A Court of Scars and Shadows

Time and Lies

GWYN'S POV

The rest of the short flight was filled with stunned silence. She was stunned by his primal instincts towards his brother and she was stunned in the fact that Azriel now felt shame for the way he acted, as if he could control those fresh instincts.

When they landed roof of their apartment, Gwyn turned to face but Azriel had disappeared into the shadows. She tugged fiercely in the bond, hoping for some response, but the only thing she got was the assurance that the bond between was still in tack and he wasn't in danger.

Where had he gone?

Controlling her mind and breathing, she slowly made her way into the apartment. The smell of night-chilled mist and cedar swallowed her senses, making her worry more about Azriel. She knew he wasn't one to talk about his emotions — he had only done twice before —but she didn't expect to just leave. It hurt more than she thought.

She wanted Azriel to trust her. Wanted him to open up to her.

The bond lightly thrummed as it did last night when they weren't together but she needed him. The stolen moment before Cassian interrupted did not satisfy her needs to see him, feel him, touch him. She supposed these were her own primal instincts towards the bond.

She decided to take a bath in the large enough tub that fit two full sized Illyrians, trying to see if the lavender oil would soothe her mind into something other than her mate.

But in bath, her mind went back to him and she rested her head against her knees. the bubbles of the water moving tranquilly.

She finished her bath and decided that trying to keep her mind off of Azriel was fruitless, so she sat at one of the chairs near the kitchen island, staring at the entrance door, waiting for him come home.

——————

Gwyn didn't know how long it had been since Azriel had dropped her off. All she knew was that it was long enough for the sun to sleep and the moon to rise in its glory. Gwyn had not moved from her chair, her legs asleep. She stayed glued to the chair, still waiting for him to come home. She had to preform Mind-Stilling five times already.

She felt her eyes droop close when the front door started to unlock. She jumped out of her chair, but her legs were too numb from the hours of sitting still. She fell as soon as she lifted her ass from the chair.

She struggled to get up and the door fully opened.

The numbness in her legs was forgotten and she raced to the figure in the open door, throwing her hands around his neck.

She breathed in his scent... citrus and sea. She backed away slowly from the male who was painstakingly not her mate and was met with the violet eyes of the High Lord of the Night Court.

"I know I'm not who you expected," Rhysand gave a timid smile. Gwyn couldn't help think back to the last time Rhysand and her were in this apartment. They were cleaning it out, think Azriel was dead. Now they were here, knowing he is alive, but her not knowing where he was.

"Where is he?" She didn't care if she sounded crazed, she needed to see Azriel.

She watched his throat worked before he spoke. "He had to leave because I sent him on an emergency meeting, he told me to tell you."

"Where? Where was his mission?" Gwyn knew it was lie, it had to be. Especially since Rhysand told Azriel he was going to be given a break from being Spymaster.