A Court of Sun and Flame

CHAPTER EIGHT

Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions"
~ Elizabeth Gilbert

"Sooooo, are we gonna talk about who this person is o- HEY!" A slapping sound follows.

Pulling myself away from Lucien, keeping my arm on his back, I turn to look at the long haired Illyrian rubbing the back of his head with the blond High Fae standing next to him with a withering glare directed at him.

Oh right. I should probably introduce myself, "I'm Aurelia." I say with a small smile, slightly nervous meeting the people who saw me at my worst, then again, they didn't look their best at the time either, especially the two Illyrians. Lucien must feel my nerves through the bond as he sends an encouraging smile my way. It was nice knowing that I wasn't doing this all alone. Never again.

The beautiful blond High fae steps forward with a kind smile on face as she says, "I'm Morrigan, but everyone calls me Mor. And apologies for this one," she points towards the long haired Illyrian, "He is a dick, who doesn't know how to talk to females."

Already loving the banter between these two, I let a smile grow on my lips as my attention moved the male beside her. "Thank you dear Mor, for that lovely introduction which I would like to say is a complete load of bollox. My name is Cassian." He smirks, sending a flirtatious wink my way. My smile grows even more as I take in Cassian's friendly-flirting with a chuckle. Lucien however, doesn't seem to get the joke as he sends a glare in Cassian's direction.

I see the Illyrian male beside Cassian roll his eyes, as if he was used to the constant bickering. He meets my eyes, slightly bowing his head in greeting before speaking softly, "Azriel, it's nice to finally meet you."

Picking up on the familiar shadows swirling around his wings and head I say, "It's nice to meet the owner of the shadows." The soft murmuring around me stops, as I feel everyone's attention turn.

Azriel visibly tenses. "We felt a presence and I sent them to find it. To find you."

"Thank you" i whisper, forever grateful that his shadows found me that day. If they didnt, i dont know how much longer i would have lasted.

Azriel nods in my direction before shadows start to swirl around his ears, just as another person walks into the room.

Removing my hand from Lucien's back, I turn around to face the direction of the newcomer and freeze.

The female in front of me paused mid stride, her previous emotionless and yet strong expression melts away as shock and disbelief fills her features. I feel my chin start to quiver as I feel tears gather in my eyes, just as they start to fall from hers.

"A-Aurelia?" Her voice quivers.

"Aunty Amren?" I ask as a sob leaves my mouth.

Aunty Amren runs towards me in response, pulling me into her arms, feeling more at home than I have in years.

I hear a choke behind me and obvious sounds of confusion but I let that fade away and focus on this moment.

My aunt.

I never thought I would see her again.

I start to cry harder as she starts stroking the back of my head, the familiar action comforting me in a way I can't explain.

I don't know how much time has passed but eventually Aunty Amren pulls back, allowing me to see her tear stained face as she wipes the last of mine away.

"Look at you my phoenix, rising from the ashes." she smirks.

"I missed you." I whispered back.

"What the fuck is going on?" Cassian's voice calls from behind us, causing me to turn around to see how the whole room is frozen and look as if the life has been drained from their bodies.