A Court of Water and Shadow

7

A month had passed since that wild night at the Anchor. I was settling into my new job at the school nicely. All of the kids already knew me, so it was easy to gain their respect and teach them the fun curriculum.

I'll admit sometimes it was boring to go over stuff that seemed too simple to me, but the joy on the children's faces when they actually accomplished their work was worth the boredom.

Mor and I had been writing letters back and forth, but unfortunately we've both been too busy to see each other again. Azriel hasn't spoken to me at all, so I figured he had forgotten about his suggestion to show me Velaris. That was, until the mail carrier handed me a letter from the Night Court after school.

Evelyn,

Would you still like that tour of Velaris?

Azriel

He seemed to be male of very few words, but at least he wrote to me. Well, that's not entirely true. When I showed him Adriata he spoke quite a bit. It shocked me at first to hear him speak so passionately about Cassian and Rhysand, but it made me smile to see him dive into stories that made him want to speak.

So why didn't he want to write that much to me? I'm overthinking it—he and I are new friends who haven't spoken in a while. It's just a simple invitation.

When I got to my room, I wrote him my reply to be sent out in the morning.

Azriel,

Long time, no talk. I'd love for you to show me around V

My pencil dragged on the paper before I could write anything passed "V." I sighed, then started a new paper with the same words.

I'd love for you to show me around the city. Let me know when I should expect you.

Your friend,
Eve

I put the letter in the envelope and put it in the false bottom of my desk drawer, where a large pile of Mor's letters were.

When I finally crawled into bed, sleep didn't come easy. I stayed awake thinking about Milvec and how easily he switched from being such a nice male to one so foul. It seemed so odd to me, but then again he did kiss on the first date, maybe his goal was to just get in my pants. He was incredibly flirty...

Then my mind drifted to the school. Teaching those children has been fun. I've learned so much from them as their teacher. I'm a pretty patient female, but teaching has given me lessons on how to be patient while keeping the other children interested. Some are better than others. A child by the name of Phia has excelled at everything I've thrown at her. She's only eight, but I have her learning more advanced skills in the curriculum. I have no doubt she'll be able to pull water from the air with enough practice.

As my eyelids grew heavy, I thought about Azriel. How kind and mysterious he is. I still have so many questions for my new friend. Like how he got his scars or what happened to his hands, but I can tell by the way he hid them when he thought I didn't notice that it might not be my place to ask. Maybe if we were better friends I would earn the privilege to know, but that would require us to actually keep regular conversation.

Finally, I drifted off to sleep, excited to send my letter in the morning.

—

After handing the letter to the mail carrier, I begrudgingly headed towards the market. I was hoping that since it was a weekend the florist would be too busy, but my luck ran out a long time ago.

My father sent me to pick up three salmon from the fishermen, so unfortunately had I to risk seeing Milvec.

As I walked through the crowd, I was relieved to see all the chaos. Normally, I would be annoyed by the large number of Fae and pushing past their shoulders to reach the vendors, but today I was glad to have some sort of cover.