A Court of Dreams and Promise

Chapter Eighteen

Fear and regret slammed into Azriel as he awoke suddenly. He sat up but then was suddenly thrown into Velaria's head so he was seeing through her eyes.

Velaria was kneeling on the floor, the memories of when she had woken up to now conveyed to him in a single moment.

Holy shit. Tamlin could take away someone's powers, and he knew of Velaria's? A need to protect surged through him.

"Don't – don't – please, Tamlin," Velaria begged, "don't destroy my mating bond."

Azriel's heart stopped beating. If Tamlin destroyed it–

"Now, why would I do that?" Tamlin chuckled. "If you resist, that will make Azriel's death that much more painful."

Velaria began to cry, her line of vision turning to a figure held by two of Tamlin's sentries – him. He was covered in blood, half-lucid, but it wasn't him, it was one of Tamlin's illusions. And Velaria, seemingly lost in the faebane Azriel could scent on the walls, couldn't tell the difference.

Words began to spill out of Velaria's mouth, ragged and thick with misery. "Az, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for every time I got you into trouble, for everything my father did to you. I'm sorry for not telling you about the bond sooner, and for abandoning you these past couple of weeks."

Azriel wanted to reach out, to wrap his arms around Velaria and never let her go. He wanted desperately to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that she didn't abandon him.

"I miss you, Az," Velaria sobbed. "You're my best friend, my mate...you're my everything. I–I shouldn't have forced you to decide. I miss being your best friend, I miss being your mate. You always made me feel like so much more than just Rhysand's sister, or the High Lord's useless daughter."

Azriel's heart constricted as he longed to wipe her tears and tell her she was never useless. It broke his heart to hear her speak like that, and all this time she thought she was speaking to an illusion of him, but it wasn't him. He needed to get to her, to tell her it wasn't him–

"I'm sorry for trying to die with the rest of the Valkyrie, and getting upset at you when you didn't let me. I'm sorry for every scheme, every plan I refused to tell you about." Velaria swallowed, crying harder. "What I'm not sorry for, what I will never be sorry for, is for being your best friend. You are beautiful, Az, you are brave, and you are kind. You are sweet and strong, and any female would be lucky to have you."

Azriel struggled against the fixed perspective he had been put into, willing any power to work to his advantage, to reach his Velaria.

Her despair grew, along with her terror, every emotion sent rippling down the bond.

He needed to talk to her, tell her that he had made a decision. He chose her until the end of time. She was his beautiful, strong mate, and time spent away from her these past couple of weeks had only made him decide that he would never spend time away from her without knowing she was his ever again.

He was a fool to have taken time to choose, shouldn't have had to choose when Velaria had been standing in front of him this entire time. He was such a fool to fall in love with Elain in the first place, only to have done so in the first place, he had realized, because her sweetness reminded him of Velaria's numerous sacrifices. He had told Elain three days ago, and had apologized profusely.

"You didn't tell me, Az, but I know everything you experienced," Velaria said quietly. "I felt all of it through the bond. The bond was gone, glamored for you, but for me, it was the only thing that kept me tethered all those years. I love you, and I am so happy to have gotten to be your mate, even if it was on borrowed time."