i n t h e s h a d o w s - a z r i e l (slow updates)

Chapter 24

"Wait," he reached for something in his pocket. "First, I wanna give you something." Eileánóir frowned at his words, wondering what else did he bring to the cottage. He kept his hand closed when he asked her to turn around. "What the hell are you-"

"You'll see, just turn around." She did as he said, still confused about what he's going to do. She jumped as she felt one of his hands brushing her neck, putting her hair on her right shoulder. She blushed as she felt that his hand lingered on her soft skin. Cold bite at her skin on her neck made her look down. Just between her collarbones were a dark blue crystal secured in some kind of black rope. 

"It's obsidian," she took the crystal in one of her hand, examining it under the candles' lights, "cobalt blue obsidian," he added blushing. It was the exact same colour as his Siphons, she smiled. She turned back to him as he continued. "The woman in the shop told me that the stone is meant for self-healing and is a protection against negativity," he explained. She couldn't hold back the burn in her throat and the sting in her eyes as she realized what that meant, for both of them. They had both gone through so much, so much trauma and yet they were still standing. She was so thankful that she was able to meet him, that they were able to find each other and hopefully, they'll be able to heal each other even if it has to take centuries. She took her mate in her arms, both understanding the real meaning of that necklace. 

"Thank you," she breathed against the skin on his neck which made him shiver. His arms tightened around her waist, enjoying the warmth of his mate's body. 

"Anyway!" Eileánóir came back to her smiling self. "Let's not be emotional today," she turned to take her back then look back at her mate. "Ready to get messy?" Azriel raised his brows to his mate's words, not knowing if she meant what he thought she meant but looking at the blush on her face after she saw his eyes, she was not. She hit him lightly on the arm, still blushing. "Not that you dirty-minded Illyrian," she flipped the bag in her head and emptied it between the two of them, revealing what she'd bought in the city. Some paint, cyan, magenta, yellow and white to be exact as well as four little canvas. 

Azriel smiled at what his mate had picked for this evening's activity even if, on the inside, he was a little bit panicking about the fact that she's going to discover how bad he is at painting. 

"Okay," Eileánóir said, clapping her hands together. "Basically, we each take a canvas and draw what comes to our mind or just anything we want to draw," she looked back at her mate who was still looking at the things she bought. 

"Are you going to laugh at me if I say that I don't know how to make other colours with these?" He pointed at the three primary colours on the blanket, some of his shadows appearing trying to hide his blushing cheeks. She smiled, looking at his shadowed face. He had always been softer around her but still, it was a bit odd to see how different he was from the tales she'd heard of him. The mysterious shadowsinger, cold-hearted and distant from everyone, hiding in his shadows and never showing any emotion. She remembers that every time she sees him showing such soft parts of him as blushing or genuinely smiling. 

"What?" 

The sound of his voice made her come back to reality. "Do I have something on my face? Why are you smiling?" She smiled again. 

"You're blushing," she brushed one of his cheeks, feeling the skin warmer than usual, making him blush a bit harder. She snorted and put her arms around his neck, approaching slightly. "I can't believe that Azriel, the famous cold-hearted spymaster of the Night Court, is actually blushing," she giggled, seeing him roll his eyes at the words she used. He brushed her arms then slid his around her waist, pulling her closer to him, not caring about the stuff lying on the blanket.