At first, I thought my window was open, and a light breeze hit my face. But it was actually the rhythmic exhales of the person sleeping beside me. I couldn't move. Literally could not move a single limb.
Azriel's hands wrapped around me, one falling over my chest and holding onto my shoulder, and the other snaked underneath me and held onto my side. His head rested beside mine, lips pressed to my collarbone.
And his wings... his wings stretched over the entire bed, spilling over the sides. One relaxed on top of me like a blanket, and the other fell over the other side of the bed. He was half on his stomach and half on his side, holding onto me like a child. Even his legs chained mine from moving.
I wasn't complaining, though. This was the first time I had ever actually seen the shadowsinger sleep, and it was such an interesting thing—I didn't want to ruin the moment. I would probably destroy anything that tried waking him.
His shadows moved as he slept. They slid across his body and mine like they couldn't tell who was their master. Cool darkness trailed up my neck and down my arms, tracing lines across my skin with each inhale he took. It reminded me of waves, of the breathing tide.
There was a peacefulness in watching him sleep I didn't expect to find. I couldn't help but watch him, his intoxicating beauty. In sleep, when his face was completely relaxed, he looked almost innocent. There was no other way to explain it.
It overwhelmed me how much I loved him. I would tear the world apart for him, kill any and everyone for him. It scared me what I would do for him. I wondered if he knew that—or if he felt the same. Did he?
He moved in his sleep, arms tightening around me. His wing that fell over us slid up and stopped just below my chin. His head lifted until his nose rubbed against my cheek. I closed my eyes again and took a deep—slow breath. His scent filled my lungs, filled my room. It stuck to my walls and rested on my bed. And I loved that.
My breathing calmed until it matched his. I felt our hearts beat in and out of sync, then become one. It was so hard to not fall asleep. I didn't want this moment to end. I wanted to freeze time and stay just like this until both of us were nothing but bones and ash. Until the earth reclaimed our bodies.
When I next opened my eyes, I was lying on my stomach. My arm stretched out over the other side of the bed—empty. The room was completely empty. I sat up slowly and looked around. Something sat on the edge of the bed, a thin black box. I smiled a little.
I slowly got out of the warm bed and was about to open the window when I saw a note left on top of the box.
I had a friend repair your leathers, put them on, and meet me on the roof. Rhys has permitted us to leave.
I smiled and opened the lid to find my Illyrian leathers. On the bench sat all my blades, ordered from largest to smallest. I quickly strapped everything on and zipped up the suitcase.
It didn't sound like anyone was in the house right now. Even the actual House was quiet. I climbed up the stairs two at a time to the roof. The smell of wet dirt hit me. The clouds hung heavy over the sky, and the air itself was wet. Though no rain was falling right now.
The Spymaster was standing with his back turned to me. He looked deep in thought and didn't notice me at first. His arms crossed over his leathers, wings tightly tucked behind him. His hair fell in waves, and his shadows danced at the sight of me. I stepped up to him and poked his shoulder.
His eyes snapped to look at me, and he said, "Ready?"
I raised a brow. "For what, exactly?"
"We'll winnow to the wards and fly the rest of the way."
"How long is it going to be?" I grumbled.
"You don't want to know."
Wonderful. Fantastic. I gave a long, pained sigh at the idea of flying longer than a minute. I waved a hand in front of me and said, "Let's just get it over with, then."
"Hold on tight," he said, stepping closer.
I grabbed his leathers and said, "You say that every time, and yet it still always feels like I'm falling to my death."
"Don't worry. I would never drop you," he said.
"Sure. But how about we never test that?"
He chuckled, and I leaned further into him as the shadows wrapped around us. His scent filled my lungs, and the warmth of his body surrounded me as the shadows did.
They swirled around us, only inches from my face. Thick tendrils of darkness slipped through iridescent blue, black, and purple colors. Glittering like starlight. Yet they were so different from the High Lord's magic.
Rhysand's darkness looked like black sand and moved in this uniformity under his complete control. But the shadows... they layered on top of each other and moved in all directions with no clear idea of what the others were doing. It was a school of disoriented fish.
I already knew what to do when the shadows dissipated and revealed light, and held on as we started flying over the open ocean. The land was barely visible in the distance, obscured by fog and looking void of all life.
I gave him a worried look. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"
He nodded. "They made Cretea look like an island of ruins. Once we pass the wards, you'll see the real city."
"Is it pretty?" I asked.
"Like a painting," he answered, smiling slightly.
The closer we came to the island, the more I could feel the wards in front of us. Thick and sticky, covering my skin in goosebumps. As we passed through, the magic slithered around and inspected us before deciding we were no threat.
We glided through the wards, and I watched the fog lift from the island like a sheet to reveal a sprawling city. Towers were scattered across the beaches, where apartments crowded along the cliff sides. Streets webbed through the entire island and split everything into sections.
We flew over the city to the opposite end, where there was a large manor against the cliff-side. I assumed this was our destination. Gardens surrounded it, and I found it strange that there were no fences to keep others out.
Once we landed in front of the entrance, the doors opened. I waited until he moved first and followed behind into a beautiful white entryway. The staircase twisted up two flights of stairs, and a chandelier hung in the center of it all.
Two people walked in through the left side, which looked to be a sitting room. A woman and a man stopped in front of us. I studied the woman, finding myself confused. She looked High Fae—and yet wasn't. Something about her told me she wasn't. And the male... he had attached to his back a set of white feathered wings.
"You're late," the woman said, looking at Azriel.
He gave a small smile. "It's good to see you again, Miryam."
Oh, so this was Miryam, the half-human, half-fae. And this male must be Drakon, her mate and husband. I offered my hand and my name to them, and Miryam smiled, taking my hand in hers.
"We've heard many things about you," she said. "It must've been a tiresome journey. Come, we have dinner prepared. You can tell us all about it then."
We followed the two through this manor, which looked relatively untouched. Dust hung on many surfaces, and there were folded sheets in the corners of rooms that I thought once covered the furniture. There was also something else. This weight held to everything. An eye staring at me from beneath my feet. Something was wrong with this place. I could feel it.
Once settled into dinner, Azriel and I told them about our delay, and what the situation was. Drakon leaned back in his chair, a weary look in his eyes. He looked to Miryam, shared that look only mates seemed to achieve, and then looked back at us.
"We were told there was still time," Miryam said.
Azriel nodded. "That was the idea. But I think we weren't given the whole truth."
"How much, then?"
"A few days," he said. "Rhys will arrive tomorrow with everything we need."
"You're... you're sure about this?" Miryam asked me.
I nodded. "I would destroy it if I could. There's just... it's too powerful."
"What will you do with it when it's nullified?" Drakon asked.
Azriel entwined his hands and leaned on his elbows. "There is an island between Prythian and the continent."
I knew immediately what he was talking about. A shiver skidded up my spine, making my mouth dry. My knuckles whitened with my grip on the silverware.
"No," I hissed. "I forbid it."
"The High Lord only said it was an option."
I glanced at the others. "He doesn't understand the danger. I cannot go anywhere near that island."
They will kill me the moment they recognize me. Not even the High Lord will be able to stop them. The magic, the wards they use—ancient blood magic that I knew Rhys couldn't break. Not even Feyre's curse-breaking can.
Going there was suicide—going anywhere near it was a risk. They will hunt every escaped Faceless until all of us are dead. I knew there was more like me out in the world—they were just better at hiding or already dead.
Miryam cleared her throat, drawing our attention. "The Cauldron can stay with us. Not on this island, but there is a sister island not far—much smaller. It could work."
Azriel nodded. "We'll have to nullify it before moving it, to avoid risk."
"Do you want to see it, then?" Drakon asked.
"Yes," I blurted before Azriel could even take in a breath. I needed to see it.
Miryam nodded at her husband, before standing and saying, "Come with me."
Azriel was right on my heels as we followed both Miryam and Drakon down the halls to a door that led under the house. Deep under the house. I felt the air change around us, grow dense as we descended. And that feeling—that unease—grew with every step I took.
I recognized the feeling. I spent half my life feeling it every time I stepped up those smooth stairs. And I felt it now as I descended deeper beneath the manor.
Death. Life. Hate and love. All the things bitter and rotten coated in a false shield of sweetness. It was such a familiar feeling that it brought a hint of comfort. This was a feeling I knew. This was a thing I knew. I knew it better than myself.
We came to a metal door, requiring a key wrapped around Miryam's neck. I could smell the faebane lacing the door and felt the beating on my forehead from the thick wards. The door opened, and that feeling washed over me with all its might.
Hello again, sweet Faceless.
I instinctively took a step back, my spine pressing into Azriel's leathers. His hand rested on and rubbed my shoulder. I reminded myself to breathe and stepped into the circular room where the Cauldron stood.
I didn't know how, but I could sense it watching me, staring at me. I could feel its power reach out to me and try to pull me closer. The liquid inside the pot started bubbling and sizzling with smoke. There was no fire under its claw feet. Nothing... but the magic inside.
Sweet, sweet Faceless.
Ni
an
a
My name slid around me, rode the smell of magic wafting from the Cauldron. A smell that made my skin prickle with goosebumps, a power that made my palms sweat.
Miryam crossed her arms and said, "This manor's been off limits since the Cauldron arrived. We thought... since you're here to see it, that you would want to stay in the manor. If you don't, we can always give you another place."
"It's fine," I said, still staring at that thing in the center of the room. Right here, looking at me—waiting for me.
The last time I felt its power, I was so young that I didn't know what it meant. It was like a drug, skidding through my bones and lighting up my eyes. A sickening curse of knowing everything and nothing all at once. To be and to see with pure—unthinkable power. Power to shape the land however you wished, to create something from nothing, and destroy it all again.
I can feel you. I can hear your heart race at my sight.
The Cauldron could read my thoughts and sense my deep desire to get closer. A desire I fought with every ounce of my being. It seemed to laugh at me, yet remain silent and unmoving.
"We'll need to remove the wards," I said.
Drakon's eyes snapped to me. "We can't risk it."
"We have to. The wards will keep the Three Sisters from winnowing," I explained.
"You mean you found them?" Miryam asked, brow raised.
I nodded. "We need them to help us with the spell."
Drakon took a deep breath, looking at his mate. "I guess we can remove them—for a time."
Miryam nodded, placing a hand on Drakon's shoulder. "Do what you have to, just ensure that whatever plagues the land is gone."
I tried to move again, but it felt like the power of the Cauldron had wrapped around my legs and pressed my feet deeper into the ground. I couldn't even breathe anymore. My heart thundered beneath my chest, filled with fear. I froze with fear and anger.
Look at you. I can taste your rage. So sour. So sweet. Closer. Closer.
This thing—this pot of boiling oil—ruined my life. A simple-looking cauldron pot destroyed everything I could ever wish to have. And now I was here, standing in front of it. A full circle. I could never escape it. Not in life, and certainly not in death.
Let me in. I know you want it. To feel me. To put your hands inside me, let me consume you. Drink me, eat me, taste me. Let me become all that resides within you.
I could feel its power along my skin, causing goosebumps to rise along my arms. A shiver raced through my spine as its tickling magic encircled me, touched me, soaked into my skin, and coated my lungs.
Let me in. I know you can. Let me become your blood that flows quicker with every racing beat. I can make you whole. Let me crawl into you. Let me become the marrow that seeps from your cracking bones. I will turn your insides as black as mine. I will make you as strong as ever.
I wanted to scream, but it was like a brick shoved down my throat, scratching and scraping away as air tried desperately to push through. I felt squeezed into a shape barely resembling real, into a block of moldable clay slowly falling apart from an overabundance of water.
You look so sour but taste so sweet. Tell me, would you play a game if I asked you to? Would you hunt me if I told you to? So precious, so sweet. I wonder how delectable you will taste when you let yourself go.
My mouth dried. I don't know how long I stood there frozen in place, didn't know if time was even moving around me still. It just looked at me, stared me down with a million eyes undressing me to my barest form, pointing a spotlight to all my scars and imperfections.
Will he lick you? Oh, yes indeed. Will he taste you before me? No. he will not share your blood. That is mine, and mine alone.
The voices it used haunted me. Millions of voices slowly circled me and whispered in screams of agony. I wanted to shut it out—to fill my ears with water. But I couldn't.
The voices were in my head, they never left, and they could never be silenced. They were always there, and I hated that. Like a branding of oil, a marking it loved to see raked across my back. My bare skin—my flesh—muscles—bones.
Oh, but how I anticipate the flavor of your blood once the heat of your skin and friction of your hearts have warmed it. How I relish in waiting for the salted delicacy of your sweat-covered brow, of your damp, warmed skin. I will clean you. I will heal you. And I will make you perfect again—mine again.
Azriel pulled on my arm and drew me from my trance. My feet started moving again, and I turned my back to the Cauldron as we left the room. It still stared at me, though. Even with the door closed, with flights of stairs between us. It still saw me, watched me, lured me.
Like an old addiction I could never rid from my system. A substance of death and ruin that seemed to fuel my bones. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't stop feeling its eyes on me, its power flowing through everything in this damned manor.
-Authors Note-
(I made this way too long)
it's been a while, I know—it's okay I'm alive. I got caught up with drama. its been pretty chaotic as of late. but I wanted to keep writing, and I decided on a complete overhaul of the end of this story so it's all being rewritten🫠
anyway, I hope my intentions came across this chapter. I wanted to start it cute and happy and then end with you questioning what you just read and if I'm okay, and I hope I succeeded. I love writing the cauldron cause I find it such an interesting concept as both an object and a character.
first half of this chapter was written like 5 months ago and I was too tired to rewrite it with the rest of the chapter so in my opinion the first half is pretty boring. hopefully it's not really bad.
oh also, stick around for next chapter, those of you hungry few will like it👀. that should be up next week, if I can get myself hyped enough to actually post it XD
so, we're at a point now that I am very interested in your thoughts. what are all your theories and ideas? I want to know if I've done an okay or horrible job at foreshadowing.
anyway, I'll let you go now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! and I'll see you next time ;) have a great rest of your day/week!!