A Court Of Flowers And Shadows {Azriel Shadowsinger}

Chapter Fifty

Rhys dictated the letter while Amara wrote, her handwriting after all being the neatest since it had always been expected that she would be writing invitations as a wife. Cassian and Azriel occasionally chimed in with any corrections that they felt needed to be added. It took until midnight for them all to agree with a draft that they felt was impressive, welcoming and threatening enough to get the mortal queens to agree to what they needed. 

Rhys and Feyre were going to be sharing one room so that left the other to Amara, Azriel and Cassian. Rhys and Feyre left the room rather quickly and Amara spun to look at Cassian with a raised eyebrow. He had an innocent smile on his face from where he was leaning against the wall and Azriel silently sat down on one of the beds that he was claiming for himself and Amara t share for the night. He decided that it would be best if he didn't get involved in whatever was about to happen. 

"What's the look for?" Cassian asked softly. 

"You honestly could not have been more of a dick if you had tried," Amara told him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I genuinely do not see why any of that was necessary. How have you not pissed someone off so much that they have murdered you?" 

Cassian raised an eyebrow at her and looked around her to Azriel who had an amused smile on his face. "Are you going to help me out or...?" 

"Oh, no. You've got this. I believe in you," Azriel told his brother, looking over at his mate when she shot him a look. "We're leaving early tomorrow so if he's not been murdered in his sleep then we know that Cass is just not annoying enough to be murdered and that he is in fact just straddling that line." 

Amara rolled her eyes. "You are terrible at taking my side and backing me up," she told him, running a hand through her hair. 

Cassian had a slight grin on his face before he left the room to go for a quick walk around the grounds, making sure to not be seen by anyone. Azriel took Amara's hand in his and pulled her close, his hands moving to her waist as she stood between his legs. She sighed softly and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, thinking over everything that had happened that day.  It had been a long day and she didn't really feel like being around a lot of the people that they lived with at the moment. It just felt like she couldn't escape them. 

She leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "I think we need to try and find a way to get a weekend away from everyone else," she told him. 

He chuckled softly and ran a hand through her hair, laying down with her in his arms. He kissed her temple and played with her hair. "I'll see what I can do but that isn't likely to happen for awhile," he said softly. 

Azriel gathered her in to his arms and laid down on the bed with her, his wings wrapping around them to make a sort of bubble for them. Amara smiled softly and cuddled up to him a bit more, her forehead still leaning against his shoulder. He dipped his head and left a soft kiss against her neck, enjoying the soft and content sigh that left her lips when he did. He slowly kissed down the side of her neck that was available to him, his thumbs rubbing small circles against her waist. 

"Az?" Amara said softly, leaning in to his touch a little bit more. 

Azriel hummed softly as response to get her to keep talking. 

"Cassian will be back soon and I'm not sure right now is the best time to seal the bond," she told him, despite not pulling away in the slightest from his kisses. 

"We've done it before. daring, so I think the bind might already be sealed." 

"That was different and you know it didn't count," she argued with a roll of her eyes. "But also, I don't think your ex-husband wants to walk in to anything because I do plan on us taking our time." 

Azriel groaned lightly and left a lingering kiss against her jaw as he pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. "You can't expect me to behave if you're teasing." 

She shrugged lightly and rolled over so that her back was pressed against his chest. He sighed contently and kissed her temple, his arms wrapping around her waist. He also kept his wings wrapped around them, knowing how much she liked shutting out the world when it was just the two of them. He had to admit that he liked it as well. They had a lot of time to catch up on in regard to being together and he felt like this helped a little bit. Of course, it didn't change anything from the past and he wasn't naïve enough to think that it did. He just liked holding her because for that small amount of time that she was in his arms, he knew that there was no harm coming to her. He knew that she was safe. 

Right now, that was all that he needed to know because the world was becoming a lot less predictable and he hated that. Predictability was something that he thrived on, something that he needed in order to do his job better. If everything became unpredictable then he wouldn't be able to keep his family safe. 

He wouldn't be able to keep Amara safe.