A Court Of Shadow and Blood

☆ Hybern Spymaster ☆

Azriel blinked. “How long have you been talking to them?” he asked curtly, with a barely restrained snarl. Good, he told himself. He was supposed to be angry.

“Only a few minutes.” She’d been having two conversations at once. “They saw you all gather. I need an excuse, quick.”

“Elain’s birthday,” Nesta supplied instantly.

“We did that yesterday.”

“Your birthday.” Eblis glanced up at her brother with a frown.

She nodded slowly. “Alright, thank you, Rhysand.” She sighed, her eyes not even going distant when using her daemati abilities that so often happened to his High Lord and Lady. 

“Alright,” she said then, “to continue: I lasted about fifty years of torture, rape, and interrogation before I broke.” Her mouth pressed into a thin line, her glance going to Azriel. “I’ve always been disappointed about how quickly I gave in. That was when I got all these scars, and when I developed a trauma for touch. I trusted nobody, and I stayed that way for centuries. The King appreciated that, and that was when I began my work as a Naval commander in his army. I was there that day in the Summer waters when Hybern launched a surprise attack.” She winked with false bravado at her brother, even as her gaze was sad. “You were very close to killing me that day.

“After about two centuries, I had gathered a group of good shipmates and workers who I trusted. I was relatively close to all of them, and I knew they wouldn’t betray me,” she continued. Her gaze grew very haunted, the violet drowning with sadness. Azriel had to stop himself from reaching forward, from trying to take that sadness away from her. Eblis, not seeming to notice, said, voice softening inexplicably, “The King of Hybern did not like that. They were butchered within days of him figuring it out right in front of me, on my ship. It wasn’t long after that when I was moved to his army.” Surprise glinted across his senses. She’d had everyone near her slaughtered. “I think I did that only for ten years before becoming Captain—I only rose to General rank after Amarantha died. During all this, I experienced...a mental strain. It was how I achieved my daemati skill. It was around that time that the Queen had been created, and Madalyn born. She took me into her guard and I came to...babysit Madalyn.”

He cursed in his mind. He hadn’t thought of that; that as a daemati she might’ve been part of the Daemati Council she’d warned them of. But he also realized that it meant she had vital information she could give them; even if it had been at the cost of her hope that it’d come to be. He had to stop himself again, for he seemed far too inclined to worry about her then he should be.

“You said Madalyn was around two centuries of age, but you pair her and the Queen’s timelines so closely,” Feyre posed with a frown, her brown-gold hair glistening.

Eblis smiled slightly. “I know I made it sound like the Queen had been there the entire time, but yes. The Queen is only about two centuries of age and Madalyn was born shortly after her creation. You didn’t even try causing disruption within the court because of that slight word play,” she said. She shook the smile from her face, sobering up once more. “Madalyn was who taught me to not fear touch anymore. It is kind of difficult to care for a child if you do not want to hold them.” She continued, “I still...dislike it, but it doesn’t make me clam up or vomit or run away anymore. Just like the feeling of an unwanted bug on my skin at this point.” Azriel’s hand slackened. She’d been so good at pretending to hate their touch, making a show of slowly healing because of their care and trust. Just another tactic to her, he realized.

Eblis sighed. “To summarize all of that: I am General of Hybern’s armies, and also the Spymaster.”

“You said that—”