A Court of Horizon and Shadows

51.

The Daughter of Dawn woke before daylight broke on the horizon.

She laid in her bed for a few minutes, staring up at the starlight ceiling. It was as beautiful as she remembered it, gleaming in the moonlight that shined through her window.

Auriella stayed in her old room at the House of Wind. She hadn't realized how much she missed it until she took one step in, feeling her heart grow heavy. When she had first arrived, the room was like a breath of fresh air, knowing that she was in a place away from her home in the Dawn Court.

It was as if she was being let free from a cage that she could never get out from.

And now that she had returned back to the Night Court, the feeling had come back to her all at once, hitting her like a ton of bricks. She cried herself to sleep on the first night, letting out the emotions she had been holding within herself for the three months she left.

Too much, she thought to herself.

After everything that her father revealed to her, she didn't know how she was able to keep her mouth shut, especially to Rhysand and Feyre.

Protect. Protect. Protect. Her shadows whispered to her, but she waved them away.

Auriella expected herself to be more content coming back to the Night Court, seeing as she had reunited with her mate, who she hadn't spoken to in almost an entire week, not even through the bond.

After that moment they shared in a secluded room, they both headed back into the throne room to face Rhysand and Feyre once again, but with their Inner Circle gathered in the room. They spoke of what she had been doing the past three months, including the protection of all the court borders.

She remembered glancing at Azriel, who stood like a statue beside his High Lord and High Lady. It was clear that he didn't know about anything that Auriella had done in the past three months. She could feel his anger radiating down the bond; the rage building up in his body, she believed he would explode.

But after revealing more of what she had been doing, her mate decided to leave the room without a word to anyone, especially not her.

Auriella wanted to go after him, but she didn't, not even when Feyre nodded at her to leave. Instead, she shook her head and sparked conversation with them once again.

She hadn't seen Azriel again for the whole night, not even a word through the bond.

She deserved silence from him, seeing as she had ignored his words and feelings for almost the entirety of her absence. She wanted to speak with him, but it was too risky. She didn't want her fathers to find out about Azriel and the mating bond they shared. She knew that they would never let them see each other again if they did.

The only thing Auriella could do was wave him away and it had been the most heart-wrenching thing to do.

Her dreams back in the Dawn Court would only consist of him. His face, his body, his smile... every night she would fall asleep thinking about the Spymaster she left behind.

Her mate, who called her name every morning and night since she went back home.

Auriella sits up in her bed, wiping the tears from her eyes. Her shadows came back around her, coming out from the dark corners of her room. They cocooned her in their darkness, swirling around her, trying to provide any sort of comfort.

Before, her shadows were dim and barely there.

And now, they were filled with life, becoming visible to all who saw them.