Ice, steel and shadows -ACOMAF au

Amelia

I stared at Feyre trembling on the floor, and Lilith struggling to hold her- and hold it together at the same time-, unable to form coherent thoughts. Everything seemed blurry- I didn't know what had happened, but it was obviously bad.

"Leave them alone." Rhys said- I could hear the pain in his voice, as if even he didn't want to leave, but knew we had to. "I don't think they're in a state to-" Mor tried, her gorgeous face looking distressed, but Rhys firmly nodded. "Let them sort this out, Mor. They're fine."

Mor still looked doubtful- so was I-, but eventually turned around and left, her heels clicking on the marble floor. "I should-" I murmured, not knowing what to say after that. What should I do? I hardly knew.

"You should leave. They're sisters- there's a different sort of understanding between them." Rhys said- even though he wasn't shouting, his tone was commanding enough for me to understand I didn't have a choice.

I weakly nodded before walking back to my room- my head throbbed and ached, all tiredness drained from my body. I felt awake and tense- what was so awful that Feyre reacted like that? There was an ever growing pit in my stomach as I sat on my bed- I decided to take a bath, hoping it'd calm me down a bit.

I slowly stripped from the Night Court attire I was dressed in and sank in the large bathtub my room provided, feeling the water with what Delilah called the magical oils.

I immediately felt the knots on my bones loosen, and my body unclench, but the pain in my head wasn't subsiding- I suppose not even magical oils could help with headaches.

And then I heard it- soft but loud, a knock on my door: an unexplainable shiver went through me, even though the water was perfectly warm. I rose, wrapping a towel around me, before standing behind the door- "Hello?" I murmured, to make sure the knock hadn't been my imagination.

"Can I come in?" A rough, familiar voice- Azriel. He'd been here too- I had noticed him, of course: it was impossible not to, I was too aware of his presence at all times, but hadn't paid much attention due to the state Feyre was in.

"Y-yes." I murmured, unsure of why I had stuttered. The door creaked, and then opened, revealing Azriel's form- his giant wings were tucked behind his back, he was dressed in all black, and looked exhausted.

Even being exhausted, he looked gorgeous. "Azriel." I shallowed the giant lump in my throat- his hazel eyes roamed me from head to toe: I held on the little towel covering my body for life. "Can I- can I help you?" Azriel respectfully averted his eyes from my body- had his cheeks slightly reddened or was it my imagination?

"I'm sorry for interrupting. I just- I believed you wouldn't be able to sleep, after- after this eventful night, and I- I was the one to get Feyre and I thought you'd like to know-" My heart swelled- he had thought of me, had thought to reassure me in all of this daze.

Plus, it was pretty funny to see how nervous the sight of me in a towel made him. "Of course, Azriel. Thank you." I said with a small smile. "Let's sit on the veranda, shall we? I just need a moment to change- unless you don't mind the towel." I chuckled- it was supposed to be a joke, but Azriel paled, his eyes almost falling out of his sockets.

"It was a joke Azriel." I murmured. "You're supposed to laugh." I traced the movement his throat made as he shallowed. "Then, I find that I don't really appreciate your sense of humour, Amelia." "Oh screw you, Az." I smiled- it was too easy, too easy to joke around with him, to feel comfortable again- fuck, I couldn't- couldn't let myself-

I slammed the door in his face.

I quickly dressed, in a loose tunic with some pants that left my waist exposed, took a second to compose myself, and left the comfort of my room- it was as if I could feel his dark energy pulling me to the veranda, a magnetic pull.