A Court of Death || ACOTAR

58

The peace ended. Of course it had.

Astryn was out in the city alone. Cassian and Feyre were out too and had invited her to join them, but she still felt odd with Feyre. She regretted her choice when the attack began. Cassian was in the sky first, and soon Azriel was too.

Velaris was under attack. War was no longer coming, it was here. First, all she felt was fear. And then fury. How dare Hybern come here?

She was calmer than she anticipated as she walked into the core of the fight. Power rippled off of her as Hybern soldiers turned to mist with nothing but a thought from her. Azriel landed next to her, eyes wild with worry.

"Are you—" he started off, but she didn't let him finish.

"I'm fine," she assured him, "go. Protect the city, protect Rhys's mate."

A look of terror passed through his eyes as he recalled the misery of feeling his mate in pain. Feeling her dying. The look on Astryn's face let him know how desperately she wanted to spare Rhys from going what they went through—losing the bond. He gave a sharp nod.

"Be careful," he told her, "promise me you'll be careful."

"Don't worry about me, worry about the city, worry about—"

"No," he snapped, "I'd let the entire city burn to keep the King from taking you again. Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," she said, seeming startled by his declaration, "you be careful too."

He nodded, and then launched into the sky, leaving behind a few shadows.

Astryn sent blasts of power out, misting Hybern's soldiers and pulling them out of the sky—making them crash against the ground so hard that they died on impact.

"Oh, I like you much better like this," a familiar voice purred from behind her. "Cauldron, the power we would have had on our side if the King hadn't settled for only breaking your halfway to use for breeding. Though, looking at you now...I do see the appeal in using you like that."

She hated herself for the paralyzing fear that flooded her as she slowly turned to face him. He grinned widely.

"I can't wait to have you all strung up for me again," he said, "maybe you'll scream for me this time."

There was a loud landing behind her, and she did not look back to know that it was Azriel standing behind her.

"You," Azriel growled. The male grinned widely.

"Me," he chirped, far too relaxed for the situation he was in at the moment. "Your mate—former mate...she's magnificent, shadowsinger. I carved into every inch of her. The best few decades of my life."

Astryn took a step closer, but Azriel moved quicker, a blur of shadow and darkness. He grabbed the male by the throat and whispered something to him that made his face go pale. Azriel launched into the air, dragging him along by that fierce grip on his neck, and Astryn did not allow herself to wonder what he was going to do to him. Or why he felt the need to do it.

Azriel was back in the air again soon, fighting and protecting the city, and Astryn could not ignore the way the shadows whispered to each other. And she wondered if, perhaps, there was a glimmer of the bond left that hadn't died with the rest.

She fought from the ground as he fought from the air. When it was all said and done, Astryn could hardly remain standing. Azriel landed next to her, just as unsteady on his feet and his Siphons dull.

He wrapped his arms around her, she went stiff.

"Please," he murmured, "just give me one minute."

She nodded against his chest. She did not hug him back, but she let him hold her for a full minute.

"Thank you," he said quietly before pulling away.

They walked back to the townhouse in heavy silence, taking in the destruction around them. Everyone else had made it back first, looking as exhausted as they both were. Cassian was still on his feet despite the fact that he was almost too tired to stand. He pulled Astryn into his arms and she hugged him back.

"You were fucking amazing out there," he mumbled, squeezing her as tightly as he could, "fucking amazing." He released her and looked to Azriel next. "I hear you took a prisoner."

"I'll take him to the Court of Nightmares as soon as I can manage the flight there," Azriel replied with a stiff nod.

"You think he has information we could use?" Rhys asked.

"Unlikely," Azriel answered.

"Then why..." Rhys trailed off before he took in sharp breath as the realization hit him. "Tell me when you take him. I want to be there."

"He might have information," Astryn pointed out, "he was high up enough in the ranks that the King had him with me every day for over three decades. Try to get information."

"We will," Azriel told her, "he'll have plenty of time to answer any questions we have for him."

Feyre opened her mouth but Cassian shook his head at her, advising her not to ask whatever she was thinking about asking regarding the male in question.

"The city is secure, for now," Rhys changed the subject, "we should take tonight to recuperate and then take the prisoner to your torture chambers, Azriel. We could get some useful information about how to infiltrate Hybern."

"I want to be there," Astryn said suddenly, "when you take him to get answers. I want to be there."

She was not a fan of torture, not even the torture of someone who had done the same for her. She wanted to go so she could kill him once they had the information they needed. She knew Rhys and Azriel. She knew the vengeance they would seek. Even with their unsteady footing right now, they would both seek retribution.

They'd want to keep him alive to torture him twice as long as he tortured her. She didn't want to allow that, so she would kill the male before they could do anything more than what was necessary.