Disclaimer: Like I said last chapter, SJM owns ACOTAR, not me.
A/N: Okay! Here is the second chapter. I had it pretty much done as I was posting the first one, I just had to wrap it all up. I do apologize if you see any editing errors. Please disregard. I can only edit my own work so much while keeping the writing creative juices flowing. Anyways, this next chapter gets a little more intense. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Two
Azriel flew them to the River house. Gwyn had asked if they could fly vs winnowing. She had developed a fascination for flying in the few months they had gotten closer. Wherever they went somewhere within the city, she requested they fly. He didn't mind. That just meant more time with her in his arms doing something he loved doing.
He touched down in the front lawn, but didn't immediately set her down. He held onto her for a fraction longer than was needed. She looked up at him, sensing his hesitation and tilted her head with a smile on her face. He could get lost in staring at her all day. In fact, he was just starting to as Rhys opened the door, pulling them both from their thoughts.
"Well, don't just stand there! Supper's done. Get your butts in here so we can eat!"
Az chuckled and set her down, resting his hand on the small of her back as they walked up the rest of the way and into the house. Rhys lifted an eyebrow his way, but Az merely shook his head subtlety. Thankfully, Rhys dropped it and walked with them into the house and towards the raucous coming from the dining room.
They were the last ones to arrive as Nesta and Cassian had come over a little early to see Nyx. Everyone was already seated around the table, minus Nyx, whom Az assumed was down for a nap. Nesta had saved them each a seat, Gwyn sitting on her left, Cassian on her right, and Az taking up the seat on Gwyn's left.
Elain was seated right across from Gwyn, much to Az's dismay. Things hadn't ended the greatest between them. They still acted civilly towards each other, but she would barely look at him. It didn't help matters much when Lucien started coming around more. The male put him on edge, he couldn't explain why.
They were halfway through dinner when Az started noticing Elain's attention on Gwyn. She kept shooting Gwyn looks that the other didn't see. After a couple of minutes, Elain noticed Azriel's attention and quickly looked away, staring down at her plate. She didn't look back up again until dinner was over and she stood to start clearing the table. He stood too. "Hear, let me help you."
She pointedly ignored him as she moved out of the room, dishes in her hands. The only one who seemed to notice they left was Gwyn. He threw a small smile her way before he walked out after Elain. The last thing he saw before he left the room was her furrowed brow in confusion.
Az followed Elain down the hallway and into the kitchen. Once inside, they deposited the dishes in the sink and Elain whirled on him. "I don't need your help, you know. I'm perfectly capable of clearing the table myself. I do every night with no issue."
He held his hands up and took a step back. "Easy, Elain. I was just trying to help. I know perfectly well that you're capable. Am I not allowed to do anything nice?"
"No, you're not. And since when do you want to do anything nice for me? Hm?"
He scrunched his brow together. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I've been nothing but nice to you."
She rolled her eyes. "Is that what you call it?"
Az shook his head. "What is your problem, Elain? What did I do?"
"For starters, how about the fact that you kept giving me all these longing looks for months, kept making excuses to touch my hand or my back, and yet you didn't do a damned thing about it. And then when you finally did, you stopped yourself. Was I not good enough for you? Am I not strong enough? Do you need some warrior like her, is that the problem?"
He could sense their voices steadily getting louder, but he really didn't care. Everyone was probably listening before they were yelling anyways. "What the hell are you talking about? First of all, you didn't do anything to encourage me. You didn't do a damned thing to tell me you were remotely interested in me. Plus, you have a damned mate, for crying out loud! What about him? If we had actually kissed that night, it wouldn't have gone over well. You do realize that, right? Lucien would have had grounds to start a war on your behalf."
She rolled her eyes again, throwing her hands up in the air. "Why does this always come back to him? I don't care about Lucien!"
"Because he's your mate! If you don't care that much, just sever the damned bond and let the poor male get on with his life instead of stringing him along like you have been. Let him out of his misery."
"So being mated to me is miserable."
It was Azriel's turn to throw his hands into the air. He turned and walked away a short distance before spinning back around. "All you do is twist my words around. That is not what I said and you know it."
She shook her head, looking away. "Why don't you go play house with your little warrior friend and leave me alone."
Az just stood there staring at her. "Elain, what are you talking about? Are you talking about Gwyn? The female you were staring daggers at through supper?"
"It's obvious you two are together. Have you told her about the necklace yet or should I?"
"It's none of your business, but he told me about the necklace months ago." Az whipped his head towards the doorway and found Gwyn standing there with her arms crossed, staring Elain down.
Elain chuckled darkly. "So you're content to be someone's afterthought then. How quaint."
Az took a step towards Elain. "Elain, that is enough. I know that things between us have been rocky, but you don't need to drag Gwyn into this. She hasn't done anything wrong."
Elain crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, looking directly at Gwyn. "I hope he disappoints you just as much as he disappoints everyone else. I can see it, you know. When he just sulks in the corner and hides or makes some flippant excuse not to show up to a gathering. He may as well not show up to anything."
Gwyn crossed the room in two strides, before Az could even blink, and was directly in Elain's face. Her voice dropped dangerously low. "Don't you ever insult Azriel again in front of me, understood? He is the most caring, selfless, kind-hearted person I know. He could never disappoint me, you know why? Because I actually care about him. I actually know him. I don't give a damn if he gave you this necklace first. The only thing this necklace represents for me is how much he cares about me. You had nothing to do with it. The mere fact you were too stupid to see what was right in front of you and gave it back…Well, your loss it my gain. So take your goody two-shoes attitude and leave us the hell alone. Before I make you regret it."
Elain's eyes had gone wide with fear. Az stepped up and put a hand on Gwyn's shoulder, pulling her back into his side. He looked back at Elain with sadness in his eyes. "I wish it hadn't come to this, Elain. I had hoped we could still be friends. I hope you figure out whatever it is that you're looking for."
With that, Gwyn followed Az out of the kitchen and down the hall. Before they reached the dining room, Az pulled them to a stop. He leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes. "How much of that did you hear from the other room?"
Gwyn sighed. "A lot. I'm really sorry about what happened back there…between you and Elain and then…what I said. I didn't mean to snap. I just couldn't stand what she was saying about you."
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "It's okay. It all needed to be said. I'm sorry about what she said to you."
Gwyn smiled softly and took his hand, "Az, you have nothing to be sorry for. She made her choices, now she has to deal with that. As for what she said about you disappointing everyone…please tell me that you don't believe that."
He looked away from her, his shadows drawing closer around him. "I think I'm going to call it a night. I've had enough excitement. If you want to stay here, I'm sure Cass won't mind bringing you back to the House or Mor."
He made to move away from her, but she put her hand on his arm, holding him in place. "Azriel. Don't you believe that for one second. She was just pissed off and spouting nonsense to get you riled up. Please…you are so much more…Everyone here sees you for who you actually are. I may be new to this group, but I see it. The love and respect they have for you…You can't beat that. They know who you are. They know what makes you tick. Hell, Rhys, Cass and Mor have been around you for five centuries. Don't you think if you truly disappointed them like she claims, they wouldn't want to be around you by this point…? That they'd stop inviting you to things and asking you to come to family dinner. They ask you to come because they all truly love spending time with you. As I do. So please…don't do this to yourself. Don't lock yourself away from everyone just because of something stupid and selfish that she said. She was trying to hurt you. Don't let her. Stay…for me?"
Azriel stared at her for a long minute, taking in her words. "I'll stay…on one condition."
Gwyn perked up. "Name it. Anything."
Az smiled softly at her. "Will you sing for me sometime?"
He watched her eyes widen. "That's what you want? You don't want anything like me taking you to dinner or…an extra sparring session or…something like that?"
He shook his head, his smile widening. "I've heard that you have a lovely voice and I've been wanting to hear it for myself. So…will you sing for me?"
He just barely heard Cass in the other room say to someone, "He's totally gonna get laid with that line…" Then a dull thud coming from that direction as he assumed whomever Cass was talking to smacked him.
Gwyn bit her lip, thinking it over. She didn't seem to have heard what Cass said, which Az was immensely grateful for. She took in a deep breath and then nodded. "I suppose that could be arranged…but only if you sing with me. I've been dying to hear your voice as well, Shadowsinger."
He chuckled, low and deep. The smile gracing his face was nothing but pure happiness as he nodded. "Just tell me when and where. I'll be there, Berdara."
This time he heard Rhys, "Ten gold marks they're dating by the end of the week."
Nesta snorted. "Fifteen. By the end of the month."
Azriel shook his head, clearing their quiet conversation from his head. He prayed to the Mother that Gwyn couldn't hear them. She just smiled at him and shook his hand. "You're on. I get to pick the song though."
He chuckled and nodded. "Sounds fair to me."
They headed back towards the dining room and found the traitors all leaning towards each other whispering. He stopped in the doorway and sent a glare at Rhys, Cass and Nesta, making sure they knew he had heard what they said. Rhys just rolled his eyes. "Of course he hears us when we don't want him to." Cass barks out a laugh and looks over at Az, grinning with fake innocence.
Az put a hand on the small of Gwyn's back and pulled her over to an armchair in the corner of the room, not out of the way, just not directly in the center of everything. She sat down in the chair and he perched on the arm, a glass of scotch making its way into his hand courtesy of Cass. He nodded his thanks to his brother and took a long pull from the glass, wanting to get at least a little bit of a buzz to erase what had happened in the kitchen.
He glanced down at Gwyn. "Don't worry, I won't get too drunk that I can't fly us home."
She snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm not too concerned, Az. You deserve a drink. Relax, my friend. Let your hair down."
He lifted an eyebrow at her. "I don't think I have enough hair to 'let down'. I believe that's Cassian's department."
At Cass's indignant response from across the room, Gwyn broke out into laughter, causing Az's lips to tug upwards into a grin. He could already feel the night starting to turn around for him. And it was all thanks to the beautiful red-head sitting next to him.
A/N: So what did you think? I told you from the start that I didn't really like Elain. I really wanted to see the jealous side of her. Oh, I forgot to mention last chapter about the necklace. Just about every Gwynriel story I've read has Gwyn getting all upset about the necklace and them getting into a huge fight about it. I've only read one where she doesn't and I really liked that path, so I went in that direction. I mean, in this point in time, they are just friends. And he really just wanted her to be happy. And she sees that for how it is.
As for Az being able to hear the IC talking while they're out in the hallway and Gwyn doesn't seem to, I'm basically going for they were talking so quietly normal Fae hearing couldn't detect it, but he could thanks to his shadows. I don't know. I could be doing that wrong with his shadows, but I thought it worked well. Oh well. On to chapter three! Review please!