A Court of Shadows and Pain

Twenty-two

Valery pulled away breathlessly after a few seconds. She didn't know what happened her, but it felt right. The way he spoke to her, the way he looked at her. It all felt fucking right.

So she decided to just go for it. And it was the best decision she had ever made during her long miserable life.

Valery felt her cheeks heating as she looked at the Spymaster. He pulled her into another kiss, their lips moving in sync. Like it was meant to be.

A shadow curled around her ear. We found an old fire and camp.

Valery pulled away from Azriel again. He looked at her with confusion until he noticed the shadow.

"They found something." she said breathlessly. Azriel nodded.

Before walking out of the house, Valery put her hand on his cheek. "Thank you for this. For listening." she said with a small smile.

Azriel only smiled back. When she turned around she could hear him mumble a low "Always."

She didn't know how this was going to inflict on their relationship. They had obviously already crossed the border of friendship. She had felt such a strong pull towards Azriel from the moment she stepped foot into the River House.

It was almost like something was pulling them towards each other... Valery didn't let the thought linger for too long. It was just because of their shadows, she reminded herself. She just hoped that this wasn't going to make things awkward for them.

Pouring her entire life story onto him definitely hadn't been an easy thing to do. Maybe with Rhys, but no one else. It felt so good to finally tell someone.

Valery followed the shadows outside, Azriel following close behind. They walked in silence for a few minutes before reaching a cave.

"What the hell." Valery mumbled.

Azriel's shadows flew into the cave, coming out seconds later. "It's clear." he said.

Valery looked at him before walking inside. He again followed close behind.It was dark inside, but with the daylight shining in she could make out an old campfire.

Valery knelt in front it. "It's still a bit warm. They were here not too long ago." she said while touching the burned wood.

She noticed Azriel shift on his feet, looking slightly uncomfortable as she touched the warm wood. She quickly pulled her hand away as she realized why he'd looked like that.

Valery stood again, looking around the cave. There was a torch on the ground along with some scattered arrows. The arrows were the confirmation she needed to realize that these were the three males and not some random Fae hanging out in the woods.

"Do you think that they realized that we're coming?" Azriel asked lowly from behind her, looking around the place himself.

"Maybe. But they could also just move from place to place." she said while picking up an arrow.

"They are from the Hewn City, right?" Azriel asked her.

Valery held the arrow up to her face. She scrunched her nose as she realized that it was laced with Faebane. She quickly dropped it. "Yes. They could possibly go back there, having enough allies inside that horrible place." she answered.

"But yet they haven't." Azriel stated.

Valery sighed. "I don't know why they haven't gone back. But we could definitely lure them there, set out a trap."

Azriel looked at her. It was actually a decent plan. It was near Winter Solstice, so that would mean that Rhys would visit the Court. If she came with them.