#✲ NUALA [ interaction ]

[bloodofthefates]

x. Corn mazes ( for the trio! ) from @siphonedshadow

Of course it couldn’t just be a normal corn maze where the only risk was getting turned around at a dead end and having to find your way back to one of the main paths funneling people. Once the sun set and most of the children under the age of twelve had gone home to bed, the maze took on a much more sinister twist and offered a haunted maze option rife with masked scare actors giving chase, jumpscares and inevitable bladeless chainsaws at wrong turns. The field itself looked more foreboding than Cerridwen had remembered from only an hour or two ago when they’d passed by the entrance looking for the vendor selling hot spiced apple cider. Where smiling attendants dressed as cute scarecrows with painted on button noses had stood were now two terrifying and menacing clowns armed with fake weapons and already drenched in cornstarch fake blood. 

The line was getting shorter and it was getting closer to their turn to be permitted to enter, the whole thing clearly operating on some sort of timed schedule to allow for maximum scare opportunities and make the thrill seekers inside feel more isolated and alone on their arduous trek over the flattened stalks. “I’m not so sure this is a good idea.” Already she’d pulled the sleeves of black striped sweater down over her hands, balling up the stretched oversized fabrics nervously into the palms of her hands and she had yet to let go of Azriel’s upper arm just since they’d been in line. It wasn’t just the fact that she’d gotten cold since the sun had set and the temperatures had dropped, the pit of anxious energy had wormed its way through her stomach and was now making her question whether the entire chunk of pretzel she’d shared with Nuala earlier was such a good idea. Nuala was leading their pack of three, standing just a foot ahead of where Cerr clung to Azriel’s side and she turned to read the terror in Cerridwen’s worried face with expert clarity offering nothing but a teasing grin. “Of course it is. It’s a great idea.” They really needed to stop letting the queen of horror do all of their Halloween plan-making, but Nuala at least managed to produce a small silver flask from the top of her thick leather combat boot. “Some courage for the cowardly lion over there…” She teased her sister with a wink, popping the top on it and taking a swig before passing it to Azriel, ever keeping watch that none of the event security were nearby or would notice their little addition to the festivities. Cerridwen was quick to snatch it out of Az’s hand when offered, and she made a face as she downed a sizable amount of the straight liquor out of sheer desperation as they were now only two spots away from their turn to enter the maze. It was Nuala that cut her off, laughing and shaking her head as she capped it and slipped it back into her boot before anyone was ever the wiser. “Let’s get spooky!” She cheered with more enthusiasm than Cerr felt. Once they got the wave forward by the people working the front of the maze, Nuala strode confidently into the dark abyss of an opening with Azriel trailing behind her hand-in-hand. One of the clown scare actors could clearly see and sense Cerridwen’s hesitation, jumping out at her last minute with a manically over-acted laugh that caused her to squeal and jump further behind Az with her arms curled up against his back in an attempt to cover her ears from the loud sound. Groaning and whining in the form of a feigned laugh, she trudged after the other two that were much more into the scary shit than she was but not before worming her way under the back of Azriel’s hoodie so that they now resembled one of those ridiculous multi-person animal costumes.

She kept her head completely under his hoodie, latching onto him with her arms secured around his wait and clinging to his back as she forced him to stumble forward and latch onto Nuala in a similar way with his hand at her hips for guidance though he could still see just as well as she could. “Tell me when it’s over. I don’t like this…” She whined, her voice quivering as she focused instead on simply trying to focus on where her feet were going so that maybe she’d remain ignorant of anything else going on around them. 

[acourtofquietdreamers]

Elriels are not forcing Elain to be tied to Azriel. The author did that for us.

Sarah made Elain friends with Nuala and Cerridwen, spies that work with Azriel.

Sarah wrote that Elain and Az are both good mannered. She made them interact with each other during their first meeting, just as Nesta and Cassian did.

Sarah wrote that Elain would cling to Az for peace and quiet. She made Feyre think about how handsome they would be together.

Sarah made Az be the only person who understood and listened to Elain when she was trapped in the murky realm.

Sarah made Feyre wonder why Elain and Lucien are mates instead of Elain and Azriel.

Sarah made Elain’s rescue from Hybern romantically coded by using phrases like “devoured the sight of him”, “cradled to his chest”, and ending the scene with a kiss on the cheek.

Sarah made Elain be the sole person Az has ever gave Truth Teller to.

Sarah used “light and dark” to describe them together (very beautifully and not at all in a negative light).

Sarah likened the steam flowing behind Elain to Azriel’s shadows.

Sarah made Elain’s gift and joke light up Az’s eyes and make him laugh in a way Feyre has never seen before.

Sarah made Elain and Az stay up together to talk while everyone else went to bed.

If Sarah decided to end this connection in ACOSF, she could’ve done so, but instead she continued to tie these two characters together.

Sarah wrote that Elain had Az beat for secret keeping.

Sarah made Azriel’s shadows prepare to strike Nesta after she upset Elain.

Sarah made Nesta wonder if Elain is getting stealth training from Az or the twins.

Sarah had Nesta notice a charged glance between Elain and Az.

Sarah made Nesta realize Az’s secret, his feelings for Elain.

Sarah placed obstacles between Elain and Az to keep them apart, obstacles necessary for a compelling love story to occur.

Elriels are not forcing anything. The author has tied Elain and Az together again and again since ACOMAF. Denying that is only doing a disservice to yourself and the narrative created by the author.

What is forced is this idea that Elain and Lucien are a perfect match. That Lucien is the embodiment of light. That Gwyn is a spy. That Elain is miserable in the Night Court. That Az’s shadows are scared of Elain. That Gwyn and Az are mates. At this point, that is all fanon and speculation.

[acourtofthought]

It's just strange that if Elain and Az are meant to be endgame and the twins are meant to be Elain's found family, Sarah never thought it was important for Az to say a single word to Nuala and Cerridwen on page despite them being in every book and with the knowledge of Az being the one to train them in the past. These two people who have been "so important" to Elain yet Az couldn't be bothered with even a hello.

Whereas with Gwynriel, Sarah chose to have Az grow closer to Nesta, a person in Gwyn's found family and wrote Gwyn interacting with Cassian, making jokes about Cassian, with him being part of Az's found family.

Seems a bit intentional, no?

[lovemyromance]

can I say something (s) 😬

Gwyn does not exist outside of Nesta

Gwyn & Emerie exist to be supporting characters to Nesta

Lucien and Elain have only negative, uncomfortable interactions

Elain will not become besties with Jurian. Vassa, perhaps, but definitely not Jurian

Nuala & Cerridwen are Elain's friends

Elain & Azriel are inevitable

Vassa & Lucien are inevtible

Rhys will probably be High King

Tamlin already had his redemption arc when he saved them at Hybern's camp. His story is done. ✔️

"Saving Illyria" is not going to be a plotline

Nesta's story is told, Elain is up next

Elain is not going to be a "warrior" but she will have to train her powers

Azriel & Amren will likely have something to do with her training

If there is a novella, it will be Lucien & Vassa OR some happily ever after type multi-POV thing like ACOFAS

Gwynriel does not exist in the books. Nothing about them even in the BC was romantic.

It is Elain's necklace. Even though she gave it back, it was chosen with her in mind. It is hers.

Azriel did not care who the necklace went to. He simply wanted to get rid of it.

Gwyn is likely a lightsinger / has other powers, but doubt she's evil - again, not interesting enough to actually be evil or a villain, but I she could be manipulated/controlled. She doesn't seem inherently evil

While Elain choosing Azriel/true love over a mating bond is romantic, I think because she was the cauldron's favorite, it gave her 2 mating bonds -> which is why her bond with Lucien makes Azriel sick. Why Lucien only reacts when he sees Azriel take Elain to the garden

Elain does not deserve this level of hate for doing literally nothing except save everyone's ass and be kind and stay out of drama

[emmitaaa4]

Ngl im a little confused as to where this idea that elriels want elain to remain secluded in the Night Court comes from. shipping her with Az—who has said in MaF right before meeting Elain that he still doesn’t know where he belongs—doesn’t mean locking her up in Velaris.

every elriel i know would like her to either:

revive the Dusk court and potentially settle there, and/or;

have spying missions… which implies travelling to other courts or the continent (as we know Az does).

Speaking of spying, same goes with certain people saying we want Elain to become a warrior (?) or this creature of the night, which is just false.

spying is not inherently violent.

we recognize that her powers are well suited for the intelligence side of things, not to mention the handmaiden spies in WW2 sjm mentioned in an interview (much like Nuala & Cerridwen).

her character is said to be observant yet overlooked, and the narrative often makes claims about who she is based on her beauty: elain using that to her advantage & perhaps even tailoring her looks to affect other’s perception of her (like wearing black to fade into the background) would make an interesting side plot.

recognizing more than the light & sunshine & flowers her character is associated to—i.e. thinking about how her powers & “murky realm” work, or looking at her connection to the Void & the Cauldron—does not mean we’re changing her personality. She is full of dualities.

a lot of elriels would prefer elain not to spy—just because we ship the same people together doesn’t mean that all of us want the same things out of their story. that’s the beauty of having personal preferences 🫶

Wanting Elain to remain “soft” is literally one of the only points on which both sides of the waRs agree on; i really don’t see the point in arguing about what you believe others believe, especially without genuinely interacting with people that have different opinions—this goes for everyone

[elainsgirl]

To be honest, coming from an outsider that was never part of the fandom, I always thought Elain and Azriel would end up together, since the first time they met I had that feeling. Their interactions, as short as they were, are my favorites. To my surprise, most people do not like them together and prefer Gwyn, which I do not remember any interactions in which Azriel and Gywn led to believe to something else.

Azriel does not need Gwyn to “take him out of his shell” as people says, he is quiet and reserved and there’s nothing wrong with that, you can be an introvert and still have friends and an active life, I don’t understand why they want to change his character.

For me, Gwyn was only introduced for Nesta’s character development, such as Feyre has Mor and Amren, Elain has Nuala and Cerridwen, Nesta has Gwyn and Emerie, I don’t see Gwyn providing nothing else plot wise.

People hate Elain and I have no idea why, to me, she’s the most interesting character and the one who has shown quite growth without her own book, from being terrified to actively ending the war by killing Hybern. There’s so much that we haven’t seen, she’s a seer and the Cauldron’s favorite, who knows what other powers were given to her?

Also I do not understand why people want Elain with Tamlin? The one who abused her sister? The one who is very unstable and was part of the reason she was turned into Fae? They just want Elain to suffer, simple as that.

Elriel would be a perfect couple, both quiet, understand each other, I don’t see Azriel with a warrior mate, he seems the type who appreciates softness, warmth, which Elain is.

Hey anon 🫶

When I first read the dinner scene in acomaf between the batboys and sisters - it became clear Sjm was pairing up each sister with a brother. Azriel and Elain in that scene, were just so natural. Their interaction didn’t feel forced or awkward. Sjm wrote it in a way where it was clear they matched and suited each other. Then acowar came along and sjm started killing the idea of elucien being endgame by writing so many beautiful and positive scenes between elriel. Then, to close the nail on the coffin, acofas showed us how Elain and Az seemingly gravitated towards each other whilst elucien still felt unnatural. Like putting two completely different people together. They had no natural chemistry like elriel.

I genuinely read acosf and nothing about Gwyn. interacting with Az stood out. I knew Gwyn had powers that Mass was hinting at but thats it. So when I learnt of gwynriel I thought it was a cult at first? Like some sort of inside joke within booktok. Had no idea it was a full blown ship. Upon realisation, I thought people shipped them in a crackship, “hey this could be a fun couple” kind of way not in a “this ship is actually going to happen” kind of way. As someone who was part of the 2021 gwynriel era, that whole ship started because people were desperate for elriel to not be endgame due to how much they hated Elain. Enter single woman who glances at Az and BOOM, you have gwynriel. An “alternative” option to elriel.

People hate elriel bcs 1) they find Elain boring, weak, uninteresting, useless etc. Antis never paid much attention to the elriel interactions & loved Az so much that they wanted him with someone more interesting aka Gwyn. 2) Poor baby lulu has been through hell and back. He deserves happiness which can only happen if elain accepts the bond. There is no other way for him to be happy. At all.

I hate this whole narrative that Lucien/Gwyn will be the ones to bring Elain/Az out of their shells. Its just so stupid and toxic to push this idea that everyone has to be an extrovert for them to be interesting. You’re right, Az doesn’t need Gwyn to push him out of his shell. He needs someone that will accept him for who he is. He is quite literally surronded by two extroverts - Mor and Cass. You don’t think they’ve tried to “bring him out of his shell” for the past 500 years? Az needs someone he can enjoy peace and quiet with. Someone who he can sit in silence and enjoy it without having to fill it up with chatter. Someone who accepts him and doesn’t show fear. Someone who protects him and shows concern - and that is Elain whose done these things in canon.

Gwyn was there as a supporting role for Nesta. She was Nesta’s friend. If she was meant to be anything more then that -> she would’ve been introduced earlier. Sjm wouldn’t introduce someone so important and a mate to one of the main characters so late in the series.

Elains just hated and 85% of it is rooted in misogyny. She IS interesting, there’s more then meets the eye. Her connection to the cauldron and the gift it bestowed on her will be so fascinating to read about. Her gift of sight is mysterious beyond words. And YES she had so much growth. From not doing anything in acotar to taking accountability for failing Feyre and helping her out in acomaf. Despite her sadness and depression she still contributed so much in acowar. She was brave for kicking the hounds of Az and saving Briar. Then for choosing to create life and beauty after such destruction and death due to the war. She is a beautiful character who Sjm has been teasing about forever. I literally cannot wait to finally be able to read about Elain.

People just want her with Tamlin as a suprise factor bcs they’re bored of the series. That and they don’t see her capabale of doing anything due to how soft & feminine she is so why not just push her to the side to make Tamlin happy and give him the perfect “obedient” wife. Eluciens do the same in a less obvious way.

Elriel will be beautiful. Two people drawn together. They will bring a unique story to the table, their dynamic is so mature and understanding of each other. They’re easily going to be on of Sjms best couples and I cannot wait for them to change so many people’s minds.

[blurbfics]

There'd Better Be a Mirrorball | Azriel x OFC [part ten]

Summary: A message is sent and Azriel learns that Eowyn doesn't know how to swim.

Word Count: 8.2k

Warnings: angst, insecurities, implicit jealousy, description and talk of scars, talk of past self-harm, daddy issues, mind-intrusion (learn to ask first, Rhys), Elain. (on a lighter note: sexual tension, fluff, nosy cassian, idiots in love but they don't know it yet)

Minors, do not interact.

a/n: helloo i hope there's still someone interested in my emo babies! sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, i'm traveling out for a wedding next week so i've been scrambling to get all my last minute things for my trip BUT hopefully this chapter makes up for it. i already have the next few written out so i'll probably post again soon (don't hold me to it, i still need to edit)

part nine

masterlist

"If it's all in my head, there's nothing to fear

Nothing to fear inside

Through the darkness and the light

Some sun has got to rise"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Despair

Elain was here.

Granted, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her. She was visiting the High Lady unannounced and uninvited after all, and Elain had more reason than anyone else to visit Feyre, yet it wasn’t exactly surprise at the fact in itself. It was a surprise at the defensiveness with which Eowyn regarded her.

Try as she might, she simply couldn’t shake off the feeling of irritation that the sweet female produced within Eowyn.

She’d been shown inside the parlor room by Nuala and Cerridwen; the High Lady was at her side immediately with a grin as she welcomed her inside. As she had done with the High Lord, Eowyn apologized profusely for showing up unannounced but admitted she felt rather guilty for making the High Lady travel all the way to the library whenever they got together, and felt it necessary to visit her for once, taking advantage of the Illyrians’ summons.

But the ever generous Feyre only waved her off and assured her she was always welcomed before playfully chastising her for curtsying as a greeting as she’d come to do the past few times, now a playful act more than anything, before introducing her to her older middle sister, Elain.

Eowyn found her feet glued to the floor as the beautiful fae rose from her seat and greeted her shyly with a sweet and kind countenance that was so pure and… unsullied, that Eowyn found it hard to look at her for long. She had only heard whispers of her beauty, both from the wind and from other faes that had witnessed her unblemished features themselves, but she’d never been face to face with the sweetest of the Archeron sisters. 

She had, however, heard other things about the fae.

Heard that at first, she’d rejected any sign of courtship from Lucien, half brother of the heir to the Autumn Court, and the heir of the Day Court himself; she heard, primarily from Gwyn, that she’d turned her attention to the Shadowsinger and encouraged a brief fling before settling for the one Cauldron-intended for her. She’d heard she was a Seer and that she’d correctly predicted the path Feyre Oathbreaker was meant to take before any of them could correctly decipher her visions, although that she’d learned from the wind and the voices in the water instead.

She knew much about the middle Archeron sister. So much that she knew the young fae, despite her mistakes and the hardships she’d faced, truly was as unsullied and perfect as she seemed.

It made something ugly coil inside her, a feeling she’d never had before, even in the days when any sort of emotion beyond the superficial wasn’t completely foreign.

Despite their pleasant introductions and the cup of tea the High Lady had insisted on pouring for Eowyn, she found she felt entirely out of place as the sisters chatted lightly. Regret began to churn in her stomach for her impulsiveness, making her feel anxious.

She took in three deep breaths and held onto it for six counts, before softly blowing it out for another count of six. She repeated the breathing technique twice more as she settled into herself, opening her awareness to her surroundings before bringing it unto herself, assessing both the negative and the positive emotions battling within her before letting them go.

“But oh Feyre, you should just see these libraries! They’re twice the size of the library in the mountain and they’re just magnificent! Helion gave us a tour himself and said most of the furnishings and the chandelier in the main hall are made of real gold,” Elain gushed, licking powdered sugar off her thumb from the baked goods she’d made herself.

Finding it a safe topic Eowyn could contribute to, she nodded along to her words understandingly, “it is quite grand,” she agreed. 

“Oh, you’ve been?” Feyre asked curiously, causing Elain to turn her attention to her, eyes wide and searching and so full of life.

Eowyn looked away and cleared her throat, “yes, I… lived in the Day Court for awhile. I know the libraries and Helion’s Court well.”

“Are you two friends?” Elain tilted her head.

“Sure, although colleagues is probably a more accurate term” Eowyn chuckled at her earnestness. It was conflicting, this feeling within her. Finding the young fae innocent and enchanting but simultaneously finding herself equally plagued by an anger that was undeservedly projected onto Elain. She felt strangled by the self-conscious feeling that she was too big, too dark, too much, to be around someone who was only in the first stages of adulthood and was only just finding herself in the world.

She inhaled deeply and once again let go of the smoking darkness within her, forcing her attention once more to the topic at hand. “The libraries,” she said abruptly, “you said Helion gave you a tour?” At her confirming nod she continued, “he must’ve told you the histories, then, I imagine. Helion’s quite the established storyteller.”

“Oh yes! He told us of the First Scholars who spent centuries building the libraries that supposedly form a great circle around the heart of the Court. I can’t quite imagine spending so much of your lifetime determined to build all those beautiful temples. It’s truly impressive, what they accomplished, I think,” she spoke animatedly with a pleasant smile, reaching over for her tea. 

“Well they surely didn’t have a hard time at it,” Eowyn chuckled, although there was little amusement in her voice. “The First Scholars loved taking all the credit for ‘funding’ those sanctuaries but always failed to give credit where it was due.”

When both the High Lady and her sister looked at her with owlishly confused eyes, Eowyn swallowed. “Well… Helion must’ve told you all our great pieces of architecture, including the Day Court’s grand libraries, were built by enslaved human laborers?” Feyre immediately nodded in understanding, clearly having heard that part of the histories while Elain only stared at her in horror.

Eowyn felt uneasy, and the way the young fae looked at her didn’t make her feel any less like a wild feral animal trampling through a thin crystal box.

“This was way before our time, of course,” she tried to mend the stricken look on Elain’s face and the concern on Feyre’s as she gently placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “It’s cruel ancient history and unpleasant to talk about,” she continued, as she felt she just couldn’t leave the words alone, “but it’s also history that cannot be forgotten lest we be tempted to repeat our mistakes.”

“And we won’t,” Feyre assured. 

Looking at her High Lady then, Eowyn noticed with relief that she didn’t seem altogether displeased by her revelation.

“Yes, you’re quite right,” Elain agreed in a small voice, her face still pale with anxiety. “I suppose Helion must’ve avoided that part of his lesson for my sake,” she tried to smile, but it came out shy and perhaps a little forced, “you see, I’ve had a harder time at adjusting to fae life than my sisters,” she confessed something Eowyn had detected the second she walked into the room. 

Although Elain had the features and the small slender body of a picturesque perfect female fae, there was something inherently human about her. It was an almost undetectable but ever present sort of foreignness to her actions, almost stilted whereas even Feyre and Nesta had mastered the fae way of effortless swiftness.

That wasn’t to say she was clumsy, she was simply very human-like, much more than her sisters. It was part of her charm.

Despite her sympathy for the girl, however, she found she wasn’t sure how to act around her. Even the priestesses in the library, who had suffered through all kinds of disgraces and tragedies didn’t feel quite as fragile as the former human girl. 

“Is that something you still struggle with?” Eowyn couldn’t help but prod gently.

She believes she knows his ire; she has only foreseen his betrayal.

She archived the whisper for later.

“Not as much,” Elain glanced at her sister and at her encouraging smile, continued, “my adjustment process has been quite slow but I’ve had plenty of support and company.”

“I imagine it can’t be easy at all,” Eowyn empathized genuinely, nodding a bit, “no one can reasonably expect you to be fine with transforming into a different species against your will within a decade, much less a year.”

Feyre nodded, squeezing Elain’s hand, “I didn’t have an easy time of it either. Even now, I still struggle to think of myself as anything other than human.”

“I suppose it should’ve been easier for me, having you and Nesta and Azriel at my side for so long,” Elain squeezed her hand back and as Feyre consoled her, lost in their heart-to-heart, neither sister noticed the way Eowyn’s spine straightened as she tensed. Her inhale was quiet but sharp and she could do nothing but hide her clenched fist under her robes, focusing on the faint sting of her nails digging into her flesh.

There was a shift in the air.

“And here I thought it was access to my gardens and kitchens that got you back onto your feet,” Rhys drawled as he stepped into the room, followed closely behind by the winged males.

Eowyn said nothing as Elain laughed and replied sweetly to the High Lord, standing up from her place on the sofa to greet Cassian with a hug. Tension bloomed in the room as she turned to Azriel. Stoic and unemotional male that he was, Azriel only stood in place as the blushing fae nervously turned to him.

“Hi,” she breathed lightly, her voice so petal soft and light that Eowyn had to bite her tongue to keep her mind focused on anything else.

“Hello,” he cleared his throat, mirroring Cassian’s forward lean into what was the beginning of a hug. Faltering but quickly finding herself, she hugged him back, if perhaps a little longer than she did Cassian.

Clearing her mind of all thoughts, Eowyn turned her eyes away from the scene to find not only the High Lord and Lady observing her intently, but also the General, who ridiculously began to whistle as he snapped his gaze away when her eyes met his, pretending he hadn’t been staring.

While Feyre observed her with curiosity— the kind sparked by a freshly shared piece of gossip that you know just might continue to unfold before you— the High Lord’s gaze was different, not unkind but still calculating.

She couldn’t help it. She quirked an eyebrow at him in challenge.

She was no stranger to the threat of intrusion into her mind, but as she felt the cold long talons of the High Lord brush against the fortress of her mind, she shivered at the sheer power behind such a light tap. Strikingly, she wasn’t sure how or what she did to nudge back at the brushing talons with a teasing caress of her own, as if tickling the underside of the invisible large shadowed claw.

The action seemed to surprise even the High Lord who squirmed slightly as his eyes widened at her and it was the shock of whatever that reaction had been that allowed for her walls to drop for a fraction of a second before she reinforced them again. 

But that second was enough, for as their eyes met, there was something there they both understood— a kindred feeling of someone who had known violence, of someone who understood abuse in a form that was beyond physical. It was the understanding of a survivor that lived both despite and in spite of what had been done to them but now wanted a life to reflect only the best of them, rather than remain drowned in a cycle of existential dread.

She understood him at a deeper level then, and his engagement with the priestesses and the library. Understood why he was so accommodating and encouraging for any and all projects the priestesses brought to him.

“Are you ready to leave?” Azriel pulled her away from her intense eye contact with the High Lord, standing beside her on a chair, directly in front of their hosts, their sister, and the General.

“Yes,” she nodded and stood to follow after him, thanking the High Lord and Lady for having her, if perhaps uninvited (to which they promised she was welcomed at any time, and then playfully chastised her once again for curtsying at them in respect), and calling out pleasantries and farewells as Azriel practically dragged her away.

As she was thanking her hosts, however,  she noticed that Elain’s eyes remained glued to the Shadowsinger; they followed the movement of his arm as he lightly placed his hand on Eowyn’s waist to pull her towards the door, but snapped back up to meet hers when she felt her gaze, widening ever so slightly when they met Eowyn’s, for she was sure, that in that fraction of a second, she had effectively conveyed a clear-cut message to the middle Archeron sister: back off.

Elain visibly shuddered from her spot on the sofa.

Eowyn couldn’t hold back her smug smirk when she crossed the threshold, easily keeping in step with Azriel as they walked out to the balcony.

“I take it you didn’t have to go on a mission right now?” She asked him as soon as they were out of earshot.

“No,” he said distractedly, “what did Rhys say to you?”

She tilted her head in confusion, “weren’t you there?”

“In your head,” he clarified, eyebrows furrowing and she noticed for the first time that he was quite agitated. “Did he go inside your mind without permission?”

“I don’t think he meant to?” The way it came out as a question had her quickly adding, “he didn’t try very hard if he did. I didn’t let him in.” Not the complete truth, but also not a complete lie. It was…strange, that interaction. It wasn’t that she allowed him to read her thoughts, it was that her mind was always so replete with thoughts and information and in such a flurry of awareness of so much around her, that all he got was an overall feel of her. Just as she did him.

“I’ll tell him not to try it again,” he grumbled, yet her response seemed to pacify him enough. Once they made it to the balcony he turned to her, suddenly thoughtful. “I was thinking...” She only tilted her head at him, allowing him time to speak the words on his mind. “Can I ….take you somewhere?”

She startled at that. Questions sprang up in her mind in a rush of: where? Why? How far? How long would they be out? Did she need to go back to the library and get a thicker cloak for the crisp chill in the air?

But as soon as she glanced up and met his hazel eyes, saw a mirroring flurry of thoughts and information behind his honey dipped leaf irises, all questions vanished and she simply nodded.

“Are you sure?” he pressed, taking her brief silence as reluctance.

She raised an eyebrow at that, “should I be worried?”

“No,” he said immediately, then turned to look over the balcony at the city. “Although…I would have to winnow us there.”

Her eyebrow only arched higher, “is it not within flying distance?” she followed his gaze then turned to him quickly with an affronted gasp, jutting out a hip and resting her fist on it as she scoffed, “or are you saying I’m just too heavy to carry?”

He rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched with a hint of a smile, “shut up and c’mere.”

She took a step towards him, and although she’d winnowed hundreds of times, both on her own and with others, she found she didn’t protest when he looked down at her from under a few rogue strands of hair and placed his hands on either side of her waist. She gasped ever so softly at the feel of his large warm hands circling her waist, the weight of his battle-worn marred hands somehow both exhilarating and comforting. Although there was no need for such contact to winnow, the act being sufficient with just a clasping of hands, she instinctively placed her own hands on his arms, firm and warm as they were under his leathers.

Her eyes never once left his.

“We’re here,” he spoke softly, and although she clearly heard his words it took her much too long for her to register its meaning. 

“So soon?” The words left her mouth before she could think it, only realizing how blunt they were when he actually chuckled softly and the prettiest shade of pink appeared on the bridge of his nose.

She pulled away from him then to take in her surroundings, the first thing she noticed being that they were definitely not in Velaris, yet as she went to look around found herself restricted by his hands still holding firmly onto her waist.

He immediately dropped his hands yet she didn’t linger on the strange empty lightness she felt, as if he had been the sole thing anchoring her to the ground.

The lightness lingered as she twirled around, taking in the sight of trees and… well, more trees.

“Where are we?” She asked as she inhaled deeply, immediately soothed by the scent of unsullied nature allowed to grow without intervention from fae or human hands. Despite the lack of paths seen anywhere, he clearly knew these woods well considering he’d winnowed them straight into a small clearing.

“In the Illyrian woods, under a few of its older mountains.” She felt his eyes on her, yet rather than feeling self-conscious and restricted, she felt strangely free and like something within her flourished. 

She hadn’t been fully surrounded by nature in so long. It was more liberating than anything she’d felt before, even the sanctuary of her greenhouse and beloved library.

“What are we doing here?” She turned to look at him to find his gaze already on her.

“I figured since you allowed me to go into your greenhouse, it’s only fair I show you a place of my own,” he inclined his head to the side towards the trees and held out a hand to her. She took it, marveling at the way his strong hand gently curled around hers. 

She thought about his words as she followed him through the trees, not finding herself even the slightest bit frightened or apprehensive. It was dangerous, she thought absentmindedly, how willing she was to follow this male through the ends of the earth.

“An exchange?” She wondered as she digested his words, “what exactly did you take from my showing you the greenhouse?” She asked with an incredulous chuckle.

He stopped and twisted only slightly to look at her, beckoning her with his head to step in front of him. She followed his nonverbal queue, hand still grasping his as she lifted her skirts with her other hand as she stepped over the overgrown tree roots and ducked under branches.

“I got to take in the sight of you in your most natural state,” he stated simply, never detaching his hand from hers but using the other to push the intervening branches away from her to walk through.

With a swiftness born naturally only to a fae who’d grown up amongst nature, she twirled in a single step to look at him, eyes seeking any form of taunt or teasing before lifting his arm above her head to allow her to circle around and step forward with the other foot without losing momentum in her step, finding nothing in his tone or eyes that signaled to any form of mocking.

She remained silent for a while, considering his words and wondering where he would take them. The whispers that came to her were different from those she constantly heard at the House of Wind. Whereas the winds of Velaris carried with them brief declarations or fragments of words blown across the land that just so happened to make their way to her, the whispers among the trees were not intended for her to hear at all. 

The ancient language of the trees cared not if she understood or even wanted to listen, yet as she listened to them murmur to each other she caught hints of long stories shared, all of them deep in overlapping conversation.

Soon, they broke through the line of trees to what seemed like the bottom of the mountains— a moss covered wall of rock that sprouted all kinds of flora she wanted nothing more but to inspect but turned to Azriel instead, tilting her head questioningly. “This is what you wanted to show me?” She tried not to sound judgmental but based on the quiet laugh that bubbled out of his chest, she failed to sound as excited as she meant to.

“Not quite,” his lopsided smirk spoke of his amusement. “You like puzzles, don’t you?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “are we playing a game, Az?”

At his answering smirk, she turned back to the wall, suddenly determined to beat him at his own game but all she had to do was look at the wall. Truly look at it and the long strands of ivy and moss that covered it to notice the plants themselves served as a veil to the entrance of what looked like a cave.

“In there?” She turned to him only to find him  smiling at her softly before he nodded. He stepped forward first, holding a hand out for her to take before stepping through the entrance of the cave and guiding her inside. It took her a second for her eyes to adapt to the darkness, but once they did she gasped in surprise at the sight before her.

The walls of the cave were a smooth crystalized black glass encrusted into the rock, and the absorbing light within it told her immediately that he’d taken her directly into an obsidian cave. Her surprise only heightened when she looked down to see what looked like a small black pool inside.

“What is this place?” She breathed.

“It’s the underside of an ancient volcano,” he spoke, quiet and still but so clear that she realized that the small gap in her mind that never fully filtered out the whispers in her day to day was completely silent. She couldn’t hear a single thing other than her own thoughts, the sound of their breathing, and the cool sound of his voice. “I thought maybe you’d like it,” he trailed off thoughtfully, “and maybe you’d be interested in going for a swim?”

“A swim?” her voice, only slightly louder than his, echoed through the dark cave, her voice bouncing off the walls going much further than the entrance where they stood. She cringed at the volume and ignored his amused huff before lowering her voice,“how big is this cave?”

He hummed in response, and with the curtain of ivy falling back over the gapped entrance, they were now encased in complete darkness. The cave was so dark that the only light shining was that of his cobalt blue siphons, which didn’t provide nearly enough light to illuminate the cave, especially once he began to take them off. “A few miles in.”

On any other occasion she would’ve balked at his response but she could do nothing but stand still as the sound of his undressing echoed within the cave walls. Suddenly, he stilled, “we can leave, if you don’t want to stay.”

As if that was what took her breath away. “I do,” she elongated the word, “my concern is, how exactly do you expect me to swim if I can’t even see my hand in front of me?”

“You don’t exactly swim with your eyes, do you?”

She glowered at him and he knew it despite the lack of light, if his small chuckle said anything.

“Look, if you don’t want to swim, you can sit on the edge of the rock here and dip your feet in, but I’m going in,” he stated plainly, sounding more animated than she’d ever heard him before in the most un-Azriel-like way.

She opened her mouth, either to ask him who he was and where the real Shadowsinger was, or to ask why he insisted that she touch the dark ominous water, but all words vanished at the realization that this was something important to him. He knew how meaningful the greenhouse was to her and he explicitly said he wanted to share something in kind.

This wasn’t a transactional relationship— friendship, she mentally corrected herself— despite their past exchanges. This was an act of trust and intimacy.

And Mother above, he was excited to show her this place. How can she deny him anything now? In all truth, she didn’t want to deny him anything.

“Where are you?” He called out from within the surface of the water and she startled slightly, realizing she’d been lost in her own mind.

“Here,” she replied immediately, taking a step towards his voice only to stumble over a few rocks before finding her footing. She reached out with her hands, using them instead of her eyes to gauge what was in front of her. As soon as she touched a larger rock, realizing it marked the edge of the dark pool of water.

“Careful,” he spoke and suddenly his hands found her as he held her on the edge of the water. “Here, let me..” He started but trailed off, wrapping one hand gently around her ankle, slowly and barely touching as if ready to pull away as soon as she spoke the words. She allowed him to continue, curious about his actions. Not taking her silence as consent, however, he stopped, “can I help you take your shoes off?”

She nodded, and almost smacked herself at her idiocy, before clearing her throat, “yes, that’s fine. Is- is the water deep?”

“Not here,” he assured her, “the further in you go, the deeper it is.”

Swiftly, he unlaced her boots and she braced her hands on his shoulders as he held her shin with one hand as he pulled the shoe away with the other and tossed it somewhere behind her, “hey!” She frowned looking over her shoulder at nothing, “how am I supposed to find it later?”

His small laugh was a little lighter, and she saw his face in her mind if not in front of her. Saw his eyes sparkle and crinkle at the sides as the corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement. “The shadows will take care of it.”

Oh, right. She forgot about them for a second.

“They must like it here as well,” she murmured, mostly to herself, picturing the amorphous dark creatures roaming every inch of the place at their discretion.

“They do,” he affirmed, “they were born here… or so they say.”

“Really?” She perked up at attention at that, letting go of his shoulders when he tossed her sock off for his shadows to catch.

Without second guessing herself, she took a step back and began to disrobe, starting with her veil.

She heard his breath hitch for a second, and she briefly wondered if he could see her before he spoke up. “They like to say that about every place they think is interesting,” he deadpanned, causing her to laugh.

Summoned by their conversation and her laugh, the shadows twirled through her hair before spinning around her, snatching each robe and layer from her every time she took something off.

Once she was down to her undergarments, she carefully stepped towards the edge of the water. She hesitated, “are you sure it’s not deep?”

“Positive,” his voice appeared near her yet she couldn’t determine where exactly. “Come here,” he murmured and reached out for her, touching her hands first and placing them on his shoulders once again. 

“Oh,” she gasped when her feet touched the hot water, and quickly descended into the hot spring with his guiding hands. “Oh,” she repeated, this time in a pleasured breath. His chest rumbled with amusement once more, and she had half a mind to scold him for continuously laughing at her, but quickly dismissed the idea as she realized she’d never quite heard him laugh this much before.

It was quite a pleasant sound and in all truthfulness, it brought her a sense of pride and satisfaction at being the cause behind it.

That is, until he let go of her and she began to sink. Gasping, she scrambled for his arm once again when her feet didn’t touch the ground.

“You said it was shallow!” She screeched.

“It is,” he insisted, “I’m literally just standing right now.”

She waved her feet, searching for a bottom but could only briefly feel the ground with her toe. She scowled at him and his Illyrian bigness.

“I can’t reach the bottom” she gritted out.

“What’s the problem? Can’t you swim?” 

At her pointed silence, he guffawed.

“Shut up,” she scolded, “I had more important things to do than learn how to swim.”

“It’s a basic life skill,” he continued to giggle. Giggle. “Why didn’t you say something before?”

“You said it wasn’t deep,” she defended herself, “now you’re going to have to pull me along.”

“Fine by me,” he grinned. She could hear it. Wrapping a strong arm around her waist, he pulled her along as he pushed off the shallow end of the hot spring into the depth of its pools. Feeling his powerful legs kick in a practiced rhythm to keep them both afloat, she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist to keep her legs out of his way.

“Sorry,” she blushed, shimmying her hips away to pull her legs away from him.

“No,” the arm he had wrapped around her waist quickly stopped her in place, sliding down to her thigh and squeezing briefly to keep her close and shift her so she faced him completely, “stay like that.”

Something in her pulsed.

She inhaled sharply through her nose, and gingerly placed her hands on either side of his shoulders, trying to keep if only just a centimeter of distance between their bodies. But like magnets— and by the physical nature of water surrounding them, pushing at them— their bodies pressed against one another, unrelenting in their proximity. 

“Hold on,” he spoke quietly, the only words of warning before he let go of her to use both of his firm arms to swim skillfully deeper within the dark depths of the hot spring. After a moment of his rhythmic movements, she relaxed and tilted her head back, allowing the bubbling hot water to submerge her hair and soothe her weary head. 

Without intending to, she exhaled a soft breath of pleasure at the feeling of the hot water engulfing and massaging her skull, her mind deliciously empty and finally quiet.

Still, there was a string in the edge of her subconsciousness. A tickle of a feeling, a shy invitation. And after a long moment of well-deserved silence, she allowed the soft melodic voice on the edge of the water to fill her. 

Pulling herself up straight, she wrapped her arms around Azriel’s shoulders and hugged him.

“Are you alright?” He whispered, brushing his cheek with hers.

She nodded against his cheek so he could feel it, and with her eyes closed, now feeling nothing but the water surrounding them and him, she replied. “They were born here.”

He inhaled through his nose, “the Shadows? How do you know?”

Slowing down their swimming, he fell into a soft tread.

Her top lip brushed the lobe of his ear when she whispered, “the cave told me.”

He didn’t reply, and when she went to pull away— she didn’t know what for, it wasn’t like she could see him— he quickly pulled her back with a hand between her shoulder blades, his entire forearm somehow hotter than the water surrounding them. She shivered, feeling her very center tighten at the feeling of his fingers brushing the bare skin of her back and his cheek lighting nuzzling hers.

“You can hear it?” He asked, breathing heavily yet he sounded different. Stilted and gritting.

“The water,” she clarified, her body reacting to his before her mind could catch up.

Everything suddenly felt even more electric as she became aware of everything around her.

Her sense of touch, of feel and scent only heightened by the smothering of her sense of sight. She could hear him, hear his thundering heart and rapid breaths, could smell his anticipation and growing arousal. She could feel his desperate need, and feel the tension in the tendons of his broad solid shoulders under her hands, and the tightness of his body as her legs wrapped around him like a python catching its prey within its fatal hold. 

But she could also sense his hesitation.

And that would not do.

“Az?” She murmured, and the sultry knowing voice that left her was not that of the seductive male-eating* fae she was before that. But it also wasn’t the voice of the apathetic and cold priestess. She was someone else entirely. 

He melted under her touch and searched her face with his once again, pressing his cheek to hers before turning it to almost brush his lips against hers, but she shifted her own face away before he could, gliding her nose along his jaw before smiling against it, laughing lightly, “is the hot spring getting to you?” She tried to lighten the mood, yet the solid strength of him under her touch and the evidence of the tension between them affecting him as well made it hard for her to keep a leveled head.

He held his breath for a second, then exhaled a quick breath, shaking his head as if to clear it as well. “Shut up.”

She continued to hold on to him as he swam back to the shallow edge of the spring in silence, and she used that brief moment to replay their interaction in her mind. She was no meek and shy virgin. She had never shied away from her own sexuality, had never been truly coy unless it was tactful. She was no stranger to casual sex and a light play of sexual tension with acquaintances or those she liked spending time with— male or female— but she also hadn’t participated in any form of sex (or sex-adjacent acts) for well over half a century. 

She had begun to think of that part of herself as extinct. Had even considered herself asexual, due to her lack of feel for anyone for such a long time.

Without her knowing, the winged bat male had sparked something feral within her and she didn’t like it one bit, despite how much she very much wanted to consume him whole.

But he was Gwyn’s male, for Cauldron’s sake! How long had she spent encouraging her friend to talk to him, how many hours had she spent gossiping with her in the libraries stairwells— getting shushed by the other priestesses every couple of minutes— about his favorite foods, his favorite books and the simple lighthearted conversations she’d had with him that she’d later shared with Gwyn? (Why she never shared their more intimate conversations with her friend, she didn’t want to consider at that very moment).

As she began to spiral for being a bad friend to both Gwyn, for suddenly wanting to eat her male alive, and Azriel for playing with him the way she had, she pushed herself away from him as soon as they reached the edge, suddenly needing physical distance from him lest she climb the rest of his strong body and wrapped her legs around his face.

Azriel, however, remained just as silent as her from his place only at arms length away, but she knew his silence was of a different kind. 

“I’ve…” she scrambled for something to say, “I've told you about my father before. About how he wanted a daughter.”

What better cockblock than the sudden cracking open of an age-old can of trauma?

Azriel hummed in reply, but didn’t say anything. She heard the rippling of water as he raised his hands to the edge of the spring, using his arms to pull himself up. “Wait!” She stopped him before he could fully pull himself out, “can we… stay a little longer?”

The sound of his descension back into the water was all the acquiescence she needed to hear, so she continued. “Clearly it wasn’t because he wanted to be a loving father to a little girl. He was— he is a lunatic. An arrogant narcissistic lunatic with ideas of grandeur, and all he needed was a five-coin divination from a pseudo-Seer to convince him that he would be the almighty Sire of the one female to bring truthfulness and balance to a world that blindly followed the wrong icons.

“He believed that although we prayed to the ‘feminine gods’ and other religious figures like the Mother, it was truly the males that puppeteered the restoration to order. At the same time, he thought that the High Lords of Prythian weren’t doing enough and were only the beginning of ‘a worthy representation of our world as it should be’,” she deepened her voice slightly to imitate her father.

“Your father sounds vile,” he snarled.

“He’s worse,” she assured, thankful that the tension between them had settled into something more neutral as they fell back into their usual deep but lilting conversations. “Anyway, he’s a prick who believed that his daughter would become the heiress to the Mother’s order and he would be the one orchestrating the way.”

She held onto the edge of the pool as she moved closer, while making sure to keep at least a foot of distance between them. “When I began to show my gifts, he reinterpreted his prophecy to fit me, and molded me to fit the prophecy. So, when he learned that I had this… connection to the elements, he forced me to discern how much and just how exactly they worked. 

“Wind was the easiest of course, but the winds report all kinds of things— some are truths and some are lies, as we know the winds hear everything and travel where they please. He never was one to care about history unless it was his own, so he didn’t care what wisdom the earth shared with me, but fire? ‘Fire is no liar,’ he always told me as a child, and while dealing with fire definitely isn’t pleasant, it was easier than water, for ‘water does not falter’ but I did. He would toss me into the lake and not let me out until the water spoke the words he wanted to hear… and he would keep me in there for so long…”  she trailed off.

She inhaled, pulling herself back to the present, unsure of where she was going with her words, only knowing that this was the moment. This was something he had to know.

“So I’ve always avoided bodies of water. Not so much because of my father, but because I’ve never much liked the cruel secrets the voices within it like to share.”

“I’m…sorry,” he spoke lowly, and he sounded so sad and so defeated that she immediately reached out to touch him. She placed a hand firmly over his chest.

“No,” she shook her head, “stop whatever verbal flagellation is going through your head, I don’t regret coming here for a second,” she spoke firmly. “I’m not even telling you this because you brought me here. I don’t want this to be transactional.”

“Then why are you telling me this?”

“Because I trust you. Because I’ve never told anyone, and I don’t want anyone else to know, but you.”

He fell silent at that, yet inhaled sharply when her finger unknowingly traced a ridged scar on his chest, only an inch away from his thundering heart.

He flinched away from her.

“Don’t.”

She pulled her hand away, “what happened there?”

“Ash bolt covered in bloodbane.”

She nodded slowly, gritting her teeth as she remembered his story behind it. “The day Elain and Nesta were made.”

“Yes.”

“And you… are ashamed of your scars?”

It was such a simple question. An intrusive one perhaps, but not for them, not here. “Yes.”

They both knew she wasn’t referring to the battle scars littering his body. He was ashamed of the scars on his hands, the ones inflicted when he was young and defenseless. The ones that had been forced upon him, not earned through battle and will.

Slowly, she reached out to touch his hand, where it rested at his side nearest to her, but as soon as her fingers grazed the outside of his scarred hand, he pulled away. “Let me show you,” she whispered soothingly, lightly grasping one of his fingers before pulling it up above the surface of the water.

Slowly, allowing him time to pull his hand away if he wanted, she singled out his index finger and brought it to the center of her lips.

She heard and felt his breath falter, but neither of them moved further until she did, guiding his finger to lightly graze over her lips to the left corner of her mouth, where she allowed him to trace her scar there, dragging out towards her ear and ending in the center of her cheek before grazing the line back, over her lips, and over the right corner of her mouth along the jagged line that dragged upward. “Eowyn,” he breathed, but she didn’t stop. She brought his finger to trace the even thicker scar dragged across her neck and then back down under the surface of the water towards her hip, just an inch or two under her belly button and to the side, where a healed yet scarred patch of flesh curdled. As he traced his finger along it though, she could tell he felt the initial wound: the branding of a jumbled insignia that had since been covered by the slightly thinner layer of a self-made burn.

“These are just the most prominent ones. I can’t feel the ones on my back.”

“Who did this to you?” He snarled, voice only barely contained as she let go of his hand. That same hand curled possessively over her hip, his thumb lightly but repeatedly tracing her scar as if trying to figure out what the insignia was, but she had long covered it and made sure it was unidentifiable. “Tell me who did this to you so I can deal with them.”

“That’s not the point,” she sighed, and when he began to protest, she settled her hands on his chest once again to pacify him. “It’s not. They will be dealt with in their due time, trust me. But I wanted to show you what I hide. What brings me shame.”

“That’s different,” he gritted and she felt his body vibrate with repressed emotions under her touch. His grip on her tightened. “Tell me who and I’ll make them pay.”

But she shook her head, “no. They will, when the time is right, but that time isn’t now.”

“How can you say that,” he pushed as he pulled her closer, “how can you show me how they hurt you and expect me to do nothing?”

“Because it’s not about them,” she snapped, “I tell you things, show you things, not because of my father, not because of the ones who hurt me, but because this is me. I am not a product of my abuse, the same way you aren’t a product of yours. These scars?” she held one of his scarred hands to her cheek to touch her own, “they are part of us, and they may reflect only a fraction of the pain in here,” she touched her other hand to his chest, “but they do not define us.”

She felt his body tremble under her touch, from repressed anger, frustration, or just a general flurry of emotions, she wasn’t sure, but no sooner had the words left his mouth— a tortured murmured “can I hold you?”— than she had her own arms wrapped around him tightly, melting into his arms and finding, finally, that which she had been searching for, yearning for, the second he placed his hands on her waist to winnow them there, to a place that was his own. Her chest touched his, and despite the thin layer of clothing separating them it was like their flesh melded together and their hearts beat as one.

This is what she needed. She cared not for anything other than the feeling of belonging that was to be wrapped in his arms. Azriel slid his hands away from her torso, cupping her face between each hand and she pliantly allowed him to. 

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to simply feel. She lost herself to the sensation— not just the distantly familiar feeling of being touched by another, but the particular and distinctive feeling of him. 

Ever so gently, his thumbs traced her eyebrows, slowly tracing back over her closed lids, and she didn’t know when or why but she felt herself tremble under his touch, as he glided his fingers over the slope of her nose before tracing her lips once again. With the most gentle of touches, he traced her scars lightly, once, twice. He cupped the side of her head with one hand, and with the other, traced his finger along the center of her lips, pressing down slightly to part her lips before allowing it to gently plop back in its place.

“Beautiful,” he breathed so softly, it was almost as if he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. 

She let out a small amused tuh, about to point out that he couldn’t even see her through the dark encompassing them, but the words remained in her throat when he quickly traced his thumbs over her smile, inhaling deeply.

All she could do was hold him tight and stay there, linger in the quiet moment of peace, of comfort, and of an intrinsic and deep rooted understanding. His forehead rested on hers, and the tip of his nose brushed against hers but he didn’t try to kiss her again. He simply held her close and breathed her in.

She wasn’t sure how long they stayed there in the depths of the dark cave that gave no way for any sort of light. All she knew was that she didn’t need the light to guide her as long as she had Azriel at her side.

—

They remained in the shallow edge of the hot spring for a long while, lost in tender conversation as she inquired after the cave, how he’d come to find it and who else knew about it. 

No longer hugging, as they treaded lightly over the water, yet never separating completely (always at least holding hands, as he kept her afloat), he told her of his formative years, when he discovered the cave when he was no older than twenty-five. He came here when he needed a breath away from his family, his duties, and even his Shadows, for although he was never without them, this was a place where the Shadows themselves liked to take their time to bask in the comforting familiar darkness on their own. 

Once Eowyn felt her fingers begin to prune, they left the water and with the quick effective help of the shadows always surrounding them, she managed to dress quickly and gather herself to leave the fog of oblivion that had settled over her with his close proximity.

Expecting to be blinded by the rays of the sun, she braced herself before leaving the cave only to find not the sun, but the moon shining down at her through the gaps of the trees. 

She gaped slightly, turning to look at Azriel who seemed just as surprised as her that they had spent almost the entire day in the cave.

“Are you ready?” He asked softly, and when she nodded, he reached for her waist and held her against him as he winnowed them back to the House of Wind.

“I-“ he frowned down at her, eyebrows furrowing as he considered his words. “Rhys is sending me on a mission for a few days.”

“Where?” She frowned immediately. It wasn’t out of the ordinary, of course, as Azriel was often sent out to fulfill his duties. He was never gone more than a few days, of course, but suddenly, the thought of him leaving caused an anxious knot to form in her belly.

“It’s this thing with the Autumn Court. I should be back in just a few days.”

She nodded, but kept silent for a beat. “You.. you be careful alright?”

He chuckled lightly, but this chuckle was softer than the rest he’d gifted her, as he looked down at her fondly. “Are you gonna miss me?”

“Az,” she tapped him lightly in the chest in the imitation of a punch, his eyes glinting with a tender look. “But you will be careful, won’t you?”

“I always am.” 

After only half a breaths hesitation, he bent down and pressed a feather soft kiss between her eyebrows, before he winnowed away.

part eleven

*male-eater = maneater bc i was listening to the song and that is indeed Past Eowyn

taglist: @lilah-asteria , @a-courtof-azriel, @honk4emoboyz , @feyretopia , @mrsjna , @buttermilktea11 , @bravo-delta-eccho , @kylieinwonderland, @adventure-awaits13

[bloodofthefates]

x. “Say my name and I will be there. I promise.” ( for Nuala ) from @siphonedshadow

Words; they were simply words, no matter how much he willed them to solidify into truth as the promise he claimed them to be. They were words she’d heard before. He spoke now with much more command than before, hazel eyes ablaze with firm insistence to combat where he knew her mind remained enshrouded in doubt like the shadows shared between them. Nuala had called to him countless nights, had she been screaming his name her voice would’ve burned raw by the sheer number alone but he’d never come. He couldn’t. While they remained trapped with Rhysand Under the Mountain but by their High Lord’s own decree Azriel had been rendered immobile and helpless to liberate her or her sister from Amarantha’s spelled control for the protection of Velaris. Dutifully they had remained, the only connection and company Rhys had been allowed by her cruelty in his service as nothing more than servants or attendants to the version of himself he allowed to exist in their waking nightmare. It was the version of him as the ruler of nightmares he needed to use to instill fear into others, a precise and calculated move. It required the twins to assume the nature of their wraith-halves in sacrifice of their fae bodies for so long they’d lost touch with all the soft and vulnerable parts of themselves. They had found them again, slowly, with much practice and patience under Azriel’s guiding hand when they’d returned but in so many ways they were still just as fragile from their experiences and every subsequent ask of them felt too soon despite the fact that they never argued or complained. Slender fingers reached out to guide Azriel’s hand to her, tugging at the leather of the glove he wore for protection and to bear his siphons to bear his exposed flesh. She needed no barriers, no boundaries if she was to take him at his word and trust this promise. Again. Placing his palm flat against the coolness of her cheek, she reveled in the warmth that resided there and allowed her dark eyes to flutter closed for a brief moment. Nuzzling against the skin on skin contact, her own shadows reacting in kind as they rose up at her heels to encircle and entwine around her legs before reaching out to tentatively meet his own in earnestness. Opening her eyes again with renewed resolve, she nodded once and her features solidified into battle-ready stone before she turned his hand over and delivered a single lingering kiss to the scarred flesh there with a promise of her own.  “Do not forsake me again Azriel.”

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

Now it's a problem for Elain to have friends?, how ridiculous is that? It's wrong when she doesn't have friends, and now it's wrong when she does? give me a break I don’t see how this could possibly be an issue?

Could you do me a favor, and answer these questions for me...

Can you describe their personalities? What does Nuala do in her free time? Where does she live? What moment of dialogue did you find interesting about them that furthered their story? Do they fight with each other? Where do they live? What are some of their personal struggles? What is something in all five books they’ve expressed they want to do? Are they in relationships? How are they affected by their trauma UTM? What interests you other than what they did for Elain? Can you name a moment in the text between them where they are speaking with one another? Did Elain ever return the favor? What is your favorite moment of them that's not them serving? Mutual interactions? What's your favorite moment of dialogue between Elain and the Twins? These are simple questions that cannot be explicitly answered.

"I can't wait for their friendship to be explored..." and yet we know nothing about the sisters. They have no character arc - there's nothing to look forward to other than what they have 'done for Elain'

When you guys are saying friends, you're saying that because of what the twins have done for Elain, what they will do. There's no conversation about what Elain has done for them. Even within the Valkyrie dynamic, Nesta initiates almost all of her current friendships - if anything Nesta has helped them first, and they do the same for her. I am not saying the dynamic is necessarily good, but simply, Gwyn and Emerie are not handmaidens. They aren't gonna 'dress Nesta' or 'set her up' with Cassian. They have issues, trauma, goals, and fears that are developed and not centered around Nesta. They have potential love interests, fears, aspirations, flaws. They struggle with things. And even that doesn't mean they're fully fledged or realistic...but Nuala and Cerridwen don't even have that.

The issue is that these are women of color placed into this servitude position so thoroughly, that people can't help but defend and recreate that dynamic in their own fandom experience. Its why most of the N+C fan arts look exactly like they do, and why the discussion around them is exactly the way it is - we are sub-consciously taught to continually write and treat them as they are portrayed; we train ourselves to justify these positions, and to uphold the hegemonic beliefs. Elain should make friends, she should go out and build relationships -- not just get handed bankrolled hand-maidens who essentially still operate as handmaidens. I do not think there should ever be character/maid positions without it being addressed. I especially don't think women of color should ever operate in the best friend/maid setting. It's a stereotype as old as time.

[innercircleweekofficial]

*✧･ﾟ:Prompts*✧･ﾟ:

🎨: Charlie Bowater

Here are the prompts! Can't wait for all the amazing content you guys will create for our favourite group 🥰.

You can participate in any form, such as fanfiction, fanart, moodboards, playlists, etc. We only want to celebrate the Inner Circle and the joy they have brought us these past few years 🤍.

You can also find us on Instagram. When posting your submissions there, we'd love for you to invite us to collaborate!

If you haven't read the rules of the event you can find the post right here.

Day 1: Court of Dreams/Home ->

"And what is this court?" I asked, gesturing to them. The most important question. It was Cassian, eyes clear and bright as his Siphon, who said, "The Court of Dreams." ~~~ Each member of the Inner Circle struggled as children to have a home of their own. Luckily they found one another and now, they are each other’s home. How do you see them as a family together?

Day 2: Warriors/Power(s) ->

The Inner Circle is known to be a powerful group—if not most—in Prythian. Shall we revisit them conquering the struggles of war? How do you see them using their skills? How do you see them coming into their powers?

Day 3: Past/ Future ->

Throughout the books, we've learned little pieces about the Inner Circle members' pasts. Like how the bat boys grew up together in a war camp, or how Mor was a dreamer in Court of Nightmares. How do you see their younger selves' interactions? How do you think they all met? Or how do you see their future be like? How do you see them being a family with the newest addition- Nyx?

Day 4: Headcanons/Shenanigans →

"Cassian, considering the fact that the last time you visited, it didn't end well-" "I wrecked one building-"... "The last time Amren and Mor got into it, they left my favorite mountain retreat in cinders." ~~~ Share with us your headcanons! What are these people up to behind the scenes? What mischief do they get into?

Day 5: Masks →

Inner Circle members are infamous for their cruelty among the rest of Prythian. They all wear various masks as a protection of their home and people. How do you see them when they don't have their masks on? Or what sort of mask would they slip on to protect, and how much of those times wasn't merely an act?

Day 6: Winter Solstice/Holidays →

"It's a special holiday here as well, right?" I asked casually. "Not just in Winter and Day." And Spring. "Oh, yes," Nuala said... "We love it dearly. It's intimate, warm, lovely. Presents and music and food, sometimes feasting under the starlight ..." ~~~ In the novella -A Court of Frost and Starlight- we've got a glimpse of the centuries, the Inner Circle has been celebrating their traditional holidays! Who would they invite? What present would they give each other? It could be winter solstice or any other holiday, it's up to you!

Day 7: AU/Free Day →

What other universes do you see Inner Circle in? How would their dynamic work? This is a day to truly embrace your creativity and imagination. We can't wait to see what you guys will do this day!

PS: If there's any question regarding the event, you can contact us through our ask box or DMs.

[nualaofthefaerie]

Casual reminder that in order for Nuala to have fucked with Barbie's dreams, she was given some sort of power by Morpheus, strong enough to meddle in dreams and two, he NEVER punished her for messing up with his work.

This is actually the panel that triggers this very famous interaction.

Not only did he not punish her for messing with the dreams of mortals, HE PRAISED HER!

Tell me she was not important to him again.

Try me.

🪷

[acourtofthought]

New Anti Take:

Rhys about Feyre:

Nesta about Feyre:

Nesta about Elain:

Feyre about Elain:

Cassian to Nesta:

Azriel about Elain:

But sure, it's so terrible to imagine Elain ending up being friends with a guy who said this:

while he was pretending to be the bad guy but went on to prove it was an act while providing them information that helped them save many lives. Who ended up becoming good friends with Elain's mate, the guy he made the comment to. Lucien who is almost certain to have a POV which means Jurian will be heavily featured.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Anti's getting so furious over the BOE (which includes Elain's mate) being more connected to the same plots that Elain is connected to than the twins, being given way more dialogue, purpose and backstory than the wraiths have been given, being more connected to Elain's father than Nuala and Cerridwen have ever been (and the entire reason we theorize Elain's story will involve them) is the craziest new argument I've seen in a long time.

I'm not wanting anything, I'm simply following the authors bread trail of crumbs. The funniest thing is that when anti's claim we dislike them because of our ship it's inaccurate because Nuala and Cerridwen aren't a threat to the Elucien ship the way the BOE are to e/riels. They have never actually interacted on page with Az in the entirety of the series, he never once refers to them by name (funny how my anon accused me of this very same thing). Elain could end up with Lucien and the wraiths could still play a big role in her book. They are not heavily connected to Az beyond his training them ages ago and their "work" for he and Rhys but it's only ever mentioned in the background, never something we see play out. We actually witnessed Az training / speaking to Gwyn and going on a spy mission with Cassian yet we've never been given a scene where Az says "I'll send Nuala and Cerridwen out to gather information for me" or "I'll take the twins".

Elain needs to shine in her own pov so the wraiths would never be the ones leading the pack, they would be there to serve Elain's character growth which they could do regardless of her LI.

The reason I don't theorize them doing so (beyond them maintaining a casual friendship) is Sarah hasn't given me any reason to think that's where she's headed.

Lucien and Tamlin were / are friends.

Feyre and Lucien become friends.

Celaena became friends with Dorian.

Celaena became friends with Chaol.

Nesta became close with Amren.

Nobody is denying these friendships exist however it cannot be disputed that the nature of the friendships changed over the course of the series. It cannot be disputed that those friendships (while lasting) did not prevent the main characters from leaving a certain place and building a life elsewhere, making new friends along the way.

Why would Elain be any different?

[reblogandlikes]

Magical abilities in ACOTAR

Trying to narrow down the regional powers of the people in each court and if there's anything else, like..

Spring Court: earth magic/manipulation with the possibility of wind manipulation in conjuction to Tamlin, but haven't seen any other character or court use it. Perhaps some also have the ability to transform at will?

Summer Court: water magic/manipulation

Autumn Court: fire magic/manipulation (but as autumn is also a season of death, so having a form of decaying magic would be cool).

Winter Court: Similar to Summer, but various forms of ice magic/manipulation.

Dawn Court: Known for healing magic, perhaps has the best healers despite healers being in all courts. And also a court of alchemy, innovation, and engineering with the Fae’s from Xian. Nuan made Lucien’s eye, her arm (I believe), and created the antidote to the faebane weapons to counter their magic halting affects, for example. I'd like to assume the locals and Xian asylum seekers integrated into a cohesive society whilst putting their two strengths together.

Day Court: Light generation/manipulation, spells, and Spell-cleaving magic. More of the witchy side I'd like to think.

Night Court: The only significant thing associated with them is the Illyrian’s with their raw magic (only seen in males) who require siphones to focus it/use it to create shields, weapons and armour. But what about the rest? Other magic seems individual, e.g., Nuala + Cerridwen's shadow-wraith thing, Mor's "Truth", Azriel’s shadow-singing, and Rhysand's distinctive daemati powers. But what else collectively is a 'Night Court' ability?

Otherwise, fae's, despite their origin and dependent on their magical capabilities, can winnow, glamour, place things into a pocket realm and have some form of telekinetic power, I suppose?

So much magical abilities, yet we barely see them used across the board, how they interact with each other and their limitations. Could Tamlin explode someone's lungs or asphyxiate them? Could Tarquin dehydrate, drown a person on land or straight up blood bend them? Could Baron burn someone from the inside out? Could Kallias turn your blood to ice and have shards of your blood literally spear you? Could Thesan's healing magic alter cells and have your body decay itself? Could Helion literally do anything with a single spell? Could Rhysand, in breaking someone, turn their mind into a literal vegetable by leaving them permanently catatonic?

Could...

Could...

Could...

I need a deep dive in this magic system, SJM. There are too many books for shit to remain so vague and surface level, especially in her beloved NC.

[lovemyromance]

How are people out here denying Elain's friendship with Nuala & Cerridwen just because "they haven't seen it on the page"?

First of all, it is on the page:

Nesta refers to the wraiths as Elain's friends.

Elain cooks & bakes with them.

Elain buys solstice presents for them.

Nesta notes that Elain moves so quietly, it's like she's taking lessons from the wraiths.

It's clear they are friends. But obviously, why would we as readers get to experience the details and dynamics of their friendship when Feyre & Nesta's stories were the focus this far? It's not like Feyre/Nesta spent 10 pages of their books observing Elain's interaction with N&C 🙄

People are denying canon text and yet, somehow, based on ZERO canon evidence, apparently Elain is going to become besties with the BOE? Jurian & Vassa will become her "found family friendship trio"?

She hasn't even MET them. Vassa, I could maybe believe just based on pure theory because she's a human queen or whatever.

But to say Elain will become besties with JURIAN? The man who made gang r*pe joke about her?

Yeah. Ooookay.

Sometimes I wonder why people keep forcing her into some theory that she'll become besties with the BOE. And then I remember - right - it's the same people forcing her into a relationship with a male she doesn't want, Lucien.

Once again - proving the point that Eluciens don't really care about Elain nor do they think any book with her will truly feature her story, her friends, her family. She is but a vehicle to get Lucien's story told. All plots about an Elucien book are always about Lucien's story, his trauma, his healing, his family, his parentage, his friends, etc.

It's kind of sad.

[redbreastedbird]

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I just finished the puzzle book (was absolutely amazing!) and was wondering what your favourite chapter in it was!

That is so kind! Thank you!

I really love the interactive mystery chapters, particularly the Ministry one that May narrates. I also think Daisy’s logic chapter is really cool, and Alex’s visual thinking chapter. Also Nuala’s languages chapter truly nearly broke us but somehow it’s ended up being one of my favourites in the book.

[coeurdelain]

SJM’s interview for ACOFAS :

SJM about ACOSF « I won’t tell you who the first book is about, but I think once you read ACOFAS, it’ll a little more obvious »

SJM about ACOTAR 5 « I thought it was obvious »

The fact that she said the exact same words to describe ACOSF and ACOTAR5.

Because yes, Nessian was obvious and so is Elriel.

Both couples are obvious.

They have romantic interactions/hints since they met.

Also, the fact that she said « a little more obvious » when she was talking about ACOSF.

Because in ACOFAS, there is also Elriel who have romantics interactions, so, we could still have a doubt about the next romantic pairing between Nessian and Elriel. (Aka the only two ships that we see interacting together)

But for the next ACOTAR book she didn’t say it’ll be a little bit obvious, she said « I THOUGHT IT WAS OBVIOUS ».

SJM wouldn’t have said « I thought it was obvious » if it wasn’t. She knows Elriel exist, there were polls/fanarts about them since 2017. So, she wasn’t thinking about Gwynriel AT ALL when she said I thought it was obvious because it means that the next ACOTAR wouldn’t be obvious. (It’s logic)

Also, the fact that she said :  « There were stil so many stories to tell in this world. And that for many of these characters, their journeys were just beginning  » THE SPINOFFS are about the characters we already saw in the first three books !!

There is so many characters before Gwyn. (Elain, Azriel, Lucien, Mor, Eris, Helion, LOA, Vassa, Jurian, even Emerie, Nuala and Cerridwen come before Gwyn because they were already there in the first four books).

SJM also said that she wanted to write a story before the events of ACOTAR. (I think she was thinking about Drakon and Miryam).

So, how people can think that Gwyn will have a book before all these characters ?And Why ? What is the reason ? Where is the logic ? There is all these characters we saw in ACOWAR who literally can’t wait for their stories to be told.

And their stories compared to Gwyn can’t wait anymore :

Elain is trapped into a mating bond she doesn’t want and it’s been years. Lucien and Azriel too, they all need to be free from this. Isn’t it more urgent to do something with that mating bond than to know who is Gwyn’s father? (Eluciens/Lucien stans are all here like « but Lulu needs to be happy ». Do you want him to be unhappy for another year ?)

Vassa is literally cursed. Isn’t it more urgent to break the curse than to know if Gwyn is a starborn or I don’t know what ?

LOA is with a horrible man, isn’t it more urgent than Gwyn’s love story ?

How delusional you have to be to think that Gwyn’s story is more urgent than all the characters I just quoted ??

Especially when there is no plot for Gwynriel. I’am still trying to understand what Gwyn will be doing in the Illyrian’s plot. It fits Emerie more. But people love to forget Emerie’s existence too, while compared to Gwyn, she appeared in ACOFAS. So, she has more legitimacy to have a book. Because ACOFAS «  sets up for the upcoming spinoff novels »

The downfall for some people will be very hard.

We’re not only have the books on our side but we also have SJM’s interviews who prove that a Gwynriel book is not possible. It’s crazy to have that much of confidence when there is no reason for Gwyn to have a book before the last Archeron’s sister.

I also note how Gwynriels and Eluciens never talk about all these recent interviews from Sarah and they also never talked about ACOFAS. We wonder why.