Song of the Cursed

Chapter 1

There's so much beauty when your eyes lay lost in all the city lights ~ Motionless in White - City Lights

Velaris was breathtaking at night. Hundreds of years spent in the city could not dull its beauty. It had been a while since Azriel had taken a moment to pause and let the light of the city engulf him. He needed it. Needed the spark of life that radiated off the city of starlight. He tilted his head back and stared at the sea of stars above him. City lights anywhere else would have made the stars far less visible. However, this was Velaris. Laws of nature and light were simply different here. The city was stars-kissed.

Azriel chuckled lightly to himself. As he sat here alone admiring his homeland, Cassian and Nesta were certainly up to no good in the House of Winds below him. But that was okay now, they were mates after all. Mates. He had known for some time now, maybe even back when they had first met the other two Archeron sisters. It felt like ages ago. He had felt something shift in his brother that day when he had laid eyes on Nesta. Though it had been subtle he knew something had struck between them. It was not until later when the King of Hybern had plunged Nesta into the cauldron had he realized. Cassian's screams could be only of pure love, not yet understood but there, the love of two souls bound together by powers beyond their world. It was universal, love.

A tremble ran through the house, along with a muffled cry. Azriel had enough. Standing up, he brushed off the dust clinging to his pants, spread his wings and took off. It had been three days since Cassian and Nesta's mating ceremony and although he urgently needed the files that were sitting on his desk inside the House of Winds. He had enough self-preservation left to not dare venture inside. Feeling slightly inconvenienced, he glided down into the heart of the city. He needed a good distraction to cleanse his mind of whatever it was that he had just witnessed. The house was alive, done so unintentionally by Nesta at some point in the past few months. He wondered if it knew what was- No, he did not care or need to know. He shivered at the thought, pity building up inside him thinking of the poor unfortunate house. Though he had heard, from no one in particular, that it had a taste for romance novels so maybe it would be fine after all. Oh stars, he needed that distraction immediately.

It was half-past midnight, but the city still gleamed with life. He considered going back to the house and fetching Mor but then shook his. Mor needed the rest, she had just returned three days ago from foreign work and although he knew she would be more than happy to join him, they had been distant for some time now and maybe he did need some alone time. Well, maybe not completely alone. He wondered if Elain was still up. Elain. His shadows flicked at the thought of her. They were just friends of course. But he couldn't help think of the way she avoided eye contact with him, but when she looked at him. Oh stars, when she looked at him, he could almost swear she saw him. Not the shadowsinger or spymaster or whatever else everyone called him. No, he was just Azriel, Az, in her eyes. He knew it could never happen, but when she blushed at the sight of him or tried to always sit near him. He couldn't help but...hope?

Feeling a blush creep up his cheek, he quickly landed next to the nearest pub. Some started at his sudden dissent, but then smiled and exchanged pleasant greeting with him. He loved that about the people of Velaris, they had always been so kind and welcoming even to someone like him. Though he supposed he had spent nearly his entire life here and could call by name a majority of its inhabitants. He tucked his wings together and headed inside.

The Moonfire was one of Velaris's less known bars, he could not imagine why. It was owned by a lovely Fae named Amly. She was old, at least a thousand years old from what he had gathered. She also had a daughter, though he did not know much about her. He had seen her around occasionally, however, she hardly went outside from what he could tell. This was unusual for someone born in Velaris to prefer staying inside when the festive city waited out the door.

He sat down on one of the empty barstools and beckoned the bartender over. The Fae male looked him over once.

"Long day, Shadowsinger," he said, not unkindly.

"Something like that."

"Shall I start you off with something strong?", at Azriel's nod, the male head off. He closed his eyes, trying to sort through his thoughts. He thought about the training tomorrow morning with the Valkyrie. Even Cassian and Nesta had decided to no longer disrupt their training schedule and they were to relocate to the townhouse until the week passed. He groaned internally at the thought of the wreckage in the house he would have to deal with in the morning. At least he would finally be able to grab his files, though he was also the one who would have to remind the newly mated in the morning to get the hell out.

What had his life come to? Massaging his forehead, he opened his eyes to find a pair of blue eyes starring curiously at him. Calling her eyes blue must be the understatement of the year. They were blue, but with strands of pale gold reaching out like lightning. He mentally slapped himself for failing to describe a simple pair of eyes. Not simple but... well he did not need to think about her eyes anymore. Where was this obsession with eyes coming from? Elain, Gwyn and well just everyone around him had these breathtakingly beautiful eyes and then there was his. For cauldron's sake, he needed to stop being self-conscious about his eyes of all things.

A laugh brought him out of his thoughts and back to the female in front of him. "You look like your having a little crisis in there," she smiled pointing a finger at his templates.

He frowned back at her, surprised that he must have been making an expressive face. "Maybe I was. And dare I ask who you are?"

She raised a brow a strand of ash brown hair falling in front of her right eye. "I am the one here with your drink," she says, pushing a glass with reddish amber liquid towards him. "In regards to name, I'm Nina."

"Azriel, Az."

She looked him up and down once, twice. This wasn't uncommon, but most tend to do so behind his back or when they thought he wasn't looking. "Pleasure."

It was Az's turn to raise his brow. "Your Amly's daughter." Not a question.

"I do believe I am. And you must be the boogieman." He must have been making a baffled look because she continued to reassure him. "Or do you prefer shadowsinger?"

"Boogieman. I haven't heard that one in a while. Not since-"

"Nina." a voice called from somewhere inside the backdoor.

"I do hope you manage through whatever's going on in there," Nina whispered softly, nodding to his head. "Goodnight Az."

Azriel nodded his goodbye and took to staring at his glass and whispered under his breath, in mild disbelief, "Boogieman." 

~*o*~

**EDIT: As I'm rereading parts, I've come to realize how truly rushed and messy my writing is. I'm too lazy to fix it right now, but maybe once I finish the whole fic...**

That was chapter 1. What did you all think? Opinions on Nina?

The next chapter will for sure have more Nessian and Valkyrie. 

Please feel free to leave me feedback and suggestions! Who will Az end up with? We will see.

I'm not quite sure what the update schedule will be like, but I would definitely like to post at least another chapter this week. 

Anyway, Vote & Comment & Share!

~ N. C.