Bloom and Destruction (ACOTAR - Elain + Azriel)

Chapter 9

Azriel

I close my bedroom door softly, careful not to wake Elain. I carried her up the stairs and let her fall asleep in my bed after we finally peeled away from each other. I run a hand through my hair, breathing out heavily as I walk downstairs. Cassian stands in the dining room, a stupid grin on his face with his hands on hips.

"Well, well," he sniffs the air. "Smells like you got laid." I snarl, launching toward him and grabbing him by the throat and pinning him to the wall. "Gettin' grumpy on me, Az?" He laughs as he shoves me away.

I look around to the shards of the shattered plate and the clothes scattered along the floor. "I haven't slept," I say just above a whisper. "I can't sleep."

He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him. "You know what will fix that?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Rhys' stash," we say at the same time before trudging down the hallway and helping ourselves to Rhysand's collection of booze.

Cassian

I did not think this through. I did not think about how fragile Azriel was before suggesting we get shitfaced in the middle of the day. At first, we had a great time laughing and reminiscing. I made the mistake of changing the topic to ask how he was doing. While I'm glad my brother was comfortable enough with me, I didn't know what to do with the Illyrian warrior sitting next to me with silent tears running down his face.

"She broke the mating bond between her and Lucien. She broke it, Cass. What if she breaks it between her and I? I've finally found the bliss and the love that I've craved my entire life, what if I'm not enough for her?" His voice cracks.

"She accepted," I sling my arm over his shoulder. "She accepted the bond between you. You solidified the bond between you today, I can still fucking smell it." He chuckles, bringing a hand up to wipe his cheeks. "You can allow yourself to be happy, you know."

He nods, "you're right."

I push myself off of the couch and walk to where we left our glasses and the bottle on the floor. I pour us each another glass and hand him one. "To your forever," I raise my glass to him.

He clinks his against mine and smiles. "To my forever."

    I don't know who fell asleep first, Azriel or me, but I woke up to Rhys shaking me. Azriel lays on the couch, face down, half of his body hanging off

     "What did you do?" Rhys's eyes narrow.

     I rub my forehead. "He hasn't slept in two days," I defend myself.

Before he can respond, Nesta comes racing down the stairs. I smile as she comes into the room but she goes straight to Azriel. "Wake up," she barks, shoving him. He groans, twisting towards her and opening his eyes. "Where is she?" He looks at her confusedly. "Where is Elain?" She snaps.

Rhys looks at me questioningly and I shrug. "She's in my room," he mumbles as he sits up. "She fell asleep and I carried her to my bed."

Nesta runs back up the stairs and Azriel pushes himself up to follow her. Rhys and I lunge for him as he stumbles. We follow him up to his bedroom. Nesta flings open the door to reveal Elain tangled in the sheets and Azriel's jacket wrapped around her torso.

Az pushes past her, into the room and stands in front of her. "Regardless of what you might think," he snarls, "she is my mate. I will care for her, I will always protect her, and you will stay out of it."

    Nesta pokes Azriel's chest. "She is my sister," she retorts.

    I look down the hallway as Feyre comes running towards us. "Nesta, enough!" She orders.

    I turn back to my brother and my mate. "You don't get to tell me what to do just because you have some feral, animalistic claim on her," she pokes him again.

    His wings flare as the shadows crawl around his neck. "Azriel," Rhys says in a warning tone, placing himself between them.

    "Nesta," I grab her wrist only for her to tug it away and backhand my face.

    Feyre gasps, grabbing my arm as I stumble back in shock. Azriel pushes against Rhys as his face hardens. "Nesta, go down stairs," Feyre orders, "now."

   With a scoff, Nesta turns and stomps off. I look up at Azriel as Rhys moves to the side. He steps forward, examining my face. "I'm fine," I shake my head.

    "Feyre?" Elain sits up, hugging Azriel's jacket close to her bare chest. My High Lady turns to face her sister. Azriel stiffens, his eyes locking on mine. "Rhys? Cassian? What's going on?"

    "There was an incident with Nesta," Feyre says softly. "Everything's okay right now. Azriel was just coming to check on you." She nudges Azriel toward the door.

He looks at me again. I nod, "everything is fine, Az."

Rhys places a hand on Azriel's shoulder. "Stand down," he pats him gently. "It's all right."

His wings and muscles relax. He glances over his shoulder to Elaine. He wordlessly turns on his heels and closes the door behind him. Feyre, Rhys and I exchange glances. Rhys places his hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you hang up here with me for a few minutes while Feyre goes to talk to Nesta?" He offers.

    I nod, following him to his room as Feyre descends the stairs. Rhys gestures to the desk in the corner of the room and I pull out the chair to sit in it.