Shadows Whisper | | Azriel

44

Astryn fell asleep curled up on Azriel's lap. Cassian was sat beside them, a little in awe of the sight of his brother being so soft. Azriel caught Cassian's stare, and the softness melted away.

"You still need to explain to me what happened," Azriel reminded him coldly, the shadows curling around Astryn like they wanted to hide her from Cassian's eyes.

"She asked to see Velaris," Cassian started, "so I took her. We stopped in at Rita's because I wanted to get her some water and there were quite a few people asking questions about her, about where she came from since she's clearly Rhys's sister. I kept her behind me while I dealt with that and then when I turned around she was gone. People bought her some drinks to welcome her to the city and she has zero tolerance so...yeah."

"You shouldn't have let her out of your sight," Azriel said harshly, voice so low and dangerous, "we still have no idea who was involved in what happened to her—"

"We know it wasn't anyone in Velaris," Cassian cut in, surprisingly calm in the face of Azriel's growing anger, "we know that no one in this city would hurt her, especially not with me standing right there. She was not in any danger and you know it. I'll admit, I should have kept a closer eye on her and made sure she knew what she was having and made sure it wasn't random people she took drinks from but, honestly, Az, if she wants to drink, she can. If she wants to explore the city and have fun like any normal person would, she can. I know you want to protect her, but you can't shelter her from everything."

"Did she even know what she was taking from those people? I doubt she was ever exposed to alcohol in that fucking cave."

Cassian's mind briefly flashed back to what she had said earlier, about saying yes and taking things to eat or drink that she didn't really want.

"I think she had at least some idea of what it was," he said, words chosen carefully. It wasn't his place to share the specifics of anything she told him. She wouldn't have even said any of it if she had been more coherent. So, he would keep it to himself despite the way it made him feel guilty.

It was quiet for a moment before Azriel spoke again, words still so tense.

"I don't want to stop her from experiencing anything. If she wants to drink and have fun and explore, I want that for her too," he started off, "but I want it to be done safely. I want her to understand that, no matter where she is or how safe the city is, it's never a good idea to take a drink from a stranger and I want to be there with her to make sure no one takes advantage of how...inexperienced she is. I have no intention of stopping her from having fun and living, all I want is to make sure she does all that safely. If she had gotten hurt tonight, I would have killed you and anyone else who let it happen."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to her," Cassian told him, "and not just because she's your mate and Rhys's sister. I do care about her safety, Azriel."

Azriel only nodded in response this time, his arms tightening around Astryn just slightly.

"I'm worried about what might happen if she doesn't let Rhys train her," Azriel spoke up after a few minutes of silence, "she needs to learn to manage her power but she seems like she's just pretending it's not even there. The longer she lets it build up, the worse it will feel when she has to let it out."

"She'll get there," Cassian mumbled, sounding entirely certain, "she just needs more time to...come to terms with everything with Rhys."

"I know," Azriel replied with a sigh, "I know. I just don't know how much time she has before she needs to let something out. That kind of power isn't supposed to be kept under lock and key. It needs to breathe."

"You'll have to talk to her about that," Cassian pointed out, "make sure she knows the risks of not managing it. Right now, I think the training we're doing does help but...she'll need to learn the stuff only Rhys can teach her as soon as she can."

Azriel didn't say anything to that, staying quiet. They say there for only a few more minutes before he stood with Astryn still cradled carefully in his arms.

"I'm going to take her to bed," he mumbled before he headed up to the rooms with her. He laid her in his bed and started to move away only for her to grab his hand.

"Please stay with me," she requested, eyes pleading. "I want you to lay with me please."

"I...are you sure?" he asked hesitantly, a frown on his face.

"Please," she repeated, "I want you to stay with me. Feels so much safer when you're with me."

He swallowed back the emotions that rose in him at that. He climbed into bed with her and she cuddled so close she was nearly entirely on top of him. He wrapped his arms and then one of his wings around her.

"I didn't mean to upset you earlier," she mumbled against his chest, "I still want you to be my mate. I'll always want it to be you."

He let out a shaky breath of relief and tucked her closer to himself.

"Thank you," he said quietly, "get some rest, darling. Everything is okay."

She fell asleep against him quickly, and as he eventually fell asleep too, he realized that he probably wouldn't ever be able to sleep without her against him like this again.