Chapter Text
My wings were aching by the time I finally touched down on the roof of my apartment building. Every muscle in my back strained and my skin felt like ice thanks to the hours long training with the Illyrians in the mountains during a blizzard.
When Rhys had initially asked me to oversee a few of Cassian’s duties while him and Nesta had taken an extended leave after their mating ceremony, I had figured it would be things like battle strategies and planning the training sessions. What I had not expected was an entire list of tasks Cassian apparently handled on a day to day basis which was including but not limited to heading specialized training sessions with some of the more promising Illyrian squads. The others had their normal every day training but the ones under Cassian were the toughest, the roughest, and would have given us a run for our coins if we had competed in the Blood Rite.
The detailed instructions Cassian had left had specifically said that the squad was to practice flight maneuvers up in the very peaks of the mountains daily, no matter the weather. This hadn’t really seemed a problem considering since I was leaner and my wings larger, I had always been better at flying than Cassian, once I had learned how. When we had arrived at their training grounds, however, my opinion had changed. The wind had been so strong all of us were being tossed around by the mother herself and the air so thin it was nearly impossible to take a deep breath. Combined with the freezing temperatures and the constant onslaught of snow and ice I had left the training camp feeling much like I had on my first day of training as a young child, battered and beaten without hope that tomorrow would be any better.
Shaking off the remaining melted ice and snow lingering on my wings, I pulled them in despite the ache running through them and headed inside towards the promise of a hot shower, deciding never to tell Cassian how difficult his job truly was.
I hadn’t even made it through the door to the stairs of the building before a familiar tap against my mental sheilds came in and I sighed, letting them fall.
You’re back from training? Rhys’ voice echoed through my head.
Just got in, I responded, trying not to sound exhausted.
Meet me in my office at the River House. I need you special skillset.
Fuck.
It seemed the hot shower would have to wait.
Turning back I stalked towards the edge of the building and launched off the side, wondering what he could possibly need now.
I found him sitting in his office not too much later, booted feet propped up on the edge of his desk and his hair more tousled than normal as if he had been running his hands through it. The lingering scent of his frustration filled my nostrils as I stepped inside, instantly putting me on alert. Ever since the end of the war and the peace negotiations had been settled between courts, he had had a lot less on his plate that was bothering him. It had been nice to see him relaxing for once and enjoying his new wife and son without the added stress of a war going on around him so the agitation in his gaze had me dreading whatever was about to come.
“Thank you for coming. I wouldn’t have summoned you so soon after training, only the matter is rather pressing,” he started.
“Anything, Rhys. What can I do?”
He let his feet fall to the ground and gestured to the mass of papers and ledgers strewn across his desk. As far as I could tell them seemed to be birth records and marriage records, along with a few ledgers on land registrations and immigration for Velaris. Unsure what to make of this I waited for his answer.
“I’ve been combing through everything, Azriel, everything there is on the histories of who lives in this city. As you know we have kept pretty thorough records over the span of time to ensure the safety of it’s people and the Night Court in general. Even after opening the boarders once it’s existence became known we have kept impeccable records of who is entering and exiting the city. So tell me why my mate suddenly had a best friend I know nothing about, one whom she is spending all of her time with and who my son is now obsessed with?”
I jolted at this news.
Around me my shadows whispered and writhed, displeased that they too had somehow missed out on the information. Since Feyre had proved her loyalty to us time and again I had withdrawn my little spies from her, vowing to allow her and the high lord their privacy within their relationship. This, however, did not stop my shadows from reporting going ons around Velaris about what the inhabitants had to say in regards to our high lady. I often got reports of how pleased they were with her presence and more so how much they admired her commitment to restoring Velaris to how it was before the invasion. Countless projects had been formed to create housing for those displaced by the destruction along with beautification projects to not only fix but improve some of the buildings that had been destroyed. The people loved her and my shadows loved to tell me of this. The fact that neither of us had noticed a new friendship brewing was shocking.
This friend not being in any records was even more concerning, though, so I chose to focus on that.
“Perhaps she goes by a different name or there is a missing ledger somewhere?”
Rhys only shook his head. “I do not know. What I do know, however, is that she spends an inordinate amount of time with my wife and child, and I know next to nothing about her. I need you to find out who she is and where she came from.”
This was not an abnormal request. In fact it was rather simple compared to most things that he asked of me, so I nodded. “I can start tomorrow-”
“You will start now. Feyre is with her at the gallery now, and her visits are unpredictable so I need you to go meet her now and keep an eye on her. This is your most pressing duty right now, is that understood?”
“Yes, of course.”
If there was one thing about Rhys it was that he took his family’s safety very seriously, and after what happened to his mother and sister I could never blame him for that. Without another word my shadows and I slid out of the room and back onto the street to make our way towards Feyre’s gallery.
The streets of Velaris were filled with people in the late afternoon, per usual. With fall fast approaching everyone was trying to soak up the last bits of warmth they could before another brutal winter descended from the mountains and blanketed the city in cold for something on end. Having just come from the mountains myself I basked in the warmth of the late summer sun on my wings even though a hot shower would have been preferable.
Though the people of Velaris were accustomed to me they still gave me a wide berth on the sidewalk, everyone moving out of my way either from fear or from awe. A few mothers shepherded their children in the opposite direction when they saw me coming while others scolded the little ones for outright staring at me, even though they themselves did the same thing. Inwardly I sighed while outwardly I kept the same stoic expression as always. No matter how much time went by I knew people would always find my shadows and my reputation intimidating if not outright frightening.
It didn’t necessarily bother me that people were afraid. It made my job a lot easier since the people I delt with usually needed a bit of fright to tell me what I needed to know. When it came to my social life, however, it was rather debilitating.
Females never saw me as anything more than a conquest. A novelty male of shadows and darkness with giant wings who had connections to the high lord was all they saw when they looked at me so there was rarely a second night with them. Most only wanted to be seen with me so they seem interesting to their friends and when it came time to end the night they sent me on my own for they would never truly want an Illyrian bastard spy master in their bed. Those who did allow me such a privilege only wanted me for the sake of boasting to their friends afterwards that they not only managed to snag me for the night, but that they were brave enough to allow me to be alone with them too.
In my youth it had been fun to never have the issues that Cassian or Rhys did with the females who clung to them and chased after them wanting more than one night. I never had to worry about being tricked into marriage or being sought after for what I could provide. As I grew older things changed, especially since both of my brothers now had their own wives and mates. It was no longer satisfying to go home to my empty apartment, to spend all my nights alone wondering when it would be my turn to be loved. As happy as I always am for my brothers happiness, it’s hard to watch them knowing I might never have that.
As it always did when I contemplated this subject, my mind drifted towards Elain. The beautiful Elain who I had thought was the perfect match for me as her sisters were for my brothers. She had never flinched away from the sight of me or thought me some commodity to brag about, only ever wanting to be near me because she liked me for me and that was all. Fate was cruel in this way that they fated her for another. Between her still longing for her human love and the tension between her and her mate, Lucien, it had become obvious to me that we were never meant to be. She didn’t see me that way and I after some reflection on it, I didn’t truly see her that way. I had only been interested because I had hoped fate would make finding my mate as easy as presenting her to me on a platter like it had been with Nesta and Cassian. Of course nothing was ever that easy for me and I was resigned to living out my long life alone.
The door to Feyre’s gallery was suddenly in front of me with little to no recollection of the walk to it and I shook my head, intent on focusing on the task at hand. As soon as I figured out more about this female Rhys was so worried about I was going to head home for that shower I had promised myself.
Pushing open the door of the gallery I couldn’t help the little satisfaction I got at spotting my high lady in all her glory. The gallery was one of her favorite projects having opened it just after the war in hopes of inspiring others to deal with the pain and anguish they had been through using art, much like she did. The walls were lined in paintings and sketches of the inhabitants of Velaris who had taken to Feyre’s vision, illustrating their sadness, anger, pain, or even hope to hang there for all to see. Every time I walked in there were new masterpieces available for purchase and at least one person curled up in front of an easel working on something new, and at the center of it all was Feyre looking radiant as she instructed, supported, and just provided a space for people to be allowed to feel something.
When I walked in she was leaning over the ledgers of her sales, her brown gold hair piled high in a messy bun on her head and a faint streak of blue paint running through it. She looked up at the sound of the bell and a beautiful smile spread over her features upon seeing that it was me. Never in all my life had anyone ever greeted me that way and I truly did not think I would ever get over the warmth that spread through my chest knowing that she cared for me as much as I cared for her.
“Azriel!” she grinned, tossing aside the pen she had been chewing on and coming around the desk to greet me. “I didn’t expect you today.”
“I haven’t stopped by in a while so I thought I should come check on how things are going,” I shrugged, sliding my gloved hands into the pockets of my leathers I had yet to change out of from training. “You have a lot of new work up I see.”
“Yes!” she beamed, looking around at the work in question with such pride in her eyes it was evident she really was thriving there despite it all. “We’ve become pretty popular recently and more people have been joining as well as purchasing. It’s been wonderful for raising more funds to put back into the community.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” I nodded, scanning the large space.
A few people were tucked behind their easels working away yet none seemed to be paying attention to us as they were so enraptured with their own work. None of them seemed to stick out as the female I should be looking for and I was debating the best way to figure out who she was when my eyes landed on the obvious answer to my question.
A young female sat on the ground in the far corner of the room, tucked away behind the easels and stools so she was almost invisible to anyone passing by. A mass of curling red hair fell over her shoulder obscuring her face from view as she bent over the paper sprawled on the floor before her and a slim hand covered in paint was tracing designs over the paper, right next to a tiny hand stretching out from the little winged child kneeling next to her who was so covered in paint I wasn’t entirely sure how his mother was going to get it off later.
I gaped at them, unable to keep my shock from my face.
Nyx was a friendly child with a sunny disposition, but only to his family. The ones who were always by his side as he had grown were the trusted people he felt comfortable bestowing his cute little smiles and giggles on, but anyone outside of the inner circle usually had him hiding behind our legs so he didn’t have to interact with them. His protective parents weren’t concerned with this in th slightest considering he was still so young and they were a bit paranoid after everything that had happened so they didn’t go out of their way to force him to socialize. To see him so comfortably sitting next to a stranger was disconcerting.
As I watched Nyx’s telltale devious smirk curled over his lips and he dipped his little hand in a pot of blue paint and, with a dripping weapon, reached for the female.
Without missing a beat she let out a quick laugh and snagged his wrist before he could make contact with her hair, then brought it down on the paper to leave a smudged blue hand print on top of the swirls sh had been making. Peeling giggles erupted from Nyx as he fell over laughing, finding his thwarted plans the funniest thing that had ever happened in his young life. Feyre glanced back at them with a fond smile on her face, her eyes dancing with amusement as the female joined in on the laughter.
“Valayna,” she called. “Come here and meet a friend of mine.”
The laughing female paused then and looked up, a pair of big hazel eyes meeting mine across the room, and that’s when my world toppled over.