Fire On Fire - Azriel's story - acotar

Chapter 18.

The sky had turned into a shade of light pink and orange by the time Azriel and Vivienne had left the cafe. Not wanting to go back to reality just yet, Vivienne led them to the beach beyond the stone wall.

But not before they had made a stop at her favourite spot in the city.

"You're telling me you've never tried ice-cream from this shop?" Vivienne sounded completely shocked. 

Azriel just raised his shoulders and without another word, Vivienne grabbed his hand and pulled him into the store.

It felt like entering another dimension, no matter how many times she'd been there. The brightly painted walls, the mountains of sweets, and most importantly the countless flavours of ice cream. It even smelled like a dream in here, Vivienne smiled happily, feeling at home.

She hadn't known this kind of spoils ever before. Not when she'd gotten an extra piece of dinner for her birthday in the Camp. But now... She had to have a taste of pure joy before she left for the cruel conditions of Winter Court, where she was sure she wouldn't see sweets for a long while.

Seeing Azriel looking at all the different flavours like a lost puppy, she took it upon herself to make a recommendation, "I'm getting the cherry and rose one, but I'm not so sure you'd like it." She pursed her lips together and scanned the flavours.

Azriel waited patiently beside her, his gaze focused on her face. The corners of his mouth raised when Vivienne clasped her hands together, looking excited although she was only picking ice cream.

Vivienne crooked her head and found Azriel already looking at her. "Do you trust me?" She was sure she'd found the perfect flavour for Azriel.

"Yes," Azriel's gaze burned into hers, and the heavy emotion packed into one short word made her think that he didn't only think of her ice cream choice when he'd said it.

Vivienne kissed Azriel on the cheek and walked over to the counter, her body swaying happily. Such careless yet gentle gestures were becoming more and more comfortable, and she smiled when she saw a light blush on Azriel's cheeks.

---

Realising the ice-cream shop was almost opposite the jewelry shop, Azriel told Vivienne he'd be right back and stepped out to check whether the bracelet was already done.

The clerk greeted him kindly despite Azriel's intimidating presence. Perhaps the clerk had realised that buying such a gift must have meant Azriel did not seem as he appeared.

However, today was not Azriel's lucky day and the bracelet still needed to be finished. Apparently, the crystals he'd chosen were rarer than he'd thought.

Not letting this spoil his plans he left the jewellery store just as Vivienne exited from across the street, two big ice cream cones in her hands.

She turned her head, smiling and a second later she gasped so loud the whole street turned and eyed her curiously. 

"Az, hurry," Vivienne said panicky and licked the ice cream, "It's melting, and running everywhere."

Azriel crossed the rest of the street in two long, elegant steps and said, "I hope it's good, or you might just have ruined ice cream for me."

Vivienne just looked up at him with raised eyebrows and said, "Taste it first, and then we'll see if you have something to say."

She handed him the cream-coloured one, keeping the pink scoop to herself. Her lips were already a dark pink and Azriel could smell the cherry flavour of her ice cream. Suddenly, he felt the urge to see if her lips tasted like cherry, too.