A court of water and worlds

Chapter #52

Hi first of all I want to say how sorry I am for not posting for so long. This chapter just took very long, and it is very confusing. The next chapter will probably be confusing as well because they are pretty plot heavy. It took my a while to write this because I kept deleting and rewriting. Anyway I hope this makes sense. (It might not, so I'm sorry. But at least I tried.) I love you all very much, and hope you enjoy!
—————————————————————————

"It's been two weeks! I was so worried!" Layla said, pulling Azriel into a bone crushing hug.
Azriel smiled, "I'm sorry but I had some spy stuff, remember."
"Of course I remember, but you couldn't send a shadow or something?" she huffed and Azriel wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back tightly.
"next time I promise to send a shadow. You're such a mother hen."
"Well technically I am your mother and...." She drawled, "The annual baking competition is this week and I needed a taste tester."
Azriel followed his mother into the kitchen.
The annual baking Everrette competition.
Everrette is the village his mother lives in— more like created, but that's a story for another time.
Azriel will never forget how strong his mother is, even if stuffing him with cake is one of her favorite hobbies.
"That's why you were so worried about me. You thought you lost your number one taste tester?"
Azriel took a seat on a bar stool, at the kitchen island across from where his mother stood.
"Yes," she said simply then smiled.
"I was also worried that you died or something," she said seriously.
"I'm ok, I'm alive," he smiled resting his chin on his fist.
It was an insult at this point that she didn't think he would be ok. His nickname is the angel of death for cauldron sake!
Still, he supposed she was his mother, she had the right to be worried.
"I know," she said looking at him fondly, "we're starling's, we're survivors."
Azriel smiled softly at his mother, at the name they had chosen.
When Azriel was young he didn't have much freedom, obviously, Neither did his mother.
As far as last names went, Azriel refused to take his fathers and his mother didn't have one because she never knew who her father was.
So when his mother would come and visit him once a week when he was young, they would always come up with ideas for the perfect last name.
They had Initially landed on starling because it was a type of songbird and as young Azriel had pointed out, it had the word star in it.
Because they both loved stars and singing it was the perfect name, especially because it was created out of love, not forced out of hate.
Azriel didn't use it as often as his mother due to his line of work but that didn't mean he loved it any less.
Their last name was a symbol of hope and strength, it was the only thing they could hold onto in a time of darkness, other than each other of course.
"So how did the spy stuff go?" She handed him a piece of cake.
"Fine," he frowned, stabbing the cake with a fork.
"Did something happen," she looked at him intently.
"You look worn out. Have you been sleeping at all?" She grew more serious, a mother Hen indeed.
"Az, you need to get sleep, even when you are doing spy work. You will never be able to succeed if you don't rest," she scolded.
Azriel laughed, knowing the worn out look on his face had only been partly due to Koschei and partly due to staying up all last night talking to Gwyn.
Gwyn.
That is a really pretty name, he suddenly realized.
It means "light."
Of course it does.
"Az?" His mother pulled him back to reality, "where did you go?"
"Sorry, just thinking," he took a bite of the cake, "this is great by the way, but remind my again why you are making it? you're the judge. you are not in the competition."
His mother waved him off, "to remind myself how the best cake tastes, so that I can judge others, of course."
Azriel just rolled his eyes and his mother smiled.
"Help me clean up, will you?" She referenced to the dishes and he frowned.
He could get them done in less than a minute with his shadows but his mother insisted on doing them by hand.
He never understood why, he thought it would bring back bad memories for her.
The Calluses on her hands were hardened by the manual labor she suffered through for most of her life.
Still Azriel stood up and helped wash the dishes while his mother dried, while trying not to think about a certain priestess.
"Do you remember Gwyn?" He handed another dish to his mother who nodded.
"The fiery redhead?"
Azriel sighed, "her hair is more of a copper color, but yes, her."
His mother huffed a laugh, "I remember her, why do you ask?"
Azriel couldn't stop the blush that spread across his cheeks.
He coughed nervously.
"Well," he drawled, "I was just wondering how you feel about her?"
"How I feel about her?" His mother questioned and Azriel nodded, trying to put on a mask of innocence.
"I don't know, I have only met her once."
Azriel's face sagged with disappointment.
"How do you feel about her?" He could hear the smile in his mother's voice.
O, she definitely knew.
"I um— I think she is nice," Azriel cringed inwardly.
Nice?
That's all he could come up with for Gwyn?
Gods.
Gwyn Was...
She was everything. But he wasn't about to tell his mother that.
"Have you two grown close?"
"We're friends if that's what you mean," Azriel looked away from his mother's knowing gaze.
"So you like her?"
Of course he liked her.
"Yes," he said simply, handing his mother the last dish.
His mother just hummed in answer.
"You should bring her to the baking competition."
Would Gwyn want to come? Surely she already had a lot on her plate with Koschei and the new Valkyrie development.
"I don't know," he said, sitting back down on a bar stool.
"Are you coming at least?"
"I'm planning on it unless a certain death god decides to do something destructive," he sighed.
"What?" His mother asked carefully, "a death god?"
Her last sentence was a near whisper.
"Yes, but——
"A death god!" His mother put her face in her hands and muttered, "please tell me you're joking."
"Ok, I'm joking."
"Az," she frowned, causing the wrinkles in her forehead to crease. "This is not a joke, are you seriously spying on a death god?"
"Mom you don't need to worry—-
"My son is spying on a death god," she said more to herself then pointed at him.
"And you have the audacity to tell me not to worry! Az, death gods— any of the old gods," she paused. "They're dangerous, and they have been around for eons. They know things you could never even dream of."
"I know. This is why I don't tell you what I do. I'm sorry I didn't mean to stress you out."
His mother let out a laugh but it sounded labored.
Azriel grew wary.
"I don't think I can let you out of the house knowing the danger you face."
He leaned across the bar and took her Calloused hand placing it in his.
"If I don't face this danger, then no one will," he looked into her eyes, a mirror to his.
"And I'm not alone, you know that. I have Rhys, Cas, Mor, Amren, Feyre," he chuckled, "even Nesta, Gwyn and Emrie."
Those three were a new addition, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
Them joining the group was unexpected but necessary.
Not to mention that Azriel had definitely grown to care for them.
His mother nodded, "I know."
She closed her eyes, "if you die—
He didn't let her finish.
"Mom, I'm not going to die, I promise. I won't leave you."
When she opened her eyes tears slid down her cheeks.
He knew if he died it would destroy his mother.
Yes, she had this beautiful village full of people she loved, but he was still her son. They had been through so much together.
The thought of leaving her all alone...
He felt tears prick at his own eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He would be strong for her.
He stood up and pulled his mother into a hug, as dangerous thoughts set in.
He was not immortal.
He knew that of course, but it really started to set in.
He will not balk from this mission, but he couldn't stop the fear of death from creeping in and taking root.
———
Mor wasn't at her apartment in Valaris so Azriel winnowed out to camp windhaven to check Emerie's apartment above her shop.
He was worried about her leaving last night and wanted to make sure she was ok.
He knocked on the door and was greeted with Mor.
She had never looked worse.
Mor was usually beautiful and lively, but today, all light vanished from her eyes and she was as pale as death.
"Az, what are you doing here?"
His brows furrowed at her raspy voice.
Maybe she was sick?
"I wanted to check up on you. You left early last night, I was worried."
She nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Are you alright?" He added when she didn't respond.
She just looked up at him, and he saw so much pain in her eyes.
"Is Emiere here?"
She finally said, "she went out to get some food, she will be back soon."
Azriel nodded, and she looked like she was going to throw up.
Cauldron, something was very wrong.
"Mor," he said, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him, "what's wrong."
"Nothing," she was staring at his feet.
Though Mor's power was truth, she still possessed the ability to lie.
He heard the door open behind him.
It was Emiere.
"Az—-
He turned around and cut her off.
"What is going on?" Calm fury lit his eyes. If Emrie was hurting Mor... he didn't know what he would do.
Emrie looked towards Mor and nodded.
Seriously, what was happening?
"I need to tell you something," Emotion lined Mor's voice, and he turned back around to face her.
"I have been keeping this for far too long," she started, and he grew wary.
"How long?"
"Five hundred years."
All he could do was blink.
"Koschei took the Illyrian females, and we need to get them back. We may be able to draw him out and defeat him with the swords."
Was she talking about Gwyndolin and Narben?
"You already have one, Gwyndolin."
"We don't know that for sure—
"Yes, we do," Emrie said, walking over to stand next to Mor.
"Feyre sent word to Helion about the swords.
They figured if anyone was bound to find any information, it would be day court, in one of the thousand libraries there."
Azriel had only given Rhys and Feyre to dagger this morning, how did they already have information?
"Your made dagger is Gwyndolin."
"It doesn't matter if it is, Amren said we wouldn't be able to defeat Koschei without Narben—-
"Which is why I need to come clean."
"Mor what are you talking about?"
"I know where Narben is—- well, technically I know someone who knows where it is."
Azriel was so fucking confused.
"A long time ago," she started, "before my parents wanted me to marry Eris, we were friends."
What?
"You and Eris?"
"Yes."
Azriel wasn't sure he was breathing.
"Why is this relevant?"
"Because... We had grown close and shared secrets. I had told him about the hardships of hewn city and he would tell me the horrors of Autumn Court.
Our parents saw this as more of a love match than a friendship. Which was something neither of us wanted.
Out of desperation, I had even confessed to him how I preferred females, and he told me a secret in return. He told me about his secret lover, Oshun.
She was a water nymph who dwelt in Autumn Court.
Eris even introduced me to her," Mor laughed but it was laced with pain.
"We had grown close, the three of us. And cauldron... they loved each other so much but," she paused.
"My parents often sent me to Autumn to get to know Eris—- or to court him or whatever. Instead, we would always go down to the river and spend time with Oshun.
I had grown close to both of them, they were my only friends, since Luna had just died," she shut her eyes as if trying to block the tears that were bound to fall.
Mor, had loved Luna as well, everyone had.
"But somehow towards the end of Eris and my courtship, my parents found out about Oshun. They had sold the information to Beron. I thought he was going to kill her and... she was pregnant."
Tears finally slid down Mor's face as she continued in a shaky voice.
"I escaped hewn City to warn her, but by the time I got there they had disarmed Eris and had a dagger to Oshun's throat."
Azriel was definitely not breathing anymore.
"But Beron made a deal with her. He had heard rumors of a death sword named Narben, and he knew it was located somewhere underwater. He told Oshun if she found it he would let her marry Eris.
She went looking for the sword and found it, but she was unable to free it from its confinement.
The sword was not hers to take.
She got back, and she knew she was going to die, she knew Beron was going to kill her. Eris tried to help her escape, but she went into a stress induced labor."
A whole new wave of tears flooded Mor's eyes.
"She had died in childbirth, I wasn't there to witness it but through the Veritas orb, I watched the life leave her eyes.
She told Eris about the sword, if anyone knows where it is it would be him."
"Fuck," was the only word that Azriel could form and his knees threatened to buckle.
"If you heard Oshun tell him about the sword, how do you not know where Narben is?"
"When Amrenthana found Narben centuries later Eris was The one who took the sword from her before she could use it. He hid it in a different location."
But Amren had told them, that she had heard from a fleeing water nymph that Amrenthana had dumped Narben in the ocean.
But maybe Eris had hidden it, and Amrenthana said she threw it in the ocean so she didn't have to admit the sword was taken from her.
Amrenthana wasn't stupid. If she had a death sword she wouldn't just throw it in the ocean.
"There's more though," Mor sniffled and wiped away her tears.
Azriel didn't know how she could have kept this for so long.
"The baby, She lived. But Beron found out and locked her in the forest house. Eris loved her more than anything, it was the last piece of Oshun he had. And being locked in that house was not a life, it was destroying his child. He was still angry with me of course, I was the reason Beron had found out about Oshun at all, but he asked me to help her, his daughter.
Eris' hands were tied, he was barely allowed to even see his child due to Beron's strict orders.
I managed to get help from Rhys. Together we erased Beron's memories of the child and got her to night court. I refused to tell Eris where she was for her own safety.
I had never in my life seen someone as broken as Eris during those first months away from her. That was the sole reason he had left me in the forest to die. He was angry with me, he still is.
Eris knew if he went looking for her it would only put her in danger, so he gave her up."
"He has never been the same," she mumbled more to herself, "he used to smile and laugh freely. I do hate him for what he did to me, but it's hard to blame a monster created out of your own actions."
"Mor, you can't blame yourself," Azriel managed to say as Emrie held her close.
Mor shook her head and continued.
"This part of the story isn't about me. I watched over her, for Eris I made sure she was safe. His daughter grew up and she did end up meeting Eris. I don't know the full story, only that together they had stopped Amrenthana from using Narben. Eris came to me after. He asked me to take away his memories of her. He told me if I didn't, he would be tempted to go after her, to get to know her. He knew if he did, Beron would find out and kill her. So I found a Daemati to take away his memories.
The fleeing water nymph that told Amren about Narben, was Eris' daughter.
I didn't take away her memories of Eris though, I thought she should have remembered her father.
Even if she didn't truly know who he was at the time.
After all of this she continued to grow up. She went to the great rite in spring court where she ended up becoming pregnant with twin daughters."
Azriel's face went slack.
"You smell of a Vanserra," Eris had told him.
"No, that is not possible," he shook his head but Mor continued.
"Their names were Catrin and Gwyn—-
He thought he might throw up.
Gwyn his everything, descended from Eris?
"Eris cannot be her grandfather. That's not..." he trailed off.
That would explain the copper hair.
He let out a laugh that held no humor.
Gwyn was Eris' granddaughter.
"Does she know?"
"No."
"Does Eris?"
"No."
"You have been keeping this from both of them?" Azriel asked in disbelief.
He could not believe Mor would do something like this.
She had lied to all of them, made them believe Eris to be a monster.
"You need to tell her, she deserves to know. This is the last bit of family she has."
Azriel still hated Eris but He knew how important family was to Gwyn.
"If I do, we risk Beron's wrath. He could kill Gwyn."
"I agreed with Azriel," Emrie said softly, "Gwyn deserves to know."
"If Eris finds out that I have been hiding his granddaughter all this time we risk his allegiance with the night court. He could lash out and we have trusted him with too many secrets—-
"We will have to trust that he'll care more about Gwyn than your past lies. And if Beron finds out I will do anything to protect Gwyn even if that means killing a high lord," Azriel had never known true hate for Beron until today.
He was the reason for all of this; he was the reason Gwyn hadn't known her family.
"Mor you need to tell everyone today. If not for Gwyn and Eris' sake, for the Illyrian females. If Eris helps us find Narben we will be able to defeat Koschei."
"I know," Mor said weekly, not looking him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—
"I know," Azriel said, stepping towards her and pulling her into a hug, "I know."
"You don't hate me?" She sobbed into his shoulder.
"I am very upset with you," he pulled away to wipe away a stream of tears, "but like I said before. I could never hate you Mor."
She nodded and turned to Emrie who gave her an encouraging smile.
"I'm ready," Mor didn't take her eyes off Emrie.
Azriel released Mor from the hug and nodded.
"I will meet you at the house of wind. I can get Gwyn and ask Rhys and Feyre to summon Eris."
It was Emrie who said, "we will meet you there in an hour."
He nodded and winnowed away.
He didn't let himself think any further on the subject of Gwyn's heritage.
If he did he knew he would throw up.
He was very worried about Gwyn.
If this was how he was taking the news... he couldn't even begin to imagine how Gwyn would react.