To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Chapter 43: Something terrible

"Are you alright?" Mor's question brought Azriel back to reality.

His mind felt very far away as unease filled his chest. He wasn't sure why he was so anxious, it was a beautiful night. Everyone was happy and dancing in celebration of Starfall yet he couldn't get rid of the gut feeling that something was wrong.

"I need a moment," he stepped away from Mor. He needed to clear his head and stop thinking about her. Rai was fine, he had been corresponding with her friend and they said the Queen was doing alright. He still wished her plan would hurry up so that she could come back to him.

He took a calming breath and closed his eyes, unleashing his shadows into the night. They told him stories of people drinking and having fun without a worry in the world. He heard of Feyre and Rhys sneaking a private moment to hold each other as stars racing across the sky. He was surrounded by so much love and happiness and yet, his hands were trembling with anxiety. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

Something is wrong. He felt chaos and fear travel through his bones. He bit his lip, hoping the feeling would go away but he pushed his shadows further out. He listened closely until the whispers from the east turned into horrendous cries about something evil shattering.

Rai. His face crumbled. All the shadows and the thread in his chest pointed back to her. That was the uneasy feeling in his chest. Something terrible happened.

"Mom! I found an owl!" Nyxous shouted from the balcony above Azriel, drawing his attention. "I think it's dead!"

He ignored the commotion above him and tried to focus on the terrible feeling his shadows gave him. Instead, everything went eerily silent. As if that awful feeling was an explosion that hit him and a numbing silence followed after. The silence bothered him even more, there should be something.

"It's bleeding," he heard Feyre say from above.

"It's not dead, just hurt," Rhys said.

"Someone grab a blanket," came Mor's voice.

"I'll just put it out of its misery," Cassian's voice finally had Azriel turning away from the east. He was still on edge as he winnowed to the floor above and joined a crowd surrounding a bleeding owl. He stood beside the oldest Night Court heir, Orpheus, and watched Cassian pick the bird up by the neck.

It wasn't just an owl, Azriel realized seconds before a flash of blinding white light encased the bird and Cassian was suddenly holding a little girl up in the air by her neck. In a panic, Cassian dropped the little girl. She was bleeding from her head and covered in bruises, her eyes were fearful as she crawled away as far as she could from the crowd.

Azriel's heart ached at the sight, the little girl was a high fae and on the verge of tears, clearly terrified and in pain. She seemed about the same age as Nyxous.

Nyxous took cautious steps towards the girl and squatted beside her with a kind smile on his face. "I'm Nyxous, you don't have to be afraid because we're going to help you. What's your name?"

She looked down at the hand Nyxous offered, hesitating, then she placed her hand in his. "Wylla," her voice was small.

Nyxous used his healing magic on the girl and she began to calm down at his warm touch. It didn't strike anyone as odd that the little boy was so quick to help.

"Where am I?" Wylla asked with a confused look.

Azriel looked to Rhys at the feeling of his eyes on him. He was looking to Azriel for information a Shadowsinger might offer. Azriel let the shadows around the girl come to him, they felt foreign and spoke words he had never heard before. He couldn't confirm it but something wasn't right about the little fae girl showing up out of nowhere. Rhys kept looking toward Azriel, waiting for an answer, Azriel held up a finger telling him to give him a moment to collect more information.

Feyre crouched down to the little girl's level with a kind smile. She told Wylla that if she could point to where she lived on a map, then she could winnow her there. It sounded like a good idea, but when Nyxous helped Wylla to a table painted with a map of the world, Wylla only looked more confused. Azriel knew the girl was young, but she should be old enough to recognize a map or even name the place she lived.

Azriel could feel Wylla's heart racing at an unnatural speed as she asked, "Is this the right map? A map of the whole world?"

"What is it?" Rhys asked with a voice low enough only for Azriel to hear as Wylla told Feyre she was from a place called Adarlan.

Azriel's eyes were dark as they flickered to his brother, he didn't have anything to say and didn't really feel like speaking. He still felt uneasy and Wylla's appearance didn't make any sense.

"Az, I can tell something is off with you," Rhys placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've been acting strange all night- stranger than you usually are. Does it have something to do with this little girl showing up?"

The shadowsinger wasn't going to say anything, he was never good at talking about his feelings and that's all he had to go off of. He had no solid facts, just a gut feeling.

He took a deep breath though and swallowed his pride, he trusted Rhys. And hopefully, if he finally talked about her, his feelings would quit eating him away like termites in a tree. Who better to talk to than Rhys.

"I'm worried about Rai," Azriel's voice was merely a whisper.

Rhys patted his back, "I'd be worried for you if you weren't worried. She's your mate."

Azriel swallowed the lump in his throat, "I know." He met his brother's violet eyes and knew he understood exactly how he felt. Rhys went through the same thing when Feyre went back to the Spring Court after their trip to Hybern.

Azriel looked out the panels of windows that faced the east, almost as if he could see Vallahan if he squinted hard enough, "I think something terrible happened."

"And you're not sure if Raisa is safe?" Rhys looked concerned.

Shadows swarmed Azriel, but he gave his brother a small sad smile, "knowing Rai, she was probably the one that caused it."

A/N: Hi readers! Hope everyone is staying safe and well! The picture at the top is a little Rai collage I had fun making. This is the end of Part 2 and next chapter we'll be entering the final part. I hope you all are enjoying the story! Please vote and comment:) -Shay