The Last Queen (An ACOTAR / Azriel fanfiction)

Bonus Chapter

Daggerheart fiddled with a small bowl that rested on her dinner table as her eyelids grew droopy. The only thing keeping her awake was the humming of her son while he sat in front of her and made paper planes. He let one go and his large eyes followed it circling the room. His movement grew excited at his victory and she smiled sleepily as he stuck his tongue out while folding a new paper
.

"You're moving your head again." Azriel complained.

She rubbed her eyes, "This is taking too long. I'm sleepy."

He rested his palm on her forehead, "There. It won't move now." He returned to cut her hair that were flowing past her waist.

The day was hot and Daggerheart had nothing to do to keep herself busy. She had finished all the paperwork in the morning and now she was content watching Ren play around the house.

He had dragged all old notebooks in the house to the kitchen and Azriel had taught him how to make paper planes. He had spent most of his afternoon playing with them but now he seemed to grow tired of them.

Just as Ren rested his cheek on the table and spread his arm on the table, Azriel let go of her forehead indicating that her hair were finally cut. She too nestled her head in her arms and gazed lovingly at her son.

"Are you bored?" Azriel set aside the scissors.

Ren nodded glumly.

"Should I tell you how to make paper boats?" He ruffled Ren's hair.

Ren lifted his head, "Hazel and Lilo look like their parents."

Their hearts picked up speed at the sudden and unexpected question.

"Yes." Daggerheart carefully said. She exchanged a nervous glance with her mate.

Ren frowned, "I don't look like you two." He looked between his parents.

Azriel scooped his up and sat down in his chair, making him sit in his lap. "Who said that? Of course you do. In fact,-" He kissed his cheek, "- you look better than both of us."

Ren looked at his dangling feet, "I don't have your eyes, or your nose, or your ears. I know that. I looked really close in the mirror."

Azriel looked at Daggerheart who was silent. The thought that Ren had spent time, maybe hours, searching for some semblance of his parents in himself and found nothing was heartbreaking to them both.

"All of my friends look like their parents. I'm the only one who doesn't." Ren looked at his father with sad eyes. "I don't even have wings."

"You're little Ren. You'll find similarities between us when you grow up." Azriel kissed his forehead and reassured him.

Ren bit his bottom lip, "Papa? Am I your son?"

"Of course you are." Azriel said sternly. "What makes you think you're not?"

Daggerheart curled her hand into a fist and bit back her tears. She stood up abruptly and ran up the stairs.

Azriel turned Ren around so he was facing him, "You are my son and you will always be. Nothing can change that. Understood?"

Ren paused. He had never seen his father's face so determined. He nodded slowly.

"Good." Azriel pulled him into an embrace. "I love you, Ren. Both me and your mother." He kissed his small head and cradled him for a while.

Then, he pulled Ren back. "Never, ever, say something like that ever again. We are your parents. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Ren nodded his head fiercely. He jumped off Azriel's lap and pecked him on the cheek. "I love you, papa."

"I love you too, Ren." Azriel smiled warmly before Ren scrambled out of the kitchen and into the garden.

He slowly made his way upstairs only to find Daggerheart sitting on her desk with an empty expression. She fiddled with a paper weight and looked straight ahead at the window.

He soundlessly walked up to her and leaned by her side.

"I'm not crying." She said.

"I wasn't expecting you to." He calmly said.

"He is my son, Azriel." Her voice was hard.

"Of course he is." He nodded briefly. "He is only a child. He didn't know what he was saying."

"Do you think I'm blaming him for making me upset by asking that question?" Her tone was sharp.

So, it's one of those moods.

"I don't think anything. Only that he is our son and no one else's." He carefully made his way around her question.
She was silent for a long moment and he waited patiently.

She sighed at last and Azriel saw the words bubble up in her throat before she said them, "Sometimes I think I  should've never accepted this bond. At least, you wouldn't have to face this question."

"People have said worse things to me." He replied.

"Doesn't make it okay, does it?" She shrugged and let the paper weigh fall from her fingers. He watched the smooth glass roll across the desk and then stop when it was inches away from the edge.

"What do you think would've happened if you had rejected the bond?" He asked.

She rested her head on the back of the chair and looked up at him, "You would've been able to have a child of you own."

"Ren is my own child." He said matter-of-factly.

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

"Azriel." She sighed.

"Angel."

"Don't be difficult." She shook her head slightly.

"You are the one being difficult." He turned her chair around. "Stop doing this to yourself. It will only hurt you and nothing else is going to come out of this." She didn't look at him but instead wrapped her arms around his torso.
Azriel continued, "Ren loves you so much, you know? You are his mother and he knows that. He would never stop loving you or calling you "mumma". You raised him. Why does it matter if he doesn't look like us? That doesn't make any difference."

Daggerheart nodded with her head resting on his chest. "I know. I just sometimes get scared and you know I'm not used to fear."

"Of course." He scoffed. "Why would you fear anything?"

She smiled a little, "Exactly." She looked up at him, "I love you."

"And I you." He kneeled down in front of her and kissed her hand.

She pulled him into a kiss, his shadows swaying with delight and caressing her face. His hand slid under her dress and up her thigh, goosebumps rising on her flesh.

She pulled away and laughed, "We're in the study."

He raised his eyebrows and looked at the desk. "I mean.....this looks like it would hold up."

"Cauldron, no! I can already feel the back pain." She feigned a gasp.

He shrugged, "You leave me no option." He pulled her down on the ground and rested his arms on both sides on her head.

"Az, the door." She said in between laughs.

"It's closed." He dismissed her and his teeth scrapped against her collarbone.

"No, it's not. I can see that it's open." She complained. "You're not about to traumatise my child like that."

"Then we should be quiet and quick. You're not cooperating with either of those." He smiled at her and pulled open the knot at the front of her dress.

"You bastard."

" Only for you, darling." He smirked and she rolled her eyes but kissed him deeply.