The Shadows Have No Face || 𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐑

Interested in the Stars

I woke in the dimly lit guest room we were staying in. The pain had died away, leaving only an aching soreness that beat with my heart. I had a massive headache.

I was helped to a seated position by Seraphine, who handed me a cool glass of water. It was only the two of us in the room. I rested my back against the pillows, feeling something was off.

Oh no. No, no, no, no.

I gasped and sat up straight. Fuck.

"Don't worry," Seraphine said, reading the panic on my face. "They saw nothing. I noticed when you passed out that the glamor started fading, so moved you up here and sent them off."

"Where are they?"

She smiled. "In the dining room eating. I made a batch of cookies this morning."

Morning. "How long was I out?"

She counted on her fingers. "Almost a day. It's late afternoon now."

I pushed off the mattress, and she helped me sit up. I was wearing a clean shirt and pair of pants that felt a little too big around the waist. My calf was wrapped in thick gauze, numbed with medicine. My nose no longer hurt, healed perfectly back into place.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting my hands pass over myself. Magic seeped from my skin, morphing and changing my appearance. My ears pointed, eyes dulled. Everything replaced to what it once was.

Seraphine looked at me with a hint of worry. "Are you ever going to tell them?"

"Why would I?" I snapped at her.

She blinked. "Because, if they find out on their own... who knows what they'll do."

I placed my hand over hers. "Don't worry about it. Now, help me get downstairs."

I leaned on her for support as she carefully led me down the steps. I could hear the two whispering to each other in the dining room, stopping as soon as we entered the room.

Azriel stood quickly—almost quick enough to knock the chair backwards. Mor looked up at him with raised brows and cleared her throat. He sat down again just as quickly as he got up.

I gave a nervous laugh. "Look at me, not dead yet."

"Hopefully not ever," Mor added.

I sat beside them and looked down at the two pieces of paper collected from the two sisters. I gave a look to Seraphine, and she left the three of us alone. The pain in my leg was steadily getting easier to manage—thank the mother, and I sat down next to Mor.

"So... what's our next move?" I asked no one in particular. It was nice to sit again, to remove some weight off the injury. I always hated being hurt, it made me feel like I couldn't do everything I wanted to.

The Spymaster pushed one parchment to me. "We know where the third is." I questioned him further. He looked extremely annoyed by the information gathered, and said, "she's hiding in the Day Court."

"The one place I wished we'd never have to go," Mor whined. She leaned back in her chair and pulled her hands down her face with a groan. "I've already had my fill of Helion drama for the next decade."

I smiled a bit. "When are we leaving, then?"

"Tomorrow morning," the Spymaster answered. "I have to finish some work."

"Care to share with us what that might be?" Mor tilted her head slightly.

"Unfortunately, it's classified."

Mor rolled her eyes at that, got up, went to the kitchen, and grabbed herself another cookie before going into the living room and dropping onto the couch. I looked up at the shadowsinger and found him staring at me. There seemed to be a question waiting just beneath the surface of his person. A question that sat silently, that had been waiting a long time.