Shadowsinger

Chapter 15

Rhys' words hit him like a ton of bricks, and Azriel couldn't help the fear that flashed through him at the thought of another war, a war in which Gwyn would insist she get involved in. He tugged her against him, and she wound her arms around his waist,

"We'll have to involve the Darkbringers," Feyre almost-whispered, and Rhys narrowed his eyes,

"I don't like it, and I don't trust them."

"None of us do." Feyre muttered, "But with the queens involved as well, we'll need the numbers,"

"I know, but I still don't like it."

"Which queens?" Azriel asked, eyes darting around the room, despite knowing that it was secure, that Velaris, at least, was safe.

"All of them. It seems that they're angry about Briallyn's death, or power hungry more likely, power-hungry with an excuse, and a way in thanks to the Illyrians." Cassian furrowed his brows at Rhys' words, and started to try to come up with something that they could do, but Rhys just shook his head slowly, "Let's do this in the morning, when we can all think properly, and can actually make plans." Azriel nodded, and kept an arm around Gwyn as he led her out of the room, bidding his mother goodnight as they passed her. 

He dropped onto the bed as soon as he reached it, and rubbed his temples, willing the oncoming headache to go away. He sighed as Gwyn's hands fell onto his shoulders, moving slowly, easing the soreness and tightness in his muscles. She rolled his head from side to side, and Azriel found himself relaxing into her touch, his eyes dropping closed as she worked in silence. Every thought became less overwhelming, less urgent, and he was able to quickly eliminate some of them, the less helpful ones, and slowly worked through his potential plans, what needed to be done first, and what could be done later. With each stroke of Gwyn's fingers, he pushed away the automatic panic at the prospect of another war, the human queens did not have strong armies, and with the Illyrian rebels most likely on the continent, they had time to prepare, to plan.

He wasn't sure when Gwyn had pulled his jacket away, or when she had found his sleeping clothes to place beside him for when he wanted them. She'd began humming softly, then singing, just quietly enough that he couldn't make out the words, but she was there, that was all that mattered. Azriel leaned back to meet her gaze, and smiled up at her,

"Thank you."

"I know what's going through your mind right now, anything I can help with, I will." Azriel smiled again, and slipped into the bathroom to give her space to change for bed. He held her close all night, his arms and wings wrapped around her, shielding her from the world.

*****

Azriel was calmer than Gwyn had expected, he'd been tense again when they'd woken this morning, but talking through plans and information with the others had helped. Gwyn didn't pretend to know all the nuances of war, but she understood everything that had been said, even if she would never have thought of it herself. With plans set, Azriel seemed more grounded, less worrisome, at least, he appeared that way, and from the occasional murmurs from his shadows, Gwyn believed it.

Rhys and Feyre were at training that morning, not at the House of Wind, no, they'd taken to training at the River House, with even Elain showing up to learn what she could. Gwyn had made a point of helping Cassian to walk her through the basics, and Elain had beamed when Gwyn offered to help her practice. Still, she kept half an eye on Azriel the whole time, it would only take one wrong move for him to re-injure himself, even less for Cassian, but so long as he was helping Elain, he wasn't at risk. Elain raised a hand to ask for a break, and Cassian started to explain how she could make things easier by moving differently, more fluidly. Gwyn glanced around the room, Feyre and Nesta, Rhys and Azriel, Emerie practicing her swings with a target, and Azriel's mother watching carefully, not with the eye of someone in awe, but the clinical assessment of a female well-versed in such matters. Gwyn had never considered that perhaps she could fight, although it would have been foolish for Azriel not to teach her, and she stepped in to offer a suggestion to Emerie about her wings. Brace or no brace, Emerie's balance was still occasionally thrown off. With Theia's advice, perhaps she could progress out of the brace faster, as soon as she could get rid of it, the better, especially if she might be attacked during a war. Still, it was odd that she'd worn it for sword practice, at least it was until she rolled to the side and retrieved a bow from the ground, sending an arrow slamming into the bullseye on the target across the room.