Aelin's mind was a mess. Between her unexplainable emotion regarding Rhysand and what had transpired between them, and Azriel. She had only noticed him when she went to follow Cassian out of the throne room. She wasn't sure how much he had witnessed of the scene she had put out for the entire room to see. But from what little Aelin had been able to grasp from the expression on his face, the Shadowboy had seen enough. For some odd reason, Aelin had been weighed down by an unreasonable feeling of guilt towards Azriel.
Back at the manor, the Inner Circle were all slumped in the living room, the flames of the fireplace warming up the room, while the majestic moon showered them in glorious light. It would have been an ideal evening had Aelin not been plagued by such questionable feelings.
She was lounging on one of the sofas, running a finger on the fine fabric of the couch, telling herself that she should get one just like it when she returned to Erilea. If she ever returned, she corrected herself. Her hope, however, was fleeting.
While the assassin was rummaging over this, the rest of the court were happily discussing how well the plan had panned out. Though, despite the smiling faces, their voices sounded all but joyful.
"What's with the sullen faces?" She finally asked, resting her legs on the arm. "We got the crystal ball, didn't we?"
True to his nature, Cassian sneered. "Crystal ball? It's the Orb. A powerful tool which depicts truth magic."
Aelin looked at him under her lashes, unimpressed. "So it's a crystal ball like I said."
The mighty male furrowed his brows. "No, it is a-"
From his corner, Azriel interrupted before the two could have a dispute. "It is a crystal ball, of a sort-"
"Az!" Cassian looked all but pleased with his brother siding with Celaeana and slumped in his seat, defeated.
"Glad we cleared that up." Aelin, on the other hand, was sporting a smug look on her face. "So, why the frowns?"
This time, her question was directed to Rhysand, eyes locked on him.
The High Lord looked defeated as he spoke. "None of us like going to Hewn City much…"
"You don't say," She rolled her eyes. "Does that have anything to do with Keir, by any chance?"
As soon as she said his name, the room turned cold and tense. Aelin rose one perfectly arched eyebrow. "Ah, it seems as if I hit the mark…"
"He's my father," Mor finally spoke, surprising Aelin.
From what she had witnessed, it was not a typical father-daughter relationship. Hell, when Rhysand turned his bones to dust, Mor was all smiles. There appeared to be no love lost between the two. In fact, if the assassin was remembering correctly, Keir had all but sneered whenever he locked eyes with Mor. That had been the same for everyone. Cassian and Azriel evidently despised the Steward, and Rhysand, well, Keir's arm said it all.
Hatred was not new to Aelin, after all, between her relationship with the King of Adarlan, her feelings revolving Chaol -( which had calmed down but were still bordering hatred), and Maeve, just to name a few, Aelin was no stranger to the feeling. However, the lost princess never stored such emotion for a family member (with the exception of Meave, but she had never considered her family, really). Noted, her family was all but dead, apart from her cousin Aedion. But if it were true, if he really grew up to be Adarlan's Whore, perhaps Aelin could muster up enough hate for him too. That would perhaps be hypocrisy, of course, seeing as she had been, after all, the King's Champion…
But that was all besides the point at the moment. Because right now, she was processing what Mor had just divulged to her.
"Well," She searched for the appropriate words. "You have a lovely father."