To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Chapter 3: Sightseeing

"Nice place you've got here," the intruder's smile didn't even fall as Azriel led her through the musty dungeons of the Court of Nightmares. She tried to stop at a cell with an occupant taking a shit. "That's going to be me later."

"Keep walking," he gave her a push.

"So demanding," she cooed. She concentrated on trying to wiggle her wrists out of the magical cuffs Azriel had placed on her as they walked. It's pointless, he wanted to tell her.

They came to his least favorite part of the dungeon. It was stained with centuries worth of blood and misery, but at least the magic was strong. She watched curiously as he connected her chains to a chair and sat her down. The chair stunk of dark magic.

She moved her leg away before he could grab it and chain it to the chair. "At least get to know me first before you go spreading my legs."

His expression was blank as he finally grabbed her leg and chained it down. He couldn't have her kicking him while he worked.

Once she was properly tied down, he took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll give you one chance to confess before I start pulling teeth."

Her eyes went wide, "My teeth. What kind of date is this?" She gestured to the chains, "I mean, I was going along with your kink, but pulling teeth is crossing the line for me. I don't care how handsome you are."

He reminded himself to stay calm. Take a deep breath. He leaned in close, not a hint of humor on his stone face, "You think you're funny? You broke through two wards. One: to get into the city of Velaris. Two: the home of the High Lord and Lady. My court does not take intruders lightly."

She slowly blinked, "I think we got off on the wrong foot, Shadowsinger. I was simply... sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?" He nodded like he understood. A loud crack echoed as he slapped her across the face. "I'm not an idiot. You broke the wards and you were looking for something. Let's start off easy, who are you and why did you come here? Don't even think about lying."

She was looking away from him, her head still ringing from being slapped. To his joy, her smile slipped and was replaced with something more bitter. Irritation. Finally, they might get somewhere.

"You're the spymaster, right? You must be a shitty one if you don't know who I am. And to be honest, I'm unimpressed because I've been in the city for over a week." She spat blood onto the floor.

No, she must be lying. But he didn't sense a lie in her voice. He also didn't feel when she entered Velaris. He also didn't have a clue who she was, and hated that she was mocking him for it. Knowing things was part of his job and she certainly seemed like someone he should have known about.

"Rai. You can call me Rai." Her green eyes narrowed on him. "And like I said before, I'm not here to cause trouble. There's something here that belongs to me."

"What is it that you claim belongs to you?"

She kept her mouth closed. Even as he repeated the question with a tone laced with venom.

"You're certainly the curious type," she snapped.

Another slap across the face. It wasn't the hardest he could hit, but it would definitely knock some sense into her. He didn't like it. More than he usually did, he felt disgusted with himself. Every part of him screamed not to harm her, but he had to do this. Put his court above his feelings.

"You can keep hitting me, I'm not going to tell you," she slumped.

He raised his hand to hit her again, but hesitated as he looked into her eyes. He physically couldn't hit her again, couldn't urge his body. His own heart ached at the sight of her bleeding.

He ended up turning away. He needed a moment to clear his head, get away from her watchful eyes. You look weak. It's just a pretty face, pull yourself together. When he was out of her sight, he slammed his fist into the stone wall until the scent of fresh blood filled his nose. Anger grounded him. He let himself feel it like a bucket of cold water poured over his face.

Once he felt himself calm down, he made his way back to the intruder's cell. Rai, her name is Rai, he thought as he opened the door.

But Rai was nowhere to be seen.