A Court of Teal and Shadows

Chapter 2

Azriel
As he left the the House for his brother's estate, his mind wandered to training. Azriel had come to enjoy his moments with Gwyn as they trained, especially when he could see her determination to become stronger each day. As he remembered Gwyn, his shadows seemed to calm. He thought back to their interaction months before, on Winter Solstice. He wondered if she had kept the necklace he'd asked Clotho to give her, and if she had ever guessed it had been from him.

That damned necklace.

As his thoughts shifted to the other events of Winter Solstice, his shadows returned to their previous whirling on his skin.

Elain. He thought of her often. How she had been leaning towards him that night, closing her eyes, readying for the kiss that never came. How he could smell what he was doing to her. And as he had reached for her, damning the consequences, how he had been stopped before he could show how much he had wanted her. Rhsyand had stopped it. He reminded Az of the consequences he had so nearly brought upon them. Had so willingly forgotten and ignored. Because no matter what heat had laid between them, Elain leaning towards him, his hands on her neck... Azriel shuddered.

She had a mate. And it was not him.

Lucien was an ally. A friend. Or so Rhys had tried to hammer into his mind. Azriel despised the male even if he was an ally to his own Court. He had never deserved a mate so kind and gentle. A mate who valued the life of every flower in her garden, and loved her sisters with the devotion of someone far older than her. He still had nightmares of her being forced into the Cauldron. How she stepped out after being Made. And it had been Lucien's fault. Azriel knew he should blame others, the King of Hybern, Tamlin, even himself. But he refused to ignore the part Lucien had played.

His thoughts surged around him, the shadows meeting them in a dance. As he finally landed at the River Estate, he knew flying was the right choice. To clear his head before coming here. Or at least trying to.

As he stepped in the luxurious foyer, he admired the paintings. Some were memories of the time before Feyre had joined them, still frozen and desperate for anything to feed her sisters. Others were moments of sorrow, like on a battlefield, that still left him speechless. There were portraits of almost all of the court, Nesta's the newest addition. And his favorites, the moments they had all spent together. There was a rendering of his family, Rhys and Cassian with their mates, Amren and Varian, laughing at something none had heard, and Mor with her devilish smile, as they all watched Starfall. He loved the way she captured each of his friends into the canvas, but he knew before looking at his own face that what had been captured there was not nearly as filled with joy as the rest. His face seemed content, happy enough, but seeing the others paired off, he looked alone. He felt alone.