A court of shadow and spying (Azriel X OC)

the entrance

We flew on like that for a while, close together, but in joyful anticipation. I snuggled against Azriel's warmth as we flew through the high mountain ranges. Maybe I should have dressed a little warmer after all. But at least this gave me a good opportunity to be closer to him. I watched the forests and valleys, the mountains and the snow, the different landscapes. And when a town finally appeared on the horizon, I could hardly wait. There lay Velaris. My home. The one I was pulled away from, the one where my past of recent years took its course. I knew that my history would also catch up with me there, but I consciously tried to block it out. I tried not to think about our old house on the outskirts of town, about the good times at the markets where we had spent hours running around looking for things, the river Sidra, which I had watched with my mother because I was fascinated by the way it flowed into the sea. Or the stars. Admittedly, I was glad that we arrived in broad daylight. I don't think I could have stood the sight of the stars here in velaris. I had always watched them with my father. He had taught me everything about them, told me stories about the signs of the zodiac high above, about the magical legends, long forgotten by our time. Still, my father had managed to get me to listen. He had taken me to all sorts of places, shown me new angles and lines, and I had been blown away every time. I was fascinated by him, my father. And yet, he was gone. I didn't want to dwell on my bleak but fond memories, I had better things to do now. Bigger things to concentrate on.

And when Azriel landed in front of a townhouse, I somehow felt dizzy. I observed the house, it was plain from the outside, but I had no doubt that it would be the same inside. And yet I turned my gaze to the city around me. To the city I had passed through day and night, with friends and family. And somehow I now found it hard to stop the lumb building it's way up my throat. Everything here, everything was so full of life, of goodness and joy. Everything was so unbelievably sincere and just and as accurate as I remembered. People were laughing and smiling at each other, no one seemed sad or downtrodden. Velaris was the complete opposite of Hewn City. And for that I was grateful. That my High Lord had at least created a place of love, one that did justice to life in the Night Court. I only realised Azriel was behind me when his hands gently squeezed my hip. I leaned against him, too lost in thought to notice.
'Are you all right?' He asked me in a soft voice, one I had never heard from him before. I nodded dazedly and my gaze followed the children running down the streets near the sidra.

'It's just so...', I began quietly, but didn't know how to continue. I couldn't find the words to describe how unbelievable it was to see my home again after an endless 12 years.
'I missed it, i guess i didn't realize how much', i whispered.
Azriel just nodded as if he understood what I was trying to say. Nothing about this city could be described in words, it was so incredible.
'We should go in.' , Az said, leaning quietly against my ear, his hand still on my hip as a stabiliser.
'They're probably already looking out the window', he ventured, and I could no longer hide the small smile that played around my lips. He tried to cheer me up and I was very grateful for that. I turned slightly and leaned on his chest before nodding. A sign that I was ready to go inside with him. As we approached the threshold, his grip on my waist tightened, as if to protect me from something. I thought it was a possesive gesture. Not that i minded at all, my brain added.

Don't get too carried away, I thought to myself quickly. It's nothing. Just before we reached the doorstep, it swung open.
I was almost startled, but Azriel's thumb had started massaging my hipbone, and I was more distracted by it than by the other illyrian bastard standing in the doorway.
'Jenna' he said with a treacherous grin on his face, as if he had already planned a game for us that he knew I would lose.
'Cassian', I said mildly, uninterested in seeing him again since when they had made me the offer in the Hewn City.

'Tell me, do you always like to stand in other people's way?' I asked, slightly annoyed, because Cassian didn't drop his slimy expression. He seemed a little
baffled by it, but only for a moment before his grin became more genuine and he stepped aside to let us in.