A Court Of Moonlight And Shadows (An Azriel/ACOTAR Fanfiction)

Chapter 6

The whisper of Arcane's lips was still alive on his palms when Azriel woke up to find Cassian's face looming over him.

"No, I'm goi- Cass!" He yelled when his brother grabbed his ankle and yanked him off the bed, making his head hit the floor. He pulled Cassian down with himself and rammed his elbow into his stomach. They both laid on the cold floor, clutching their head and stomach respectively and jabbing each other until their small morning misadventure was bought to an end by Nyx waking up.

By the time they had gathered themselves and reached the dining hall, the little boy was all but sniffing away at his father's shoulder. His hands were curled into tiny fists that were covered with tears. Rhysand bounced him in his arms and Feyre rubbed his back and mumbled soothingly.

"Why is he crying?" Azriel asked, worriedly. 

"There was a loud noise and he got frightened." Feyre answered before returning to combing Nyx's hair with her fingers.

"Loud noise?" Cassian and he exchanged glances and then quickly shrugged. "Can't imagine what that could be."

"Let's eat, Az." Cassian motioned for him to follow and they served themselves while Nyx too came to sit by Feyre's side. He showed no interest in his own food and kept reaching for Azriel's plate.

"You can't chew that!" Azriel laughed but pulled him into his lap.

Nyx watched his uncle chew the solid food with wide eyes and then tried to copy the movement of his jaw. "You still won't be able to chew this food." Cassian pinched his cheek. That hurt the little High Lord's ego and he tried to bite Cassian's finger.

"He takes after Feyre." Cassian jerked his hand back. "Just won't accept that he is wholly incapable of doing something yet." Rhys and Feyre both smiled.

Then, remembering something, Feyre asked, "Where is Astra?"

Azriel carefully kept his thoughts respectful. Then, Cassian frowned at him. "She was in the library with you, right? Did she go to bed?"

"Yes." Azriel said. "I think it was very late but I know she went back to her room."

"Maybe she went out with Mor." Rhysand suggested and sure enough, both females came in laughing among themselves.

Nyx shrieked in delight at seeing his aunts and held his arms up, demanding attention. Mor dropped her shopping bags and scooped him up while Arcane hesitated a bit behind her.

Azriel noticed her hovering behind Mor and smiling at the baby but she made no move to hold him or even touch him.

"Did you two go out without eating anything?" Rhysand asked.

"Oh couldron, yes!" Mor sighed. "I'm starving." She sat down on a chair and Nyx contently watched her, having found his way into another lap. "Come, Arcane. You must be hungry as well." She motioned for the other female but she politely declined.

"I'm not hungry just yet. I will eat in a while." She excused herself. Nobody saw her wiping her sweaty palms on the side of her dress except Azriel.

When she disappeared up the stairs, Azriel said, "I'm going to take a bath."

He quietly followed her and listened for a while. The door of her room was closed but the sound of something being thrown travelled to the outside. A lot of ruckus followed as he waited outside patiently.

She threw open the door, "Stop hovering outside people's bedroom." She snapped.

"Are you okay?" He calmly asked.

"Yes."

"You're not." He stated.

"I am. And why are you asking? It's none of your business." Arcane's grey eyes were clouded like a stormy sky and her fingers almost formed dents in the door handels. "Get lost, spymaster. Go look for what I asked you to. If I don't get it, I will gladly leave your people to die."

"They are Feyre's people. You wouldn't hurt her like that." His words were spoken quietly but he knew they were true.

She took a deep breath, "Azriel. Leave me alone."

"I don't have to bring you anything, you know? You will repair the shield for Feyre." He didn't expect the back handed slap.

She pointed a finger in his face, "I will burn your pretty little city down in the blink of an eye. Do not test me, spymaster."

He was not even over the slap before she again slammed the door shut. Fire coarsed through his veins and he pounded his fist against the door. "If you won't open the door, I will tear it off it's hinges." He threatened.

The conversation downstairs stopped but he was too angry to have cared. The door didn't even bulge. No footsteps came towards the door.

He walked to the nearest window. When he landed in her balcony, the room was a mess, the curtains were torn and even Sulatana was curled up in a corner and made no move to eat him. She covered her head with her paw and stayed down. He almost pitied her but guessed that she must be used to Arcane's outbursts.

"Arcane!" He yelled when he didn't see her. A small sound came from the the bathroom.

Water splashed quietly and then stopped immediately. Not caring about whether she was naked or not, Azriel barged into the bathroom.

Arcane was fully clothed, despite sitting in the bathtub. She stared him with wild eyes for a long time and he could almost hear her heartbeat. She was breathing hard and looked smaller than what he knew to be accurate.

She gulped hard, "What the fuck are you doing in here? How did you get past Sulatana?"

He spat, "The poor thing is cooped up in a corner. This is how you treat her?"

"I don't-" she started but he cut her off.

"Don't even try to make excuses. And you know what? Good luck getting yourself whatever it is that you want. I'm not doing it for you." He kneeled down in front of her. "Go ahead. Burn the city."

She stared hard at him and he thought this was over when, all of a sudden, shadows fell across his face.

In the only window in the bathroom, iron spiked grew, shutting the world out. They grew hard and sharp and real until they twisted around the small plants growing there and squeezed the life out of them.

His limbs felt like they were made of concrete and his throat closed up.

In front of him, water rose as steam from Arcane's body and her eyes turned silver, the white and grey disappearing. "I told you, not to test me. Why don't you just fucking listen?" She pushed the words out.

He tried speaking but the muscles in his throat pressed together and he almost felt his heart leap to his throat.

"You will bring me what I ask you to or you will see everything you love turn to dust."

His organs cemented together and his face turned blue by the time she spat those words out.

Then, a whine came. Sultana.

The dark beast prowled inside and sat by Azriel. Licking his face, she sniffed his throat. Almost certain that she was going to eat him, he closed his eyes.

She nudged Arcane with her head, her green gem glowing dimly. Arcane clenched her jaw but slowly, her eyes returned to normal. The iron spikes retreated inside the window sill and Azriel took a breath, falling forward.

His wings hung by his side as he took large gulps of air and wheezed.

Arcane sighed and scratcher Sultana's coat. "Leave." She said to Azriel. "Just do what I ask you to and this will end peacefully."

She looked like she was going to cry when he looked up. Sulatana nuzzled her head against Arcane's chest. Arcane didn't look at him but mumbled something under her breath and his muscles relaxed. She breathed hard and her fingers trembled as she patted Sultana.

Azriel watched both of them for a long, long minute before gathering himself up. He shrugged off his leather jacket and put it around Arcane's shoulders. "Get out of there. You're going to catch cold. Who climbs into a bathtub with their clothes on? Nobody but you, you overdramatic woman." He scolded before scooping her up from the water.