A Court of Flame and Shadow (Azriel x eris)

Chapter 32: Eris

There, in the doorway, stood the end of their relationship. The male that would kill them both slowly, and painfully, and wouldn't regret it for a second, all because of his twisted, disgusting beliefs. 

Beron stepped forward, and Eris reflexively moved in front of Azriel, who immediately stepped to the side.

"What is this, Eris?" The males voice was sharper than truth-teller, slicing through whatever peace the tiny room had once held.

Eris chose not to reply, which was the wrong thing to do. Before he could even register what had happened, Beron had Azriel in a solid chokehold. His mates face drained completely of colour, but he had the sense not to move an inch as Berons gravelly voice reverberated through the room.

"Eris." He whispered, deathly quiet. Eris could only look at his mate, eyes wide. With no way to communicate out of the situation, the only option was to hope to god that the other had a plan, which it seemed, Azriel did.

 His hand inched slowly and carefully to truth-teller on his hip. Eris's hot breath caught in the air as he tried his hardest not to watch Azriels hand, to maintain eye contact with his father. 

"I don't know what you want me to say, father." He said as calmly as he could.

His attempt at distraction failed. Just as Azriels scarred hand reached his knife, Beron slapped a hand over his, snickering.

He leaned forward to Azriels ear, whispering something so quietly Eris couldn't here. If it were possible, Azriel turned even paler.

In the tense, terrifying quiet, a set of footsteps approached. The mystery figure must have recognized Azriels wings, and just as they begun to call out, faster than lightning, Beron folded his hand around truth-tellers hilt and flung it towards the stranger. A strange, gurgling noise came from whoever it was, followed by a thump. Azriel looked like he may vomit, and Eris was very aware that he looked the same.

"Father, you need to calm down." Eris murmured, shaking violently.

"Calm down? Calm down!" Beron roared, surely drawing the attention of the ballroom a few doors down. 

"Father, please. Someone is already dead, can't you just calm down so I can explain?" Eris shuddered under the glare he received from the male he had once called papa. His hands shook like an earthquake, roaring beginning in his ears.

Azriel took the silent opportunity to fight against the arm wrapped around his neck, by sending a solid heel to the High Lords balls. Beron stumbled back for just long enough for Azriel to get back to Eris and whip a knife out of his boot.

Beron regained himself quickly, though, pulling a knife from his own shoe. How he had hidden that knife was an utter mystery, as it was the size of a manchette. Azriel stood no chance.

That didn't seem to stop him. The shadowsinger launched forward like a rocket, aiming to kill. Beron laughed cruelly before he fought back. 

The enormous knife met the toothpick with a clash that could surely be heard from every corner of the palace. Eris watched with wide eyes for a moment, before regaining his composure. Darting out of the door, he ran around to the innocent that Beron had killed. 

Skidding to his knees in the pool of blood that surrounded the figure, Eris wrenched truth-teller out of their heart. 

Curiosity got the better of him as he knelt there, and after a quick look over his shoulder, he wiped the blood of their face.

Meredith. The very female he had spent hours dancing with, the female Beron wanted him to marry. The female who was only twenty-three years old, who had barley lived who was innocent, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Eris carefully closed her eyes, the only mercy he could grant her.

A strange sense of grief in his heart, Eris turned back the fight. Azriel wasn't doing nearly as badly as he could be, disappearing into the shadows and reappearing every now and then. 

Eris sprinted forward to join the fight. Beron could likely still take them both together, but it would be better that he fought too. 

His father had his back turned. The most sensible move was to stab him from behind, and luckily Eris had a clear enough head to act on the thought. Jumping forward, he shoved the long knife into the left of spine, hopefully puncturing his intestines. 

Beron stumbled back, spinning around wildly with his knife. A deep slash aimed at Eris's abdomen hit home, and Eris fell back, dizzying feeling immediately taking over. Azriel did no such thing. 

His mate paled at the sight of blood flooding and staining Eris's white shirt, but his focus did not waver. Eris watched, stumbling back against a wall, arms wrapped tightly around himself in an attempt to keep his organs in. 

Azriel leapt towards Beron, miniature knife hitting true. With a vile squelch, Eris's father, High Lord of the Autumn Court, pig-headed ass, received a knife to the heart. 

With a twist, the hilt disappeared into Berons chest, and he fell back to the floor, hitting it with a mighty thump.

A gasp broke out. Standing at the end of the hallway, Eris's family, Azriels family, everyone who had been in attendance at the wedding watched Beron die. 

But Azriel took no notice. He sprinted to his mate, mortified expression coating his every feature.  

"My Eris, I- are you okay?" He gasped for air, clutching at Eris's hands. 

It had seemed to Eris that it had been a shallow slash, but he had soon realized, he was wrong. A deep cut spread across his intestines, blood splashing to the floor. Likely the only reason he was still alive was due to his Fae healing. 

As his sight became blurry, and Azriel screaming became fuzzy, as Eris hit the floor and everything went black, Eris's could only think of how close they had been.