A Court of Dreams and Promise

Chapter Twenty-Three

They winnowed right in front of the house, Velaria's house. Velaria gasped at the sight of it, fully furnished and renovated.

Velaria whipped around towards Azriel, eyes wide. "Did you renovate this?" she asked.

Azriel winced, smiling. He held up his hands in a half-shrug. "Surprise?"

Velaria shook her head, a grin erupting across her face. She planted her hands on her hips and stared at the house, shaking her head.

"What is this place?" Mor whispered. She was still holding onto Emerie, rubbing a hand on the Illyrian's bicep.

"I bought this as a present for Velaria," Azriel explained, "but I've been living here since I renovated it. After she died."

Feyre looked at Velaria, then back at Az, and she smiled. "So this is where you've been living all these years" was all she said. "I always wondered where you went."

"Rhys never knew?"

Feyre shook her head, smiling. "Rhys never knew," she confirmed. "It's good...to see you so happy, Az," she added after Velaria had gone inside the house. "It's very good."

"Thank you, Feyre," Azriel said. "For helping me get her back. I had given up completely."

Feyre put a comforting hand on Azriel's arm. "You and the entire Inner Circle helped me when I gave up on life, when you didn't know me. It's high time I repay the favor."

"We were happy to do it," Azriel said, "but it was mainly Rhys."

An indeterminable emotion flickered across Feyre's face at the sound of her mate's name. "I would do anything to get him back," she said after a moment.

Azriel nodded in assent. "We're scattered everywhere. Someone's going to have to pay the price."

Feyre opened her mouth to speak when Mor hollered from inside the house, "AZRIEL. YOUR MATE NEEDS YOU."

Azriel tilted his head towards Feyre before sprinting into the house. "WHERE ARE YOU?" he called up the stairs.

"BATHROOM. SECOND FLOOR."

Azriel took the stairs three at a time, the sound of the door opening and shutting echoing behind him as Feyre came in. He strode down the hallway, stopping at the open bathroom door. "What's wrong?"

Mor stepped into the hallway, revealing Velaria. Her pale hands gripped the sides of the toilet as she retched. Velaria lifted her head from the bowl, her face leeched of color. "Az..." she rasped before leaning back down to vomit again.

Azriel waved Mor away, sitting against the wall next to Velaria. He rubbed her back comfortingly. "Are you okay, love?"

Velaria weakly shook her head no. "It came back to me...the memory of what was inside of Rhysand's–" She retched again, the sound echoing throughout the bathroom.

Azriel untied one of his wrist wrappings and snapped a part of it off. He began to grab strands of Velaria's hair until he held all of it and tied her hair back with the piece of leather, his hands brushing against parts of her sweat-slicked skin.

"Thank you," Velaria croaked. "I just...it was so terrible, Az."

"Ssh, it's okay," Azriel murmured. "We don't have to talk about it, especially not if it makes you feel sick."

Velaria grunted before leaning back over the porcelain bowl and vomiting once more.

Azriel stayed with Velaria until she stopped vomiting, collapsing into his arms tiredly. He scooped her up, unlatching the bathroom door, and walked across the hall to his bedroom.