The Mortal Realm

This chapter will contain smut.

Cal's PoV:

Rhys dropped her off to her house.

Even though Feyre had told her, Cal was still surprised at the mansion that now stood in front of her. The dilapidated hut was nowhere to be seen.

The reunion with her cousins had been- odd.

Elaine had cried while embracing her, telling her how much she had missed her and that she had been worried that she was dead.

Nesta, hadn't said much. Which was the most Nesta thing Cal could imagine. She just said that her not being dead is a good thing.

And that was that.

Their father had gone overseas for some business. The house was beautiful.

Cal was happy to be back with her sisters, but she knew she would miss Velaris.

The next day, a chit from Rhys arrived along with a pen.

How are things?

Cal picked up the pen and started writing.

Things are alright. Nesta is being Nesta and Elaine is just sweet. There hasn't been any threats as of now. Will keep you updated.

The chit disappeared and she went down to the dining table to talk to her sisters.

"How are things with you two?" asked Cal, trying to make polite dinner conversation.

"I am engaged," said Elaine, with a slight colour on her cheeks. "With Graysen."

"Oh, I think I remember him."

"Yes. He proposed and I said yes."

"That's good. As long as you are happy. What about you, Nesta?"

"Trying to understand," said Nesta, "exactly why I have been pulled into this madness."

"You have been pulled," said Cal, feeling a little awkward, "because you are mortal. A war between the faeries and the humans will involve everyone. And we would be an idiot to ignore anyone."

There was a knock on the door and Nesta got up, getting away from the conversation.

Cal heard the main door opening and then closing.

"Pretty boy came to visit," said Nesta and sat back down.

Cal turned to see Azriel standing a few feet away. His wings were out and they towered over him.

He looked like a picture of destruction brought to life. Only Cal could see the soft Az hidden behind the shadows.

She chuckled at how Nesta had seen the wings and the shadows and still called him 'pretty boy'.

"Rhys said you would be here," Az said simply, looking around at Nesta as if asking for permission to sit.

"Would you like to have some dinner?" asked Elaine kindly. Nesta just ignored him and started to eat.

"Yes, I would," replied Az with a smile. The smile was so sweet and Cal saw Elaine blushing at him.

Elaine got him a plate and Azriel took some roasted pork in his plate and started to eat. The food tasted like ash and Cal was surprised how Az could still eat without any expression.

"How are things with you?" asked Elaine, looking at Cal. "We were so surprised yesterday, we forgot to ask."

"Things are good," said Cal.

"Were you really tortured?" asked Elaine and the question was so flippant and blunt that even Nesta looked up.

Cal felt a shiver run up her spine at the sudden mention. A very short flashback of Amarantha ensued in her mind. She felt a warm hand on her thigh.

Azriel.

He squeezed her thigh gently, calming her, soothing her.

"I am sorry," said Elaine suddenly. "Feyre told us what happened. And she was also tortured. But she died and turned to fae. And yet you are- you know- still human."

"Well," replied Cal trying to smile. "I was just tortured. Amarantha didn't try to kill me. I was an experiment. Amarantha didn't go out of her ways to kill me, so I survived. All's well."

She felt Az squeeze her thigh tighter, then caress gently, soothing her again.

"Well," said Nesta, her voice still cold. "That's sad. I guess you will die in a few years. Like us. At least Feyre being tortured was worth it, she gets immortality."

"Nothing could be worth what Amarantha did to any of us," said Cal firmly.

Nesta shrugged and then they ate in silence. Thankfully.

"Do you want to stay the night?" asked Nesta, looking at Azriel before getting up from the table.

"Yes," replied Az, trying to sound polite.

"You already know where the guest rooms are."

They left the dinner table and Cal went to the kitchen. Since all the servants had been dismissed, she had decided to do the dishes.

She heard Azriel helping Elaine clean the table. She heard quite a few giggles coming from that direction. They were still cleaning the table, even after Cal had finished doing the dishes.

Cal said her good night to both Elaine and Azriel and then went to her room.

She loved Elaine, of course she did.

But her sudden closeness to Azriel made her angry.

She remembered the first day she had met Azriel, he had been a little cold to her. Maybe even a little condescending.

Asinine, as Amren had described.

But suddenly he was Mr. Charming with Elaine.

It made sense, actually.

Elaine was sweet, calm, and so beautiful.

Cal was none of that. And she never would be.

If given the chance, and if situations were a little different, maybe Az would have preferred Elaine.

She changed into her night clothes when she heard a knock on her door.

She opened to find Azriel standing at the door.

"May I come in?" he asked sweetly.

"Yes," she said, looking away.

"Are you quite alright?" asked Az from behind her as she started to tie her hair with a silk tie to keep it from tangling at night.

"I am okay, thank you. You sure you want to stay here and not with Elaine?"

"I am sure." Cal heard him laugh and that pissed her off more.

"What's so funny?"

"You. And funny is the wrong word. I would like to go with cute. You are adorable when you're jealous."

"I am not jealous. Why would I be?"

"Maybe because you missed me. And before we could have a proper talk, you saw me laughing and smiling with Elaine."

"Oh, so you do have brains."

"I do have brains."

When Cal turned around, he was sitting on the bed with a feline smile on his features. The front buttons of his shirt were open, revealing the tattoos on his chest. He was wearing Illyrian fighting leathers and she couldn't take her eyes off of how the leather pants clung to his waist.

"Eyes up here, Cal," said Az with a chuckle.

"If you get to flirt with Elaine," said Cal with a bite in her tone, "I think I get the right to look wherever I want."

"Come here, Cal."

Cal didn't want to but she obeyed, walking up to him while he sat on the bed.

He took her arms in his and kissed both her palms. He kissed all of her fingers one by one.

At every touch of his lips, Cal realised how much she had missed him. A fire started to burn within her.

She jerked her hands away from him. Before she could register the hurt in his eyes, she grabbed his face roughly and crashed her lips with his.

His taste exploded in her mouth and she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss.

Az grabbed her hips then, standing up and pushing her back until her back touched the wall. He stood up straight, towering over her.

He withdrew from her and Cal could see his hazel eyes had darkened. A predatory look was present on his face and that look alone shot a cold heat right down to her core.

"I missed you," said Az breathlessly.

"I missed you too," Cal replied, grabbing his face to kiss him again. He pressed her harder against the wall, keeping a hand at the back of her head to make sure she didn't get hurt by the wall.

So thoughtful.

Her hands reached down to his belt, unbuckling his pants.

Her hands were trembling as she continued to kiss him, his teeth marking her lips roughly, almost making them bleed.

She finally succeeded in unbuckling his pants and then pulled them down.

She wrapped her hand around his cock without looking down and she could feel that he was erect.

And big.

Definitely big.

Largest wingspan for a reason, she guessed.

She drew back from him, looking into his eyes. He hadn't protested when she had taken off his pants. Maybe he too wanted this as much as she did.

She knelt in front of him, maintaining eye contact.

She then looked at his cock.

Her fingers hadn't even wrapped themselves completely around his girth. She kissed the tip, squeezing just below the head.

Az threw his head back and moaned, the sound reverberating in her core.

She licked a long stripe from the base to the head, dragging her teeth along the head. Az bucked into the touch, a whimper falling from his lips.

She then took him in her mouth, taking him as deep as she could without gagging.

"Oh Gods," moaned Az, his voice breathless. "That's my good girl."

He placed a hand on her head. She started taking him deeper, sucking him with all she had.

Then she felt his hands at the sides of her head, grabbing her hair.

He grasped her hair tightly and pressed her head onto his cock, bucking into her mouth at the same time.

In one rough thrust, Cal was able to take all of him, but she started to choke at the sheer length of him.

As if understanding what was happening, Az pulled her head away, allowing her to breathe before thrusting into her mouth again.

She wanted him like this. Unleashed and completely out of control. She felt a knot again at the pit of her stomach and wanted to release it.

Az grunted with every thrust, holding her head firmly. Tears were running down her eyes as she continued to gag and choke on him.

Finally, with an animalistic growl, he came.

And Cal swallowed every last drop of him.

"My turn," he said breathlessly.

He pushed her onto the bed roughly. He then grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the edge. She squealed in surprise, feeling her nightdress bunching up around her waist.

"Time to return the favour, Snowflake," he said, kneeling on the floor in front of her sex.

He blew gently onto it and Cal felt like she would explode from the sensations it provided.

"You're already close, aren't you?" he said, touching her sex and rubbing the bundle of nerves. "You are close just from sucking me. Such a good girl."

She moaned at the praise, arching her back up as the knot tightened further, near to its breaking point.

He then slipped in one finger.

The intrusion was enough to make her come. She turned her head to the side, muffling her cries on the pillow as she came, her body trembling.

But Az did not stop. He continued to thrust his finger into her and she felt the knot tightening again.

He then replaced his thumb with his lips and started sucking on her bundle of nerves, making her scream out a little, her hands flying to his hair and her back arching off the bed. He put a hand on her stomach to keep her down while sucking her. He then inserted another finger into her and continued thrusting relentlessly, not even stopping for a moment.

She was pushed off the edge again, pulling ruthlessly on his hair.

He then climbed onto the bed and pulled her nightdress over her head.

He didn't stop thrusting into her and Cal felt sore at his ministrations.

She gave out a cry of discomfort and his eyes flew to hers. There was concern in them and that made her heart melt.

"Do you want more?" asked Az, slowing down the thrusts for just a few seconds.

"Yes," said Cal, in spite of her body protesting. She felt like she would spontaneously combust if she couldn't have more, even though her sex was already starting to ache.

"Good girl," said Az.

He then bent forwards and kissed her breasts, biting gently.

Cal felt slight discomfort at her sex when she realised he was now inserting three fingers instead of two. The pain oddly felt good. She didn't know the words delicious pain could ever be used in a sentence, but she knew that was the only way to describe what was happening to her.

He continued thrusting his fingers into her while kissing both her breasts. She felt the knot tightening further, her moans becoming louder.

"Come for me once more, Snowflake," he said, his eyes locking onto hers as his thrusts became hard enough to hurt a little. He then clamped his mouth over her nipple, his fingers pinching the other one sharply.

She then felt his teeth graze along her nipple before he bit down hard.

The pain of the bite, her already aching muscles and the continued relentless thrusting of his fingers pushed her over the edge for the third time. She screamed then, her back arching off the bed again as her sex clamped down tightly on his fingers.

She lay there, breathless and panting as Az removed his fingers from her.

He lay down beside her then, holding her hand tightly.

"I missed you too much, I guess," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah," she said, looking at him. He looked beautiful with his hair messed up and his wings unfurled around him. "Your hair is pretty." She laughed. "I guess you can only enjoy this at night. You cant go to work or meetings with that hair."

He turned around on his side, kissing her lips roughly.

"Snowflake," he said, his voice deep enough to cause her insides to tighten. "If you allow it, I will have you anytime I want, anywhere I want, however I want. And if I want you in the morning before work, I will make sure to tie your pretty little hands to the headboard so you can no longer mess up my hair, and have you repeatedly until I have had my fill."

A small moan escaped her lips at the words and he kissed her again, this time much gentler than before.

"So," he said, placing a hand gently around her waist. He kissed her forehead. "What else have you been up to?"

Azriel's PoV:

Cal was fucking amazing.

Azriel has had lovers before, but this- this felt different.

And he hadn't even made love to her yet.

Her mouth felt so good around him that it was hard not to thrust harshly into her, pushing himself past her throat.

But he had to keep in mind that she was mortal.

And very very fragile.

When he took her with his fingers, and her face had contorted with pleasure, he knew he would never be able to have enough of that.

He wanted more, so much more.

He wanted to bury himself inside her, feel her throbbing and pulsing around him, kiss her lips and swallow every beautiful sound that flew past her lips.

But that was for later.

He couldn't do that before she knew the truth, before she had accepted the mating bond, which tragically she did not believe in.

"So," he said to her after taking her three times. He was holding her hand in his and tracing patterns along her wrist. "What else have you been up to?"

"I have been training," she said and she sounded proud. "You were right. The broadsword is a better fit for me. And I think I am pretty good at it. Cassian said so himself."

She grinned proudly at him and he had no doubt that she was actually much better than good. Cassian is supportive, but he can also be a condescending little piece of shit. So, if he said that he thinks she is good, she must be good.

"I even practiced with Rhys," continued Cal. "It did not go well, he is very fast. But he also said I was good."

"That's amazing," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I am so proud of you."

"Thank you. What have you been up to?"

"Well, it's a little complicated. Hybern is already gathering an army, its not very big yet, but it will get complicated in a while. We will have to stop them before it gets far." Azriel turned over to lay down on his stomach, making his wings more comfortable. He turned his head to the side so as to look at Cal and continued the conversation. "We are trying to get the Book of Breathings from the mortal queens, as you already know. We have to nullify the Cauldron, Cal. The world will be in some serious trouble if we don't."

"I am sure you all will do it," said Cal, holding his hand in both of hers. Maybe she had felt the restlessness in him. "How are things in the Spring Court and Ianthe? Have you been keeping up there?"

"Well, we haven't heard much from Ianthe or any of the High Priestesses really. And as for the Spring Court, its very well shielded currently. It was a real task getting through the wall and coming here. I feel it would have been easier to just fly along the coast and land here."

"So, you have had no contact with the Spring Court."

"No. But Rhys doesn't think they are much of a threat as of now. When the war comes, maybe Spring Court won't help us. But, we don't think they will exactly harm us either."

"That's a relief. And, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You are working pretty hard, as I can see. Are you being safe? You didn't get- hurt or anything, right?" Az saw her eyes flitting to his back and legs and neck, as if searching for some wound. His heart squeezed at that.

"I am the shadowsinger, Cal." He gave her a reassuring kiss. "It will take a lot to kill me, or even injure me. I am good."

"That's nice to know. But still, be careful."

"Always am. By the way, did you really get jealous about what happened with Elaine earlier?"

"No, maybe. I don't know." She turned red. "I just got a little angry. It was unlike me. I am sorry."

Az knew what had happened. He was her mate. She didn't know that but her body did. So did her soul. So, seeing him with another female, talking and laughing, triggered the protective nature in her. In a mating bond, it's not just the males who are known to be volatile and destroy worlds. Sometimes, even females have waged wars if somebody tried to steal their mate, or killed their mate.

She was his mate, the thought made butterflies flutter in his stomach.

"You don't have to be sorry," said Az, squeezing her fingers. "You have feelings for me, that's quite a normal reaction. But you should know, I have eyes only for you."

"I don't understand that." Her voice had become flat now. And distant. "It's not possible, really. I mean, look at me. I am no one. I am not a fighter, a Cursebreaker, or special, or anything. Feyre, she is beautiful and so strong. I am- I am just the one who survived. It doesn't make sense for you to like me."

"Who said you're not special?"

"I know I am not special. And the troubles that I have put you and Rhys and everyone else through, I think I should have been dead."

"Don't say that." He clutched her wrist then, holding her tightly. But her eyes were still distant.

"I am weak," she continued as if she hadn't even heard him. "I am weak and a complete troublemaker. I just exist, Az. It wouldn't really matter if I died. My mother is dead, so she wouldn't really cry. My father never really came back for me, so of course he doesn't care whether I am alive or dead. My uncle hadn't even mourned when I had disappeared. In fact, he was relieved because they had one less mouth to feed. Feyre, she is always worried about me; I am the mortal weakling, always a liability. If maybe I had died under Amarantha, Rhys wouldn't have had to risk every day of his life to keep me safe. If I had died there, Tamlin and Ianthe wouldn't have caught me, your safety wouldn't have been compromised, and you wouldn't have to fly in there and risk your whole life to save my sorry ass."

"Snowflake," said Az, as he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to himself, he turned to his side and pressed her body tighter against his. "You are not a liability. Nobody thinks that."

"But they really should." Her voice broke a little and Az felt a slight pain in his chest as he saw her eyes tearing up. "I am not good at anything. I never have been. I should never dare to even think that I am. Amarantha had been right when sh-"

Cal stopped talking then and Az saw her lips seal in a tight line, as if she physically stopped herself from saying something.

"When she what, Cal?" Az asked her, caressing her cheek gently.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "It doesn't matter."

"You know I am here for you, right?"

"And I don't understand why! I am just weak and stupid and- just- I shouldn't even exist at this point."

"Stop saying that, please."

"You don't know! Az, you don't know! You don't know what I have done, and what all has happened because of me!"

"Then tell me."

"No. You will hate me."

"I don't think I will. But in case I do, at least you will have your answer."

"Do you really want to know? I mean, you should sleep, shouldn't you?"

"I got tomorrow off. And the day after, Rhys and Feyre and everyone else is going to be here and show the proof to the mortal queens. So, I think I can stay up a little late."