A Court of Shadows and Thunder // AzrielxOC SlowBurn Romance, ACOTAR FanFiction

Chapter 44 - Out of Line

The sun was near blinding as it shone through the curtain gap in the window, making Brianna squint, letting out a groan.

After they had left the Guzzler's Groin last night, they had somehow found their way back to the building they would be staying in for their time in the camp. After much stumbling, singing, as well as Azriel chasing after them as though he was herding a bunch of unruly sheep, the four of them had arrived at the house unscathed.

It was one of the slightly larger wooden structures within the Windhaven camp, a little more polished than the run-down tavern, though it still carried as much dread as the rest of the army camp. And while this was nothing short of the cozy yet grand rooms the Syrens were used to back at the Watch in the Strofades, the narrow wooden beds in their shared room had felt so insanely comfortable when they had both collapsed on them the night before.

And now Yohann tossed around in his bed, groaning and moaning like an overgrown child, pestering Brianna to go close the curtains properly so that he could sleep in more.

"Maybe if you had only shut them last night, you wouldn't be complaining so much now," Brianna sneered at him, stuffing her face into her pillow so that the bright morning sun wouldn't get to her.

Yohann only let out more annoying whines in response, and between his constant fussing and the light in her eyes, Brianna finally rolled out of bed, choosing to close those Cauldron-damned curtains and put an end to their suffering.

She let out a breath, her hands grasping onto the curtain close as if to hold on to them, feeling her head turn. She had stood up far too fast, strutted over to the window and shut them far too quickly, making the world seem as though it were spinning around her in swirls. She pressed a hand to her head, feeling a headache begin to form, and let out a groan of her own.

Last night had been a blur. She couldn't remember much, as was what usually happened whenever she pushed her limits with alcohol, and as result, was only left with a blistering headache to deal with.

All Brianna knew was that she had drank far too much liquor, and quietly swore a slurry of ugly words, cursing herself for going beyond her limits once again. This was starting to be a bad habit of hers, one that she had learned from watching Yohann, and by doing so, swore to herself that she needed to stop. But last night, she found that she rather indulge herself in drink than to be left alone to her thoughts.

There was too much to think about, too many different thoughts coursing through her mind. About her curse, about a possible cure, about not being able to find that cure, and of all things, about a certain shadowsinger. That last thought was the one that she felt was the most cause for concern, especially considering the sly comments she had heard Lyvia say about him, and that overwhelming feeling that grew within her because of it.

And so she had pushed it down, and drank more, choosing the most irresponsible decision of forgetting about all of her concerns and let herself go.

And it had been a mistake - she had let herself slip away, lured by the sweet prospect of a good time. Brianna could feel something simmer within her, like a match had been lit and began to burn at its tip. Something that she dreaded so deeply, that she did not want to come out. But with the amount of alcohol she still felt coursing through her veins, the splitting headache that doubled every second, she could feel that control she had waver, the flame flicker and grow.

And when she looked down to her hands, what she had feared had come true - Brianna saw that her nails had stretched out into thin black claws.

Her head spun, still clearly a little intoxicated from the night before, the nausea rising up in her. She let go of the curtain, her claws scratching holes in them as she did, and she let out another flurry of curses.