A Court of Smoke and Shadows (An ACOTAR sequel fanfic)

Chapter 15 - The Morning After

Rhiannon awoke with the taste of ash in her mouth, the remnants of a night mare filled with wings and white fire chased her into reality.

She was alone again, the side of the bed where Azriel had lain was cold. The early rays of dawn leaked through her curtains, brightening the pitch black room. She would have to leave soon. Groaning, she fell back into the plush heaven of the pillows she would not have at the camp. The soft creak of an opening door followed her brother's thundering knock. Rhiannon blindly threw a pillow in his direction.

"Missed." Gabriel hummed.

"It is dawn." she moaned into her pillow, "how are you awake?" she tossed it aside and proceeded to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"So many revelations, so much drama, secret powers, and a Shadowsinger in your bed," Gabriel proceeded to rip the curtains wide open, "how can I not be excited to start the new morning of our exciting lives?" he chimed mockingly.

"You are an arse sometimes." she said sourly and crawled her way out of bed towards the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind her. "And nothing happened with Azriel!" she shouted from within.

"Don't kiss and tell, I know the policy." Gabriel yelled through the closed door.

Rhiannon huffed and washed up for the day. She was going to miss having hot water on demand, and the bath. She stared forlornly at the sunken stone tub big enough for two.
Rhiannon emerged some minutes later into the warm kitchen. The fragrance of freshly grilled bread tickled her nose. She perched herself gingerly on the edge of a bar stool, still sore from the previous days.

"Are you ok?" Gabriel eyed her keenly over a cup of steaming tea. She tutted and pulled a plate of toast towards her. "Not so much butter! Mother's above you'll get fat. How will you ever find a mate now?" Gabriel said in mock horror, fluttering his dark eye lashes.

"A little curves never hurt anyone." she replied through a mouthful of bread.

"No really though, I did hear you panic last night but I knew Az was some where around." he smirked.

She gaped at him, "You knew I was freaking out last night?"

"Keening screams and creepy energy leaking from your room was a big clue." he nodded thoughtfully.

"You knew and banked on Azriel turning up?" the bread dried up in her mouth. "I could've died, I couldn't breathe!" She was aghast her normally protective brother ignored last night's ordeal.

Gabriel frowned, "You wouldn't have died. One, you're stronger than that. Two, Azriel was keeping an eye on you anyway, and he clearly did a good job of calming you down."

Rhiannon swallowed the too hot tea she was sipping. It blistered down her throat and brought tears to her eyes. "He was watching me?" she replied hoarsely.

"Always."Her brother cocked his head, "I thought you knew with your weird freaky Azriel sensors. Honestly I'm surprised a mating bond hasn't appeared yet."

Her violet eyes narrowed at a dark shadow in the corner of the kitchen. Was he there now?Gabriel saw her eye the shadow suspiciously. "He's not here at the moment. I saw him winnow away before you woke up."

She stored away that information for later, she would have words with the Shadowsinger the next time he dared appear.
"What makes you think I would've been strong enough? You said yourself there was creepy magic leaking from my room." she shuddered as an echo of that torturous cold caressed down her spine.

Gabriel laced his fingers under his chin, "You tried unlocking that power our parents told you about." he said matter of factly. Rhiannon nodded. "Well what ever magical lock they enchanted didn't like what you were trying to do."

"I need to know what my power is Gabe." she frowned. Despite her frightening experience last night, she had woken with a resolve to prove her parents wrong. She would show them just how strong she was.

"There's my sister." Gabriel smiled a wolfish grin, canines flashing.

"You don't think I'm being reckless? Potentially putting our people at risk?" she asked.

"I think it's time we made our own decisions," her brother leaned forward conspiratorially his violet eyes sparkling.

"The last time we made our own decision didn't end up to well, remember?" Rhiannon sighed.

Gabriel shrugged, "What's done is done, I find I'm rather inclined to see what powers my baby sister has. Might make our future fights more interesting." he winked. "Now, we should really get back to camp before they get hissy."

Rhiannon hurried after his broad figure into the morning sun outside. "I thought we were making our own decisions?" she asked, jumping away to avoid getting hit by his wings as he spun around.

"I think you need a bit more training before we go off on our quest." Gabriel fanned out his wings. "After all you can't even winnow." He laughed as Rhiannon landed a smack on his chest, and he took them both in a whirl of darkness and star light back to the Illyrian war camp.

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As commanded, a new chapter! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. If you do, don't forget to vote and comment and let me know what you think :D

I think having Gabriel as a "wingman" (hah get it?) would make for very amusing future events. I like how Rhiannon alternates from appreciating her brother to wanting to smack him in the face - ah such is the way of siblings.

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

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