Shadows Whisper | | Azriel

47

Astryn felt out of place in this tavern. There were so many eyes on her and she was certain it was only because everyone knew she was Rhysand's sister. She hated it.

She sipped idly at the drink the tavern owner had given her for free simply because of who her brother was. It wasn't alcohol, she had made sure to ask for something without alcohol when he asked what she wanted.

She wondered if Azriel would count this as exploring her options. She went out, was surrounded by people. That had to count, didn't it? Or did he mean for her to actually be with someone else? The idea was a little unnerving.

After a while of sitting alone, someone finally approached her.

"Hi," the male greeted with a dazzling smile that would have made her blush if she wasn't still thinking about Azriel. "Can I sit with you?"

"If you'd like," she answered, that same old practiced politeness in her voice.

"What are you drinking?" he inquired, intending to buy her another one.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she realized she didn't know. Azriel usually told her what things were.

"I think it's just juice," she settled on saying.

"Not one for alcohol?" he asked, and she almost said she would have anything because just saying no seemed rude. She stopped herself though.

"I don't particularly enjoy how it makes me feel," she told him with an awkward shrug.

"I can understand that," he remarked with a nod, "I personally get a bit stupid when I drink too much so I tend to keep my drinking to a minimum."

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly before her face went red in embarrassment at how the question came out. It sounded so stupid.

"Mikael," he introduced himself, "and you?"

"Astryn," she responded before taking a long sip of her drink so she had a reason to be quiet.

"I've never seen you in the city before," Mikael brought up, "your brother is here quite frequently, but never you. And I'm certain I would recall if I had seen you before."

"Why?" she questioned, confusion clear on her face.

"Because you're beautiful," he said simply, a smile on his handsome face. It was only then that she realized that he was handsome. Not as attractive as Azriel, but she doubted anyone in existence was.

"Thank you," she muttered, "you're quite handsome."

"Not nearly as stunning as you," he flirted, little dimples showing in his cheeks as he smiled at her.

She was quiet for a couple seconds. She didn't know what to say next. She hadn't ever flirted before. This wasn't something she had overly prepared for. She wondered if they could just get straight to the point here. She decided she might as well try that.

"Would you like to have sex with me?" Astryn asked, worrying that was the wrong thing to do at the way his eyes widened.

"I—yes, I would like that very much," he stumbled over his words a bit and she found her face going red again.

"Do you have a place where we could go? I don't know if I'm allowed to have guests at Rhysand's home," she told him, "I suppose we could go there and find out."

"We can go to my apartment," he offered quickly, really, really not wanting to run into the High Lord at this particular moment.

"Thank you," she responded with a smile, and he nearly choked on air. How was she thanking him right now?