Archeron

Chapter Four

After a long away mission, he snuck through the house to see Elain before debriefing Rhys. His shadows knew their job well, moving slowly through the house, avoiding any wandering eyes, or busy bodies. Thankfully, not very many people frequented the Town House these days.

Rhys and Feyre occasionally, but since their River House was the house of their dreams, usually only Elain, Cerridwen and Nuala were there. Cassian and Nesta, Amren and Mor would visit, but mostly only for dinner. Sometimes, Elain would even have citizens of Velaris over to talk about their garden plans.

Mostly, when he was away on Court business, the wraiths were her only guests. Still, after nearly getting caught by Cassian of all people, he made it a habit to send his shadows ahead.

That afternoon, a very annoyed Nesta came across one of his shadows. "Bat, take me to the House of Wind, now!"

He and Nesta had always had an understanding of sorts. She had always brought out the worst in people, especially with her snide attitude and spiteful looks. She had been improving since the Blood Rite, and her "training" with Cassian at the House of Wind, but improvement took time. Even Rhys, as level-headed as he could be, had a weakness for Nesta's "infuriating attitude." Cassian had been hopeless since the first meeting. But it took more than hurtful words and a burning gaze to shake Azriel.

Without a second thought, he emerged from the shadows and shadow walked her to the House of Wind. It would be a quick detour, but he should still have enough time to check in with Elain after. No one else was in the house besides the wraiths and they knew how to keep secrets.The moment they arrived on the balcony of the house, Nesta moved from his arms, looking more green than he'd ever seen her. Skin pale, sweat along her forehead, her lips pursed as she lurched in what he could only guess was nausea only to swallow it down.

She pulled herself together for the moment. He was content to pretend he'd never seen any of it, it wasn't his secret to tell. She took a fighting stance against him. "Care to help me burn off some steam?"

He looked her over. "Should you be over-exerting yourself in your condition?" A gentle suggestion. She tended to react better to those rather than hearing the word "no".

"My—" she paused and dropped her stance into something more relaxed. "When did you figure it out?"

"Besides the fact you just told me?" He said. A grumble from her. "I have a pristine record of no one puking when I shadow walk them. It's the smoothest form of travel." He tried not to laugh as he thought about it, but Cassian had always been over-excited to fly. "I can only imagine how you must feel after Cassian's flying."

She rolled her eyes. "It is an effort each time he takes off, but I manage."

He risked a look to her stomach, no outward traces yet. "How long?"

"Not long," she said, looking him over. "How long have you and my sister been fucking?"

He could never hide much from her.

Still, he tried. He didn't answer her question, but he could never keep the cold aloof expression when Elain was mentioned.

"Both of you have a new lightness about you," she said. "I've never seen you so—" She paused and looked him over. "—Unburdened. She is annoyingly perky again after months of being solemn. So either you're both fucking someone new, or you're fucking each other. Based on your reaction, you're fucking each other."

Damn! He hadn't expected her to be so thorough. "Not long." The same answer she had given him.

Nesta looked him over with that icy stare. He feared her more than he could ever fear Rhys as she examined him.

Rhys could tell him to stay away, for the sake of the courts, for the sake of peace. But Nesta—Nesta could tell him to stay away merely because Elain was her sister, her prized possession, the one thing (but now not the only thing) she wanted to protect from being hurt. Nesta could definitely cause more damage.

"Whatever you're doing," Nesta said once she'd looked him over long enough to make him feel more uncomfortable than Rhys ever could. "I approve." Relief flooded through him. "Elain needs someone like you, someone who sees her as more than beautiful."

His next breath was lighter. A small smile graced his face. Nesta wasn't all bad. She was even likeable at times. It felt freeing that someone knew about him and Elain after months of keeping it secret.

"But," Nesta said in her typical cold tone. "If you hurt her in any way, not even the Mother will be able to save you."

"Understood." He looked her over. His eyes settling on her stomach. "Does Cassian know?" Nesta shook her head. "Besides Rhys sneaking up on me and getting way too handsy thinking I was Feyre, you are the first to figure it out." She glared at him, her signature Nesta glare. He laughed at the thought of Rhys mistaking her for Feyre. Then again, Rhys had been distracted lately.

"You won't tell anyone yet." After that, a softness settled over her. "I don't want to steal Feyre's thunder, especially after they've been trying so long for a little girl."

Months and months of pregnancies, only for them to end prematurely. A common occurrence among fae females depending on several factors. Every time Madja had entered the River House over the last few months, they all had feared the worst.

"No one will hear of it from me," He said, "But you should tell Cassian before anyone else finds out." He paused. "And as for me and Elain—."

"No one will hear of it from me," Nesta said with a short nod. "Least of all Rhys, too absorbed in Feyre and her pregnancy to notice much of anything, or the fox." He had nearly forgotten about Lucien over the last few months. He hadn't been able to make it the last few times he'd been invited. "I can't believe the cauldron thought they were equal." A silence settled between them. She looked him over. "Why do you look so guilty? What did you do?"

Azriel shrugged. So easy to be open with the eldest Archeron sister. The trust between them an easy thing because he knew she would never reveal any secrets between them. "It's nothing I did per se," he said. "More like something I am reaping the benefits from."

"She didn't!" Nesta looked more shocked than he had ever seen her. She pulled herself together, brushed the hair back from her forehead with both hands, then continued her usual cold outward appearance. "I won't mention anything about that either."

"Thank you." It meant more than she would ever know.

"Now," Nesta said, with a knowing smile. "Go see Elain. She's been worries about you for weeks."

Without a second thought, Azriel launched into the air. Perhaps there were a few minutes left before Rhys arrived at the house.