A Court Of Shadow and Blood

☆ A Tumultuous Time ☆

Eblis struggled to sleep. Not only was she plagued by nightmares of Hybern, but also of Azriel—bloodied, burned, and watching her with pain-filled hazel eyes. 

She hadn’t seen him for a full week. 

She rolled over and eyed the watery dawn-light of morning and finally deemed it an acceptable time to be out of bed. Slipping free from the sheets, she merely stretched and pulled on a creme sweater and black pants. Her toes curled along the cold wooden floor.

Eblis didn’t bother brushing her short hair, but a quick glance in the mirror revealed that it didn’t quite matter. It more or less resembled something she would walk outside with. And her eyes were back to violet, blinking up at herself with a curious gleam. 

Her footsteps were quiet as she peeked out of her room. As per the routine she’d developed during the quiet days, her shadows skittered free and searched the rooms. She didn’t want to admit she’d already searched through all of them by hand, especially Azriel’s room. But she’d gotten no hint as to what had happened, and the twin wraiths were just as quiet as the house had become. 

Eblis made her way down the stairs into the living room, dark eyes darting around the room in search of the familiar figure. Rather than Azriel, however, she found another long-winged, black haired, and hazel-eyed Illyrian sitting at the cherrywood table.

"Cassian."

The male glanced over a broad shoulder, eyes flickering. That alone startled Eblis closer. Something happened, a shifting voice whispered to her, something is wrong.

Cassian beckoned her to the table with a suddenly jaunty grin. Her shadows returned to her, alerting her that the house was empty besides the General. It was weird to look at the inky tendrils and see Azriel in them now; but she got by with training herself how to control the shadows. Before, she’d been able to listen to their warnings and send them places. After a week of nothing better to do than stare at the wall or walk through Velaris, she found herself talking with them and making shapes. She’d even managed to make a knife that would dissipate once touching anything, something she knew Azriel couldn’t do but wondered if it was because of her mixture of Shadowsinger and Lady of Night.

She slipped uneasily into the chair across from the General.

“Don’t be so afraid. I’m not going to bite,” he said, noting her cautious arrival. He seemed to survey the cherrywood table, the faelights, the couches settled before the marble fireplace. And then her, in her bed-mussed glory. 

“I thought you were in the Illyrian camps with Nesta.” It came out more accusing than she probably should’ve said, but it was true; if she’d known he was in Velaris, then she might’ve made an effort to find him. Or any of them. But she couldn’t be sure where they were, and she didn’t want to pry either. 

Cassian leaned back, grinning as his wings shifted behind him. “Miss me, sister?”

Her lips pinched shut. If she were to be honest with herself, her mind had mostly been focused on the Shadowsinger’s disappearance rather than anything else. She hadn’t felt him since...that night, where her chest had ached until her shoulders felt taut. She definitely didn’t get any sleep then.

“How could I not miss you,” she said anyway. “But I’m more worried about your nicer counterpart.” 

“‘Nicer counterpart’?” Cassian barked a laugh, leaning forward. His sable hair shifted, red siphons swirling. “Has this week alone emboldened you?” He waved the question away even as Eblis winced. It had been rather out of character for her. “I’ll let him know you were worried.”