The Whispers of Shadows - A&A One Shots

i request an audience - pt 1

The summer heat was suffocating. After a morning of training with Azriel, Nesta, and Cassian, a cool shower and a thin dress was a blessing. Lounging on a settee in the garden, iced tea and small cakes laid across the glass table, Aurora didn't think life could get better. Azriel was just beyond the stretch of hedges, flying up with eleven year old Orion as the boy laughed and laughed.

Aurora was not fond of Azriel taking Orion to the air, but that fear settled over time. Now, a glass of tea to her lips, Aurora laughed with them as Azriel brought him up and up and up, then dropped down at a soul shaking speed. Aurora looked away, rattled lightly by the closeness of Orion to the ground before Azriel brought them back up again.

Her attention was stolen by the sight of Rhysand coming out of the white double doors to the garden. A smile rose to her lips, but fell when she saw darkness curling around talons where fingertips once were. Her eyes snapped to his, violet darkened to a starless night. He was furious. Aurora sat up slowly, swallowing harshly.

Azriel must have brought Orion to the ground again because no gleeful laughter came from behind her. In that silence, all Aurora heard was the crunch of Rhys's shoes on grass and the distant, muffled shouts of Nyx, possibly Cassian, inside. Her heart began racing.

"Aurora, I need to speak with you," Rhysand spoke with a voice laced with still death. She nodded shakily, turning to look back at Azriel as she stood. He had his hands on Orion's shoulders, staring back at her. His jaw was clenched and he seemed to sense the shift in the air. She knew he was more than likely screaming within his mind for Rhysand to tell him the news.

"What's going on?" Aurora asked as Rhys led her just beyond the hedges. A sharp intake of breath, then a long sigh. He didn't want to answer.

"We received word just minutes ago," another sigh, "Tamlin has requested an audience with you and Feyre in the Hewn City. Feyre had agreed and is getting ready now. It is your choice to allow it or not."

Aurora didn't think she would ever hear the High Lord of the Spring Court's name again, not here, not Velaris. Three decades have passed since Tamlin had tore open the freshly healed wound of her past. Three decades of his teeth permanently embedded into her skin. What could he possibly want an audience for?

"Will you be there? Will Azriel be there?" She asked, not looking up at him as they walked. She felt a hand fall to her opposite shoulder and Rhys tugged Aurora into his side. She gladly accepted the reassurance.

"I will be there. If Azriel cannot contain himself, he will remain out of the room but in the Hewn City. If you agree, I will speak to him."

Aurora nodded, feeling the burn of anxiety climbing up her throat. Rhysand seemed to notice the way a tremor wracked her chest. He stopped walking, sliding his hand across her back and placing it on her other shoulder to turn her. As Aurora faced the High Lord, his free hand rested on her cheek. She lifted her eyes to his, still coated in black fury.

"I will not allow a single threat, insult, or even negative look be pointed at you. Tamlin will be restrained within the throne room and will not be released until winnowed back to his Court. If he makes a move against you or Feyre, he will answer to me. Do you understand?"

Aurora bit her lip in an attempt to push away the tears that threatened as she nodded. Rhysand looked between her eyes, then his chest fell as air rushed from him. The hand on her cheek moved to cup the back of her head and soon enough, Aurora's face was pressed into the High Lord's chest as she shook. Rhysand held her in a protective hug, allowing her to release emotion onto him before returning to her mate and child.

When her shaking ceased and air flowed into her lungs more steadily, Aurora pulled from his arms. "I will do it. I will stand with Feyre and face him," she murmured. Rhysand gave a proud smile and pressed a kiss to her hair.