The Exchange

Chapter 6

I'm confused. Was her nightmare not a nightmare like the others had? Or is there another reason for her to not scream?
She slowly wakes up. She moves a bit and rubs in her eyes. She then looks around the room to try and orientate herself.

When her head moves my way and she sees me, she shoots up and tries to cover herself up, although she is wearing pyjamas. I see a bit of green from her eyes, because a little bit of light shines on it.

We stare at each other, she looks me up and down and I do the same.

'Excuse me, but who are you, where am I, what am I doing here and how the hell did I get here?'

Wow. I didn't expect her to have that voice. Actually, I didn't know what to expect at all. It's a pleasure for my ears. I could listen to her talk or sing all day long. She looks scared, but her voice is strong, doesn't sound afraid.

I take a deep breath. 'Those are great questions, we will wait for my friends to come here so we can answer them.'

I'm actually kind of disappointed in myself that I can't answer her questions now. Of course she wants answers, and I really want to give them to her to make her less scared, but the truth is I don't know how she got here and why. Even with the last ones we couldn't figure it out. Amren could not find anything in their heads, and they were gone really soon. I hope she stays longer, she seems nice.

'Then where are your friends?'

'I just woke up one of them, he's going to wake up the other ones. They'll be here in a few seconds I think.'

I sure hope Cassian hurries up.

We fall in an awkward silence and I decide to look at her again. She's looking around the room, as if she's orientating herself. Or maybe she's looking for a quick exit in case she decides this is not good. Her eyes are scanning the room and then land back on me. I see her eyes scanning my body, landing on my tattoos. Her eyes follow the tracks of my tattoo, all the way from my arms to my chest. Then, her eyes go up to my face.

I decide to say something.

'Could you tell me your name?' I ask carefully.

I see her startled. She didn't expect that question. One of my hands forms a fist in my pocket. Stupid question, Azriel. You just met her, don't intimidate her already.

Then she says something I didn't expect to hear from her.

'Only if you tell me yours as well.'

She's feisty. Smart. Calculating. Of course she wants to know my name first, so I decide to give it to her.

I stand up straight. 'My name is Azriel.'

I see her eyes widen and her mouth falls open a little. I frown my eyebrows, not knowing why my name would trigger that reaction with her. Maybe it's a name she's never heard before, maybe she thinks my name is weird. I tell myself to ask her later.

'My name is Anastasia, but you can call me Anna.'

Anastasia, that's a beautiful name. I haven't heard it before, but I like the sound of it. But why would she shorten such a beautiful name? Unless she doesn't like it herself. I decide I can ask her that question now.

'Why shorten it? Don't you like your full name?' I ask, sincerely curious about the answers.

She looks at me a little confused. She tilts her head a bit and thinks about a good answer. I'm happy she thinks about an answer, that means we're taking steps forward getting to know each other.

She finally answers my question.

'Well,' she begins. 'I think it's a name for rich people. I find 'Anastasia' a very posh name, and I like Anna better. People have always called me Anna.'

That's a good answer. People have always Azriel. If they had always called me something like, Jack, I would also go with that.

'I think it's a beautiful name,' I say to make the awkward moments a little less awkward.

I see she melts a bit. Her posture is becoming less tense and she smiles at me.
'Thank you.'
I smile back at her.

I hear a door slam and look into the hall. I see Cassian has woken up Morrigan, Feyre and Rhysand. Thank god, he has let Amren sleep. It's not that I don't like Amren, but the girl just got here. Amren can be a bit intimidating the first time you meet her. I think it's best she gets to know Feyre, Rhysand and Morrigan first. She can meet Amren, Lucien, Elain and Nesta later. All at one is never good. That could be too intimidating.
I turn back to her.

'My friends are now coming.'

I look at her and see that her body is tense again. She's nervous. Obviously.
I try to calm her down.

'For as for as I know you right now, they'll love you,' I say with a little smile.
'You think?' she asks.
'I know,' I answer. I see her body relax a bit. I step aside and let Cassian, Feyre, Rhysand and Morrigan inside the room.