#˗ˏˋ ☪ ———— answer .

[chaosburning]

@holyfailed said, ❝ did i wake you? ❞

everyone seemed to be on high alert. between atf, the mayans, the irish, and everything else that was going on around the club alexis was running on fumes. sleep eluded him. his mind was racing with possibilities and plans. on the one hand, he was trying to think of what they'd have to do, just in case. on the other, the biker's mine was also swirling with the ways he needed and wanted to keep jordan safe.

he'd been sitting on the couch, boots kicked up onto the small wooden coffee table while waiting for her to stop by his house after work. the more time they spent together, the more he found himself wanting to keep it that way. didn't help that most of the club already gave him shit for what they thought was happening. every time he reminded them it wasn't their fucking business? only seemed to fuel the fire. one of these days his eyeballs were going to pop out of his head from rolling so hard.

the soft click of the front door caused his body to jolt. when had he fallen asleep? hands instantly reach out for a weapon to touch his fingers. " no, babe, " alexis says without thinking. a calloused palm rubs down his face to wipe away the evidence of sleep. seeing jordan at the door means he's abandoned the gun by setting it on the coffee table when his feet move to the floor.

a yawn escapes him.

" c'mere, " he pats the cushion next to him. " how was work? everything ok? "

[astrakofe]

@somebadguys said, ‘  you  know ,  i  liked  you  a  lot  better  before  you  got  laid .  ’

" wren... " holden crosses one arm over his chest while the other lifts to pinch the bridge of his nose. nevermind how she knew. he was concerned the difference was so staggering it was practically tattooed onto his forehead. that hadn't been the case once upon a time; on the cant and before when he was much more free with his intimacies. things changed after eros. they changed after watching the entire crew get blown to bits and everything that followed. sex didn't seem quite the same after that.

" what i do or do not do with desi or even amos is not really any of your business but i'll keep the personality in mind before i jump in bed with someone. " there was not enough coffee in the world right then; not to remove the heat from his cheeks and not to remove the sudden paranoia that all his personal business was out there on display. " can i help you with something? "

[divinemare]

-ˏˋ⋆ 𝔄 𝔠 𝔬 𝔲 𝔯 𝔱 𝔬 𝔣 𝔤 𝔬 𝔡 𝔰 𝔞 𝔫 𝔡 𝔪 𝔬 𝔫 𝔰 𝔱 𝔢 𝔯 𝔰 ⋆ˊˎ-

└──» ✎ 。 Azriel x Oc

part thirteen

part twelve

┊✧*｡ ✯┊☪︎⋆✧*｡ ┊

When she opened her eyes the world felt different, as if reality had fell on her so hard and so abruptly, she couldn’t find her balance for a couple of seconds.

The first thing she noticed was a shadow on the corner of her eye, more than one, actually, all moving frantically around her. Then there was a male voice, but it took her a while to understand what he was saying.

“For the Mother, Mare, are you ok?” Azriel’s ragged breathing and furrowed expression indicated his stress and worry.

“Yes I… think so. What happened?” When she finally regained full consciousness of her surroundings, she stared at the male’s hazel, worried eyes in confusion.

“I would like to know that too, you just… disappeared, and when I found you it seemed like you didn’t hear me, you were… paralyzed.”

Mareena stared at a blank spot for a long time, she had absolutely no idea what had just happened. But she felt it, somehow, deep down, there was a voice telling her exactly what it had been.

It wasn’t possible, she could not believe it. She could not bring herself to believe it.

“I think…” she started saying anyway, but her throat got so dry mid sentence, she had to swallow hard, not able to even look at the Shadowsinger’s eyes. “I think my mother’s calling me.”

☪︎⋆

Back at the House of Wind, they didn’t mention a thing about what had happened to anyone. Mainly because when Mareena omitted that part of the story when talking to Rhys, Azriel didn’t make a move to fill his High Lord in either. If she didn’t wanted to talk about whatever that had been, he wouldn’t either.

But right now it seemed she didn’t wanted to talk about much, and that did worry Azriel more than he cared to admit.

After having dinner with the Inner Circle, Mareena made a lame excuse of being exhausted after the mission today to get away and lock herself in her room with the pretense of wanting to rest.

So after spending a few unsuspecting minutes downstairs, he sneaked out of the dinner table, and went upstairs to Mareena’s room.

Azriel stood on the door for several minutes, pondering what to do.

Strange, when it came to his day-to-day life, he was the most organized, decisive male, but when it came to Mareena… he never really knew what to do.

Suddenly, when he was considering finally knocking on the girl’s door, it opened just about enough for the chestnut female to poke her head out.

“I can hear your very loud thoughts from inside, Az, do you wanna come in?” Even tho she looked tired —which only helped to build up more of that worry Azriel was already building up in his chest—, she smiled slightly at the Illyrian, causing him to have to pause and reset his brain before looking for some kind of answer to that.

“No, I-”

But before he could finish that sentence like he always did, Mareena finished opening the door and so out of nowhere Azriel didn’t even had time to react; she grabbed his wrist and pulled him in her room.

Azriel just went static when the door closed behind him. Standing up so tall that his spine began to ache. And gaining such a soft laugh from the female it made his head snap in her direction so quickly it gave him a cramp.

“Now you can say whatever you came here to say,” leaving him standing in utter stillness, Mareena walked to one of the couches in the room, and heavily settled down with a tired sigh.

“I just wanted to, uhm…” he had to clear his throat and stare to the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in order to advert his attention from the fact he was inside her room. “I just wanted to know if you were alright.”

Mareena sighed, and he unintentionally lifted up his head to look at her, as if it was some kind of reflex. He regretted it the moment he realized he wasn’t going to be able to look away now.

She was wearing a simple silk baby blue night gown, but that color looked so good on her it almost made her glow. She wasn’t looking at him, she was staring at the ceiling with her head resting on the back of the couch, her eyes way too pensive, way too troubled.

Azriel found himself swallowing way too hard.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, surprising the male who had sworn she was about to lie and say she was alright, as she always did.

Mareena then lifted her head to look at him, a small, sincere but tired smile arched ever so slightly her lips.

“Maybe I would feel better if you moved at least your little finger.”

He laughed, more out of nerves than anything, and stretched his way too tense neck.

“Come,” Mareena patted the space next to her in the couch, and Azriel had to hold back with all his might another gulp. “Please?”

It was as if the word commanded his legs to move before he could stop them. He moved and sat beside her, holding his breath when, suddenly, Mareena laid down to rest her head on his lap. While his whole body tensed up, hers seemed to immediately relax, sighing deeply and closing her tired eyes.

“I simply don’t know.”

Azriel too sighed then, and letting his body relax a little bit, he couldn’t help himself when one of his hands flew to the curly, brown locks of her hair.

“That’s ok, to not know, most of the times I do not know either.”

She smiled again, with her eyes still closed, and although she couldn’t see him, Azriel smiled too.

“Good,” she shifted a little bit, as if she wasn’t really planning on getting up anytime soon.

He wasn’t really planning on it, either. They stayed like that, in the quiet of Mareena’s room. It was everything far from awkward, it was just… right. Everything about it was right, how they both felt at such ease with each other, even if it was in simple silence. Mareena had needed that, the peace, the silence, the comfort, a comfort she had learned a long time ago, but had never been brave enough to admit; she only got from him.

And so as she felt like she was breathing again while laying on Azriel’s lap, she felt comfortable enough to spit out the words.

“Would you help me go to my mother?”

[lilyanyuangui]

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ʏᴏ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴍʏ ᴘᴀꜱᴛ ᴠᴏᴅꜱ!

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x

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for zy

㊎ ┆ 『 ic. 』

[chaosburning]

@holyfailed said, "give me your hand. let me look at it."

alexis had a reputation amongst the club for being one of the most calm. time in the army taught him to set his emotions to the side and react to everything with thoughtful planning. it helped him get out of trouble a number of times, even moreso once he'd become a member in the las vegas charter. where some of his brothers let emotions control them, lex always kept a clear head.

so, when he'd hung up his cell and punched the closest wall everyone gave him a wide berth. voices came at him from all angles. a hand on his shoulder was brushed off before alexis went at the wall again. not his proudest moment but the emotions were too quick and too strong to come at from any other angle.

a day later, his knuckles looked like they'd seen the wrong end of a blender. jax mused about a possible fracture. stopping by the hospital to have it checked out was the last thing on the biker's mind. once he made sure jordan was safe then maybe, just maybe, he'd consider letting someone look at his hand.

" it's nothing, " he lied. the fingers holding out the black helmet tilted to the side to flash the damage. a breath later, alexis switches the hand he's holding it with in order to give jordan a better look at what he'd done. " clumsy me fell into a wall. i'm more worried about you. everything good? "

[astrakofe]

@unityfcrged said, ‘ i would love to play cops and robbers , wear a mask , and feel important , but guess what ? recess is over . it’s grown - up time . ’

since the undersecretary stepped onto the rocinante with the walking powersuit all he'd heard was how he needed to do this and that. earth this. mars that. war. there wasn't enough god damned coffee on the boat for him to listen to all of it. even less so not that he'd had a little, uh, mishap with the coffee machine. it happened to look at him the wrong way after he was pissed at naomi.

and now, holden was regretting everything.

pinching the bridge of his nose, the captain shoved down every profane word that was careening through his mind. fingers clench against the thought of putting the tiny older woman in the airlock, if for no other reason than not having to listen to her babble for a few minutes. but, he was the captain. he had his moral code to hold on to.

" i really appreciate how much you need to get back to earth, i do. as soon as we're done on io we'll do our best to... " do what? everyone was going to have their guns pointed at them if someone so much as sniffed the tachi. it wasn't like they could touch down in front of the un and kick her down the ramp.

" i'm not actually sure how to finish that sentence because i don't know where to drop off diplomatic question marks. point me in the direction of safe harbor and we'll drop you off. how's that? "

[astrakofe]

@draconisa said, ‘  we  actually  have  the  chance  of  saving  the  lives  of  billions  of  people .  ’

" look, " holden pinches the bridge of his nose. he hadn't even had his morning coffee yet and already he was on the brink of an argument over something beyond his control. well, it could be in his control but that was a conversation better served for the rest of his crew because they'd all been through a shitshow and deserved input on what to do with their time.

that hand drags down over his mouth, down his chin, and lands on one of his hips. coveralls are hanging from the waist because, sometimes, they feel a little constrained wearing all the time. all that's showing is the black tee he'd been wearing under the scratchy fabric. the sleeves of his coveralls sway with his pacing. several steps to the left. several steps to the right. start all over.

" i get it. trust me. ever since all this shit started that's been every decision we make. save lives or not. " he was tired. holden was fucking tired but he also couldn't turn his back on all those people no matter what else was happening.

" but we can't go into this blind. you got a plan? or is it just run in there gung ho and save lives? cause i've been that cowboy and it gets people hurt. killed. if you want us to do this thing then we need a plan to present to everyone. "

[astrakofe]

@factiousfcrged said, “i’ve  had  sex  with  you  a  lot  in  my  head.” 

holden looks up from the seat he'd picked out for himself at the club, mainly to blend in with the darkness and zone out for a while. people tended to leave him alone. just him and the whiskey. sometimes naomi joined him. sometimes it was alex. until amos came over and plopped right down next to him holden had been blissfully alone.

lips part, considering the statement briefly. the rest of his whiskey is tossed back and slammed down on the short little table so the captain can angle his body in the direction of the other man.

" thank you? i think, " head tilts to the side trying to imagine what exactly could've prompted the statement. " does desi know that? because we passed in the hall earlier and he wasn't glaring. i'd kind of like to, you know, keep it that way. unless he's open to being in the middle. that could be interesting. "

[astrakofe]

@factiousfcrged asked, ' how long have i been asleep ? '

he'd lost himself, again, on the surface of ganymede. guilt was like a jilted lover haunting him in the middle of the night. holden hadn't had a decent night sleep since before eros and it was starting to take it's toll. everytime he closed his eyes he saw the sick and the dying, undulating bodies. the smell would wake him up sometimes, as if he were still there. one would assume it was the radiation the implant was trying to fend off in his body; that being on the brink of death would be the thing that his mind kept trying to fight.

but, no, it was the people.

during his time in the unn military he'd seen some things he wished he could forget. maybe he even made them worse in his own head because his family had been such conspiracy theorists where the government was concerned. but, he'd wanted to understand them. he'd thought that, maybe, if he understood what made the government tick he could better understand a way to help.

that was a lie.

amos had been awake and moving around when prax looked over the injury at his shoulder. when holden entered the medical bay to check in, the other man had been asleep. so, holden pulled a chair over and pulled up a book on his hand terminal. nothing but the soft hum of the air recycling, electricity, and the vibration of the reactor beneath their feet.

" few hours, maybe. " the captain flicks a finger at the terminal to look at the time. a tilt of his head reinforces the original estimation then switches back to his book. " something told me to be here when you woke up, " one shoulder lifts in a tired shrug. somnambulist checked in. they're still going strong. how about you? how're you feeling? "

[chaosburning]

jamie chung for the npc meme

CONNECTION: wesley choi SPECIES: witch STATUS: alive / museum archivist

originally, she'd been one of ari's one night stands. from what lex has pieced together they met while he was still in the airforce and wesley was on vacation. they had so much fun that they made a go of something more serious but discovered they were better as friends, so they've kept in touch.

ari introduced them while alexis was trying to piece together the story of set. not the story you can find online but the research that's been done by historians and other academics ( although, he's learned you can find those journals online, too ). the pieces to older times. the things passed around between people of the time period.

wesley showed him documents and artifacts. she gladly shared everything she knew and even put them in touch with other people in the field; specialists who could potentially get down to the nitty gritty details she'd never gotten in her field.

oddly enough, she's proven to be a missing piece to their puzzle. the three of them balance each other out in a friendship harmony that none of them knew they needed.

[chaosburning]

@draconisa said, “  i do not intend to die  ”

alexis was still trying to get a handle of whatever was going on with his head. hell, he was still trying to wrap his head around the whole gods are real aspect let alone the fact that he could hear one.

luckily, the perk of his job was all the travel helped keep him distracted. set was looking for something. or, maybe someone. the machinations of the god weren't exactly laid at his feet when someone else decided to move into his body. all he knew were the odd sensations he felt when set was curious, focused, or otherwise.

a sharp pain had brought his attention to a blonde across the street. before lex could even react to what his body was doing, set had his feet pounding on the pavement. arms reached out, tackling the petite form to the ground just as a a small red sports car took a turn too sharply, coming up onto the curb.

" that's a little dramatic, " the veteran could feel the adrenaline making his body shake. " it might've just broken a hip....or something. " a grin was meant to ease the words as the joke they were. " you okay? "

[astrakofe]

@factiousfcrged asked, “You don’t think there are monsters in this world? You don’t believe that people are evil?”

in the seven months they'd been paying their dues to one fred johnson, holden wasn't sure what to make of that question or how even to answer it anymore. with the way he'd grown up in montana, his family would have him believe there was a very clear answer to that. evil? that was a harder word to define. monsters, however. there were plenty of those preying on the weak. he'd seen them in corporations and politics. he'd seen them eating away at the land like a hungry, hungry hippo.

" i believe some people can do evil things, " both shoulders shrug tiredly just before the steaming hot coffee raises to his lips. dark eyes hover over one of the rocinante's huds, just waiting for something to light up.

considering everything he'd been through since the cant, could he define evil? everything he'd grown up learning to question had been tossed into disarray. a younger version of him would have a much easier time defining monsters, men, and evil. but between the stealth ships and the martians who sacrificed themselves to get them to safety? life and definitions had become a lot more complicated.

" other than that....i really don't know how to answer. "

[astrakofe]

tag drop !

[divinemare]

-ˏˋ⋆ 𝔄 𝔠 𝔬 𝔲 𝔯 𝔱 𝔬 𝔣 𝔤 𝔬 𝔡 𝔰 𝔞 𝔫 𝔡 𝔪 𝔬 𝔫 𝔰 𝔱 𝔢 𝔯 𝔰 ⋆ˊˎ-

└──» ✎ 。 Azriel x Oc

part twelve

part eleven

┊✧*｡ ✯┊☪︎⋆✧*｡ ┊

The screaming in her ears somehow intensified as she got farther and farther away from the small cottage. Birds chirped atop of her and howls that sounded like something more sinister than animals combined in an almost unbearable grieving symphony.

Mareena woke up from her nightmare without so much as a jolt. She was used to them by now, she had had them since she had any memory. They had stoped tho, for some time. And then, out of nowhere, had started again.

She got out of bed slowly, taking her time to shake off the side effects of the nightmare, she didn’t wanted to go down looking like this. So she purposefully took longer than usual getting ready to go start the day.

The spring sun in Velaris greeted her with warm when she stepped outside of her balcony, the air was filled with warm smells. She let herself be momentarily carried away by the peacefulness of the moment, until soft, almost inaudible knocks on her door made her open her eyes again.

“Come in,” she already knew that, when she turned around, Azriel would be standing on her doorway with his hands on his back, not daring to come inside, no matter how many times she invited him in.

So she smiled, and turned around to face the Shadowsinger before her.

“Goodmorning,” his deep voice was like morning coffee, and it made her smile grow wider and the feeling of reluctance slip away.

“Goodmorning, Az, want to come in?” Her smile turned amused, and one of her eyebrows shot upwards already knowing what his answer would be.

“No, uhm, I just came to… breakfast is ready, are you coming?”

Mareena laughed softly, and nodded.

“I will, in a minute.”

Azriel nodded too, and turned around as if to leave, but stoped midway. He wanted to say something, Mareena saw it in the way his eyes twitched ever so slightly.

“Another nightmare?” He asked after a moment of silence.

Mareena’s smile disappeared and a heavy expression settled instead. She sighed deeply, and nodded as she closed the window to the balcony.

“Yes, how’d you know?”

“You always go out the balcony in the mornings after a nightmare,” he said as a matter of fact.

Right. Azriel knew her better than literally anyone else. Even herself.

She smiled softly, for she would be lying if she said her heart didn’t beat a little faster whenever he pointed out any small details that only he noticed. But it did.

“I’m ok, same as always,” in his hazel eyes Mareena saw perfectly how her answer hadn’t convinced him at all, and that it only made him much more worried.

But Azriel didn’t argue, he simply nodded softly and looked anywhere else but at her.

“Ok, then… I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he gave her one last look, and when Mareena smiled softly in only response, he left the room in complete silence.

She stared back at the city under her, and sighed one last time, reminding herself that everything she needed was right there, and she didn’t need to look back on old pointless fantasies.

“Oh hey, good morning!” Mor’s sweet voice greeted her first when she stepped into the dinning room, she looked as gorgeous as ever, even if it was only morning.

“Good morning,” Mareena answered with a smile, and gave her good mornings to Amren as well when she saw the female coming down stairs.

Amren was somewhat like a… new friend, if 70 years could really be considered new. She was a petite, strange looking female who really actually frightened her most of the time. Not to mention she was so old not even Rhys knew how much.

But she had become really important to the Inner Circle, not only because she had become part of them, but because of everything she had actually done for them.

Amren had taught both Rhys and Mareena how to control their powers during a time were they were so volatile it became more like a huge problem. Just right after losing Alhena and Valeria, actually.

She had kept them alive, and now they owed her, big time, for it.

“Breakfast is ready, there’s only one cinnamon roll left, so who wants it?” Azriel asked from them kitchen, bringing over the plates him an Rhys had cooked with the help of the violet eyed male.

“It’s mine!” Cassian screamed while he rushed down the stairs, his big and powerful steps reverberating in the walls.

Mareena immediately woke up completely and started running before Cassian gave the last step to come down.

“Uh-uh, it’s mine!” They raced each other, trying to push the other out of the way to get to the last cinnamon roll.

☪︎⋆

Later on that day, Azriel and Mareena found themselves doing groundwork for a mission Rhys gave them.

It was dangerously close to the Middle, so Azriel decided it was a mission he had to take on himself instead of sending any spy.

Since Rhys became High Lord, things had drastically changed for them. Not only the war ended months after, but their lives as they knew them as well.

Cassian became General, it had been an entire problem on its own, since Illyrians did not wanted to accept a bastard as their General, and still were weary about. Azriel had become Spymaster, which, was really the least surprising of them all, he was just born for it, and it finally gave him a purpose in which to use his abilities. After some time, and Amren becoming part of their family, she took the place of Second, and Mor of Third. And for her… well, for everyone else she was still the High Lord’s “puppet”, the Goddess of Death of the Night Court.

Almost immediately after being bestowed as the new High Lord, Rhys had offered to break the bargain that was transferred to him upon his father’s death, but Mareena knew very well that it wouldn’t be a good idea as new High Lord, one that already had much against him being considered a desgrase for being a Half Blood. He needed her as the monster she had served his father. And at the end of the day, Mareena felt a thousand times safer with him that she had felt with Rhett, she knew perfectly well that Rhys would never use his power on the bargain to make her do anything she didn’t wanted to do, and that was enough for her to play the part outside her family.

“Now it can just be a nice tattoo,” she had said to him in response.

And it was. The mark on her body that had meant submission, that had bound her in the body of a monster she had never wanted to become, was now just another reminder that she had too survived that, just as the scars on her body.

“Don’t get too far away, ok?“ Azriel murmured to her, earning a side long glance from Mareena.

He always told her that whenever she accompanied him to any mission. The overprotective ass-bat.

“Don’t… even say it,” Azriel read her thoughts before the nickname could even roll out her tongue, and Mareena had to hold back her laugh at his expression.

She only nodded, and let him get some steps ahead before murmuring:

“Ass-bat,” she could almost hear him roll his eyes, and she chuckled internally.

They spent hours working together, until they finally found what they needed, and decided to go back to Velaris.

It was past midnight when they finally found what they were looking for, so the dangers grew as each minute passed. But Mareena never really felt threatened or scared, just as she hadn’t felt when she first escaped the Spring Court. There was just something unexplainable that kept her calm while being in the most dangerous place of Prythian.

She could actually say, but never out loud, that she liked that place; it felt mysterious, like something was calling her to explore it.

It had always been like that, but tonight it felt bigger, like a real call.

It happened from a moment to another; she started listening a whisper that resembled too much like the sound of her name. A whisper that felt both familiar and unknown, young and old, warm and cold.

She turned around, trying to look for the source of said whisper.

“Az?” She asked, turning back again, only to find she was surrounded by nothing else but trees and darkness.

No Shadowsinger in sight.

What the actual fuck?

She was sure she hadn’t been here a moment ago, that this was not the path she had been taking with Azriel, she was no longer near the Middle, she was now actually on the Middle. How in the Mother’s holy Cauldron had she gotten here, then? And where was Azriel?

He couldn’t have left, he would never leave her here, she had probably absentmindedly wandered away, and he was surely now looking for her with several reproches in mind.

Oh, he was going to kill her, badly.

“Oh Mareena, oh Mareenaaa,” she cursed to herself with a big sigh.

Everything was going to be fine, she knew the way, she could walk without problem, or maybe stay here, Azriel would find her surely in no time.

But then there it was again. That Mother damn whisper. It sounded stronger now, closer, clearer.

“Mareena…”

It was definitely saying her name.

Her heart began to race unexpectedly, she looked all around her, not finding anything at all.

“Ok, now maybe I’m scared,” she murmured to herself.

“Mareena…”

But even as she felt a tight knot on her chest, she began walking towards the way where the whispers seemed to be coming from. She couldn’t understand why, it was just as if a force was pulling her closer and closer.

This was so fucking reckless and dangerous and reckless, and good Mother had she done some reckless things in her life.

This definitely topped them all.

“Mareena…”

“Mareena…”

“Mareena..”

And just as when she had gotten lost the first time, she did so again, it had seemed to her that she had walked a few steps, but now she found herself in a totally different space.

In front of her, two big trees made an arc that resembled an entrance, and beyond, a clearing that looked nothing like the rest of the Middle was being illuminated by the moonlight.

Unlike the rest of the forest, that was dark and seemed to have a monstrous vibe in it, this place was colorful, full of life.

“Mareena…”

But even then the whispers didn’t stop, rather became so strong now that it was no longer a whisper.

That voice…it sounded much more clear now, but…

“Mareena…”

Her heart contracted on her chest, her eyes teared up with the sudden necessity of letting tears run.

“Mareena…”

A cottage was sat between a field of flowers not so far away, and she only now noticed it was right there in front of her.

That cottage…it was the cottage.

“Mareena…”

She let out of gasp as realization settled in, and an underwhelming feeling clouded her vision with hot tears.

Then the voice became louder, and louder, and louder, until her ears were pierced with a terrible scream.

“Mareena!”

And then she was awake.

[divinemare]

-ˏˋ⋆ 𝔞 𝔠 𝔬 𝔲 𝔯 𝔱 𝔬 𝔣 𝔤 𝔬 𝔡 𝔰 𝔞 𝔫 𝔡 𝔪 𝔬 𝔫 𝔰 𝔱 𝔢 𝔯 𝔰 ⋆ˊˎ-

└──» ✎ 。 azriel x oc

𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔢

┊✧*｡ ✯┊☪︎⋆✧*｡ ┊

╭────────────

╰─➛ part one ╰─➛ part two

A month had passed since Mareena met Viviane and Kallias. A month in which, at first, she had felt a horrible anxiety creeping over her every single day at the “not enough distance” between Spring and Winter, she had insisted —mostly to Viviane— that she had to go to the Night Court, that it’ll be the only place that she would be safe. But then she had learned of the social rank of both of them; Viviane was the second daughter of one of the highest ranked families of the Winter Court, she had an twin sister just minutes older than her. And Kallias…Kallias was the only son of the High Lord, the heir of the ice throne.

That at first had terrified her to the point she almost used her powers against him to escape, even if she had grown to like them, she wasn’t willing to take the risk of being captive again. But then Kallias assured her that he wasn’t going to expose her to her father, much less would he hurt her.

When they had asked about her past and why was she so scared of her family, Mareena had no other option than to tell them everything. Viviane had cried mid story while Kallias’ only palpable reaction had been a subtle flinch once she stoped speaking and the way he seemed not to be able to look at her.

After letting some tears drop, Viviane had bursted in rage, cursed her family’s name and swore that if she ever saw any of them, she’ll freeze their balls out. Kallias had choked to that, while a little laugh escaped Mareena’s rough throat.

“You can stay here. I can protect you,” Kallias’ voice shocked both girls so much that they stopped crying and looked at him in awe.

“W-what?” She stared at the prince of ice with pure confusion in her face.

“We’ll find a way to hide you, find you a new identity, and then once I become High Lord, you can have a place in my court and you’ll be under my protection,” he was so serious, so stone cold faced that it almost seemed he wasn’t offering her a permanent salvation.

Then Viviane gasped and took Mareena’s hand in both of hers, a beautiful smile on her face while she stared at Mareena with big and bright eyes. “You could stay here with us, we’ll take care of you. Maybe I could even convince my father to let you stay in our house. But…” The words got stuck in her throat and the white haired girl had to swallow hard to continue speaking. “If you really don’t feel safe and still want to go to the Night Court —even tho, let me tell you, that isn’t a really pretty place, but rather a nightmare of court—, we’ll find a way to take you there,” Viviane’s smile was genuine, a little bit pained at the thought of Mareena running away, but genuinely understanding.

Mareena’s heart raced so fast she could barely hear anything else. No one had ever been so nice to her in her entire life. Even tho some servants and slaves were somewhat generous, they all had been afraid of her father to be more than that. And she still didn’t knew if what the Lady of Spring had done was out of generosity or pity, either way, Mareena knew the woman didn’t really care for her.

She stared at Viviane and then back to Kallias for a couple of seconds before finally answering. “I-…yes…yes thank you,” her voice was broken and her eyes filled with tears but she smile nonetheless.

Viviane couldn’t stop the cry that left her lips and then throw herself at Mareena’s arms. At first she didn’t knew what was she supposed to do, the female took her by such surprise that even if she wasn’t scared of Viviane anymore, her heart stumble a bit.

“It’s a hug, Mare! You gotta give it back!” Viviane laughed while she still hold her.

Mare, she had never had a good nickname. All of the ones her family had gave her were degrading. But Viviane said it with such a weird appreciation that eased that pressure on her chest. Mareena hugged the ice girl back, and they stayed in that position for a couple of seconds.

No more running, no more hiding, no more fighting to survive. She could find a proper home in the Winter Court, with time she believed she would. For now, she would just held onto the promise of safety. That was more than enough.

☪︎⋆

Another month passed since Kallias and Viviane offered her safety in their court, and it couldn’t be more confusing for Mareena.

Even tho she was beyond grateful for what her friends were doing for her, she still felt a weird sensation deep in her, as if…something was missing. She didn’t tell this to them of course.

A couple of days after the conversation, she had met Viviane’s sister, an equally beautiful girl called Vanessa. Unlike Viv, Vanessa was a little bit more serious and regal, extremely polite and gentle tho, but if one couldn’t tell much of the physical differences between the twins, the personality ones were far too obvious.

She got to see less of Kallias in the next weeks too. Being the only High Lord’s son, he had many responsibilities, besides that also, as Viv had told her, he was looking for a way to get Mareena into the Winter Court.

One day tho, alone in Viviane’s and Kallias’ secret cabin, she felt that something was off. She couldn’t quite place what it was, but there was something making her unexplainably anxious.

She told herself that it was nothing, just the yet too normal paranoia that had been stalking her ever since she escaped her father’s dungeon. But even if she tried her best to forget and push away that feeling, it didn’t quite vanished.

Viviane had arrived at the cabin early in the morning, she was teaching her how to cook at least the basics so that her diet didn’t had to be pomegranates, bread and every amount of food Kallias and the girl could manage to sneak out into the woods. They were going through a simple recipe when Kallias abruptly entered the cabin.

When the door opened with a thunderous bange at the wall both girls jumped slightly, and with sudden fear coating her entire body, Mareena pushed Viviane at her back and started walking away from the kitchen. Her power bursting out of her in an invisible threat to whoever had entered. But when they saw Kallias’ white hair and blue eyes, they relaxed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to scare you,” even tho the apology was sincere, something sounded off in his voice. Tense.

His face said as much, it was even more contracted than normal and even if he tried to hide his emotions, they were palpable in his disturbed blue cold eyes.

That bad feeling in Mareena’s chest grow even more intense.

“It’s everything ok?” Viviane asked stepping out of Mareena’s back, sensing that same alteration in Kallias.

The boy didn’t say anything for a while, he just looked deep into Mareena’s eyes, trying to say something that his mixed feelings didn’t allowed him to properly express. Then he just sighed and threw his head down. Her heart stopped, she had to swallow hard once.

“You have to go,” he murmured in a rough voice.

Mareena stumbled, but Viviane looked genuinely confused while she approached the male with a frown. “What?”

But Kallias didn’t look up at her, his eyes went straight to Mareena’s. “He is here, they all are here, looking for you. And my father…he’s pissed, very very pissed, somehow he knows that i’m hiding you, he could read it, so he gave your father three days to find you and if he comes near, my father’s magic could be enough to break our barriers. I’m…i’m sorry, Mare.”

She had known it, she had known it all along. That she couldn’t so easily get rid of them, that everything was not fine.

Tears were threatening to escape but she didn’t let one fall. She looked into Kallias’ blue eyes ones more and tried her best not to break while she spoke. “It’s ok, it’s…it’s not you fault. I knew I shouldn’t have underestimated my father.”

Viviane had fallen quiet, when Mareena looked at her she saw that the girl too was trying her best not to cry, but instead she blinked hard and stood tall, looking back at her. “Come on, if we go now we can get to the border by tomorrow, i’ll steal my father’s horses and we can get-”

“No,” Mareena stoped the girl before she could finish talking and shook her head, her eyes were gentle yet pained. “I have already got you both into too much trouble, I don’t even want to imagine what my father could do if he found out you were helping me, i’m not putting you in that kind of danger.”

“But-” Viviane tried to argue, but then again Mareena didn’t allowed it.

“No, Viv, it’s okey, i’ll be…i’ll be ok.” Will she?

Viviane only nodded and like she had done the day Mareena agreed to stay with them, she jumped right into her arms. Only that this time, it wasn’t happiness what bloomed in her voice when she spoke, but rather a sadness that pierced Mareena’s every bones like a cold winter blow. “I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you,” it took everything in her not to cry to that.

“You did more than you could ever imagine for me,” when both girls separated, the white haired excused herself and stormed out of the living room.

Mareena left a sigh escape and rubbed her eyes with her fingers. Her throat had a painful ache and so did her eyes. When she took her hands off her eyes she saw Kallias still standing near the door with both his hands behind his back. He stared at her as if wanting to say something but didn’t knew just how to.

“It’s ok, really, back to my main plan anyways,” she tried her best to give the male a convincing smile, but she was sure the only thing that she could manage right now was a weird frown.

Kallias didn’t say anything, he just started walking towards her with his usual stone cold expression, Mareena didn’t move tho, she was curios of what he was going to do. Once he was in front of her, very, very awkwardly, he started leaning towards her, she still didn’t move, completely surprised when he surrounded her with his arms, a hug, one could say. She had seen him give hugs just to Viviane, the female seemed to be the only one that in fact could make that cold gaze of his melt. Mareena considered Kallias her friend, he had helped her in many ways and had been the one to offer her protection, but they were less physical affective friends in comparison with how they both were with Viviane. They had the type of silent friendship with who you could have deep talks, where there was a silent understanding. Kallias was the type of friend that had little details that meant a lot to her. Like making sure she didn’t run out of pomegranates or sending a white fox to make her company when neither he nor Viviane were able to go to the cabin.

And now, she felt other of those little details. His magic washed through her in a quick powerful wave, and before she could say or ask anything, Kallias pulled away, a little smile playing at the corner of his lips. “You won’t have to worry for the cold outside, you’ll be warm until you reach the border of the court.”

Mareena smiled slightly but immensely grateful and nodded. Before she could thank him for everything, he held her words once again, this time his expression was a bit more serious, yet concern flicked in those ice-like eyes.

“Be careful at the Middle, it’s really dangerous out there. You have the winter’s favor here, i’ll try and make sure nothing bothers you on your way out, but I can’t promise anything once you cross the border,” something like sadness shifted slightly the usual regal tone in his voice.

“I will, thank you. For everything, Kallias,” she’ll never forget the way those two had treated her. How she had found immense warm in a kingdom made of ice and those that were meant to rule its coldness one day.

“Hope I see you again, my Lady,” he bowed with a charming smile playing in his mouth.

She laughed, and like she had seen Vanessa do, she made a curtsy. “May we meet again, Prince of Ice.”

He laughed at the title, and then Viviane was back in the living room. Her bloodshot eye twisted something in Mareena’s heart, but the girl quickly smiled at her as if the tears were nothing. She had one of her big cozy coats and Mareena’s bag in her hands.

“Here, you won’t run out of pomegranates on your trip, and I hope this can give you a sense of comfort,” The white haired said raising the big coat and passing everything to her.

“Thank you,” she smiled to the girl, just a few years younger than her and yet with much more life.

She was going to miss that place, the cabin, her friends and somehow the beauties she had found in the winter. But with her father following her so closely, living in peace, living at all, wasn’t yet an option, wasn’t yet even an aspiration. She had to run until her feet were numb. Then she’ll find a way to live.

☪︎⋆

She was desperate to know what day it was, how much time had passed since she left her temporary refugee in the Day Court. She didn’t even knew if she was still in the Day Court.

It was a horrible feeling, it took her back to the years locked in her dungeon where she had had no track of time. At some point she even forgot how old she was. How much time had passed since she had been stolen from her mother. It was the most horrible feeling. When she started growing up, when she started getting more conscious, that feeling of being so lost almost drove her insane. It would have, if it hadn’t been for the Lady of the Spring Court. The woman who barely acknowledged her, who never listen to her begging and didn’t even spare a glance towards her, was the one who saved her from that insanity.

One day, one of those where she believed she was finally going to die, some human slaves descended to the dungeon and helped her —basically carried her— out, she didn’t knew what was going on, but she was not in the conditions to ask, not even to think properly. They bathed her and feed her and got her ready, she was barely conscious the entire time. Once they had finished with her they gave her some kind of potion that would help her stay conscious and give her some extra needed energy. They took Mareena out of the Manor and even if she was curious, she didn’t ask, she hoped her father had gotten tired of her and would finally kill her. But it wasn’t even close to that.

They introduced her to her knew brother. A little, blond hair, fragile baby named Tamlin. Something in her heart twisted at the sight of him. He looked so different to the other three bastards that had tortured her alongside their father. She wanted to hold him, to look into those beautiful green eyes and be filled with the innocence that radiated from him.

“Why am I out?” Her voice was so rough, so broken. She barely used it, never spoke to them. Never even cried, not anymore at least, when they were doing their twisted things. She cried after in her sleep, she cried once they were out, she screamed when she dreamed of them and her mother and a live she once thought impossible.

“Isn’t it obvios? To meet your knew brother,” her father had said, with such a sweet, fake tone that made Mareena want to throw up.

“And what do I care about him?” She spoke with so much venom, with so much resentment that even the baby seemed to have noticed, for he started to cry and twist in his mother’s arms.

She didn’t intended to hurt him, not him, not that pure and innocent child. But rather her brothers and her father and that fool of a female.

And she did, not her brothers, she saw that they couldn’t care any less for her or even for that baby. She didn’t hurt her father either, she infuriated him. But she did hurt the female she so much resented, for a reason she couldn’t understand. The hurt flashed in that delicate face while she tried to calm her baby down. And when Mareena stared at her father’s face with no more than hate, the male went red, he approached to her in only two big furious steps and stroke her hard in the check. His ringed fingers drew blood from her face, but she didn’t even bothered to clean it, not even to move.

“You’ll show some respect to your brother and mother,” he spit at her with his teeth clenched.

Mareena felt a wave of hot rage going through her at his words, at that she did looked up at him and imitated the way he was clenching his teeth, she had never felt so bold before, but with this new found braveness and scare-less feeling, she spoke with rage and a deadlier venom than before. “She is not my mother.”

She braced herself for the next hit, but it never came, the female behind him stoped her mate before he could tear his daughter apart. “Darling, let’s not scare Tamlin, please, I don’t want him to see his 14 year old sister bleeding when he’s just a baby.”

14 year old…she was…she was 14?

She stared at the lady with wide eyes, the woman stared back at her. She had spilled her age with all the intension in the world. Why tho, she never knew.

That day, the female convinced her mate to let Mareena stay out of her dungeon longer than he intended, to “help her with the baby” and “learn to respect him”. But in truth, the female explained her how much time had passed since her imprisonment and other little aspects of the live she was missing.

Mareena learned that day she had spent 11 years in that hell, that she was actually three months away from her 15th birthday. Once she was back to the dungeon, she made a whole calendar in the wall with a rock and started pointing and noting important things. And then all her plans began to take form.

She hated the female of spring. She resented her. For all those times she had begged for her attention and received non, for all the times her father called her “her mother”, when her real mother was out there and she had already forgotten her face. But she’ll be forever grateful for what she gave her, for what she taught her.

Now, two years after that, she was again forgetting time. And she hated it. She was desperate. She wanted to stop, to have a proper night of sleep, a proper meal, someone that would make her laugh like Viviane had done, someone that would hear her like Kallias had done, she wanted a place to rest. Not in the woods, not in a cave. A warm place.

Nights had become restless when she was in the Middle. That place was awful. At every step she felt observed, everything was colorless and numb. Horrible things crept in the woods, she felt them. But she was grateful she never saw them. For a reason neither of this things approached her, as if she was one of them.

Maybe she was, she would never know.

The Dawn Court had been beautiful, but she didn’t stay more than a week in it, then she had no idea when she reached the Day Court. The solar courts weren’t like the seasonal ones. The seasonal were always ruled by their season, it was always spring, always autumn, always summer or always winter. But in the solar’s it wasn’t always dawn or always day and she supposed already that also wasn’t always night.

Having had repressed her powers showed its disadvantages soon. During her time in the Middle she felt unprotected, even if she didn’t knew how to use her powers, the things lurking that dreaded place bursted with a dark power that made her shiver. She tried to liberate what she had caged deep beneath her, but it didn’t respond the way she expected. It did moved, she felt it twisting in an uncomfortable and awful way, she was afraid of whatever it was, afraid of herself in a way, but yet that thing didn’t came out of its cage, it didn’t matter how hard she tried to liberate it.

That, plus all the other dreadful things happening, was too much. It left her exhausted.

She didn’t knew how long she had traveled by now, day and night had come and go. She had traveled and traveled and traveled, yet she didn’t knew where she was. For now the only thing that was clear was that she was up in a mountain full of forests and that she was so tired she stumbled in the floor.

She didn’t even tried to stand up, she sat in the ground and let her cloths get dirty. Then she started crying. Out of exhaustion, out of frustration, out of rage, out of many other things she couldn’t even named them all.

Then a sound not so far away from her made her tears and sobs abruptly stop, fear took their place instead. She stood up as quickly as her shaking legs allowed her and started backing up trying her best not to make a sound. It was useless tho, whatever it was out there already had heard her crying, smelled her tears and sadness.

Mareena panicked, her heart started beating so fast she thought for a moment it’ll come out of her chest. That also, the thing must be listening, following right now. That terrifying panic made her shot her eyes close hard and burst the remainings of her power out, covering her like an invisible shield, an erratic, unstable shield. The thing felt that power, and then it wasn’t one but two things approaching her.

She bumped into a tree and cursed to the Mother and Cauldron with tears rolling down her face. Nothing had bothered her in all the months she had traveled alone, but now whatever was approaching her felt so powerful, somehow so scary and uncontrolled that it gave her the sensation it was brutally lethal.

Before she could think of an escape, the two things came to view. They were two males. Around her age she could tell, a bit older if so, but they were big, mostly the one with the long hair and hazel eyes. He was at least three times her, intimidating in a way she remembered her father’s soldiers to be but much more than those spring soldiers. But the other one…he was the one with the lethal power she had felt, his violet eyes had a different kind of piercing stare. His body was big —not as big as his companion tho—, and toned, that power rolled around him in a similar way she had felt Kallias’ the first time they met but stronger than even his. He was a different kind of intimidating, he felt her power, she could tell by the way his beautiful eyes searched for her in the shadows. Both males had tan skin and…and wings. Those membranous things were like nothing she had ever seen. Bat-like, bigger than the ones who carried them in their backs.

“Show yourself before we get you ourselves,” the bigger male said, while the one with the short black-blue hair looked to her figure in the shadows like looking into her soul, or trying to, at least, he was somehow surprised, or even annoyed, that he hadn’t found what he was looking for.

When Mareena didn’t responded nor moved, they both did what the long haired one said and came closer to her. She was beyond terrified, and that panic became even bigger than her and released a blow of her power. It took the males by surprised and they both ended up on the floor, baffled.

That burst of power had been more than she expected, leaving her already tired body almost drained. She had to help herself up with the tree at her back, and that left her unprotected for the power of those violet eyes.

Claw-like things suddenly pierced her mind. A weird feeling of being invaded washed through her and she tried to push that thing back. It pushed back, with so much more strength that she had. She did not moved tho, she tried her best not to let it in, but it pushed, and pushed, and pushed. And then it saw something and it stopped, abruptly releasing her mind from those claws. She gasped, confused and terrified of what that had been.

“Are you ok?” The most intimidating male said. His voice was soft, much more than she had expected, and when she looked up at him again, his face had softened, so did his eyes. A weird sincere feeling flashed in his beautiful eyes. When she didn’t answer, he swallowed as if ashamed and stood up from the ground, trying not to wince for the hit he had received from her. “I’m sorry about that. For scaring you and entering your mind. We weren’t sure what or who you were, i’m sorry,” the apology sounded so sincere she was beyond shocked.

The bigger male looked at him with a confused frown and stood up as well, looking between her figure in the shadows and the other male. But before he could say anything, the other spoke again.

“I’m Rhysand, and he is Cassian, if you come out I promise, we promise, we won’t hurt you, we just wanna know who you are,” Mareena looked to the other male, the short haired one sounded and looked sincere, but she wouldn’t move a finger if there was a chance that the other big male would attack her, she was too weak to protect herself from someone like him, he’ll surely tear her apart before she could even scream.

The short haired one —Rhysand— seemed to have understood that feeling, for he looked at his companion in reproach, and they seemed to talk mind to mind for her not to listen for a moment before the long haired —Cassian— looked at her and sighed, something in his face relaxed and she wondered if Rhysand in deed had spoken with him mind to mind and showed him whatever it made him soften towards her. “Yes, i’m sorry, also promise I won’t hurt you.”

There was sincerity in them, also a brutal familiarity Mareena couldn’t understand. Against her every survival instinct shouting, she stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight. Both Rhysand and Cassian soften even more at her sight.

“I’m…Mareena, and i’m also sorry, for…that,” whatever that had been.

Rhysand smiled warmly, and Mareena felt instantly safe in that charming smile.

“Don’t be, it was impressive, and we kinda deserved it for scaring you,” he laughed a little.

“Yeah, it hurt like a bitch, but it was impressive” the other male said with a more amused laugh and a humor that, surprisingly, made her laugh too.

Both Cassian and Rhysand smiled when they heard that faint laugh coming from her. And Rhysand took a step towards her. Mareena didn’t backed up this time, even if Rhysand’s power was still something that made her uneasy in a way, she also felt somehow save in their presence.

“What are you doing here? It’s not safe to be alone in this woods at night. Did you escaped your camp?“

Mareena stared at them in pure confusion and shook her head. “No, no I-, I did escape but not from a camp, I escaped from my…family”

A painfully deep understanding flashed through both males eyes, as if they too were escaping their own families.

“But you should know that already, don’t you? You were inside my mind,” she told Rhysand, not with resentment, but with genuine curiosity.

“I did, i’m sorry for that again, I saw enough to know that it wasn’t correct to keep digging,” he saw enough. What was that supposed to mean? What was enough? “Also I saw that you’re probably in need of help, if you allow us to provide that for you, I can explain you how did I do it,” his warm smile returned to his deadly handsome face.

“Did you enter again?” She raised a brow at the way he had read her confusion and curiosity.

He laughed at that and slightly shook his head. “No, i didn’t had to.”

Before she could talk tho, something in the air shifted. The shadows that were previously hiding her seemed to recoil and start moving, creeping in an odd way that made her bones go cold and her relaxed face go rigid again. Her heart started racing in a unexplainable way, the air around her was suddenly too heavy to breath. The two males noticed that shift in her, but before they could talk and try to calm her down, her power reacted first, trying to protect her of this new energy around. Then, another male came out of the shadows, no, he transformed out of them, as if he had been the very night shadows before taking the appearance of the most handsome male she had ever seen. And probably, after Rhysand, the most deadly as well. His cold piercing gaze froze Mareena in the spot, she wasn’t able to move or think or talk while her insides were fighting between approaching the male, or running far, far away of him. That last option seemed to be the most rational one.

When the male lifted his gaze to her, he froze as well, his shadows started to move too wildly for their usual stillness and calmness. Some of the shadows around them closed up to her, as if studying her without him commanding them to do so. Something burned inside him, something unknown. She was dangerous, he could feel it deep in his bones.

“Who are you?”