Chapter 8

My body ached all over when I woke up again. It took me a while to turn on my back from being curled up in a ball. I didn't open my eyes until I was sure I would not end up crying out in pain or be blinded by light.

As usual, I was cocooned in my own shadows. I could hear and see nothing in the room except for my hands.

When I decided I had enough strength to pour myself a glass of water I allowed myself a look at my surroundings.

Everything was the same, except for one small thing.

A tall, muscular figure lingered in a corner.

"I told you to leave the room." I sighed and reached for the jug of water.

Azriel stepped out of the shadows. "I didn't want you to die."

"Don't worry about that." I chugged down the entire glass. "I won't die just yet. Even if I did Alcina would not let you get harmed."

"I wasn't talking about that." He stood near my bed, watching shadows slowly disappear from around me as I calmed down.

"What were you talking about then?" I put my feet on the cold floor and forced myself to get up.

He replied a second later. "I have my own selfish reasons."

Not wanting to be a part of his word game, I left him standing in the bedroom and entered the bathroom to wash my sweat-soaked face. A few wet strands stuck to my face as I looked at myself in the mirror.

My cheeks were fuller than they were a while back but my eyes still looked like a bottomless pit.

When I came back Azriel was near the door. "Your sister said that she would leave once she sees you."

I mumbled a few curses at her under my breath but followed him downstairs.

The living area was soaked in a orange glow in the evening. The only people in the house besides us were Morrigan and Alcina who were curled up on the couches as my sister droaned on and on about beautiful gardens and insects.

"You look like you've been to hell and back." Alcina remarked once she noticed me.

I rolled my eyes at her and slumped down besides her.

She grinned, pleased with herself, and turned towards me but before she could bring on her arsenal of terrible jokes, Morrigan spoke. "Are you alright now? Az told me you fainted."

"I was just having another vision. Sorry if I made anyone worried." I replied.

" Does that happen often?" She frowned.

"Very." My sister piped in.

I gave her an irritated look but she just smiled and shoved a grape in her mouth. Then, she proceeded to put one in mouth and I cringed at the sour taste.

"How do you deal with it?" Azriel tilted his head to one side. "What if you have a vision when you are alone or in danger?"

"The shadows know how to protect me." I leaned back. He knew about shadows well enough so he just nodded and returned to his silence.

"Look at this." Alcina poked me with her elbow and held up a paper. "What do think about this man?"

I didn't bother looking her way. "I don't think about men."

Morrigan snorted as my sister made a face. "I meant have you seen him before?" She chided.

I glanced over at what she was holding. It was picture of a man in purple clothes, with his face covered by a golden veil.

"No. Who is that?"I looked over at her.

"He came over to the huts when I was living there, stayed there for three days and then left. Mrs. Severy didn't like him one bit." She tucked the picture in her pocket.

"Mrs. Severy never likes anyone." I said, remembering her suspicion when she met Azriel.

" That too." Alcina fiddled with something in her lap.

Looking closer, I realised it was a delicate necklace, with a small vial. The pink candle wax used to seal it shut was enough to tell me of it's contents. Rose petals, Honey, Eggshells, Cinnamon, Salt - for love and protection. Every time she fiddled with it, streaks of pink, red, yellow and orange scattered beautifully on her white dress.

I sneaked a look at the necklace and Morrigan before Alcina gave me a death glare.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows.

She took a deep breath before pursing her lips. "Nothing."

I gave her an amused expression before returning to looking outside the window.

They could deal with their emotions by themselves but as a sister, it was my duty and responsibility, to get on Alcina's nerves.

I leaned towards her. "It's-"

But she smacked her hand on my mouth so hard I winced.

Both Morrigan and Azriel looked at us with confused faces as she dragged me outside.

"Do not."She hissed.

"What?" I feigned innocence.

"You know what?" My sister huffed.

"Just do not. You ruined it with Dahlia, not this time." " I'd didn't ruin it with Dahlia." I put both my hands on her shoulders and said, "I wasn't going to do anything."

"But you were going to say something." She accusingly said.

"I was just saying that you missed Basil." I pushed her back inside. "I would never do anything to make you upset." I whispered.

She sighed. "I know."

When we came back, Azriel and Morrigan were talking about something. They both looked our way and Alcina decided to make an excuse quickly.

"I was telling Lillith to go and buy herself some clothes." She stupidly babbled out.

"She was not-"I was about to deny that but Morrigan nodded. "You definitely should. It's not dark, you can come back by dinner time."

"Yes!" Alcina almost jumped. "You and the shadowsinger should go. He can show you around. It's a beautiful evening in an even more beautiful city."

"Me?" Azriel croaked out. He looked almost as confused as I felt.

"Yes, Az." Morrigan threw a look his way. "You. Who else? You have a good taste in clothes."

"I don't." He forwned and started shaking his head but by this time, both my sister and Morrigan were pushing us towards the door.

I started, "Alcina , I really-"

"Just go, will you?" She whispered in my ears.

By the time I grasped why they both wanted us gone, I was standing outside the house in snow with the spymaster, whose mouth was hanging open.

"Let's leave them alone." I turned around and looked down the street.

A moment later, Azriel gave up and asked " Where do you want to go?"

I looked at him with a comical expression.

"It's my home. Right." He scratched the back of his head. "I'm supposed to show you around."

I stifled a laugh at his confusion. If someone saw him in that moment they would think he had never seen streets and people before. They would definitely not call him "Prince of Velaris" when he was so lost in in Velaris.

"We can-We can go down to the river. Maybe you'll find something you'll like down there." He pointed in one direction.

I sighed. "Let's just take a walk." With this, I started walking down the streets and he followed behind me.

"How long have been living here?" I asked.

"Most of my life. After I joined Rhysand's court, this was my home." He explained.

Not a lot of people payed us any mind. A few were perhaps curious as to who was the new girl with shadows when they had only seen Azriel with them, but most of the people ignored us. A few stopped to politely greet the spymaster but I was so caught up seeing the city, I didn't pay them any mind.

As we continued walking, the roads grew busier and it became more difficult for me to navigate them.

"It's very crowded." I remarked.

Azriel stepped over a box outside a small shop. "Are you not used to cities?"

"You saw where I lived my entire life. There was hardly fifty families. We used to have weekly markets of course, but even they were not this crowded." I swayed around a barrel.

"Then you should be grateful it's the evening and not the afternoon. That's when the streets are the most crowded. Don't worry. This will die down in a while." Azriel walked over to my right side putting me between himself and the shops and away from the road.

The crowd did get less in a while but by that time, the sky was the darkest shade of blue.

I stopped in my tracks and didn't even breath for a while. Velaris was a city to be seen at night. Little lights - like firefighters, loomed over us and laughter echoed down from every house and street. Music poured out of various restaurants and pubs. I just stared at the people, houses, lights, colours around me in bewilderment until I hit my nose against a wall.

Nevermind, it was just Azriel.

He looked down at me with amusement.

"What?" I mumbled, offended.

"Nothing." He turned around but I didn't miss his attempts at trying to hide his smile.

"Don't laugh at me." I threatened.

"I'm not laughing at you." He still didn't look in my direction.

"You're thinking about it." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"It's been a while since I saw someone this shocked by civilization." He said.

"I'm not shocked by civilization. "I defended myself. "I'm shocked by how beautiful this place is."

He stopped in his tracks all of a sudden, looking into a shop's windows.

It had a beautifully carved door and golden curtains. I waited for him to tell me why we were standing there but he didn't speak.

"Come." He said at last and entered the shop. A small bell chimed near the door and a small man peeked up from behind the counter. He pushed his glasses up his nose and looked at the spymaster expectantly.

Azriel exchanged greeting with the man while I soaked in the energy of the place when I found myself surrounded with so many Crystals all of a sudden. A jewelry shop was always the most soothing place to be, it was always filled with crystals and gems.

"I had asked you to make something a while ago, can you bring it out now?" Azriel asked the man, who nodded and disappeared behind a tiny door.

I heard the voices of him rummaging inside for a while before he came out again but this time he had a black and silver box in his hands.

He handed it to Azriel who traces the silver linings for a while before speaking to me.

"Now that I know you will be gone even if we survive the Ideosy, can I offer a gift?"

My eyebrows flew up in surprise. "Gift? For me?"

"Yes." He fiddled with the box.

"I'm sorry, I can't accept that." I started.

"Think of it as a tool that you can use to ask me more about Velaris." Mischief filled his eyes. "Or civilizations."

"First of all, I know about civilizations. Second of all, I don't think I've done anything to earn this."

"First of all, Gifts are not earned. Second of all, You saved my life. The Ideosy would have hunted me down and sacrificed me by now if you hadn't warned us. You came here, despite the risk that we will kill you, just because there was a chance that you can save innocent lives. I think you've done enough to earn this."

I opened and closed my mouth several times but nothing came out.

Azriel walked across the room and gave me the box before taking a step back. His eyes followed every movement of my fingers and each emotion on my face.

I looked at it, debating whether I wanted to look inside or not, but gave up and it opened with a small clink .

A beautiful choker, adorned with black diamonds, sat inside it. No, not black. They were filled with shadows. Azriel had trapped some of his shadows inside the diamonds.

"This is-" I tried to say something but words failed me. It was breathtaking.

The shadows swirled inside their glistening cages like small snakes hissing and striking.

"I told you it's a useful gift." Azriel smugly commented.

"It is." I agreed, because I didn't know what else to say. "It's still too much." I added.

"I like to think it's at least worth my life."

"You know that's not what I was saying. " I closed the box. "I'm saying that there was no need for this."

"Perhaps." He shrugged. "But, I've payed for this, and as good as I would look in this, I feel you would need this."

"This is the most precious gift I've ever received." I smiled in gratitude. I didn't know how to put my emotions into words so I just said what came to my mind.

He returned my smile, his beautiful features lighting up with his own, before we got out of the jewellery shop and stepped into the snow covered streets. It  was starting to get colder and colder. I shivered and Azriel asked, "Should we go back?"

"As beautiful as the city is, it's extremely cold." I tugged my cloak closer.

All the way back to the house, the black box burned against my skin.