A Court of Shadows and Lies / ACOTAR FF

Chapter 24

I was hurt a lot quicker than I had anticipated. It was possibly my ego more than anything else. Possibly.

The first day back, Azriel had pretty much left the cabin as soon as he placed my breakfast in front of me. He didn't so much as say a word when he did; the Shadowsinger had slammed the door on my 'Good Morning', bruising my self-esteem. I had spent the majority of the day by the bay window, skimming through the tomes of females Koschei had kept, waiting for Azriel to come home. Every single thud, movement outside and even flap of some bird wings made me jump and automatically look at the door.

At some point in the evening, I had fallen asleep and Azriel had come home. He didn't bother moving me to my bed, only waking me when he had slammed the door to his staircase leading to his room.

The second and third day, except for Azriel telling me that Cassian was coming over to take me to training the females, were exactly the same. He avoided talking and looking at me, only having to interact when food was involved. That was when my heart started to hurt, as if it had imagined whatever went on between the two of us in the inn.

As I woke up on the fourth day, I had to remind myself that I wasn't here forever. I was only going to be here for as long it took my sisters to break through the Velaris barriers, or until this necklace drops from around my neck. Azriel, and everything that came with him despite the tug that had returned, would be nothing but a faint memory a thousand years from now.

The Shadowsinger barely looked at me on the fourth day as he placed the breakfast plate in front of me. I looked down at the meal to find the usual bacon, eggs, sausage and toast before looking back up at him. He was stretching his wings, his back turned to me. "Are you going anywhere?" I asked him, finally plucking up the courage to say something before he left.

Azriel began walking to the door, not even a glance my way. "Cass is coming."

"Thanks for being a great steward," I muttered, picking up the fork and swirling the food around. "Are you going to list out what my day is like next? 'Ma'am, you're going to the theatre tonight'. Or have you already made use of me?"

I heard Azriel stop walking. Pursing my lips, I peered over my shoulder at the Shadowsinger who was now staring cold daggers at me. "You'll be training the females today. I have better things to do today."

His attitude today was not needed and I was going to match it. "Good, I'm sure half of Prythian wouldn't agree." I stared at Azriel bored, watching him flex his wings several times, his jaw clenching and unclenching. "Perhaps I should ask Gwyn myself when I see her today. It looks like we have more in common than I thought: being sorely disappointed in males who underperform."

Never have I seen Azriel move so quickly towards me, even during the last few months I had been here. His shadows were taut around him, and I could feel his anger and irritation radiate off him before he could reach me. I wish I was scared of him, it possibly would have made this entertaining, but he wouldn't hurt me – not like Koschei or the Shadow in my dreams.

Azriel towered over me as I popped a sausage into my mouth. "Leave Gwyn's name out of your mouth."

"That'll be a bit difficult if I'm training her today," I told him, placing my elbow on the counter and resting my cheek on the balled-up fist. I wasn't entirely sure why he was giving me the cold shoulder, nor did I understand everything that came before this moment. If that's how he wanted to deal with whatever he has going on, despite my heart tugging on its own strings at the dismissal of what happened on the continent, Azriel could keep at it for all I cared. "I also don't think Gwyn is the sort of female to be told orders from males, especially you."