A Court of Smoke and Shadow

Chapter Eighteen: Selene

I woke to my mate standing with a tray of breakfast and a glass of orange juice.

"Morning," he said, with a smile.

"Morning," I responded, yawning.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not great," I said, "Could be better."

"I'm sure," Azriel snorted. "You looked like death."

"Then Death must be one hot female," I teased, taking the food from him.

"You know you don't have to lie to me," Azriel said, changing the subject. "I wouldn't have been upset.

"I don't believe that," I scowled, practically inhaling the breakfast.

"Slow down or you're going to choke," he scoffed.

"I don't have a gag reflex, as you already know, remember," I reminded him.

"You have the most filthy mouth I've ever heard," Azriel laughed.

"You benefit from this filthy mouth," I retorted.

Azriel looked away but not before I spotted the slight blush spreading across his face. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction at that. Elain could make him blush with a simple compliment but I could make him blush with the truth. Whatever his attachment to Elain was about paled in comparison to a mating bond.

I hoped that one day Elain would find it in herself to accept that she would never be human again and give Lucien a chance, if not for her own happiness then acknowledging that she and Azriel could never be an item. Mating bonds run too deep for that. You could reject it but it will still be there and you'll still feel that pull to your mate.

It happened with Feyre and Rhys. After all, she threw a shoe at his head in a fit of rage but still I knew she felt a pull towards him. Although, throwing that shoe at him may have been warranted given he took her from her wedding, even if she didn't want to be there.

Hadn't I felt that pull towards Azriel? The pattern was so obvious when I looked back. Everytime I saw something interesting or cool, I went to him and told him all about it. Everytime I felt sad, Azriel was the one I went to for comfort. Everything managed to loop back to Azriel. I had no idea how I managed to convince myself I had no interest in him for so long.

"You okay? You seemed to be lost in your own head," Azriel's voice cut through my reverie.

"I'm great," I said. "I was just thinking."

"If you say so," Azriel said, taking the empty tray and moving it onto my desk.

After a moment he said, "Rhys is taking Elain and the others to see Elain's betrothed."

"The human man?" A nod. "What was his name again?"

"Graysen."

"I thought so. I just wasn't entirely sure," I said, getting up to get ready for the day. "Who's going?"

"Nesta, you, me, and Feyre and Rhys," he said. "Mor is going to the Court of Nightmares."

I pulled a face at that. I knew Mor hated the Court of Nightmares. After everything that happened to her, it was warranted.

***

Mor was born in the Court of Nightmares.

There, females are prized for their virginity and sold off. As soon as Mor began bleeding, her power erupted, causing the mountains to shake. She had thought that it would drive the males away. Instead they all flocked to her.

One male in particular was the High Lord of Autumn, who offered to marry her to his eldest son, Eris. Naturally, he was the highest bid, and thus Eris and Mor were to be married.

Then Cassian got into the mix. The details of what happened between him and Morrigan were never clarified but I know Cassian took her virginity. Once word got out, Eris and his brothers found Mor waiting for Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel, in the woods near the Autumn Court borders.

They attacked her and left her bleeding in the woods with a note nailed to her womb. Azriel found her and took her back to Velaris.

***

I never quite forgave Eris and neither did any of my family.

The only reason I kept a clear head around him was because it would be wholly inappropriate to attack him. It very well could cause an internal war and that is unnecessary and unneeded.

I undressed in the bathroom and stepped into the tub before lowering myself into the hot water. I loved hot baths, especially after a long day of working or training. It was good for relaxing my sore muscles.
Looking at my unnaturally skinny arms, I thought that I needed to exercise and eat more. I bathed quickly and washed my hair, dunking my head under the water.

As I clambered out, I grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around my body. I grabbed a second towel to dry my hair. It went halfway down my back in loose waves. My hair always got curly or wavy after a bath but that was normal.

Apparently, mortals wore layers so that's what I went with. Thankfully, I had some layered dresses and corset dresses. I picked the prettiest dress that wasn't too fancy looking. It would be highly unbecoming, knowing where Feyre and her family had lived.

Once dressed, I walked downstairs with Azriel to meet with my family that would be coming to meet Graysen.