Into the Shadows - ACOTAR / ACOMAF - Azriel x OC

Chapter V - Day I

"Why are you taking me to the Court of Nightmares?" I demanded. Ignoring the way my body fluttered when he said my name.

His shadow coiled around his ear and rested on his shoulder. It seemed the others would only appear when the sun went down. Still, though, he was surrounded in pale darkness. As if the sunlight shied away from him.

He stared at me, probably registering that this was similar to the game we played earlier before we had walked to the cave.

His eyes narrowed and I copied him. He took a bite of the dried meat and chewed slowly before giving an exaggerated swallow. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Leaning against a rock whilst I focused on my breathing.

I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact again. Those hazel eyes were filled with content at my discomfort whilst he chewed through the meat and I wondered if he was going to finish it.

During those 6 months, I ate once a week. And though I promised myself I would never say no to food again, never let my body reach that ghastly state. I was even more determined to find some answers.

The more information I had, the more I could report back to my father once I could finally escape. I'm not sure why escaping back to him seemed like an appropriate plan, but I had nowhere else to go.

Being locked in the Court of Nightmares probably wasn't much worse than Hybern, but at least Hybern was home. And if I could return to the King with something invaluable, or even better, return with the Court itself, then my marriage would be stopped and I could redirect my strategic mind back to secretly helping the human slaves of Hybern.

From the little text that remained, I knew the first War was about freeing human slaves from the grasps of Faeries. My father had been against their freedom and had retreated to the island in order to carry on with his preferred lifestyle.

From a young age, I quickly learned that outwardly standing against him wouldn't do me or the human any good. So I had to be more cunning about my opinion and try to help in whatever little way I could.

Thinking of my imprisonment and the slaves left to rot on Hybern quickly squashed my appetite. I took one more gulp of cold water letting my wrists sit in the iciness to help with the frictions burns.

"We're moving" the Shadowsinger informed me. And so I dragged my body back onto my feet and fell into steps behind him.

The woods grew into eery silence and a soft chill pushed into my body. I glanced around and yet there was nothing to be seen. Still, the hairs on my body stood tall and the lack of silence seemed deafening. I looked at the Shadowsinger, his lone shadow coiling and whispering to him. His body language remained the same, with no tightness in his shoulders or hesitation in his steps.

The impending sense of doom grew within seconds and I stopped in my tracks. at that moment, he whirled around, his dagger flying from his grip and screaming past the left side of my body. I whipped round to follow the blade and watched as it slammed into the heart of a Naga, pinning its rotting body to the tree behind.

The Shadowsinger moved to brace me. His warm hands gently wrapped around my shoulders as he forced me to meet his gaze. His eyes searched for something in mine before looking down at the rest of my body.

I was so astonished by the concern and worry that flooded in his actions, I thought I was hallucinating. That suspicion seemed to be confirmed once his gaze returned to mine, and his mask of indifference was in its rightful place. 

"Why the fuck didn't you kill that sooner?" I raged. Even with the binds, I felt my body heat up as I shook away from his grip and stalked to the dead Naga. "You must have felt it as well," I continued, my demanding angry tone growing louder with each heartbeat "I saw your shadow whisper to you. Why didn't you warn me?" My loud voice bounced around the trees and my temper was swelling under my skin.