Shadows like mine

14

Mor chugged down a glass of water, and right after that a glass of wine.
For some reason Azriel started to think that Mor started to get a problem with all the drinking.
It was late, they ate and now they were sitting in the living room. At least they were sitting. Azriel stood in the doorway, watching all of them. Elain was sitting close by and Azriel noticed all the secret glares.
"That girl gives me a headache," mumbled Cassian. He didn't speak to Aurora yet. He didn't want to... yet.
"She's scared," said Amren. "What do you expect?"
"Her not to kill me." That remark ended in a slap from Nesta at the back of his head. His mate looked at him with anger in her eyes. He just smirked at her and immediately they all could smell their excitement in the air.
Feyre was upstairs. She hadn't seen Nyx all day and wanted to be with him, even now he was asleep.
"She doesn't kill you," clarified Azriel soft. "But Death does."
Death doesn't share.
He shook his head. He wished that sentence would haunt him like that. Cassian just shrugged.
"I am just not comfortable with the whole situation."
"We know, Cass," sighed Rhys. "But we need to find a solution. We can't leave her like this — for everyone's sake. Who knows what Death will do, when he takes her over?"
Cassian didn't answer that. He just accepted it, Azriel assumed.
"She told me that you asked her to my party," said Elain and she looked at him.
Azriel didn't blink at it. Didn't move for an inch, because he could feel her disliking.
"I also said that she was welcome if you wanted to," he added. "She's been lonely her whole life. She has probably never seen a party. Let alone attending one."
Elain pushed her lips together. "She's nice. I guess it's okay."
"She'll stay away from the guests," promised Rhys. "I think she'll like it if we invite her."
Azriel nodded. The only thing he could think about, was why Aurora left so sudden. And he decided to find out.

When he knocked on the front door, it took a very long time for Aurora to answer. She dismissed the spirits, so she was all alone now. Maybe she wanted to be. After all, it was all she knew.
One eye peeked around the corner.
"It's you," she said surprised and opened the door a little bit further. Azriel gave her a tiny smile.
"I hope you're not getting tired of my presence."
Aurora gave him a cheeky grin, which he had never seen on her face before. "I feel like you're my only friend." Her voice almost broke at the end of the sentence. "Of course you can come in." Even though he didn't ask it, she seemed to know.
Azriel stepped inside and together they walked to the living room. "I was sitting in the kitchen."
Following her, they entered the kitchen. It was a complete mess. Everywhere was flour, milk was spilled on the counter and an egg fell in the floor. For some reason, Azriel thought that all those ingredients were supposed to be in the big bowl, which was filled with something he couldn't quite recognise.
Aurora realised that Azriel could see the mess she had made.
Her cheeks started to turn red.
"I um..." She cleared her throat and hastily started to clean it up. "I just tried to bake something."
A nervous laugh escaped her. Well, she tried to clean it. Didn't work. For some reason, Azriel thought she looked adorable. The blush, her shining eyes and the was she nervously tucked her hair behind her pointy ears.
"I'm sorry, I..." Again she looked at the mess and sighed, gave up. "I never baked something in my life before."
Azriel realised that Aurora probably didn't do many things in her life.
"Well," he said and stepped over a stain of butter on the tiles. "I must say you turned this kitchen into a food junkyard."
Aurora turned in a colour of a deeper red and looked at the floor. Her shadows became thick and he knew that she let them.
"But what do I know?" he continued. "I also never ever bake. Maybe the same thing would've happened to me." He gave her a soft smile and Aurora giggled.
"I know I'm never doing it again," she sighed. "I can't. I failed. Next time I just go and buy some cookies."
Azriel took over the cloth she had in her hands. She pulled her own back, but realised again that she could touch Azriel.
"It's okay," he said. "We can try again. After we cleaned up."