Unknown Heir (ACOTAR)

FIVE

Azriel was at her side in an instant. She had collapsed in what seemed like an overwhelming amount of pain. Azriel immediately felt for a pulse and checked her breathing. He turned to me. "It hurts her. Me going into her mind. She said it hurts her," he said gently. I nodded.

"Did you find anything?" I asked. He nodded.

"She's not going to harm us. She fled her father," he said. "I saw it."

"Did you see anything else?" He stayed quiet for a bit after my question.

"I may have free rein over her mind but there are things she kept hidden. Memories. She had pushed them down. They surged through her mind before she collapsed," Azriel said. His eyes were glued on her. I nodded.

"What would you like to do?" He didn't reply. He picked her up bridal style and winnowed out. I followed him but did not know where he went.

I landed next to Rhys in the living room. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?" Cass blurted. I looked at him.

"He went into her mind. Found that she had fled her father and hid here. She isn't a threat," I said. Rhys continued to raise an eyebrow at me.

"I sense that's not all," he said quietly. I nodded

"She collapsed. From pain," I said. "She told Az that he might have free rein but that it causes her a lot of pain. She also hid her memories from him. Her past. He said they flooded her mind before she collapsed." Rhys nodded and Mor and Cass were silent. "I don't know where they went."

-----

I was dreaming. No, I was 6 again. I was in my father's palace. I was reliving- memories. I screamed as my father tortured the man in front of me. I screamed at the guard who came to my room every night. I screamed at my father when he killed my mother. I screamed when he killed innocents. I screamed at the tutor he hired for me. I screamed when he locked me up in my room. I cried as I went days without nourishment. I cried at the loss of my mother. I cried at the pain that lashed through my body. Real pain. Not memories. Then I saw him.

The shadowsinger. He was in the corner of my memories as they flooded by. He watched, beheld. I screamed at him. I screamed for him to get out. To leave my mind. He looked at me and an image came into view. I stopped screaming. I watched the three boys flying in the sky before me. Three Illyrians. I watched one in particular. Then the image changed and in front of me were my wings. My wings from his view. He looked at them. He touched my back and went to touch my wings. A voice snarled at him, telling him not to touch them. He stopped. He listened. The image changed to when he was in my mind. When he was about to take a step but stopped when I told him to. He listened. He respected my boundaries. I looked at the shadowsinger in the corner of my mind. But he was gone. The image of my wings remained. The word beautiful swam through my mind. But it was not my voice who repeatedly said it. It was his. His voice. My mate's voice.

-----

I ran through the door into Azriel's room with the others in tow. He was staring at her and she was breathing heavily. His hands were slack at his sides. Az turned to us. "Is she okay? We heard her screaming," I said gently. He nodded slowly before turning back to her.

"Nightmares," was all he said. Rhys grabbed my arm and started pulling me back. I let him. He shut the door. I looked at him.

"Leave them. He'll come to us when he is ready," he said soothingly. I nodded and glanced once more at the door.

-----

I opened my eyes slowly and stared at a ceiling. It was not the cell. I looked to my side and was instantly caught in the hazel eyes of the shadowsinger. I couldn't escape. He looked at me expectantly. I slipped into his mind. There you are. How are you feeling? He said gently. I said nothing. Just looked at him. Do you need anything? A word crossed my mind.