A Court of Heart and Fealty | Rhysand

Chapter 17: The Villa

Chapter 17: The Villa

Galadriel couldn't take her eyes off Azriel's back, watching the way his muscles shifted underneath the leather. The small twitches his wings made when he turned or his step changed, the slight flex they gave every now and then—as normal as she would roll her shoulders. He strode ahead of her for the short walk, Cassian at his side for most of it. Which left her with the companionship of the High Lord. Though to his credit, he didn't seem to have much to say that morning.

Azriel led them through a wide lane on the edge of the same area that the town house was in. She would have to walk further and cross the Sidra to reach the inner city of Velaris and all its bustling life, but from the moment Galadriel saw the villa, she knew the reason he had chosen it for her.

It was modest, built with grey stone with a terracotta roof. The villa resembled something of a cottage with sprouts of flowers pouring down from ledges beneath arched windows and across lines of shrubs. The front door was a deep red, not quite the colour of dark blood—no, it was a shade far more welcoming, like velvet or a deep rose. And it reminded her of the cottage she had grown up in; the place where Azriel had met with her every month for seven years after rescuing her from a watery grave.

Cassian stopped at the white, waist-high fence surrounding the garden. "It's... Sweet," he said, frowning at flowers that bobbed next to his face in the gentle breeze. "You'll fit right in."

Galadriel walked ahead of him through the open gate. The general, in his leathers and his stiff posture, certainly did look out of place amongst the frilliness of it all. "I take that as a compliment," she said, though she was sure he hadn't meant it as so. "It's beautiful."

Azriel held out something for her. A small, bronze key. "It has been paid for entirely. I had some furnishings moved in. Bed, lounge—the necessities." She read his aloofness; he probably hadn't been ecstatic to spend his time choosing those let alone more decorative items.

Galadriel took the key, turning it over twice in her palm as she looked towards the door again. The moment felt awkward and strange. Something that shouldn't be happening the way it should. And when she put that key into the lock, it didn't feel like she was about to enter a new home—a new life.

Inside, there was nothing to fault. With the curtains drawn back, light flooded the villa through countless windows from every wall. Simple artwork hung from the walls. The furniture was mostly maple and mahogany, plain but pretty.

She would have to find a job to pay for anything else that she wished to flourish this place with. A boring, plain job in a shop or finding some small lord to serve. Nothing like the thrill of being a shadow on the wall.

"Thank you." The words came flatter than she intended. "You shouldn't have... but thank you."

Rhysand inspected the villa for himself though there wasn't much to see in comparison to the House of Wind or even his town house. It was a single storey, the main entertainment room they stood in centring it all, other rooms stemming off the western and northern wall. "Room for guests," he said, gesturing with a smirk to what appeared to be a second bedroom.

Galadriel tipped her head. "I'm not sure I have reason to host any." A jab at him but also a truthful remark. She had no reason to invite him or any of his court, nor did she have any other relations with the people of the city yet. They certainly had no reason to visit which is why she was sure Cassian joined to simply have a curious look rather than wait for a non-existent invitation.

Rhysand leaned against the back of the lounge that face a small hearth. "With your buttery personality, I'm sure you'll be thinking about extending soon enough."