Ice, steel and shadows - ACOTAR au

Amelia

Lucien was soundly asleep next to me, his arms draped around my waist. He had made incredible love to me that night, slow and teasing, then quick and unrelenting. He had been, for once, positive. And rightfully so: that human girl had killed Andras. Of course, there was the grief over his friend, but Andras knew what he was sacrificing: and Lucien felt so much hope. So much hope that the human girl would fall in love with Tamlin and free them all- free us all.

Thanks a lot Azriel, for promising I'd be perfectly safe. That day seemed like a fever dream, so faraway, unreachable. The last day I'd had with my parents, with my friends at the Winter Court. The day Rhys, Azriel, Cassian and Mor had called in a bargain, and whisked me away to the Court of Nightmares. And there, Rhys had carefully worked on his glamour over me: he made my skin tanner, filled my face with freckles, darkened my hair and my eyes. Then, he had explained what I were to do. Amarantha had declared war, but in a way that assured her nobody would know war was coming. And Rhys needed to know who'd ally with her, and have some sort of control in the inside.

And so I were to pause as a newly recruited soldier in the Spring Court and spy on its High Lord, Tamlin, and report back to him. I wasn't given a choice. I went to an entirely new court, pausing as something I wasn't, being banned from using my powers. And then, the infamous masquerade happened. Amarantha made a large ploy, stealing all the High Lords' powers, and cursing the Spring Court, and Tamlin.

To break the curse that strained his and all the High Lords' powers, Tamlin had to get a girl that hated Faeries and had killed one in cold blood to fall in love with him, all while he couldn't tell her about the curse, and he and his entire court were forced to wear masks. Even fake court members, I, much to my disdain, discovered.

Tamlin was growing desperate: monsters were filling his court and no human girl killed a Faerie and then magically fell in love with Tamlin. So he came up with a plan: he started sending soldiers or friends of his that were willing to sacrifice themselves over the border, disguised as animals, to see if a human would harm them. Then, Tamlin would lie and say the Treaty demanded that they either died for killing a Faerie in cold blood, or came to live in the court said Faerie belonged.

A rather elaborate ploy, that hadn't worked. Till now.

And as about to how a poor soldier knew all of that? Lucien and I had a relationship. It started off as a way to get information, sure, but I wasn't about to feel bad for it, when I knew that for him, at least at first, I was a distraction from his past, dead lover. Later on, we became more to each other. But if I were offered the opportunity to go back home, I'm not guilty to admit I'd run to the winter court and never look back.

But I couldn't go home, not as long as that stupid bargain held. As a reminder, I felt the magical pull and suppressed a groan. Sneakily, I untangled myself from Lucien, grabbed the magical notebook, and locked myself in the bathroom. Sat on the cold tile, I looked at what Azriel had written.

Hello dove

We used those stupid nicknames, so that if anybody ever found the notebook, they wouldn't know our real identities. Azriel had taken to calling me dove because of the white lacy mask that was permanently glued on my face.

What do you want shadowmaster?

How's Lucien?

I felt my blood boiling in my veins, as I angrily scribbled back.

None of your concern.

It is, actually. Anything I should know?

Supposedly, I were required to contact Azriel immediately if something out of normal occurred in the Spring Court. Oops.