The Raven and the Songbird

Chapter 5

Gwyn yawned, her entire form stretching and tightening. She knew it wouldn't go unnoticed by Nesta and Emerie, but she just smiled serenely. She had needed this – time to talk and laugh and enjoy good food with her two closest friends in the world. The fae lights were dim, casting the private library in dusky shadow. Book spines were barely visible on the shelves, but she was content to sit and enjoy the conversation. She sighed before turning her focus to her Valkyrie sisters sitting on the floor, finding Nesta with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"What?"

The eldest Archeron patted her hand on a tufted woolen floor pillow, green like a spring meadow. "Sit, Gwyneth. We need to talk." Unease coiled in her stomach, but she slid down from the couch, clutching another throw pillow to her chest.

"What do we need to talk about?" Gwyn's voice was tinier than she'd intended, and she knew the question was ridiculous as soon as she asked it.

"You're tired. You're sad. Nesta knocked you on your ass today," Emerie answered, concern glowing in her dark gaze.

"That doesn't mean something is wrong with me," Gwyn giggled, but she knew her mirth was unconvincing. "You both are skilled fighters. Maybe Nesta has just gotten better than me."

"I haven't and you know it."

Gwyn turned her attention to a very interesting tassel on the pillow she held. She could feel the pressure stinging her eyes and tried so hard to push down the tears that had so quickly threatened. She felt gentle fingers at her chin, pulling her gaze until she met Nesta's gray stare.

"Gwyn. Talk to us. You are our sister. We love you. We're worried about you."

Her sisters. The knowledge that she had Nesta and Emerie had kept her going these past weeks, kept her stubborn heart and eyes from giving up. And now it was that care and comfort that unraveled her. She felt the hot trickle down her cheeks as Nesta's calloused fingers brushed tendrils of hair away from her face. But she couldn't say the words. She wasn't one of those females that needed a male to be happy and thrive. She was a powerful warrior, strong and skilled.

"Is it Azriel, Gwyn?" The voice came from her other side, along with a feather-light brush of fingertips down her back. Emerie. Gwyn blinked and took three steadying breaths, allowing the patience and care from her sisters wash over her. It took a few moments before she felt she could form the words she needed.

"He started avoiding me, after the necklace," her face cooled when Nesta removed her hands and reached down to grasp one of her own. "I let it go on for a few days, but I missed him. We were friends, and he... he helped me when I couldn't sleep. Sometimes we would talk, most times we would train. After we found out about the necklace he stopped coming out to the ring at night. He would come to the door, and when he saw I was there he would leave. So I cornered him one day after training. It was all so stupid and I just wanted things to go back to normal."

"What did you say to him?" Emerie asked, her voice soft as velvet.

"I told him that the necklace was a stupid thing to do, but we all do stupid things. I said that Elain and I had both deserved better, but I knew he would be better. I told him that I missed him, that all was forgiven, and then I asked if things could go back to normal." Gwyn looked back up to Nesta, then turned to Emerie. "He said we were friends, and that everything would go back to normal." She took a shuddering breath, earning a squeeze on her hand.

"And then he just... disappeared."

She felt the burning return to her eyes and her throat, recalling that night in the rain when she had desperately wished he would come to her.