A Court of Golden Shadow || Elain x Azriel

Chapter 25 - My Sweet Flower Girl

"Helion is a wonderful host." Elain's looked to Lucien, viewing him from the corner of her eye as her voice quieted. "I feel that you two get along quite well."

"Yes." He agreed, smiling and retreating from her blanket, heading to the cliff's edge. "I think we're cut from the same cloth."

Elain nodded, her words caught in her throat at his statement. The male bowed his head and turned, a grin brimming as he hurtled toward the edge of the cliff, launching into the sky and dropping into the water below. Elain's eyes trailed back to the blanket by her feet, and then up toward where her eyes had been traveling since she arrived under this tree; the Shadowsinger.

Unable to restrain herself, she gazed toward him. Azriel's tanned chest was peeking out from a billowing white linen shirt, unbuttoned to nearly the bottom of his rib cage. His short black hair had begun to grow in the three weeks they had been here, and it had started to part in the middle slightly, falling toward his high cheekbones in a sweeping curve, which only accentuated his dark lashes and brows.

And it was at that moment, when she was staring directly at his face, that Azriel peeked an eye open, catching her red-handed with a smirk. Her cheeks burning, Elain whipped her head away, her eyes boring into the happy fae swimming below, pulling her knees to her chest as the embarrassment settled in heavy.

"I'll strike a bargain with you." Azriel's low voice floated toward her, his tone playful as he closed his eyes again and tipped his head back against the tree. "If you jump off that cliff, I'll do anything you want."

Elain scoffed and shook her head, her dismissive tone the only reply she could offer. She felt her cheeks still growing hot... as they always did when she found herself under the gaze of Azriel.

"I mean it." He opened his eyes again, narrow toward her as she laughed, her nervous tone dancing across the grass between them. "You jump, and I'll do anything you want."

Elain paused, considering the offer. Her eyes left the view of her swimming friends and returned to their home in his hazel gaze. She felt a small, yet familiar bubble of cheeky fun spring up.

She decided to play along.

"Anything I want? Sounds dangerous." Elain smirked, releasing her knees and leaning back on her hands, she threw her chest out and cocked her head.

"Sure. Anything within reason." Azriel's gaze bore into her.

"Even if I wanted you to kidnap Helion's prize Pegasi Meallan and ride him all the way home to Velaris?" She raised a brow.

"Well, my little warmongering friend, if we would like to avoid inter-court conflict, that request may be a little OUT of reason, but..." He smiled, his hazel eyes glimmering in the sun. "I'd do it for you."

She laughed again, rising from the blanket and began sidling toward him, tapping her jaw and looking to the skies in mock consternation. "And what if I want you to strut in the nude through the next gathering of Prythian's High Lords?"

Azriel let out a low laugh. "Sure. They would be privileged to view such beauty." He closed his eyes again, leaning back with an arrogant smirk.

Elain did not know if she let out a chuckle or a scoff, but she could not control her mind from agreeing wholeheartedly with the observation.

"Unless..." Azriel opened his eyes, staring directly at her, challenge radiating off his tanned skin and muscled arms. "You're too scared?"

"Who says I'm scared?" She huffed automatically, coming nearer to the weeping willow, crossing her arms and cocking her hip as her shadow fell across his face.