A Court of Souls and Shadows

10. Azriel

The sight of Velaris spread out below me as I flew into the city was almost enough to bring me to tears. I heaved a heavy sigh as I sailed upwards towards the House of Wind. The mission that was supposed to take a few days had taken a month, and had all been for nothing. I was sent to gather intel on the human queens, and had found absolutely nothing. The fact that the humans had such an impenetrable fortress, even from me, was bothering the fuck out of me. I'd also rarely ever failed a mission. I was feeling defeated and plain grumpy, if I was being honest with myself. I hated feeling like a failure, and it weighed heavily on me as I touched down in the training rings on the rooftop of the House of Wind. It was late afternoon, and it was quiet as I trudged down the steps into the house. The moment I reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the house proper, the sound of Cassian's booming laughter floated up the hallway. The corners of my mouth tugged up in an almost-smile at the sound. I had missed him.

I followed the sound of Cassian's laughter up the hallway until I reached the living room, where I was met with a sight I could not have expected or predicted, even if my life depended on it. Cassian was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch, where Snow sat behind him, her legs draped over his shoulders while she braided his hair.

"Hold still," she scolded him, digging her heels into his chest. He made a mock sound of pain and pinched her in the leg, eliciting a giggle from Snow. I felt a sharp pang in my chest at the sight, which felt suspiciously like jealousy. But that was crazy, right? I barely knew her. And Cassian had obviously grown close with her in the month that I had been gone. He could do whatever he wanted. But I couldn't shake the way seeing them together bothered me. I cleared my throat loudly, and the two of them looked over the couch at me. Cassian immediately pushed off from the floor, rushing to me with a huge grin on his face. He wrestled me into a bone-crushing hug, and I couldn't help the laugh that rose in my chest.

"Az!" He exclaimed. "You're finally home!"

I smiled and clapped him on the back, before shifting my gaze over to Snow. She was standing on the other side of the couch, fiddling with her hands like she didn't know what to do with them. She met my gaze and gave me a half-smile.

"Welcome back," she said quietly. I returned her smile and nodded, turning back to Cassian.

"So what have I missed?" I asked, trying to shift my attention away from the weird churning feeling in my gut that seemed to present itself when I looked at Snow.

"Not a lot," Cassian explained. "Viper's training is going well. She's got a mean right hook." He smirked back at Snow, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Viper?"

"Oh, yeah," Cassian said. "That's my name for her. I figured I should get one too, and Snow doesn't fit her as well as Viper, don't you think?" Cassian's tone was light-hearted in his usual way, but I frowned, this new information settling like an unwelcome weight in the pit of my stomach. She was my Snow, not Viper. It seemed a lot had changed since I had been gone, and I didn't like it. I shook off my displeasure and rolled my shoulders, reaching up to rub at the sore spot between my shoulder blades. It had been a long flight back. My shadows darted out from around my feet and made their way over to Snow, wrapping around her middle and moving up to her neck, caressing her cheek. She giggled and swatted them away. It seemed my shadows had missed her too. I frowned at the revelation and turned my attention back to Cassian, ignoring the strange behaviour.

"I'd like to see her progress with her training," I said. "Tomorrow."

"Of course," Cassian said. "Don't act too surprised if she kicks your ass, I'm a very good teacher," he added with a mischievous grin. Snow snickered behind him, like they shared some sort of private joke. I didn't like it. I nodded and left, heading for my bedroom to catch up on sleep, trying to ignore the feuding feelings of jealousy, confusion and anger fighting for dominance in my gut.