The Illyrian Warrior

Chapter Thirteen

Azriel cursed under his breath and removed himself from Davina's body. That would have to wait, he thought grumpily. Davina had sat up too, her eyes wide, with fear he presumed, and her clothes were a mess.

"Davina?!" Cassian called from the door.

Davina seemed to snap out of it with the mention of her name, she quickly readjusted her clothing and stood up.

"Stay here", she said.

Azriel did as told and watched Davina walk towards the main entrance. He couldn't see Cassian or Davina but their conversation was crystal clear.

"Little warrior!" Cassian exclaimed.

"Cassian, what are you doing here?" Davina said faking innocence.

"For one, I'm looking for Azriel and I know you two usually have dinner, secondly I wanted to talk to you about these obstacles we are making for training", he said excitedly.

"That's amazing Cassian, but I'm really tired and not sure if-"

"It's kind of important, I'm surprised Azriel hasn't told you yet".

Azriel cursed himself. For the last few days they'd been doing obstacles at training, it was Cassian's idea, he wanted to boost the confidence of the priestesses and show them how far they'd come. It was also his idea to invite some Illyrians from Windhaven to watch, Azriel was meant to warn Davina.

"Told me what?" Davina asked.

"Is Azriel here?"

"Yeah, we were just watching a movie".

In a matter of seconds, Cassian waltzed into the lounge room and took up residence beside Azriel, the same spot Davina had been moments before.

"How come you haven't told her?" Cassian whispered fiercely.

"There wasn't a right moment", Azriel replied.

Cassian huffed and motioned for Davina to take a seat. Later, Azriel would kill Cassian for interrupting, he supposed it was karma for his time as chaperone.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you, Davina", Cassian began, "but, I don't know if you will want to come to training tomorrow morning".

"Why not?" There wasn't an ounce of fear in her voice.

"Devlon and some other Windhaven Illyrians are coming to watch tomorrow and I'm not sure if you'd want to be there", Cassian said nervously.

"I'll be there. My history isn't with Windhaven", she answered confidently.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Is that all you came for?" She asked.

Cassian and Davina continued their conversation, but Azriel was distracted as Rhys' mental talons asked to be let in.

Yes Rhys?

Someone sounds grumpy, dinner didn't go as planned?

What do you want?

I need you and Cassian at the estate.

Is it urgent?

We just got new information from Lucien.

Fine.

And Azriel? We will talk about Davina later.

There is nothing to talk about.

I love my mate, Azriel. And if you hurt her sister I will be very unhappy.

I have it under control.

If you say so...

And then Rhys left his mind and Azriel was returned to the moment.

"What is it Azriel?" Cassian asked concerned.

Azriel realised it must of been obvious he was talking to Rhys. Whenever someone talked mind-to-mind, their eyes would go vacant and dull.

"Rhys wants us at the estate".

"Now?"

Azriel nodded solemnly, time to become the spymaster.

"You should go then", Davina said calmly.

Azriel looked up, she didn't even sound upset that he had to go. Azriel was hoping they could at least talk before he had to go. He had to explain his complicated situation - his complicated feelings. It felt wrong to just leave.

"I'll pick you up at the normal time tomorrow?" Cassian asked.

"Sounds good. I'm excited to see this new obstacle course", she said smiling.

"You'll love it", Cassian assured.

Cassian stood up, straightening his wings. Azriel had to follow him, knew he had to. But, Davina was here, he wanted to be with her and Azriel certainly didn't want to deal with Rhys and his lectures.

"Azriel? Are you coming?" Cassian said confused.

"Yeah, of course", Azriel stood up too, following Cassian to the door.

He wanted to look back, to gauge Davina's reaction, but something told him not to.
Davina was glad he didn't.

——————

She had been crying since he left.

As soon as they shut the door, Davina collapsed into tears. She had a mate. Azriel was her mate.

The fact hit her square in the face. She had a mate. Someone who would be her equal in every way, someone who would stand by her, look after her, want the best for her.
But, he was in love with someone else.

Elain. Davina wasn't blind, only pretended to be when it came to Elain and Azriel's relationship. She didn't want to be one of those females who thought everyone was after their male, but it was crystal clear that Azriel loved Elain and Elain loved him back. She wanted Azriel to have the best, she didn't want to believe it, but maybe that wasn't her. Maybe Elain would be best for Azriel.

Despite all of the thoughts racing through her head, Davina knew that she'd have to stay away from Elain, just for a while.

The predatory instinct that came with the bond was brutal. She felt tense knowing he would be at the estate with Elain, something inside her said to run over there and stake her claim. She hated it. Predatory, male brashness was an Illyrian male thing, she didn't want any of it.

So instead Davina cried. She cried a lot. She cried while she did the dishes, while she cleaned the house, while she did her laundry. It was a nightmare, she could not stop.

Sometimes the tears were relief. She had a mate, finally someone who would be there to help her in times of need, she would no longer need to carry all her burdens by herself. Sometimes the tears were happy. She had a mate, someone who would be an equal, make her laugh until she burst. But then, the sad tears would arrive. She didn't have a mate, not really. Because he loved someone else. Her whole life was turning into a terribly twisted love triangle, and she wanted none of it.

A part of her held out hope that because it hadn't clicked for him, then maybe when it did he would leave Elain for her. Something told her it wouldn't be quite that easy.