"You're living with Azriel?!!" Feyre exclaimed over lunch the next day, nearly spitting out her wine in the process.

We had met up at a small restaurant in the heart of the city, platters of meats and cheeses brought to our table almost immediately. I smiled behind my glass and waited for her to calm down. "It's no big deal, it's his apartment. I didn't feel right taking it and leaving him homeless."

"Az wouldn't have been homeless." Feyre said with a laugh. She set down her wine and watched me for a moment contemplating her next words. "Azriel is my family and I love him dearly, but he's not like the other Illyrians. Those shadows that cling to him, whisper to him, it makes him more guarded. For a long time he loved someone who didn't return the sentiment, I don't think he's ever thought about loving another."

"I would never hurt him." I said quietly, almost to myself. When I had left my room this morning and saw Azriel sitting at the breakfast table, a pot of tea already made, I had felt my heart skip a beat. There was something there, some pull that I didn't yet understand and maybe never would. It was hard to determine any feelings he may or may not have had towards me, but the smile he had given me as I had sat across from him had lit that fire within and for a moment I could've sworn my skin had shone. "In the Autumn Court, no man ever looked at me the way Azriel does. They saw me as a pocession they wished they could covet, a body they wished would warm their beds. Azriel looks at me in a way that I feel he sees something no one else does."

"Talk to him." Feyre said taking my hand and giving it a quick squeeze. "He may not be one for words, but if anyone can get him to talk it would be you. I've seen what you've seen, it was the same way Rhys used to look at me."

Talk to him. So simple and yet I found myself avoiding the apartment. Instead I walked along the river, lost in my own thoughts. I barely knew this man, how could I even be thinking about him like this? I had never been with a man, never even been kissed by one. To be close to me would've incurred my fathers wrath and no one wanted that. I felt the shadows in my heart darken as I thought of everything he had taken from me, my skin warmed and I felt the fire stir within. I was standing at the rail over looking the river and I felt the metal begin to heat under my fingertips. I jerked my hands away but it was too late. Where my hands had gripped, the metal was misshapen, as if I had melted it under my touch. Control, I needed to get control. My powers were in tune with my emotions, I needed to reign them back in fear of someone getting hurt. I felt someone land with a thump behind me and I turned to cover the damage with my body.

"There's been a message from your brother, I've been sent to bring you up to the House of Wind." Cassian sent, holding out his hand to me. I took it without a word and we flew up to the house, gently landing on the balcony.

Everyone was already inside, Azriel straightened away from the wall as I came in and I moved to stand beside him. "Your brother wishes to meet with you." He said quietly, his arms tense.

"He wishes for you to meet him alone." Lucien said, a leaf crumbling in his hand. "This could be a trap."

"It isn't." I said thinking of Eris, he wouldn't have let me left if he wanted to trap me back in the court. "I know Eris almost as well as I know myself, he probably just doesn't want anyone to overhear what his plans are for the court. I will meet with him, did he give a location."

"He wishes to meet at the edge of the Dawn Court, there is a tunnel from the Autumn Court that runs itself there. He wants you there tomorrow at dusk." Luciens face was set in a hard line, he wasn't happy with the demands Eris had made. Who knows what else he had written in the letter.

"I will accompany her." Azriel said suddenly. "We will fly to the meeting spot, I will blend into the shadows, Eris will never know I was there." He brushed my hand lightly as he spoke, so fast I didn't know if it was an accident or not. Mor shot us a glance and I watched her eyes settle on the hand that had just touched my skin.

"It is better then everyone going I suppose." Rhys said, arms crossed tightly. "I still don't like it though, Eris is a snake. Even if he tries to play nice, remember who he is underneath."

And that was that, they settled into making the plans while I watched barely paying attention. Eris wanted to meet, things couldn't be good if he was willing to put himself in that kind of danger. I went to bed that night thinking of my father and what he could be planning, I was afraid.

It would be a long flight to the meeting spot Eris had demanded so we were to take off early. I woke at dawn and dressed quickly, fur lined black and red leather and thick boots. I braided my hair quickly down my shoulder before joining Azriel in the sitting room, Lucien by his side.

"Be careful." He said taking my hand and squeezing. "You may trust Eris but I do not, he wants that throne for himself Cali...I know he will do whatever he can to get it."

I squeezed his hand back and looked to Azriel. "Ready?"

Azriel nodded and held out his hands to me, I walked into his arms and shot one last glance at Lucien before we took off. The flight was long but Azriel knew the way well, the sight was beautiful from above. He held me close to his body, and I found myself again studying his profile. The sky was where he found happiness, the shadows were kept at bay and his face looked almost peaceful. "May I ask why you always stare at me?" He asked looking down and flashing a quick smile.

"You are very lovely to stare at." I said simply, a smile gracing my lips. We came to a smooth landing soon afterward, a small break for food and water. Azriel stretched himself out beside a flowing river and worked out the kinks in his muscles.

"Does flying exhaust you?" I asked biting into a bit of mango I had cut the peel off of.

"It did at first. Learning at an older age made it much more trying then it should've been. Now it's second nature to me."

"It must be amazing," I said. "To be free, you could fly anywhere and away from anyone in an instant."

"I know what it's like to not know freedom, I will do everything in my power to keep you from ever having your freedom stolen away again." Azriel said, his expression darkening and fierce.

"I trust you would." I said quietly. We finished eating in silence and were off again. We landed near the tunnel just before dusk, Azriel gave my hand a quick squeeze before disappearing into the shadows. Eris appeared half an hour later, he stopped at the tunnel exit and took me in. I walked over and stood close to him, "I'm alright."

"I knew you were, my threat to Lucien was very clear." Eris said brushing past me and taking in the forest. "I don't believe you came alone."

He turned and studied me, the statement hanging between us. "I did as you said Eris, it is just us and the shadows here."

"You brought the shadowsinger." He answered bluntly. "Why? For protection? I never knew you thought so low of me sister."

"I do trust you brother, I was just afraid being so close to home." I said stepping close to him to take his hand. He moved it out of my reach and stared at me, anger under his features.

Eris turned away from me and yelled out to the trees, "why follow my sister here shadowsinger? It seems as though you care what happens to her."

"Eris enough." I said grabbing his arm and pulling him to look at me again. "How did you expect me to get here without help? There are things out here that would kill me just for walking to close to their territory. Azriel was just trying to keep me safe."

"Tell me, how long did it take for you to open your legs for him. I'm sure father wouldn't approve of you fucking an Illyrian bastard, is that where you found the interest?"

My palm cracking across his cheek echoed in the darkening forest. "You will not speak to me that way, brother or not." I hissed, my cheeks burning and my anger rising.

His face contorted for a moment, anger followed by a deep sadness. "Forgive me."

I hoped Azriel hadn't heard what was said, I had no doubt what he would wish to do to my brother. I gave a jerky nod and waited for him to speak.

"Father discovered you were missing the next morning, he burned your room in anger. He sent sentries to find you but they came back empty handed, he wasn't pleased. He sent letters to every court but he knows you are with Lucien. He plans to lay seige to Velaris if you do not return to his side."

I took in everything Eris said, I knew he would be angry but to declare war. "Why does he go so far?"

"He is slighted, he took this as a shot to his pride and ego. There is something he's not telling us, something he knows about you." Eris said looking at the ground for a moment. "There is one other thing, if father goes to war he will not be alone."

"What do you mean, surely the other courts wouldn't follow?"

"Not the courts. It seems he had found a husband for you dear sister."

I bawked at that, he had truly found a price worth my head.

"I don't know who he is and I don't know what he offered father. Some sort of power I believe. Father was quiet, contained in the lower chambers of the court for days. When he emerged he was glowing and there was the stench of dark magic around him. He has become obsessed with power and with locating you. He wishes to burn Velaris to the ground."

"Take the throne and stop him." I pleaded to Eris. "You should've made a move on him."

"I had to wait for the right moment." Eris hissed. "All that planning would've been wasted if I had chosen the wrong moment to strike. Not everything is about you Callissia."

"Nothing has ever been about me." I hissed back angrily. "I lived in that court in solitude for years. Do you think I have no scars over that?"

Eris at least had the sense to look ashamed, something I had not seen often. The look he gave me echoed the day that Morrigan had been found on our court steps, a note nailed to her belly.

"You never seemed to be in pain."

"I was alone, days would go by and I wouldn't utter a single word to another soul. After Lucien ran, I felt a void over my heart. The only person who had cared for me was gone."

"I have always cared about you." Eris snarled, the anger bubbling back to the surface. "Why do you think I am doing everything I can to keep you safe? I wish to make up to you all those years that you lost your faith in me."

I didn't know what to say to those words, I had rarely seen this version of my brother.

"I will tell you all I have learned of the man father has promised your hand too. He is a mystery, he comes to the court in the middle of the night and doesn't allow others to his meetings with father. What I learned are things father let slip during dinner." Eris began. "He lives in the wrecked land of Hybern, he has an army and he has power. He fought in the war, he was one of Hyberns generals, but he was also a coward. He took a small force and retreated just as the battle turned." Eris had a look of disgust on his face. "He has a high interest in you. Not only your power but also your body..."

Eris trailed off, I was not surprised by what he said. There was a rare magic in bedding a female with both her magic and her virginity intact.

"Do not let your guard down and learn all you can about your powers." Eris said, placing a hand lightly on my shoulder. "You are strong, I have always thought so. There are not many things I regret, but the way I have treated you is something that will haunt me until I meet the other side."

I pulled Eris to me and thanked him. I had never heard him speak such words and it made me remember the brother he had once been to me when we were children. He took one last at me and turned toward the tunnel, "keep my sister safe shadowsinger." And with that he was gone, lost to the blackness.