Ruler of Shadows

Chapter 5 - Azriel

I flew over the border, and finally crossed over to Night Court territory.  At least now, I knew these woods better, and we'd be safer.  I looked over to see how Cassian and Feyre was doing.  Feyre was quivering in excitement.  She was probably excited to finally see Rhys, after months apart.  She would get the joy of coming home to her mate.  I shook my head and berated myself.  She deserves to be happy.  You lost that chance centuries ago.   And it was my own damn fault.

"Has the faebane worn off yet?"  I asked Feyre.

"Not really."  Lucien said as he tried moving around from my arms.

"I will drop you if you don't stop moving."  I growled.  "And you can't winnow, so shut up."  I said before he could open his mouth. 

We flew for an hour more, until I felt the barrier of Velaris.  I still wasn't sure that bringing in Lucien was a smart choice.  He was formerly of Autumn Court, and everyone knew they were pricks.   And then he was part of Spring Court, and they were jackasses.  Then I remembered.  His mate was Elain.  He would do anything to see her again.  At least his mate isn't dead.  I really had to tell that inner voice to shut it.  It was nearly as annoying as Cassian. And that was saying something.

As we began to approach the city, the inner voice gradually took over, until my memories resurfaced.

I walked out of The Tower, chained. I glanced behind me to make sure she was following me. She sped up, strutting down a well worn path with her usual sassy confidence. She bared her teeth at a guard as she flared her wings. She angled them so the guard couldn't see me. I rolled my eyes. We both knew I could protect myself, but that didn't stop her. She was probably giving me a taste of my own medicine.

Even though I knew that when our hour with my mother was up, we would be beaten, I was still happy. Her joy was infectious as she grabbed my hand and skipped down the path. I looked at her wings. She had told me before that she was born with wings, but sometimes changed them. She always had to be careful to change them back, or my father and stepmother and stepbrothers would exploit her abilities. I reached out a hand to brush them along the outside of her sleek and shiny feathers. Her mother was a Peregryn, from the Dawn Court, and her father was an Illyrian. Her wings were one of the most unique things I had ever seen. They were pitch black, with feathers. They had the look of Peregryn wings, except for the claw at the top, and the sensitivity. At first, I thought they were freaky as hell. A few seconds later and I realized that they were beautiful. She loved practicing her Shadow Shapeshifting abilities by making my wings. She was obsessed by the streaks of color, and how, if you angled them right in the light, there was blue and gold highlights. Most Illyrians had red highlights, but I had blue.

We were just 8, but we had been exposed to all the ugliness the world could offer. Or so we thought.

I had been in The Tower most of my life, but she came 3 years ago. She told me that her parents were dead, and she had lived with a boy and his mother. His father wasn't around much. They were both Illyrian, and were her family. The boy was her best friend. She called him "Rhysie", a name that got on his nerves. They would do anything to protect each other. One day, the two kids were out, and got ambushed by a group of fae. They didn't know which court the attackers were from. They attacked them, and were about to fire a killing shot to the young boy. She took the shot for him. They apparently tossed her body over the cliff, and kept the boy when they learned who he was. He later escaped.

I knew the child as my High Lord. It was pretty obvious. Except he never mentioned her. Not once. I've looked at countless records from all courts, and haven't found a mention of her. My Ariah.

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