Shadows Whisper | | Azriel

8

"Hello," he spoke quietly, his voice deep and smooth. "I can leave if you'd prefer to be alone."

"No," she blurted out, her face immediately going red in embarrassment. "I mean...it's okay. You can stay."

He nodded, and she felt so exposed under his stare. He was bigger than her just like Rhys was, but his size wasn't nearly as intimidating.

He couldn't stop staring at her. Her hair was shorter now than the last time he saw her. It hung down just passed her shoulders in waves. Her violet eyes were so similar to Rhys's, but the more he let himself sit there staring into her eyes, the less they made her think of her the High Lord. Her bones were outlined so clearly through her skin and he ached inside knowing that she had been so starved.

"They didn't tell me you'd be here," she muttered, eyes darting from the shadows curled around her arm to Azriel, who was almost entirely shrouded in shadows. "They just said I should come."

His lips curved up into a half smile as a few more of his shadows broke away from him and went to her. It was odd seeing them behave like this, but they were drawn to her and something about it made him feel warm in parts of himself that had only ever been cold.

"They seem to have a mind of their own lately," he said, his smile soft and kind. "They've never spoken to anyone but me."

"They started speaking to me years ago," she informed him, sitting across the table from him where food and a glass of water appeared. "They were...they were the only companions I had."

"I'm glad they went to you," he muttered, eyebrows furrowed. "I...I'm glad you weren't entirely alone."

"They seemed to get trapped there with me," she said, guilt in her tone, "and then...when I was going to get married, they went into a frenzy. They contacted you, somehow. I don't understand it."

"They didn't have to get to me to communicate it to me. They could have...the information I got was muddled, like they were passing it between each other and losing pieces along the way. They were still stuck in there with you, but they were able to pass information to me through each other. At least that's what makes the most sense to me. I've never encountered a situation like this before," he rambled, cutting himself off there. His face burned in embarrassment at the ramble.

"Do you think...do you think there's any chance the shadows might know who held me captive?" She asked nervously, pushing her food around on her plate with her fork.

"If they knew, they would have told me," Azriel answered sympathetically, "the glamour was strong enough that even they couldn't see through it."

"What would you have done?" she asked, suddenly staring at him intently. "If they had known who was responsible and told you, what would you have done?"

"I'd want to kill them," he answered honestly, "but I wouldn't do it if you didn't allow it."

"I don't know if I'd want them dead," she confessed, "I don't know. What would be the point of killing them? It doesn't take away what they did. I think...I think Rhysand is going to kill them regardless of what I say if he finds them, so I suppose it doesn't matter what I think about it."

"What you think about it is the only thing that matters," Azriel told her, a gentle sternness in his voice, "if you don't want Rhys killing them, tell him that. He won't do anything that you don't want."

"The shadows spoke kindly of him but...he scares me," she muttered, speaking quietly out of fear that Rhys himself might hear, "he has so much anger."

"He's a good male," Azriel defended his friend, "and he would never do anything that went against your wishes. I have no doubt that he's furious about what was done to you, but he cares more about what you want than anything else. He won't kill if you tell him you don't want him to."

"Do I have to stay here? Forever?" she asked suddenly, looking around the massive dining room.

"Of course not," Azriel dismissed quickly, "you can go wherever you'd like. And feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like, but you should eat."

She stared down at her plate for a moment before she looked back to him, seeming terribly embarrassed.

"I don't know what anything other than the bread on this plate is," she admitted, seeming so ashamed. It made him feel like something inside of himself fractured.

"The meat is chicken," he informed her, "the, uh...the green stuff is broccoli. I don't care for that much myself, honestly. Your brother loves it though. And that, um...the mushy stuff, that's mashed potatoes. The brown liquidy stuff on the mashed potatoes is gravy."

"It's so odd," she mumbled, poking at the chicken with her fork. "Chicken."

"It's quite good," he assured her, "and if you don't like it, the house will give you anything else."

"The house cooks?" she asked curiously.

"Well...sort of? I don't know. It caters to our needs—it's enchanted, all of your brother's residences are," he explained, "he has a few different properties and they all have this sort of magic."

"Can you stop calling him that please?" she requested, face twisted up in distaste. "I don't...it's odd. I've only just met him."

"Being a part of Rhys's family isn't a bad thing," Azriel said, feeling the need to defend his friend, "he protects the ones he loves."

Astryn didn't respond to that. She sat and ate quietly, finding the whole thing to be a little overwhelming. There were so many different flavors. She had only ever had bland food.

It was almost too much to handle, and she gave up less than halfway through. The plate and glass vanished as soon as she decided she was finished, and she stood up.

"I'm going to go to bed," she explained when he looked at her worriedly, "goodnight, Azriel."

His mouth fell open at the sound of his name from her lips, but he quickly snapped his jaw shut.

"Wait," he blurted out, "I haven't...what's your name?"

"The shadows didn't tell you?" she asked, a little shocked.

"I told them not to. I wanted you to be the one to tell me."

She almost smiled.

"Astryn."