Azriel relied on the light of the day to save him from the darkness. To keep him from the shadows and scars that haunted his nightmares.
Tahlia relied on the darkness to save her from the light. By keeping to the shadows, she can protect her future...
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When the Summer Solstice comes I will try to escape.
Preferably with my life.
---
Eris' nails were blunt, and the skin around them torn. Azriel knew this, he'd been staring at them for almost half an hour, their tapping the only sound in the interrogation room. The ropes weren't tight enough to stop the circulation and let them fall off. A mistake on Azriel's side.
Tamlin had spoken briefly, but that had been long ago, a few muffled growls since. The rest had been in talks with the other courts of Prythian. He had no doubt that their talks had been more productive than his morning, and most likely his afternoon. There was no way of telling the time, presumed he didn't want to know precisely the amount of minutes he'd wasted.
Eris' eyes were glowing with a mix of dying amusement and growing irritation. He could join the club.
The wine had long since left his system, the haze drained from his edges, sharpened senses mostly focussed on the High Lord standing across the room.
"This... game you're playing-" Tamlin hissed, "Eris- it's endangering Prythian. You will die besides the rest of us."
"No." It was the first words he'd said, Azriel's ears pricked and shadows swirled about his shoulders. They spoke too lowly, like conferring with each other, forgetting he was there too. "I will watch as the world crumbles, and both sides tear each other apart as I sit on my lovely perch on the fence. You will leave a new world in its wake. A world to reshape. And I hope that it is I that walks across your rotting carcass."
Claws ripped from Tamlin's fists as he took a menacing step forward. There might have been froth foaming at his mouth, but that could've been Azriel's imaginative hindsight. "You-"
Eris grinned. "Cool it Wolfboy. The fence isn't a particularly comfortable place to be. Azriel, tell your dog to put his claws away."
Azriel questioned for a moment whether to intervene when Tamlin took another step. The door swung open which answered whether the situation was about to escalate. In all honesty, a part of him wished Tahlia had waited just a few more minutes.
"Tamlin. Leave." He didn't hesitate, questionably listening to the order, a line of steam drifting from his ears behind him. "You're lucky you're a valuable ally."
"I think that's the kindest thing you've said to me." He slouched, arms wriggling until the ties slipped from his wrist and fell to the floor soundlessly. "Do you mistrust all of your allies, Shadowsinger? This farce-" He kicked at the rope before standing. "It was unnecessary."
"I don't need Tamlin telling me how to deal with you. I have my own methods."
"Like trusting me?"
"Like trusting that I could detain you easily enough that you're not a threat."
