shadows don't lie

Chapter Twenty-Seven

With a short flight back to the manor, and a fulfilling dinner, both Inei and Azriel retired to their room, ready to just sleep after the long day.

After she slipped into some loose-fitting pajamas, Inei practically jumped into bed, grabbing her book as she did so.

Azriel laughed when he came out of the bathroom to find her bundled up in a blanket with ‘Strategy, Tactic, and Infiltration’ spread out in front of her, and she gave him the middle finger.

“I don’t understand how you can be so enthralled with a damn textbook.” He muttered as he stretched, his wings flaring out and nearly knocking over a vase on his bedside table. She hid a smile at the sight.

“It’s interesting! I actually used to own a copy of this one, but who knows where it is now.” He glanced at her over his shoulder, probably trying to read her expression.

“Don’t you ever read anything more fun though?”

She smirked at him and he climbed into his own bed, laying down on his back as he tried to get comfortable. “When you say fun, do you mean more ‘entertaining’ books, or the kind we all know Nesta loves to read?”

His face was hidden from her between his pillows, but after a moment he replied dryly, “Whatever you want it to mean.”

She pouted, slumping down in her bed. “Well you’re no fun.”

He snorted softly. After a long period of silence, Inei gave up any hope of finishing the chapter she was on tonight.

Her mind wouldn’t stop replaying the prisoner's words over and over, or how it had felt to break the male’s neck with barely a twitch of her taloned hands. Then, on the other hand, she couldn’t get the urge out of her head to try and return to that hidden pocket in her shadows, to practice the skill to the point where it could be of use in any situation.

She laid back and stared up at the ceiling, and slowed her breathing, and she began to mind-still, something she had not thought to do in a very long time. With every exhale, she imagined her thoughts slowly slipping away, one by one.

Eventually, she fell asleep. Sometime while she slept, she began to dream.

It was little things at first, little items that she remembered, scents that reminded her of her little home in the Day court, the sight of the sun filtering in through the window as she read books.

But the scene shifted, and she was there.

Laying in bed, the soft grey blankets eerily familiar to her, she inhaled the smell of spices and incense as she looked around. Many strips of different colored cloth hung from the wooden frame over the bed, and the different strings and tassels seemed to breathe in the soft breezes in the room.

Someone moved beside her, and an arm stretched across her abdomen, tucking her against a lithe but muscled body that she knew all too well.

“Are you awake?” He asked, sleep thick in his smooth voice, and panic began building in her chest.

She took a deep breath.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He whispered against the shell of her ear, but instead of the pleasure it once brought her, it only made her skin crawl.

She bolted up and out of his grasp, and he sat up, concern emanating from him.

Looking at him, she had a horrible a sense that everything she was seeing was wrong. His grey eyes flashed as she met his gaze, and his dark hair shifted as he sat up as well.

“Inei, you seriously can’t still be mad at me from last night-”

“Shut up.” She whispered, and the male sat straight. “Are you feeling okay?”