Azriel's Heir

14: Ash

Ash was sat in a field of stars, although it was dark the heat surrounding him was suffocating. He felt like he'd been driven through with a pole, rooted to the ground. Voices swam around him sometimes but in the mist of time there was just the terrible heat.

Every minutes felt like a century. The stars were beginning to fade to darkness, he felt himself slipping, the silver rope that he had in his grip was smooth and slippery, so hard to hold onto. He was in too much pain and discomfort to hold on much longer.

His mothers voice sounded in the darkness pleading him to hold on, she was sobbing his father ordering him to hold on but Ash found his mind slipping even further away from them.

A cold hand was placed on his forehead. The suffocating heat was swept away in a cool breeze. He could breath again. The breeze smelt like winter, the smell of freshly fallen snow. Fresh. Clean. Pure. No voice spoke, no voice was needed.

The hand on his forehead was cooling him down quicker than if a bucket of water had been thrown over him. He felt the silver chain wrapping around his arm down his body, holding him. Stopping him from slipping away. "Be ready" a soft voice whispered on the breeze, he wanted to ask for what, but the sliver hand moved from his hand to the stake in his chest. He whimpered as it curled around it. He screamed and twisted a it drew the sake out of his chest. His yells mingled with other cries of bodiless voices. But now the stake was out he was able to breath, the pain was ebbing away. He could move. The hand withdrew leaving a trail of fresh air but Ash knew that the hand could not help him out of this darkness. He would need to help himself. Calling out to the silver thread he felt part of himself go hollow.
"I'm sorry" he heard.

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Ash's eyes snapped open. His mother cried out in surprise toppling off her chair. Her cry caused the door to burst open. Rhysand stood framed by the door. His parents let out gasps of reliefs embracing him tightly. And yet his chest felt hollow, as if someone was missing but looking but at the doorway the rest of the inner circle was crowded there, Cassian beaming, Mor crying, Armen smirking and Azriel smiling. He rubbed his chest but every time he tried to think of why he felt hollow he hit a wall, a solid black wall.

"Is someone missing?" He asked confused, All their faces dropped as his parents exchanged a look. "Missing no. Not here, yes" was the cryptic answer he received.

The day was normal from them on. Although he couldn't train he was surprisingly steady of his feet. Snow had fallen on Valaris, when he asked how long he had been out for, tears gathered in his mother's eyes before saying 2 months.

Ash had always liked the snow for some strange reason, he hated the wetness of it and how cold it got, but part of him always loved the crystal snow that fell.

He was about to enter the kitchen when he heard low voices conversing quickly. Ash had felt strange the whole day and no one would tell him why. If they wouldn't tell him he'd find out himself.

"He doesn't remember her at all" Azriel was saying softly, "That was the deal, Keir release her to Valaris for two days to help him then go back. All memory of her erased" Rhys growled angrily, "I thought after the war Keir would change but not after Ash was born". Ash's throat had closed up. They were keeping something from him. He opened the door just as Cassian said,

"Kova will always fight to keep Ash safe. That just Kova she..." he trailed off as soon as he saw Ash standing frozen in the doorway. But the damage had been done, as soon as he heard Kova's name the wall blocking his memory collapse. A wave of pain, sorrow and sadness caused him to fall to his knees. He pulled at the mating bond between him and Kova but revived no answer.

Black boots came into his vision, a scared hand lifted his face up. Azriel was looking down at him his wings flared, blocking Ash's view of the others. "Tell me Asher. Are you prepared to fight for Kova? Your mate?" His tone was neutral. This decision was entirely up to Ash, if he said he would go and find Kova Azriel would follow even in that meant walking into a dragon's open mouth. And yet if Ash said no, Azriel would stay in Valaris, his heart broken having lost his daughter. Ash could see the outcome even now. Rhys would refuse to let Azriel go to Kova and soon enough Azriel would do something rash, out of character, and probably end up dying.

"I'm going after her. I'm not about to let her go now"
"Your not afraid of her" Armen asked calmly ignoring Cassian's glare, "She does have a lot of power, that she cannot always control"
"Neither could I, nor my father" Ash was on his feet now facing Armen. She had scared him when he was younger and even now he wanted to run from the pool in her eyes. "You would start war within the Night Court for her. The peace that is so fragile. You would break it?"
Ash paused clenching his fists, no matter how his heart screamed to fly right to the Court of Nightmare now. He could see the worry in his parents face, their court in civil war.

How could the cauldron be so cruel? Making him choose between his family or his mate. "Ash, this evening we have a meeting with Keir about our next actions about the Shadow Plague" his father interjected
"The Shadow Plague?"
"The sickness that is spreading through the courts. It wasn't Xavier's doing" Thayer appeared on the balcony his bronze wings shining in the midday light.

Ash smiled as the two embraced. He remembered how Thayer had killed his mother for Ash. "She gave me a message after she healed you" Thayer's voice was heavy as if over these last two months without Ash or Kova around he had rarely spoken.
"She saved me"
"She was the only one who could reach you. It took three days of negotiations for Keir to let her come to your aid. He's still salty about the time your father shattered his arm for me" Feyre said.

"She told me to tell you not to come after her. To find your mate and forge a court that engraved you in history. Your own history not your parents. To live free and be kind. That is her wish for you, to be happy and free"
"She doesn't know?"
He already saw the answer on all of their faces before Thayer even nodded to confirm his fear. Kova had told him to find his mate not knowing that he had already found his.

"I warn you Ash this meeting will not be pretty if you attend. Keir only agreed to let Kova come if your memories of her were taken away from you. Everyone knew that it would be impossible with the mating bond. The best we could do was block them. But as you now know that failed miserably" Cassian stated plainly. "You will not like how Keir plays her. She is his card to play now" Mor agreed.

"She not a card in some game. She's my mate. And I'm going to get her back no matter what"

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A/N will Ash get Kova back? Or will someone come between them?

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Tess