Shadows Whisper | | Azriel

4

Cassian opened his mind, calling out for Rhys to get back to the room. Rhys, luckily, had kept on high alert in case anything changed with Azriel.

"Finish the spell," Rhys requested of Amren and Mor, "Cassian is calling. Something happened with Azriel. I'll let you both know as soon as I figure out what."

He hurried away after that and got back to the room he had left Cassian and Azriel with. Cassian looked like he had seen a ghost as he stared at Azriel.

"What happened?" Rhys demanded nervously as he strode into the room, violet eyes alight with concern.

"He had more to say about the girl," Cassian spoke tensely, "whoever is keeping her prisoner, they want to use her to kill you. Or, at least I think he meant you. He didn't say your name but you're the only one he possibly could have been speaking about. He said they think she can kill you, and they think she'll give birth to the next High Lord. They said...they said a bastard is better than a half breed."

Rhys's expression went cold, anger rolling off of him.

"A bastard?" he echoed, venom in his tone. "You think this girl is my father's child?"

"From what he said, it's the only thing that makes sense," Cassian reasoned, knowing Rhys didn't want to hear any of this. "We already concluded that she's related to you in some way."

"The next High Lord doesn't have to be from my bloodline," Rhys pointed out, "there's no reason to think this girl, whatever relation she has to me, would birth the next High Lord. And if she makes any attempt on my life, she won't live long enough to see the next High Lord, let alone give birth to him."

"I think...whatever's happening, I don't think she's doing it," Cassian began hesitantly, "none of what Azriel has said implied that she has had any control over what's happening."

Tense silence settled over them for a few moments before Rhys let out a huff of anger.

"This girl is not my sister," he said firmly, "I had a sister and she died. Whoever this girl is, she is not my sister."

"Rhys—" Cassian started, sympathy in his voice.

"No," Rhys snapped, glaring at him, "this girl is not my sister. My sister is dead. Whoever this girl is, she's responsible for what's happening to Azriel and I have every intention of killing her for it. She's not my sister."

"Even if she's not your sister," Cassian conceded that point, "almost everything Azriel has said suggests that she's being held prisoner. This might be more complicated than we originally believed. There's a chance that none of this is her fault."

"His torment centers around her entirely," Rhys pointed out angrily, "she's doing this to him."

"Can you just stop and think for a second?" Cassian retorted, knowing that he won't get through to him by being gentle about this. "If I hadn't suggested that this girl might be your sister and had just said that she's being held prisoner, would you have considered the idea that maybe she's a victim in all of this too?"

Rhys only glared at Cassian. He didn't want to admit that he had a point.

"If you go in there angry at things beyond your control and beyond hers and you kill her, you won't ever forgive yourself for it. Before you run in believing her to be some monster, think about the fact that she has been chained up and alone in some cave for Mother only knows how long. If you go in there and kill her, you won't forgive yourself for it and, honestly, you wouldn't deserve that forgiveness anyway."

Rhys held eye contact with Cassian for a few moments before he let out a scoff and turned and walked right back out. He went back to Mor and Amren, his anger still clear on his face.