Friends, but not quite

"Friends but not quite" part 6

Previously
Even after kissing her mate, her cauldron chosen merely seconds ago she was already thinking about Azriel.
Maybe Feyre was right after all. Perhaps she should let her sister decide for her because her own choices have never brought happiness, only pain.
And she felt the pain now; she felt it as she remembered that female's hand on Azriel's arm, her lips whispering to his ear. She felt pain remembering his tears after finding out about Mor. Elain gripped the counter of the balcony harder. Tonight, she will confess her feelings tonight, to understand where they stood once and for all.

Present

Azriel

He was waiting all evening to have a dance with Elain. But she was nowhere to be seen. When he was about to go and look for her, Arria spotted him.

Azriel had no other choice but to talk to her. Arria was one of the few respected Illyrian females. And it was well deserved; she fought for her rights and for other women who were treated like her.

She had a subtle sense of humor, and he did enjoy to spend time with her. Occasionally, when he would visit the Illyria, they would grab a drink or two. Arria, just like Mor, preferred females. That was precisely the reason why she was mistreated before Rhys found and helped her. After a hundred years of intense training, Arria got her own female legion to lead. And following the war with Hybern, her army did better than any male expected it to.

She was one of the famous people for Illyrian connections and a symbol of how strong a female can be. But, when she talked Azriel couldn't concentrate, his mind kept on drifting to his flower. "Your minds seem elsewhere." She said with clear humor in her tone. Just when he was about to respond, she got closer and whispered: "Does that have anything to do with that beautiful female staring at you?"

Azriel followed Arria's eyes that were on Elain, in time to see her turning around and strolling away in what seemed like a hurry. "Excuse me," Azriel said, his feets already moving after her. He heard Arria chuckling behind him.

She was moving fast through the dancing crowd. Azriel struggles to keep up; he felt someone's hand on his arm. That someone being his annoying brother who had the worst timing. "You spoke with Arria, has she said something about Devlon or female legion that I should know? I was trying to talk to her for weeks, but she only finds time for you it seems." Azriel still looking at Elain's back and shifted his attention to Cassian "Now isn't time." but he rolled his eyes, "Not in a mood for work? As far as I know, you hate parties." Elain was nowhere to be seen now, and Azriel looked at Cassian sharper then he intended. "Let's talk about it tomorrow; there are people here." Cassian looked around, letting Azriel's arm go as if indeed realizing that they can't discuss work with every court in the room.

He let his shadows trail after Elain to find out where she was. Azriel followed that tread to find her standing at Feyre's side deep in a conversation.

Elain was gorgeous. That dress fitted her so perfectly that he felt the air leaving his lungs. But there was something odd in her posture. She looked angry. Elain never demonstrated her emotions openly, just like him, she'd rather close every feeling inside than let it show. But by the edge in her eyes, he could see that something was wrong.

The next thing he realized coming closer was that Feyre was the cause of that anger. He was still far enough to hear the conversation, but as Azriel trailed his eyes to where Feyre was looking, he froze. Lucien.

Lucien was walking to Elain. He saw by Elain's expression that she felt uncomfortable, and Azriel was about to rescue her when Lucien stepped ahead of him.

What happened next will haunt him for the rest of his miserable existence. Elain was not even looking at the male; she was looking at Feyre when she said "fine" he read the word from her lips, still being too far to hear. The next second Elain's hands were on Lucien's collar, pulling him to her as their lips met.