Myrrh
I walked into the room and sat down next to Rhys. I felt him poke at my shields and grinned.
"Better?" I asked.
He nodded in approval. "Much."
I had never had the power my brother had. I had some powers as a daemati but where Rhys' power was able to control, I was only able to read feelings off of people. I felt more like a shadowsinger most of the time and since I was more adept at controlling shadows than anything else, most people assumed that I was a shadowsinger. I preferred it that way. Aside from Rhys, I had never come across another daemati and I wanted it to stay that way. My brother taught me how to shield my mind when I was very young and I had become exceptional at that. The glamour had kept me from using any power, however, and as a result my magic was weak.
"You're flying again and you seem to be gaining control over your magic. It's almost back to normal," Rhys said cheerfully.
Even with his shields up, I could tell he didn't want to talk about Azriel. He would change the subject every time it came up. This time though, I knew he wanted to know something.
"What Az just said, about you being sent to Spring Court," he hesitated. "Is that true?"
"I was sent, yes. I was also sent to Autumn Court and Summer Court several times. Fortunately, it's pretty hard to marry a daughter who's half Illyrian," I said.
Rhys' eyes went wide. "He was really trying to marry you to someone?"
"He was," I said honestly. "You should know that I don't go down without a fight though."
He smiled at me. "But something was different after you went to Spring Court. The way Az said that, I could tell, he was worried."
"Az may have been worried but I wasn't. Tamlin's father wasn't going to let his son marry me," I said simply.
Rhys' mouth fell open in shock. "Tamlin?"
"He wanted to marry me, yes. Our father was over the moon about it. Tamlin's father, not so much. And Azriel… well, he was not going to let that happen. And I learned that I hate being a pawn in political games."
"Azriel said that when you came back from Spring Court, he realized what you were to him," said Rhys carefully. "Did you know?"
I nodded. "I knew before then. I just tried to keep it a secret. I didn't think that Az was willing to hear it unless he knew there was a chance that I might be taken away from him. Tamlin was that threat and even though I told him I would never actually marry Tamlin, Az was panicked. I think that's what helped him feel the bond."
"How did you get out of marrying Tamlin?" asked Rhys.
"I never did," I told him. "Azriel and I kept our relationship a secret and since Tamlin's father wasn't interested in the pairing, he never let me come back to Spring. Our father was infuriated and was trying to figure out how to get the match made. Marking the bond was Azriel's idea though. He figured if there was proof I was his mate it might be worth something if our father ever did figure out a way to get me married to Tamlin."
"Marked?" asked Rhys. "How?"
I turned my wrist over, showing him the small mark on my arm. It blended in with a couple of other marks and was not terribly noticeable but it was there. A small infinity loop.
"I've seen that mark," Rhys said quietly.
I nodded. "On Az's arm."
Rhys just looked at me. "You know if our father had ever figured out what that was, he'd have killed you?"
I sighed. "Banished, maybe. Kill would be a bit much, even for Father."
Rhys shook his head at me.
"I was more worried that you would notice it, honestly," I told him.
My brother looked at me somewhat shocked. "Why would you be worried about me finding out?" he asked.
"Says the man who punched my mate in the face," I replied sarcastically.
Rhys looked a little ashamed. "Yeah, I apologized for that."
"I heard," I reminded him.
Rhys looked at me carefully before he spoke again. "Speaking of that, can we talk about you being a spy?"