The Queen's Gambit | ACOTAR

Chapter 4 - "Is that a Spymaster thing, or an Azriel thing?"

Magdelena found Azriel quickly before he could get to the main room where she had left the others. "Azriel." She greeted him with a wide and awkward smile. "I've come to warn you. When you see Evette...don't act too shocked. And try not to be too weird." She advised the man.

"Weird?" Azriel repeated. "Why would I be weird when I see her?" He glanced around them both carefully. "I know that...you know. But I can be discrete...I'm the Spymaster. I'm not going to be weird when I see her. I'm just going to greet her, like a normal person."

Magdelena simply looked at the man before she left him be, and she returned to find that it was just the girls still there. And she moved to sit as Feyre moved to find a drink Evette could have since she could not drink alcohol in her condition.

Feyre had finally found Evette a drink and had handed it to her. Evette thanked her and the two talked lightly about how each other's birthdays were - they both said they were decent before Feyre left her. Evette turned and went to find Allegra when she noticed that Azriel entered the room followed by Cassian. "Holy shit, Evette!" Cassian called out loudly across the room, his eyes on her stomach. "What a fucking surprise! I was not expecting that."

Mor instantly moved to distract Cassian, which Evette was utterly relieved by and she gave her a smile of appreciation. Mor only nodded at her with a small smile back. "It's nice to see you." Azriel said from beside her suddenly, making her jump before she faced him, and he gave her an apologetic smile.

"You really are silent." Evette mused to the man - she hadn't even heard him approach her. "But, yes, it is nice to see you, too."

"You look beautiful." Azriel told her, making a smile cross her lips at his compliment. A smile that was uncontrollable.

"Thank you." Evette replied, a slight pink tint to her face. "You don't look too bad yourself." Evette replied as she allowed her eyes to scan him from head to toe. He looked utterly good in his tailored black jacket and trousers - the jacket made to fit his wings perfectly. His dark hair was slightly tousled, and his deep hazel eyes looked just a little brighter than she remembered them being.

"Can I ask?" Azriel asked her softly, his eyes glancing to her stomach briefly. Evette liked that he asked if he could - and didn't just ask straight out. Evette only gave him a nod. "Do you...are you happy with the man you've started a family with?"

Evette glanced towards Azriel at his question - it was an odd one. She wasn't expecting the question to be one about her happiness, and not about the bump. "I've done no such thing - not like you imply." Evette replied. "Back when me and Aerlo made the bargain of him offering aid in return for release from The Hills, he had one condition."

"He wanted a child...he's very old and misses his home. And back there, he tells me his kind are able to reproduce by themselves - though the conditions here prevent that." Evette explained. "He also wants his child to become important among Angevin. So I promised were his child to be a son, he'll be a personal guard to my future daughter, were his child to be a girl she'd be the Black Queen."

"I see." Azriel nodded slowly. "But...how? I thought having younglings was rare."

"That's only for the Fae - they're very common with the Fey." Evette clarified for him before taking a sip of her drink. "Anyways, enough about me. What about you, Azriel? How are you? Did the healing of your wings go well?"

"It went well." He nodded as he led them to a sofa, which they both sat upon. "But, do please keep talking about yourself. I could listen all night...because I don't talk much about myself." He added on quickly.

"Is that a Spymaster thing, or an Azriel thing?" Evette raised a brow.

"An Azriel thing." He replied.