——
Briar POV
They had eaten dinner in silence, only the three of them, and Nyx, of course. Mor had stayed somewhere else, telling them she couldn't make it.
Rhys and Briar had spoken about her powers. She didn't like it, but it was necessary.
They would start training tomorrow afternoon.
She now lay in her bed, the room across from Azriel's.
Something pulled in her chest, telling her to go see him. So she did.
It was already late, the house was quiet.
Briar opened Azriel's door. His room was dark, but she could see that his eyes were open.
"Azriel? Are you awake?" she asked quietly.
"I am. My eyes are open, see." she let out a sigh of relief and strolled over to the bed.
She sat down next to him, careful not to touch his wings.
"Can I.. stay here? Much happened today, I don't want to wake up because of a nightmare." she saw Azriel nod.
Briar walked around the bed and laid down next to him, leaving some space between them. She faced him.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Better. My wings and back hurt." he said. Obviously.
"I... felt it." she said, earning a questioned look from Azriel.
She pushed herself closer to him. "I didn't know what it was. Then I saw you, unconscious. I felt scared." she said. "I'm sorry they did that to you."
Azriel lifted his hand to her cheek, Briar gave him a nod in approval to touch her.
His hand was warm and finally clean of blood. The feeling of his scars on her skin felt comforting.
"I'm sorry that I let them go." he said.
"We will get another chance." she said, smiling softly at him.
She lifted her hand, placing it on his hand.
She saw his eyes flicker to her lips, this time being sure he did. She also knew he wasn't going to take that step, scared she might reject him.
Briar leaned her head closer to him, feeling his warm breath. Her lips met his.
Azriel placed his other hand on her cheek, while Briar placed her hand behind his neck to deepen the kiss.
The kiss wasn't long, but it was long enough.
Her cheeks were blushed when she pulled away.
She felt something click in her chest and her eyes widened. Azriel looked at her, a smile written across his face.
"We-... how?" she said, sitting up in the bed.
Azriel sat too. He let out a small wince, causing Briar to give him a worried look.
"We are mates?" she asked. She felt shocked. Briar always thought she wasn't worthy of a mate, and definitely not of Azriel.
"How long have you known?"
"A while.." he started, "I wanted to let you figure it out on your own. I was scared it might scare you."
"Azriel.." she whispered, her hand going to his cheek.
"I could never reject you." she said.
"I am sorry for not telling you, I wanted to give you time." he said, "I-.."
Briar broke his sentence, "I am thankful for that, but now i've figured it out myself. And I am not going to reject you." she said.
She could see tears glinster in Azriel's eyes.
"I need some time for other things," she started, "but I want to spend that time with you. I want to get to know you better."
Azriel nodded, a tear slipping down his face. She wiped it away with her thumb.
Azriel pulled her into another kiss, a short one. He earned another smile from Briar.
"You know I can't... I can't do anything else. I can't give myself to you. Not yet." she admitted. She knew what the mating bond would do and make them feel, but she wasn't ready. Not with the fresh memory of her brother in her mind.
She hadn't told Azriel about her brother, but she had a feeling he somehow already knew.
"I don't expect you to. I will wait for you." he said, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.
She smiled at him once more and snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arms around him.
Azriel placed a kiss on her head.
She felt him smile against her head while she slowly fell into a deep sleep.
——
Azriel POV
Azriel woke up with his head more clear, but his back and wings still aching.
Briar was still asleep, in the same position they had fallen asleep in. Her head was still placed against his chest and one of her arms was wrapped around his waist.
She hadn't rejected him like he expected her to. She had only told him she needed time to figure out what she wanted.
For the first time in decades, he genuinely felt happy.
Azriel hoped Briar's father and brother would let them have this time.
——
Rhys put him on bed rest for the rest of the day, he had told him mind to mind. He was helping Feyre move some new things into her studio in the Rainbow, but he would be back by lunch.
Briar had woken up some time ago, she already started her day. She had offered to bring him breakfast, but when she suddenly remembered what that would mean, she walked away and mumbled a soft sorry.
Azriel only let out a small laugh.
He hated it when he wasn't allowed to go out.
There was a knock on his door. Mor walked into the room, looking better than she had yesterday.
"Briar asked me to give you breakfast. I don't know why she didn't come up here herself." Mor said, giving Azriel the plate.
"Tell her I said thank you."
Mor nodded, "Cassian wants to see you, he will be here any minute. I saw him this morning, he acted like a worried mother." Azriel snorted.
"What were you doing at the House?" he asked. She normally stayed at Rhys and Feyre's house.
"I was... visiting Nesta. And her friends."
"You sure you weren't visiting a specific friend of Nesta?" he asked. Azriel had seen how Mor looked at Emerie during the few times she had attended training.
"No..." she quickly changed the subject, "I'm taking Briar out to eat in Velaris. Feyre and Rhys have taken Nyx with them, so you won't have to babysit. Cass will take care of you." she shot him a wink and left the room.
——
Briar POV
Briar was walking through Velaris with Mor on her side. The female wanted to take her out for breakfast, even though she wasn't sure about being around that many people.
"Come on." Mor said, pulling her into a cafe.
All sorts of Fae were seated inside, all of them minding their own business. Mor sat down in the back.
Rhys had told her to eat enough before their training, because her power would take a lot of energy out of her. Even though she couldn't keep the food inside most of the time.
Someone took their order, Mor ordering for Briar.
"What's going on between you and Emerie?" Mor leaned back and sighed, "Why is everyone asking about that today."
Briar laughed softly, "I was just curious."
Mor muttered something under her breath, "She is... a good friend." she said.
Briar raised her eyebrows, "Nothing more?"
Mor rolled her eyes, "We're still figuring it out."
That was the answer she needed.
"So, now that we're being nosy. What is going on between you and Az?" she asked, leaning forward.
"I don't know." Briar said. She did know, but wasn't sure if she was supposed to tell anyone about the bond. She wanted to tell Mor. After the kiss they'd shared last night, she wanted to talk about it.
A smirk appeared on Mor's face, "Something is going on, I can see it on both your faces every time you look at each other." she pointed a finger at Briar.
Briar threw up her hands in defense, "We're still figuring it out." she said with a mocking tone.
Mor laughed.
——
Azriel POV
Cassian barged into his room, only having heard about his encounter with Jodis and his son this morning.
"What the hell did you do?" he asked.
"More like what I didn't do."
Cassian snorted. Azriel was happy his brother looked after him, how annoying he could be.
"Could you help me get out of bed?"
Cassian shook his head, "Rhys's orders. You are on bed rest."
"So I'm not even allowed to use the bathroom?" Azriel raised his eyebrows. Cassian's mouth fell into an o shape.
He got out of bed with help. His wings felt heavy and his back ached while he took a few steps.
His wings had already healed, only fresh scars marking them. Madja had put in stitches to close the wound in his back, saying that it would heal very slowly on its own. The wound was almost fully closed.
When he came out of the bathroom, Cassian was at his side in a second.
"Did Mor and Briar leave you here?" he said as he helped him sit down on the bed.
"Not really leave. Mor said you were coming to see me. I think she took Briar to distract her from everything."
"Great, now I'm expected to babysit."
"Normally, It's the other way around." he said.
A smile appeared on Cassian's face, "You are very talkative today. Did something special happen?"
Azriel hesitated, "She knows about the bond, it clicked last night." Cassian's eyes widened slightly.
"Did she accept it?"
Azriel shook his head, "She needs time to heal and think about what she wants."
"But she didn't reject you, right?" he asked.
"No she didn't." Azriel couldn't help but smile at it.
"I'm happy for you, Az." he said, clapping him on the back a little too hard, causing Azriel to cough.
He send Cassian a cold glare, "Sorry."