A Court of Souls and Shadows

15. Azriel

I hurried after Elain, her hand gripping mine so tightly I thought she would never let go. She led me to the outside balcony of the House of Wind, before finally releasing my hand and staring at me with wild eyes.

"Not here," she gasped. "We can't talk here." I nodded and drew her into my arms. "Hold on," I said into her hair, as her arms wound around my neck as I took off into the sky. I flew towards the mountains surrounding Velaris, not stopping until I reached one of the abandoned camp sites I knew of. When we landed, Elain jolted away from my body and started pacing, her hands running through her hair like she was about to pull it all out.

"What's going on, Elain?" I asked, my voice sounding desperate, even to my own ears. I clenched my fists at my sides to stop myself from reaching for her. Something told me it wasn't the time. She whirled to face me, the wildness in her eyes so startling, I retreated a step backwards.

"It's coming," she said, her eyes now glazing over. I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"What's coming?"

"The darkness. The darkness. The darkness." She muttered under her breath, beginning her pacing again. Ever since she'd emerged out of the cauldron, she had been seeing things. I knew this. But all of her mutterings about her visions had been nothing so far. Everyone thought she was crazy. And at that moment, I could see what they were talking about. She was making no sense at all. I knew that her magic needed time to develop, that she was most likely a Seer and one day her visions would make perfect sense, but right now she was making no sense at all.

"What darkness, Elain? Tell me what you see."

She continued her pacing and mutterings. I could only catch a few words here and there, but the sheer terror in her eyes had me worried. This didn't seem like the other times she had seen things. It was different this time.

"Darkness. Wings. Death. Silver hair. Blue light."

My heart stilled at her words, my blood running cold with panic.

"What did you say about silver hair," I ground out, my tone so dark and angry, I barely recognised my own voice. Her face was blank, her eyes glazed over, like she wasn't even there. Like the lights were on, but no one was home. I took her gently by the shoulders and shook her. She blinked rapidly and snapped her eyes to my face.

"What about silver hair!" I snapped. Elain flinched at my raised voice and I released her shoulders. "I'm sorry," I said. "I'm so sorry, Elain. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

She looked down at her feet. "What did I say?" She whispered.

"What? You don't remember?"

She looked up at me again. "I remember darkness... and then blue light.. my visions are all muddled up. They're not strong enough. But I feel it, Azriel. I can't explain it. I know everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I can feel it. This one is different. Something is coming."

I cupped her face gently in my hands. "I believe you, Elain," I said softly. A few tears rolled down her cheeks and I brushed them away with my thumb. She wrapped her arms around my neck and stood on her toes, edging her face towards mine. She was going to kiss me. It was all I had wanted since I'd met her. Wasn't it? But something felt different now. Something had changed. I had changed. I turned my face at the last moment and her lips hit my cheek. When I looked back at her, there was a frown on her face.

"What's wrong, Azriel?" She asked softly.

"You're Lucien's mate, we can't," I said weakly. It was an excuse, but it was true. I needed to sort myself out. It wasn't fair to her. Elain's frown deepened.

"That hasn't seemed to matter to you before," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I thought you liked me."

"I do, Elain. I do. But we can't do this. Whatever this is. We can't. And you know it."

She looked down at her hands and I saw more tears fall. I was such an asshole. "Come on," I said quietly, reaching for her hand. "I'll take you home."

She was quiet as I flew us back to Velaris, and I had never felt worse in my life. I'd hurt her. The one thing I'd swore I'd never do. Feyre was going to kill me when she found out.

As we approached Velaris, the screams reached us on the wind. I looked out over the city as we approached, my breath stalling in my throat. Because darkness enveloped the sky, blood covered the streets, and Velaris was burning.