A court of Shadows & Blood (An ACOTAR / Azriel fanfiction)

Chapter 17

I spent the entire day sitting with Alcina and Morrigan; who would, every few minutes, lean over and plant a gentle kiss at my sister's cheek.

Watching them laugh and fuss over each other bought me a sense of calm I've not felt in a long time.

Rhysand soon joined us, telling me that Feyre insisted on seeing me as soon as possible and that she had almost cried when she met Azriel.

Cassian, on the other hand, refused to let me cook and hovered behind me for hours when I declared I absolutely needed to do it. Every time I stopped work for a moment, he would drag me over to a chair and make me sit for at least fifteen minutes before letting me continue. He was gentle however, everytime he touched me or moved something out of my way, even thought I could see it. If got on my toes to fetch something, he would brace an arm behind me in case I fell back.

The dinner passed quicker than what I expected and Cassian decided that he wanted to get into a fight with Alcina.
After, Morrigan and Rhysand had to pry both of them off my arms, I finally closed the door behind myself and climbed onto the bed.

I waited for Azriel's silent footsteps or his mesmerizing shadows to come poking through the door. I could always feel them when he was near, but this time, I couldn't. I slowly slipped under the covers and waited for him to return as cold creeped up my legs and I wanted nothing more than to curl up with him with his wings wrapped around me.

A few hours passed as my eyelids finally grew heavy. I was dragged into a mercifully dreamless sleep as I slept on the side of the bed that would have otherwise belonged to the shadowsinger.

When I woke up, the sun was already shining and a new day was upon us. Still, no sign of Azriel. I groggily dragged myself out of the bed and only stopped when I hear laughter from outside a window.

Outside, Alcina huffed and rolled a snowball almost five feet tall and Morrigan sat on the porch and laughed at her efforts.

She looked my way as if sensing my gaze, and smiled. Her cheeks were tinted red and her eyes shone under the buttery sunlight.

I returned her smile the best I could but waking up was not something I wanted to do when I could barely keep myself from vomiting again.

I slumped down in a chair in the kitchen and stared at the fruit basket with empty eyes.

"Stupid fruits." I mumbled.

"What did they do?" If he hadn't left me alone all night, I would have smiled and kissed Azriel.

"Go away." I grumbled. "I don't want to see you."

Alas, he knew me better than that and wrapped his arms around me from behind. "I thought I would spend some time with the two most important people in the world. Is that too much to ask?" He kissed the top of head.

"I thought I would sleep peacefully by your side. Is that too much to ask?" I glared at him.

"I'm sorry, my love." He knelt beside me and kissed my hand. "Some matters require urgent attention. " Of course, they did. I knew finding a shadowsinger was more important than anything right now but it was early in the morning and I was not happy about having to wake up.

"And I don't?" I raised an eyebrow.

His beautiful mouth curled into a smile and he shook his head slightly, " So demanding."

Laughter rang inside the house as Morrigan and Alcina both collapsed in a heap in front of the fireplace.

Azriel glanced at them before saying, "Cassian had an argument with Alcina."
"I know." I chuckled. "They were arguing over the name of our baby."