A Court of Shadows and Lies / ACOTAR FF

Chapter 59

--- Azriel POV ---

The room was weirdly quiet with my whole family, except Nyx who was asleep in his room, and Jez's sisters. Jez, as Etta explained, had been found unconscious in one of the other dungeons within the estate. She had been taken to her room and had remained there, asleep. That was nearly two weeks ago.

Despite the initial anger I had when Jez had walked into the cell glowing, I was surprised to feel an overwhelming sensation – like she had tried to hold back whatever had slipped through. It only grew when Everild provoked her and she had killed him, the brought him back to life.

Gods, she had brought him back to life.

When she had left the dungeon moments after doing it for the second time, no one in the room spoke. Her sisters had left quietly, my family and I stunned while Everild wheezed and begged for death. I wasn't going to give him that. Nor was Rhysand or Cassian.

That was for Jez.

Chel had, albeit unwillingly, told us that the sisters needed to talk to us today. She rallied us into this gorgeous library that smelt of Jez, and put the one in the House of Winds to shame. Bookshelves lined the two walls, towering over us with ladders that moved on their own. Books were rearranging themselves at will, floating from one side to another.

A beautiful painting of a childhood folklore I was told filled the ceiling. A magnificent black dragon, its eyes red and lifelike scales, was breathing into the face of a warrior with white wings. It was set in a dark, foreboding forest, with fae and creatures scattered around, hiding in the bushes and trees. If memory was serving me correctly, the story talked about a unnamed warrior meeting a God's final dragon, where its fire was used to keep the lights burning in the underground cities, like Hewn City.

"That's Elspeth," Sif said. I darted my gaze towards the female who was sitting on the windowsill. "All stories in Prythian have a basis – the one you're thinking of is sort of true."

I frowned. Was it that easy for them to get into my thoughts?

"Yes," Sif replied. I stared at her and she gave me a soft smile, one that Jez would give me whenever she teased me.

The more time I spent around her sisters, the more I began to see how similar and dissimilar they were.

"What did you want to discuss?" Rhysand asked from the settee that had been turned around to face them. Feyre was sat with him, with Cassian. Amren was stood by one of the bookcases, mid-way through reading a book. Mor was stood with Elain, who was inspecting a wisteria vine that had wrapped its way around a rogue tree in the corner. Gwyn, Emerie and Nesta were besides themselves, chatting in the corner about a book they had found. I couldn't make out what they were excited about.

"We've decided to tell you what we know," Oriana explained, looking at Sif whose smile had dropped.

"Without Jez?" I asked.

Etta was the one who jumped in. "Jez is currently asleep-"

"I looked into her thoughts," Sif butted in. Niamh, Mabel, Etta and Elspeth looked uncomfortable at the admission. "Jez uncovered a lot of information from Keyon and Shaw."

"But why are we doing this without her?" Feyre asked. She shuffled forward in the seat. "Surely, we'd want her here?"

"We do," Sif said tightly. "She's still asleep and we've invited-"

"Asleep? As in a coma?" Cassian asked. Sif nodded and my brother turned to me, concern etched into his face. "She was in one for a little while back in Velaris when we had fought this black creature thing, never seen anything like it in my life. Vera had said that her magic was breaking through, trying to fix something deep within her."