A Song of Faithless Shadows

Gwyneth had always felt connected to her faith, a higher power presiding over her.

That faith had shaken that devastating day those years ago, the day that went on to haunt her every nightmare for years to come.

She's still trying to come back from it, to not only restore her faith in life and love, but her faith in herself. The sanctity of her spirit- she prayed for resolve. Every punch was a prayer. Every mile was a hymn. Until her knuckles bled and her knees gave.

Azriel had been surrounded by darkness his whole life, a poison on his world, on his being.

He exercised restraint in his every waking moment, banishing that darkness within himself. Some guessed of the strain it put on him, but no one knew the extent of it, how deep his scars ran.

It was better this way, he was sure. He had always thought that if there were a higher power- which he wholly doubted- such deities must loathe him to have burdened him such darkness. He hadn't much faith in the gods anyway, much less faith that he could sway their opinion on him.

But Gwyneth and Azriel did have one thing in common: the quiet fight within themselves. They only knew one way: to go about it alone, couldn't fathom letting another in. But there's a magic in finding someone who is your equal but opposite, something transforming.

And frankly, Gwyneth and Azriel could both use a little magic.

All characters owned by SJM in the ACOTAR series. Story takes place after the events of ACOSF. Aligns with the events in my other fic: A Storm of Flames and Deceit. I haven't finished Crescent City, so this story takes place outside of the events of those books as well.

CONTENT WARNING ⚠️
Mentions of r*pe, use of profanity, explicit content, sexual content, violence, torture, mentions of suicidal thoughts and depression, mentions of self harm