On Thin Ice: Azriel x OC

Chapter 4

When Rhys returned, everyone had already migrated to the living room. As he walked into the room, everyone sat up straight and stared at him until he said something.

"He said to keep her with us for now, until he figures out why Alex did it. He will remain the Commander of Winter Court forces for the time being, but his actions will be considered. There's not much that Kallias can do." Rhys told everyone.

"Bullshit," Mor muttered.

"I asked him where he thought his top spy had been for the last 6 years," Rhys told the group, everyone perking up to hear the answer, "Apparently, Alex made up some scheme that she took their parents death really hard, and decided to leave Prythian for a while."

"Who would believe that?" Cassian asked.

"Well they did, and no one asked any more questions after 2 years." Rhys finished.

Everyone stayed silent.

"You all can go get ready for dinner, I'm gonna go check on Nova," Rhys said, heading for the stairs.

No one moved, they all just waited for Rhys to come back down.

Upstairs, Rhys knocked then quietly opened Nova's bedroom door, finding her just laying on the bed, staring out the window.

"How are you feeling?" Rhys said, so quiet that she could barely hear him.

She didn't take her eyes from the window and shrugged. After a moment of silence, she stated, "How much of my mind did you go through?"

"Only the things important for me to know," Rhys said, noting the relieved look on Nova's face. He was going to question it but decided against it, she would tell him when she was ready. He fought the temptation to go into her mind right then and there, to find out for himself.

"I'm feeling better than I have in a few years," Nova said, smiling for the first time in forever.

"We will be having dinner in about an hour, I will have someone bring some up," Rhys said, Nova nodding.

"When will I get to meet that High Lady of yours?" Nova said. Rhys' surprise must have shown on his face because she added, "What?, You think I didn't hear all the gossip about the rogue High Lord?"

"I guess I didn't expect servants and guards to be so talkative," Rhys replied, not removing the surprised look off his face.

"You'd be surprised," Nova said, turning her gaze back to the window and out into Velaris. "How'd you do it?"

He immediately knew what she was referring to. "Lots of trust. And magic, of course."

"I never thought I'd live long enough to see something so beautiful," Nova stated.

He followed her gaze out the window and stayed silent.

"I gave up," Nova said, after a minute of silence. "I promised myself in the beginning that I would do whatever I could to stay alive." Her voice broke and she met Rhys' eyes, "I gave up."

A single tear fell her right cheek and she just let it dry.

"Well, you survived, and I'm gonna do everything I can to help you do whatever you feel is necessary for those bastards," Rhys said, Nova saw anger flash through his eyes.

"I can't kill them," She said as quietly as possible, not breaking his gaze.

"I would let you," Rhys replied, Nova looking back out to Velaris.

Rhys just stared at her during the silence.

"They deserve it," he finished.

She chuckled and then her face became serious, "They were just following orders."

"No, they chose to follow those orders, and I will do what I can to make sure they all burn in hell," Rhys said, turning to walk out the door.

"Thank you," Nova said, Rhys stopping in his tracks. "For saving me."

Rhys glanced over his shoulder, "You saved yourself. And besides, I told you I'd do something about that asshole when I could."

Nova didn't break her gaze from the window as she nodded and Rhys walked out of the room. As soon as he closed the door, silent tears began streaming down her face. She began quietly sobbing until she dozed off to sleep.

Rhys paused at the bottom of the stairs, preparing himself for the avalanche of questions he would have to endure. He knew they wouldn't leave until they knew how she was.

He continued into the living room, finding almost everyone deep in their own thoughts. They whipped their heads up as soon as they saw him walk in, and then the questions started.

"How is she doing?" Cassian asked.

"Does she look any better?" Mor asked.

"Does she need anything?" Feyre asked.

The only one who stayed silent was Azriel, his shadows creeping around multiple parts of his body.

He met everyone's eyes once before he started talking, to build the suspense.

"Spill it already," Mor said, as impatient as possible.

"She's doing better than expected, considering everything," Rhys said, "She needs more rest, but she should be back on her feet in a few days."

"I don't know if it's the greatest idea to train her right away," Feyre mentioned, everyone looking at her with confusion.

"She's right," Azriel pitched in, "Her body has been through enough the past few years, it's probably not the best to have her train right away."

"Let's wait until she gets there, and we can let her decide," Cassian added.

Everyone nodded in silence.

"Dinner's in forty-five minutes," Rhys said, breaking the silence and walking out of the room, the others slowly following behind.