it going to be like this?" Astryn asked, staring at him as he avoided looking at her.

"Like what?" Azriel questioned, not taking his eyes off of the book he wasn't reading.

"Don't play dumb," she kept her voice steady, "how long is it going to be like this?"

"I haven't even done anything," he pointed out before changing the subject, "did you enjoy your day out?"

"Azriel," she said sternly, "it can't be like this. What's wrong? What are you upset about?"

"I never said I was upset."

Astryn took in a long, deep breath and then she walked over to the closet.

"I'm not doing this anymore," she told him, "not with any of you. This isn't a life."

"Running back to Death, then?" Azriel murmured, eyes still in that stupid fucking book that she wanted to rip out of his hands and throw across the room.

"Maybe," she snapped, "maybe I'll go back to his realm and see if he still wants to give me a crown. I'd be better off there with him than here with you."

Azriel nodded as if that was the ending he was always expecting anyway. As if he hadn't for a moment believed she wouldn't leave him for the King of the Dead.

"And would you have chosen me if I could have offered you a crown too?" he mused, finally peering at her over the top of the book.

"All the riches in the world couldn't make me choose you after the way you've treated me," she answered as she pulled her clothes from the closet and threw them onto the bed. "Grow up, Azriel. You're over a hundred years old and acting like a jealous little child. Grow up."

Azriel didn't respond to that. He sat and watched her clean out her half of the closet and then pack it all away. And some part of him really believed that she would come back soon, that all of this would become part of their past and they could talk it out once everything was less tense. Another part of him knew he had pushed too much, and she would stay away for a long, long time. Perhaps forever.

She walked right out with her bags, walked past Rhys and his open door that he stared at her through, past Mor who almost seemed relieved that it was all finally over. Neither of them tried to stop her from going. And they knew she was not coming back.

Cassian showed up at the townhouse hours later, as Rhys and Mor sat at the dinner table in silence not eating the food in front of them. Something about it set off alarm bells in his mind, and he found his feet carrying him to Azriel and Astryn's room. He didn't knock, just throwing open the door and striding into the room. Azriel was still sitting there with that book he hadn't ever been reading. The closet was still open and half empty.

"What did you do?" Cassian demanded, glaring at everything as he looked around the room. "What did you do?"

"She wanted to leave," Azriel muttered, not looking away from the book, "so she left."

"No. No, she wanted to fix things. She came back because she was willing to give it—give you, give this whole fucking family one more shot, so what did you do, Azriel?"

"She was never going stay," Azriel snapped suddenly, throwing the book down. "He had an entire realm to offer her. I have nothing compared to that. Why would she ever pick me over a king?"

"You're so fucking stupid," Cassian said angrily, "she doesn't care what he has or what you have or any stupid damn titles. She chose you. She would have stayed if you had given her a reason to. Where did she go? Did you even ask or did you just sit there and watch her leave feeling sorry for yourself?"

"She has her own house," Azriel reminded him, "she probably went there."

"I'm going to go find her," he replied harshly, "and I won't say a single fucking thing in your favor. I love you, Az, but you're a piece of shit for this. She deserves better."

"I hope you two have fun bonding over how terrible I am then," Azriel scoffed, arms crossed over his chest. "Maybe you can plan out her wed to Death together."

"Pull your head out of your ass," Cassian demanded, "even if you never get her back, you should be better than this."

Cassian stormed out after that and went to the house Astryn had gotten in Velaris. She wasn't there, hadn't been there in days. And Cassian knew he might never see her again.