𝒜 𝒞𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑅𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓈 | ᴀᴢʀɪᴇʟ

Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Arwen's scream ripped through the House of Wind. Her legs tangled with the sheets which were damp with her sweat. She thrashed in them, trapped somewhere between her nightmare and reality. Azriel had fled from his bed the moment he awoke to the horrifying sound and it wasn't long before he heard Cassian thumping down the hall behind him.

"Arwen?" He leant over her wild form across the bed, hands hesitating in the air, not knowing if waking her to his touch would make it worse. "Arwen."

The moonlight from the windows she kept constantly open let a trickle of moonlight in, illuminating the scene before him. Azriel's shadows knocked around him, whispering warnings in his ears. Cassian veered around the other side of the bed, hesitating as Azriel had, but took the leap he wouldn't and reached for her.

"Sweetheart—" he grasped her flailing shoulders with the strength of a gentle giant "—Arwen, sweetheart. Wake up. Wake up."

Arwen's throat tore with a final scream and her eyes flashed open, the near-full moon marking them with spots of white. Cassian moved with her, still holding her shoulders as she pressed herself towards the headboard, panting like chased prey. Azriel knelt one knee on the bed, but one foot on the ground kept him prepared to move if she much as hinted at wanting the space.

She seized Cassian's wrists, meekly kicking at the sheets as she fought for air. But she didn't push him away.

"It was just a dream," Cassian whispered to her. "You're in Velaris. You're safe."

Azriel had always been jealous of this part of Cassian. In truth, he had been jealous of many parts of Cassian, but this one was close to the top of the list. The part of Cassian that knew what to say, knew what to do. Azriel knew how to do his work—hand him a knife and tell him to cut out a gall bladder and he could do it blindfolded without a drop of blood getting on his boots. But ask him to comfort somebody and he was like a stuttering child. He had come to terms with that years ago, but it made a new sting as Arwen tipped her body towards Cassian rather than him.

Arwen's cheeks flooded with tears—the rawest reaction he had witnessed from her since her waking—her nails digging into Cassian's arm. She clawed her way closer until his dark grey nightshirt was in her grasp and her arms wrung around his neck. Cassian returned the hold, his thick arm wrapping under hers, the other cradling the back of her thighs. Azriel's eyes lingered on his brother's grip, watching how the tanned, unscarred hand tightened on the silk and her flesh. Places Azriel had only dared touch her in a few moments of intimacy that Cassian gripped with no uncertainty. Arwen had refused the touch of them all and now she clung to Cassian like it was everything she ever needed.

The one saving thought he had in those few seconds, was that Cassian's face betrayed that he understood the depth of meaning behind the return of his hold. The way his eyes shut for a moment and his face tightened. Azriel reminded himself that he wasn't the only one to have missed her. He wasn't the only one waiting to feel that embrace again.

The hand on her back stroked her spine as Cassian situated Arwen into his lap, letting her burrow her face into the side of his neck, her body racked with sobs. He looked over at Azriel. "I've got her," he promised.

Azriel nodded because that was all he could do. He rose off the side of the bed and stepped away, sinking back into the shadows. He didn't leave just yet though. Letting himself fall into the shadow's cover, he stayed and watched them.

Cassian tilted himself to lean up against the headboard, letting Arwen set herself however she pleased. She remained how they were, resting her entire weight against his front. He murmured softly to her—reassurances. After a time, she began to calm and stop squirming, making small nods at his words. Cassian smiled, continuing his soft strokes down her spine.