Chapter 11
I bolted up breathing heavily—pain searing through my back, along the scratch-made by those Naga. ''Briar'' a smooth voice said from the door, a shadow snaking around my ankle. I looked up, flinching back in surprise. ''Az'' my voice sounded hoarse. ''May I'' he asked, referring to coming into my room. I nodded hesitantly as he moved to kneel next to me on the floor. I had somehow ended up on the ground, as I had twisted and turned during my nightmare. I shrunk into myself; he was too close too soon. Azriel halted and scooted back.
''I'm sorry that I woke you'' I whispered. He just looked at me, his features softer than I had seen before. ''It's nothing, I heard a thud'' he said in a low voice. I was still panicking, but slowly but surely my breathing evened out. Azriel moved his shadows soothingly along my bare legs, focussing on the rhythmic movements helped calm me down. He slowly reached out his hand to help me up. I took it for once, not taking as long in my hesitation. It scared me out of my mind, becoming so comfortable with him. I pulled back the moment I was up on my bed, getting to work on detangling my sheets. ''If you want to talk about it, I am here'' he said. I cringed, thinking back to the darkness from which I had awoken. ''I was back in a cell'' my own voice surprising me. It was raw, and I sounded more broken than I liked. I was so shocked that those words fell so quickly out of my mouth. I closed is as soon as I let the words fall, Azriel saw it.
No doubt seeing my shock. If it were anyone else so I would not have done it. Azriel felt safe, and I just gravitated towards him, I felt as if I could trust him with anything. ''it's okay if you can't tell me what happened to you, but I know what it is like'' he said. I looked at him, shocked letting the sheet fall from my hands. ''Az, you d-do'' I stuttered, but he interrupted me before I could finish the sentence. ''I want to tell you, at least a part of it for now'' He said, ''I trust you, just all of it might be a bit much''. I nodded, and in my heart, I knew someday we would talk about everything.
''I was born a bastard son to an Illyrian lord, my mom was a beautiful woman, but her ranking was lower than low. The first eleven years of my life, I was kept in a cell bellow my father's house, as my half-brothers and step-mother made my life a living hell. They did not let me fly or train. I was only let out for an hour a day to eat, do chores, and see my mom once a week. Being in the dark cell for so long, without any light or windows, the shadows became my friends'' He told me. ''I was eleven when they finally let me out only to dump me at Windhaven where I met Rhysand and Cassian, I guess you know the story from there on.'' I nodded at this, Cassian had once told me the story of how he had met his brothers, and I caught the tail end of that story last night. When I looked at him, I didn't see sadness, or rage as I was expecting. His face had fallen in his usual blank slate, yet his eyes surprised me he almost looked content. I had gotten a new understanding for the male before me, his past was horrible, just like most of the inner circle, yet he looked to be at peace with it. ''Thank you'' I whispered, smiling a little at him, he could truly understand the fear that came with being in a cold and dark cell. We stared at each other for quite a while, just enjoying the comfortable silence. He was handsome, more than that, even, surrounded by so much mystery. I felt a faint flutter in my chest for a second, but it was barely noticeable. I must have imagined it. I had to pull back, this peace it cannot last. I felt so guilty, I shouldn't be doing this to him, Azriel deserves so much more. I just could not help my self, and it terrified me.
I tried to stifle a yawn not wanting to ruin the moment, but after a month of hunting down my people, I was exhausted. Azriel noticed and chuckled, ''get some more sleep if you need my I am just two doors over''. He got up, and I got the urge to call out to him, to make him stay, but another yawn showed that I was in no right mind nor had the energy to do so. As I slipped into a deep sleep surrounded by darkness, with a faint smile on my face.