Azriel POV

A knock sounded on the door, shattering the calm I had settled into. I stiffened. When there was a second knock, I removed my arm from Malidia's waist.

She asked me who it was, but I couldn't answer, and then Cassian and Rhys walked in. I kept my outwardly calm demeanour, but my mind was racing.

All I could think of was the way Malidia had purred when I stroked her hair, and the way she'd leaned into me. I could only think of how she'd let me touch her wings, something I doubt she'd ever let anyone do.

Malidia was staring at Rhys, and he was staring at her. I subtly brushed her hand with mine, and she returned the gesture.

Rhys opened his mouth, and then shut it again, unable to form the words. The silence dragged on, until Malidia gathered her resolve and started to speak.

"Hello Rhysand."

That was all she said, yet it seemed to snap Rhys right out of his shock. He composed himself, straightening and staring at Malidia, taking in the still healing cuts and bruises on her face.

"Malidia." He replied, disbelief written over his face.

She cocked her head to the side. "I guess you guys did find out my name sooner rather than later," she grinned.

Cassian chuckled, but Rhys looked confused. I opened my mind to him, and showed him the memory, making sure I focused hard on that one, and not the others. His eyes glazed over as he watched the scene, before a huge smirk split his face.

"I'd say that we did." Rhys said. He moved in closer, and gave Malidia a hug, squeezing her tightly. He pulled back, and she smiled. Genuine, but it was hiding a wince of pain.

I cursed to myself. She'd only had her arms and face and wings healed. Not her legs and waist, or back. I narrowed my eyes, and was about to say something, when I caught her looking at me. She noticed my eye contact, and subtly shook her head.

Rhys started talking. "It's great to see you again Malidia." They started talking, but behind Rhys I saw Cassian staring at me. I gestured towards the door, and he nodded. When outside, I turned to face him, seeing him lean against the wall, wings draped behind him.

"How was your night?" He drawled.

I crossed my arms. "If you dragged me out here to ask me again, you're wasting your time."

Cassian rolled his eyes. "It has nothing to do with that. Either you'll tell us or you won't. No, this is about something else." He paused.

I waited, knowing he'd speak eventually. He stared at me, waiting for me to either catch on or ask. Prick, I thought.

I sighed. "Just tell me."

He waited a bit, before speaking. "The door was unlocked. The windows weren't shielded anymore and they were open. I couldn't find you all night and then I see you in here with Malidia. Why did you unlock them?"

I responded without thinking. "Because what right do we have to take away her freedom again?"

I prayed he hadn't noticed my slip up, but he had. "What do you mean, again?" I refused to speak, not allowing myself to say anything about what Malidia told me.

Cassian rolled his eyes, noting my defiance. He spoke suddenly.

"What did you actually do last night?" I sighed. I knew where this was going. "Did you-"

I cut him off, slamming a hand over his mouth and tackling him to the ground. He pushed me off, and trapped me against the wall. He grinned, and I shoved off the wall, throwing him into the hall table, knocking over a vase.

We continued brawling, and then the door cracked open. Malidia stood there, leaning on Rhys to keep steady. Rhys looked at us, exasperated, but Malidia laughed, the sound ringing through the room lightly. I smiled, and hit Cassian one last time. He shoved me back, but the shove was gentler this time, more playful.

Rhys was still looking at us strangely, but he seemed to dismiss it. Malidia laughed again, her eyes bright, and she muttered, "Illyrians. Bloody typical Illyrians."

Cassian cried in outrage, causing Malidia to grin. Rhys asked her, "Do I fall under that category too?" She grinned wider, as if Rhys had trapped himself.

"I don't know, you're only half Illyrian, but…" she trailed off.

"But what?" Rhys asked, instantly curious.

"But you can seem more idiotic at times. Even more idiotic than Cassian, and that's near impossible." She finished.

Rhys looked at her indignantly, but Cassian winked.

"At your service, as the most stupid, handsome," I coughed, and he glared, "Illyrian in history." He said, still glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes. "You forgot arrogant, cocky, reckless and annoying."

Malidia choked on her laugh, but Rhys didn't bother hiding it. His deep laugh rumbled down the hall, soon joined by Malidia's. Cassian glared at each of us in turn, before addressing me.

"Are you done? Or is there more?" He said in annoyance. I opened my mouth, but Rhys beat me to it.

"That was only the beginning of the list," he smirked. Cassian made a vulgar gesture, but smiled slyly.

"And what kind of Illyrian is Azriel, Malidia?" He said.

She contemplated this for a while, before answering. "Quiet, a good fighter, shy, stubborn and…" she paused, before adding, "and soft."

My face heated, slipping past even my mask. Cassian made a noise that sounded rather like a choking wheeze, before he doubled over in laughter. Rhys laughed so hard that he cried.

Malidia was smiling broadly.

"What do you mean, soft?" I said, cheeks still burning. She shrugged.

"It's true." She said.

I ducked my head. Cassian clapped me on my shoulder.

"Well, at least you're a good fighter, softie." He barely had time to lift his arm to block me as I took a swing at his head. There was silence, and then Cassian hit me back. I ducked, and we started fighting.

"Knock it off guys. Stop." Rhys sighed. We ignored him, and kept kicking, swinging and blocking. He tried pushing us apart, to no avail. Rhys clicked his fingers, and a burst of power rumbled through the hallway, shaking the furniture. Cassian and I exchanged a glance, and came to a silent agreement. No more fighting.

A chuckle sounded from behind us, and the three of us turned to the sight of Malidia standing in the doorway, her legs shaking slightly. She pushed herself up straighter, and moved closer to us, her legs seeming to stabilise with each step.

She paused a good three feet away, and crossed her arms.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, so I'll see you a breakfast." She stalked past, bare feet padding near silent on the stone floor.

The three of us glanced at each other, then the shattered table and vase. Cassian shrugged, and sauntered down the hall. I looked at Rhys, then followed Cassian.

Rhys muttered something I chose not to hear. I looked around, and saw him wave a hand, and all the shards and splinters disappeared. I paused, and waited until he caught up. He fell into stride with me, and we walked down the hall in a comfortable silence, until a crash, followed by curses, came from ahead.

Rhys and I exchanged a glance, before we raced down the hallway. We froze when we reached the dining room, as we beheld the sight before us.

The glass table had shattered, and shards were spread all over the room. Cassian was lying on the floor, and he had shields protecting himself and Malidia from the glass. He watched Malidia standing over him, panting. She glared daggers at him, and he smirked right back at her.

Before I could blink, she had a piece of glass in her hand, and she hurled it at him. It bounced harmlessly off his shield, but she threw something else. A pebble had found its way into her hand, and was suddenly flying across the room, so fast it was only a blur of pale white.

Cassian still had his shield up, but this time, just before it reached him, his siphons flared and the pebble burst into hundreds of tiny pieces. The pieces showered around the room, and the sound of stone on glass was all that could be heard.

Rhys regained his composure, and asked, "What in the name of the Mother is going on here?"

Malidia POV

I hadn't noticed Rhys and Azriel standing at the door, until Rhys spoke. It seemed that Cassian hadn't either, seeing as we both jumped.

I had just entered the room when Cassian had followed, and he gave me a grin that meant trouble was coming. I crossed my arms and waited, when he asked a question, about what Azriel had talked to me about, and why he was in my room.

I told him why, and I figured that he had already talked to Azriel about it, since he got irritated when I told him what Azriel had told me. He pressed me for more details, and I said nothing.

Cassian tried to ask me more, until it got to the point when I politely told him where he could shove the questions. Then, he said something.

"Why won't you answer the question? If it isn't what I think it is, surely you can tell me." He stared bluntly.

I narrowed my eyes. "And what exactly is it you think we did?"

He started shifting, like he was uncomfortable. "It's not that I think you did, it's just…" he trailed off.

"Just what?"

"Just that he was in your room all night and I had no idea, so I'm wondering why." He finished.

There was a hidden question behind the words, and I choked.

"You didn't think we did that?" I cried.

"Did you?" Cassian asked. He smirked, and I lost it.

Before I could think, I grabbed his arm, twisted it, and flipped him onto his back. At least, that's what I meant to do. Maybe I could have pulled it off if I hadn't been so weak, but Cassian was the General of the Illyrian armies, so he was ready, and he blocked me. He pushed me onto the floor, pinning me.

I squirmed, but couldn't shake off the grip, so I bit him. Surprised, he let go, and I used the moment to push him backwards, and he crashed into the table. The glass shattered, and shot everywhere. I raised my arms to protect my face, and when clinking of glass falling to the floor stopped, I raised my eyes to see that Cassian had shielded himself and me.

I cursed, and he smirked again. I glared, and threw glass at him. It bounced off the shield. I felt the stone under my feet, and suddenly a pebble was in my hand. A smooth, white pebble.

I threw that at him, but he shattered it with a burst of his power. A sickening sense of dread settled into my stomach when I realised what I'd done. The others were having a conversation, but I tuned out, giving myself some time with my thoughts.

That pebble I'd thrown at Cassian hadn't been there before. There was only one way I could explain what had happened. I'd used magic. My magic was strange, it wasn't common, it was rarer than daemati. My powers were never recorded down through history, because everyone who had this certain power, the ability to summon and manipulate stone, were always women, and women were never allowed this sort of power in the cultures it came from.

My race was living in a land where females were kept as little more than pets, and marriage wasn't a thing. If you found your mate, you had some status, and could only be touched by them. That was all a female was allowed. They had no rights, no power, no acknowledgement that they even existed, unless needed to clean or to attend to a male's needs.

So when I was born, and my power was strong, they would have tried to kill me. A normal female would have her magic taken through a ritual by the age of ten, but if they were powerful, they were burnt. So I learned to hide my magic, and so few know about it, that sometimes I even forgot. But my tormentors in Hybern knew, and they always had a track on my magic, so that they knew what I was doing and where I was.

So now, with me having used magic, even just that little bit, they knew where I was, and they were coming.

Sorry I haven't been updating that much, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it's a but shorter than normal, but I felt like this was the best place to leave it off, since I have a really good idea for the best chapter. Thankyou for reading, please leave a review to tell me what you thought.

-CrystalShadowStar