#Gwynriels Happy Endings

[gwynrielshappyendings]

Day Twenty-Four - Dream Come True by @sadiegirl2021

Kama Sutra Position(s): The Warrior Downed, The Tripod & The Spit Roast

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61582063

Summary:

Azriel’s first dream of Gwyn isn’t just vivid—it’s scorching, leaving him confused and questioning these new, strange feelings for his dear friend. But when Gwyn shares a confession of her own, he starts to wonder: can dreams actually come true?

[sadiegirl2021]

GWYNRIELS! ARE YOU READY!?

@gwynrielshappyendings will start dropping super sexy gifts down your chimney in 3 days!!

Make sure to follow so you don't miss a day. Weather forecast for the holidays is HOT! 🥵

[starsreminisce]

Everything that has been said about Elucien comes directly from the author herself, even if it's in the form of dusty screenshots. She has not referenced E/riel at all, and the closest thing she has said about E/riel on record is to reread the bonus chapter again for the crumbs she sprinkled all over, essentially suggesting that it might be helpful to read it in its entirety.

[nessiandefenseattorney]

Honestly even if Gwynriel wouldn’t happen next book (it will) one of the greatest moments of my life will be to watch instagram burns, tiktok in shambles and tumblr in ruins over the goddamn ship war

even if Elriel will be together (they won’t) you‘ll see me in my bed cradling silver flames with popcorn and Nessian as my all time favorites.

[rheareadsss]

Mistake 11

Hope you guys enjoy :)

Leave me your thought :)

•••••

“And it was a mistake” he admits

Nesta shook her head “you can’t do this to her, she has been through enough” she argues in a low voice “do you know how much pain she went through while watching you with my sister?” She adds

Nesta could see the fight in his eyes, he was fighting so many emotions, it didn’t pain him like it had pained Gwyn but he was possessive and Nesta knew things could turn ugly so fast.

“Go back in to the house with Elain” Nesta suggests

Azriel growls his response but decides to do as suggested, yeah he wanted nothing more than to rip her away from Balthazar but knew it wasn’t his spot to do so, he instead walks back in to the house.

•

Later that night

Nesta has asked Gwyn to stay back, she has spoken to Elain and things weren’t great with Azriel for them just as she has suspected.

Nesta knew she shouldn’t meddle but she also didn’t want to keep things from Gwyn.

“I need to tell you something important” she said once they were in the library.

“What is it?”

Nesta sighs “Azriel’s side of the bond snapped”

Gwyn stood still in shock “what?”

“His side snapped when you were at Day” Nesta whispers

“Is that why he’s acting strange?”

Nesta nods

“I- I-“

“I know it’s a lot to take in”

“He’s being a jealous freak lately” Gwyn whispers

“Maybe you guys should talk? Set up some ground rules” nesta suggests

“Yes! He has a vendetta against Balthazar lately” Gwyn says

Nesta rolled her eyes “he has asked Cassian to dismiss Balthazar from training”

“What- I need to speak to him, he can’t do that” Gwyn says now annoyed

“It’s the bond, it’s not making him think rationally” Nesta adds

Gwyn sighs and touches the shadow that is always with her.

“I gotta go and think this throughly before facing him tomorrow” she says looking down at her hands

Nesta hugs her and nods

•

Gwyn decided to skip the training the next day, she told Emerie she was staying in, Emerie knew that Gwyn need some time alone as she had seen her friend struggling.

Emerie sent word with Balthazar that she would stay at the house of wind a bit later than usual.

Gwyn curled up in blanket and her favorite reading chair when she heard the knock, she looked out the windows and saw how dark out it was.

Had Emerie forgotten her keys or did she had a late visitor?

She stood up, book on the little table, the blanket still wrapped around her and she went towards the door. She wasn’t ready for the view on the other side of the door.

Her eyes widen as she takes his state in “what happened?” She asks worried and concerned

“Can I came in?” He says looking defeated, worn out

She opened the door wider and quickly shut it after him “let’s get you cleaned up” she said leading him to her bedroom while letting him lean on her, her arm around his waist “are you okay?”

“It’s not my blood” he whispers admitting as he just lets her lead him in to her room

“Oh I know that” she said after walking towards her bathroom and sat him down on the edge of her bathtub “let me” she said after she grabbed a washcloth

Azriel nods, letting her soak that wash cloth and begin cleaning his face and neck

“You should really bathe” she whispers while wiping the blood off of him

“I- I can’t-“

Gwyn took a deep breath and starts undoing his leathers, Azriel didn’t object as she undressed him and placed all those hidden weapons on her bathroom counter. He only stood to let her work on him, he really wasn’t feeling like himself

When he was down to his pants, she motioned for him to go into the now half filled bathtub.

Azriel did what he was told and then when he was in the a bath his pants disappeared, she once again grabbed a washcloth and began washing him and rubbing the dirt and blood off of him. The water fast going shades of red then brown.

“What happened Az?”

“I was in hewn city” he admits

“I kinda figured-“

“I tortured someone more than I should have- I have always done my job and let it be that but today-“ he paused “today I took out my anger on someone- mind you he wasn’t the best and probably deserved it but I have never taken my anger out on someone”

“It made you feel-“

“Like a monster” he finished for her

Gwyn stayed still and then she began massaging those muscles in his shoulder and he let his head hung forward “you’re the only one I thought to came to, the only who would understand”

“We all have bad days, I think we all do things we regret because of the spur of the moment but you have to dig deep, what triggered those feelings?” She asks

“You’re not going to like this”

“Azriel..”

“I can’t control my feelings, seeing you with Balthazar, it doesn’t matter if he’s just your friend, it triggers things” he admits

He leaned his head back, resting it now on her shoulder, her hands now going to his chest, caressing him slowly “I think we shouldn’t be in the same circle” she whispers close to his ear

“You did it, you endured seeing me with Elain for months, I think I deserve this and more”

“This is different, you are married and I was in pain not trying to murder someone”

He turned to look in to her eyes, he can see slight pain in them. Yes the bond is severed on her part but her feelings for him were real, he can now see how his were very real as well.

He might have been in denial at the beginning, wanting to stubbornly stick to the relationship with Elain out of entitlement but he can see it in her eyes, those teal eyes that he has love and cherished since she came in to his life.

He cupped her face, she just stayed frozen and blinked when he got closer, slowly he brought his lips closer to hers.

Gwyn felt something flutter in her chest as their lips met, their kiss was soft and tender, no more than their lips meeting for the first time. It wasn’t lust that drove him to kiss her, it was the love he felt for her and she felt it, felt the love, the pain, the sorrow, regret.

“You are married” she whispered as soon as their lips parted, a tear now rolling down her cheek

Azriel wiped her tear and kissed her cheeks “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hurt you”

Gwyn gave him a small smile “let’s get you cleaned up and ready to go home alright?” she said pulling away and giving him the washcloth to finish “I’ll get these cleaned up fast” she said picking up his leathers by the door.

Azriel was defeated, he knew he messed up with his rushed decision.

•

Gwyn held her chest, a thread now shining brightly and stronger than she has felt it before but she knows she can’t acknowledge it, she has to block it out.

She shut her side of the bond, she sat in her bed until she heard that he was out of the tub. She walked over to her bathroom and placed the magically cleaned leathers by the door, she knocked “leathers are cleaned, so are your boots” she said walking back to her bed.

She waited for him to get out, once he did he went and sat on the bed next to her.

He leaned his head on her shoulder, her hand went to touch his.

“I’ll talk with Rhys and Elain” he began once their hands were intertwined

Gwyn met his gaze “what- don’t”

He looked confused “why?”

“We had a chance Az, I told you before you got married and you went and did it” she said now standing up, beginning to her mad at him for their situation

“I-“

“Elain doesn’t deserve this! You chose her and she chose you” she said turning to look at him

“Gwyn-“

She shakes her head “You need to stay away from me Azriel” she says more sternly

“Gwyn” he stood up reaching for her

“Please leave” she said taking a step back

“You can’t mean that” Azriel says reaching for her again

Gwyn met his eyes “this could have been avoided, I told you, we can’t just disregard Elain right now because it’s convenient for you and I, I’m not going to be the reason she gets hurt” she says

“Gwyn please” he begs still trying to get close to her

“Please Azriel” she pleads wanting for him to leave before he can notice

“I will make this right” he promises before walking towards the door

Gwyn only nods

Azriel walked out of her room and she waited for him to leave her apartment entirely before she went over to Balthazar’s apartment, asking him to take her to the house of wind.

[antipinkkitten]

Day 10 Prompt: Theories

Chapter 41: Deals with devils

Summary: Azriel finds out about the deal, Rhys makes a plan, the wards are cleaved again as Elain finds out what to do. Plus, an ultra sweet Gwyn and Azriel scene.

A Court of Blooms and Blades (123331 words) by antipinkkitten Chapters: 42/50 Fandom: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, Crescent City Series - Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Elain Archeron/Lucien Vanserra, Elain Archeron/Azriel, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand, Nesta Archeron/Cassian, Azriel/Gwyneth Berdara Characters: Elain Archeron, Lucien Vanserra, Azriel (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Feyre Archeron, Gwyneth Berdara Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Rejection, Eventual Smut, POV Multiple, Mating Bond, Heartbreak, Break Up, Healing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Therapy

[alphapiscis2001]

In the next life time.

Azriel × reader( let's say her name is Gwyn )

I'm a big Gwynrial fan and was in a mood of angst today. It's my first public writing.......I'm nervous

Part 1

(gwyn pov)

Battle around us raged on, but I was barely aware of it. The clang of weapons, the shouts of soldiers, the chaos—it all blurred into nothing. I couldn't focus on anything other than the aching emptiness in my chest.

I had known the bond had snapped for years. The moment I realized it, I understood the truth: I was his mate, but he wasn’t mine. Not in the way I had hoped. He was in love with someone else. Elain. She was everything I wasn’t—pure, innocent, beautiful. The perfect match for him. I could see it every day in the way he looked at her, the tenderness in his touch when they were together, and the joy that seemed to radiate from his soul when she was near. He was finally happy. He had finally found someone who could make him whole.

And it hurt. It hurt in ways that words could never explain. To watch him love her, to be completely invisible in his presence—it was a kind of torture that I couldn't escape. And yet, I never told him. Not once. Because I wanted him to be happy. I couldn’t be the one to ruin that. He deserved her, not the broken, scarred version of me.

He had chosen Elain out of love. And I—what could I offer him? I was nothing like her. I had scars, inside and out. And besides, he had always ignored me. The bond might have snapped for me years ago, but I had learned to bear it in silence. He never noticed, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. The bond wasn’t a burden—it was the only thing keeping me alive, even though I knew it would never be reciprocated.

But today, everything had changed.

The battle had been brutal, relentless. Every swing of my sword felt like it took a piece of my soul with it. But I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. Not with the lives of our people on the line. The clang of steel and the cries of dying warriors blurred around me, my focus narrowed only to the fight. I gazed behind me and only than i noticed that i was edging toward the cliff's end, a canyon beyond that. I swing the blades with more urgency, the stakes are high. I looked around and...

I saw him—Azriel—rushing toward Elain, his shadows twisting and striking down the enemy in his wake. His movements were so fluid, so deadly. For a split second, my gaze lingered on him. I couldn’t help it. His power was intoxicating, and it made my heart ache in ways I wasn’t ready to confront.

And then the world tilted.

I didn’t see the blow coming. One second, I was blocking the warrior’s strike, and the next, I felt the cold steel sink into my side. Poison. I could feel it spreading, numbness slowly creeping through my body as the warrior grinned, pulling the blade back. My breath caught, my vision blurring at the edges. That bastard !!...

I swing my sword with everything i've left with and it striked right. The head is gone . Much better!!...

As the chaos continued around me, I felt the pull of the bond stir. I thought I had forgotten what it felt like, but the familiar tug in my chest was undeniable. I turned, and there he was—Azriel. His eyes locked with mine, and I saw it. His expression shifted, a flicker of confusion, pain, and then... something else. Something I couldn’t name.

I locked eyes with him, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

It was too much. Too much to process in a split second. And then, in an instant, the world was upside down.

I was falling down the cliff.

The world blurred, my vision turning dark as I plummeted toward the ground below. So that's how it's going to end...tragic, painful...incomplete. I should've told him.......Az...

But then,

I felt him. I felt him dive after me. I couldn’t see him, but I felt the force of his presence, the shadows that whipped around us. In the last moments of consciousness, I felt him catch me, his wings enveloping me, his body pressing against mine.

The impact was brutal. He shielded me from the worst of it, but still—pain coursed through me. He was holding me as though I was fragile, as though I was the most precious thing in the world.

And all I wanted to do was tell him—tell him that I was his mate, that I had always been there, but I never let him see me. Because Elain had always been his first choice, and I was too afraid to ruin that.

His voice was frantic, desperate. “Mate.” He whispered it, but there was no triumph in his tone, only confusion and anguish.

I didn’t have the strength to say it. I couldn’t. I couldn’t speak the truth to him now. Not when he was finally holding me, finally realizing that I was the one who had always been there.

I had always been broken, scarred beyond repair. Azriel deserved better. He deserved her.

“I love you,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, knowing it would break him in ways I couldn't undo. “But you don’t love me.”

He froze, his breath catching in his throat as he looked down at me, his face contorted in horror. But I saw it—the realization. The bond had snapped for me. It had always been there, even when I tried to ignore it.

And now... it was his turn.

His voice cracked as he tried to speak. “Gwyn... I... I never wanted this. I never wanted to hurt you.” His hands cupped my face, trembling with the weight of his regret. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see it. I didn’t see you.”

I closed my eyes, the darkness overtaking me. I had always known this would be my fate. I had always known I would love him from the shadows, silently watching him find happiness with someone else. But in these last moments, I finally felt seen.

I gasped for breath, the world slipping away. My vision blurred, and all I could focus on was him. Azriel’s face above me, his eyes wide with terror.

“Can you feel it?” I whispered between painful breaths, each word like a dagger through my chest. “Can you feel the bond breaking?”

Azriel froze. His body shook with raw emotion as he looked at me, the shadows in his eyes flickering with the agony he couldn’t hide. “I... I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, his voice trembling as he gently brushed the hair from my face, his fingers lingering on my skin as if I was the only thing keeping him tethered to the world.

I forced a weak smile, despite the agony tearing through me. “You can feel it. I know you can.” My voice cracked with each breath.

“No... nothing is going to happen to you, you'll be fine...yes you'll fine,” Azriel said, but there was a tremor in his voice, the desperation impossible to miss, as he was reassuring himself.

I could see the fear in his eyes, and even though the darkness was closing in and I've no energy left to say anything . I couldn’t help but smile faintly. “Next lifetime,” I whispered.

Azriel’s breath hitched, and he began sobbing uncontrollably. “No, no, no... not like this. Not like this...” His voice broke as he held me tighter, as if trying to stop the inevitable. “I’m so sorry, love.”

I managed to whisper through the pain, “It’s okay.” I wasn’t angry, I wasn’t sad anymore. I was at peace with everything. “I’ll wait for you."

Azriel shook his head violently, his hands trembling as he cradled my face in his palms, trying to find some sign of life in me. “I love you... i love you” he sobbed, his voice breaking with guilt. “I was too scared to say it. I should have said it sooner.”

But I couldn’t reply. My breaths were shallow now, my body growing colder with every passing second. The shadows around Azriel seemed to mourn with him, writhing in the air as if they, too, felt the loss.

“Rhys... someone... please...” Azriel whispered desperately, but no matter how hard he tried, no healer would be able to save me now.

I closed my eyes and whispered one last time, “It’s okay... in the next lifetime. We’ll be together forever...”

Azriel let out a sob, his grip tightening on me. “I promise, Gwyn,” he whispered fiercely, as if swearing to the heavens themselves. “I’ll find you. I’ll make it right. I swear.”

But I knew the truth. I knew it was too late.

I smiled at him one final time, though it was broken. The tears in my eyes blurred everything around me, and I whispered just before the darkness consumed me, “Liar,” with a fond smile that he would never see again.

Azriel screamed, his roar shattering the stillness of the world. The shadows that had always followed him erupted into violent beasts, thrashing with grief. The sky darkened, clouds gathering above as thunder rumbled in response to his agony.

He cradled her lifeless body against him, his wings wrapping around her as he disappeared into the shadows, his form vanishing into the darkness that had consumed him.

wait for part 2 ...

[baylishh]

Honestly, Gwynriel is an A1 pairing, because a quiet, intimidating Spy who’s always searching for knowledge and a curious, mischievous Librarian who provides knowledge makes ABSOLUTE sense

[sunshinebingo]

idk if your request is still open but i’ll try my luck 😭

could you please do a gwynriel angst where they have to attend a friend’s wedding party and their friends didn’t know they have broken up and they were forced into a seven minutes in heaven game but instead of what their friends have expected, the seven minutes turned out to be tears and heartbreak

i’m feeling kinda sad rn and this idea suddenly popped into my head. If you couldn’t do it, totally fine

Hi anon!! My request is always open so please feel free to send me any suggestion you might have.

Thank you so so much for having sent this one. It made me cry a bit ngl 😂 I hope you like it 🤭

Gwynriel - 1.8k - No warning - Angst only

Read on Ao3 or below the cut

*****

Love is a losing game

Some said better to love and lose than to have never known love. Right now, Gwyn wished she had never known love at all. As she watched the two newlyweds dressed in lace and silks whiter than the roses that filled the small garden, their eyes sparkling with happiness and love, their laughs rising above that of the small party who had gathered to celebrate this new step in their life, Gwyn saw what she would never have. And she wished, more than anything, that she had never known what being in love felt like.

Her own bridesmaid outfit was a mockery of it. The ivory dress that Emerie had wanted her chosen sisters to wear when walking her down the aisle had seemed to laugh at Gwyn with every step she had made, blue bouquet in hand, towards the alter. It was all a cruel, sick joke and she hated it. Hated herself for having so stupidly walked into it.

“Hey,” Nesta’s gentle voice broke through her thoughts.

Gwyn turned to look at sister, blinking away the tears of anger that had started to fill her eyes. Nesta narrowed her eyes inquisitively. “Are you okay?”

No.

“I am,” she offered Nesta one the fakest smile she had ever forced onto her face. Gwyn shrugged at her sister’s silent insistence. “I’m just so happy for them.”

Nesta laughed and picked up her crystal glass. “You’ve always been the most romantic of the three of us,” she said, referring to Gwyn, Emerie and herself. Emerie and Nesta. The only true loves of her life besides her twin and her mother.

“And the funniest,” Gwyn added with none of the joy that usually accompanied her sass.

“And the sweetest and the smartest,” Emerie chimed in across from them, fingers entwined in her new wife’s.

Nesta hummed her approval. Gwyn wondered how long it would take for them to notice the walls she had built around herself to hide her misery. She hoped that the cracks forming in this wall as she watched everyone’s happy faces would not make the whole thing crumble before she could get far away from them.

An eruption of voices caused another crack to form. It got worse when Cassian’s boisterous voice called her name on the other side of Nesta, along with another.

“Gwyn and Azriel. It’s time to find out the truth.”

Gwyn tensed and blurted a, “What?”

She felt a wave of panic rising. Gwyn internally added more bricks to her wall. She slammed her hands against the cracks even as more tears threatened to bring it all down. She couldn’t be weak. Not now. Not in front of him. Not ever.

Not now. Please. Please.

“We need to find out if you two can spend seven minutes in heaven and keep things clean,” Rhysand explained across from Cassian, no doubt mistaking her dread for confusion. His words settled in Gwyn before she could sigh at the fact that no one had yet learned the real truth.

Only then, hours after having stepped foot here, did she look at him for more than a second. His hazel eyes were already on her. Gwyn refused to read any emotion in them. She could not bear anymore lies from him.

“Come on Gwynnie,” Cassian went on. “We already placed the bets. And I know I will win because Az hasn’t stopped looking at you.”

Feyre giggled next to Rhys. ��That’s nothing new Cass.”

“I know but it’s different today. His stare has been...,” Cassian placed a finger on his chin as though he was looking for the perfect word. “...harder,” he finally added with a wink that earned him a laugh from everyone around the table.

“It’s probably the white dress,” Mor wiggled her perfect eyebrows at Gwyn.

A flush crept up Gwyn’s cheeks. Not because of the insinuation from the beautiful blond, but because there had been a time where she would have believed everything that they were saying. What a fool she had been. What a stupid, romantic, naive fool.

“Oh that pretty blush is promising,” Nesta teased next to her. “Come on.”

Before she could give any response, Nesta was out of her chair and pulling Gwyn up by the arm. Next to her, Cassian had already pulled a semi-reluctant Azriel out of his seat and was dragging him across the garden towards the small shed.

All words evaded Gwyn. All she could focus on was trying to keep herself together. She could do this. Seven minutes. She would be strong. For seven minutes.

“And no less,” Cassian exclaimed after pushing both her and Azriel in the shed. Gwyn stared at the closed door after the loud click of the lock sounded from outside.

The silence in the small dark place was louder than the faint voices on the other side. It stretched on for what felt like ten times more than seven minutes. Everything was so still around her that despite having her back to him, Gwyn felt Azriel lift his hand and reach towards her.

“Gwy-,”

“Don’t,” she took a step to the side before he could touch her shoulder.

“Gwyn plea-,”

“Don’t,” she said more firmly. Though her next words came out in a whisper. “Please, don’t.”

She turned around and faced him. She begged her heart to keep quiet and pleaded with reason to not abandon her. This situation seemed like a mirror of the last time that they had been in the same room. Suddenly, the last month faded into nothing. Gwyn felt like she was still in his living room, staring into his eyes and wondering why on earth she had ever trusted him. It was pity for herself that she had felt before she had stormed out of his apartment that night.

“Gwyn. Please,” he took a step forward and she took one back. “Let me explain.”

“What I saw was explanation enough,” she snapped.

“It’s not what you think.” His voice was laced with impatience. If she believed in his lies, she would have also discerned hurt in it. But it was probably a bit of wishful thinking from her part.

Gwyn let out a sardonic laugh. “And what would you have thought, Azriel,” she spat his name like it had become the hardest thing for her to say, “if you had seen me doing what you were doing with her.”

He ran a hand through his hair, pulling on the dark strands in frustration like he usually did.

“It was a mistake. A huge, fucking mistake. And I regret every fucking second of it.”

“A mistake...,” Gwyn tasted the word on her tongue. It was the same word he had used that day. That same word that she had turned around and around in her head for the past month while she had thought back on the years that they had spent together.

“This should have never happened, you have to believe me.”

“But it did.”

“It was a fucking mistake.” That godforsaken word again. As if saying it enough times would remove his involvement in the act he had committed. “I swear love, I never wanted to hurt you. She - ”

“She what?” her voice rose above his and made him freeze. “Did she force you to do anything?”

Azriel didn’t react. His silence was answer enough. And when he kept staring at her with those deep hazel eyes that she adored so much, with that same intensity that had made her lose her godsdamned mind so many times since she had first looked into them, her wall crumbled. Her strength to keep it up left her, running away to the darkest corner of the shed along with her resolve to keep her mouth shut.

“I thought that you would be the one to finally make me believe that I deserve this kind of love. But y-you...,” she wasn’t sure what to say except that she had to let out what had been plaguing her mind for a whole month.

“I trusted you. I...”

He took another step towards her but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. She ignored what touching him was doing to her. Ignored that she wasn’t the only one that had touched him and kept talking despite her voice coming out as sobs

“I never forced you to stay with me. You always had a choice. And you chose to hurt me.”

“I didn’t want –,”

“BUT YOU DID,” she shouted.

She didn’t notice the sudden quiet of the voices outside nor did she care. Azriel fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. “Please, my love. This will never happen again.”

Looking at him like this made something twist inside Gwyn. Her whole body was trembling with anger and pain. An endless flow of tears started streaming down her face. How dare he make such empty promises after having ripped her heart out like he did.

“I know you still love me, Gwyn.”

She huffed. “Of course I love you.” There was no point in denying it. “I hate myself for loving you so much.”

Azriel grabbed one of her hands and brought it to his lips. “Please let me fix this. I love you more than anything.”

Another sentence that she had heard back then. As if trust could be fixed by simply snapping one’s fingers. As if those images that had haunted her for an entire month would disappear by simply piling new ones on top.

“If this is your idea of love, then it’s wrong,” she said, slowly removing her hand from his. She closed her eyes as she did so, knowing well that this would be last time she would ever let him touch her. Perhaps the last time she would ever let any man touch her. It seemed impossible in this moment that she would ever trust a man again with her heart. Not when it would always remain with the one kneeling at her feet. The sight was another mockery of the future she had dreamed for them. Another sick and cruel joke of life.

A knock sounded at the door followed by Cassian’s deep voice. “You still decent in there? Time’s over.”

Time wasn’t the only thing that was over. Gwyn was almost at the door when Azriel abruptly stood up and grabbed her wrist. Without even thinking, she turned around and slapped him so hard that the incessant knocking on the door stopped.

Azriel released her wrist and brought his hand to his cheek. His hazel eyes found hers again. His eyes were red and filled with tears, his expression full of something that she refused to acknowledge.

Since she had nothing left to say and so much more tears left to shed, Gwyn turned around and walked out, to somewhere she could mourn the loss of her heart.

[glossamerfaerie]

I feel like a lot of people focus on Nesta’s reaction to Gwynriel’s relationship once they go public. Maybe Nesta threatens Az to keep her girl safe. Maybe she tears up with joy for her BFFs. Maybe she’s speechless because she didn’t see it coming. And so on. But no one ever talks about how Cassian will react other than the obligatory joy and merciless teasing. “Surely he’s going to take revenge for Az’s disruptive chaperoning!”

Except… I don’t think that’s quite right for Cassian. He’s watched his brother pine after their mutual friend for 500 years. He feels incredibly guilty for sleeping with Mor just because he was jealous of Az’s crush. He’s been acting as a buffer in a fucked up situation that only ended recently. He knows how desperately lonely Az is. How much Az wants to find love. How fragile Az’s heart is despite his broody spymaster exterior.

I like to imagine that Cassian finds Gwyn in the Library, asking for a private word. He’s happy for them, of course, but he asks Gwyn for a favor. Cassian explains that he will support whatever Gwyn wants in this relationship, whether it’s being with Az or breaking up if she’s unhappy. All he asks is that Gwyn be gentle with Az’s heart and devotion, especially when it comes to ending things. Just… be careful not to shatter his heart.

Everyone assumes that Az can withstand any pain or blow. But Cassian knows better. Everyone else is worried for Gwyn in this relationship, but only Cassian is worried for Azriel. 💔🥺

[gwynrielshappyendings]

Day Twenty-Three - I Know What You Need by @hlizr50

Kama Sutra Position(s): The Forced Gaze

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61572376

Summary: Gwyn has always been an incredibly capable female — strong, intelligent, determined. But sometimes even the strongest people need space to be vulnerable and unburdened.

Azriel knows just what she needs

[sadiegirl2021]

This is now a Christmas blog!!

Secret Santa and sexy Gwynriel fics are getting all my attention!! 🎅

[lady-embers]

Surprise!!!

Happy Wednesday! I've got a Gwynriel comic for you all to enjoy this fall season that was done by none other than the amazing, talented @kloartz!!

On this beautiful day, Gwyneth is outside enjoying the autumn weather. Little does she know Azriel is coming up the path behind her.

She looks behind her as she hears the crunching leaves beneath his shoes and then.....➡️ to the second slide.

They end up enjoying the autumn weather together as Azriel pushes her on the swing and his shadows dance around him. Both are filled with joy and happiness. 💕

[sunshinebingo]

THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!

Who would have thought that the queen of angst herself would one day want to give a happy ending to MY angst. Are we in the upside down 😂

I didn't predict my first contribution to Gwynriel Weeks 2024 being an all-consuming sequel to a friend's fic, but here we are @gwynrielweeksofficial

It's just convenient that it fits well enough with Day 9: Music

This is a sequel to Humming of the Heart, posted by @sunshinebingo for Day 6: Mates. It was such delicious, heartbreaking groundwork that I felt the overwhelming need to give it a happy ending.

So, without further ado, may I present:

A Symphony of Two

Read on AO3

Two years.

Two years since that hum had begun, low and steady. If his heart was a metronome, the beat that guided the rhythm of his life, then the quiet thrum of the mating bond was the long, sweeping notes of the cello, just waiting for the orchestra to enter. To match their melody to his sorrowful, lonely harmony.

Two years since his mate had run from him, the salt of her tears bitter on his tongue. Or perhaps those were his own.

From all the stories he’d been told – the legends – Azriel had expected the loss to drive him nearly mad. True, the year that passed between that fateful day and his first day of training had been long and bitter and dark, but he’d been perfectly able to appreciate the bright moments, too. The addition of Feyre into their circle, into the family. The victory over Hybern and the Cauldron. There were so many things to be grateful for. So many times he had grinned.

And yet, that humming in his heart remained.

He’d realized, after a solid month of wallowing, that Gwyneth Berdara hadn’t rejected the mating bond. At least not officially, apparently, by whatever great magic decided those things. Did that mean he stood a chance? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But at least he hadn’t been made feral.

Well, perhaps he was feral.

Not because his mate had denied him the bond that he’d craved for centuries – the proof that he was a male worthy of love and happiness. No, the potential loss of his Cauldron-chosen partner warranted little of his attention anymore.

No, it was that he’d spent the last year watching Gwyneth Berdara bloom before his very eyes, a beautiful, delicate lily that had finally been showered in sunlight. Gone was the timid priestess who had given him an uncertain smile the first day he’d assisted with training. Now, in the pastels that were lighting the dawn sky, stood a warrior with a quick wit, a mischievous glint her eye, a powerful body, and a confidence that could outshine the sun.

Every day he’d watched, keeping a polite distance whilst his heart and mind and soul warred, that hum a constant undercurrent to every moment of tension, every glance, every smile, every proud observation. Azriel couldn’t deny that there was something that tugged at him ceaselessly, pulling him toward the Valkyrie who was the first to cut the ribbon.

But it wasn’t the mating bond. It was just… her.

To his surprise and his utter delight, their estrangement hadn’t lasted long. Azriel had been charmed by her irreverence from the moment she’d had the courage to show it, and he’d been practically enamored ever since. They’d become friends over daggers and punches during sleepless nights. Gwyn had gifted him smiles more luminous than the moon could ever hope to be, and she’d pulled so much laughter from him that he almost feared for his infamous Spymaster reputation.

The shadowsinger had never told her about those long, sleepless nights, poring over reports and maps, when he’d felt the pluck of that constantly thrumming chord. Sharp and sudden, the fleeting, phantom terror and desperation almost real enough to grip between his scarred fingers. He wondered if Gwyn felt his nightmares as keenly as he felt hers, and cursed himself that they might add to her sleepless nights. If she did, she never shared. But they would both inevitably find their way back to each other in the training ring, where they would battle their demons together.

“I’m sure that, as Spymaster, you’ve developed quite a talent for lurking, Shadowsinger. But it is quite impolite.”

Gwyn hadn’t turned to face him the entire time he’d been perched at the edge of the doorway. But, of course, that never seemed to matter. Was it the bond that made her so aware of him? Or was it more than that? With a chuckle he stepped into the morning light, flaring his wings to feel the warmth of the sun’s first rays as he joined her at the edge of the ring, her feet dangling precariously over the edge.

“You shouldn’t sit like that. You could fall to your death,” he mused, sitting down next to her. Close enough that he could feel the warmth of her body, but far enough to be proper.

Close enough for her to bump her shoulder against his playfully. “But I have a big strong male with wings sitting right next to me. Surely he would be chivalrous enough to take flight and save me.”

Azriel couldn’t help but huff a small laugh, even as he rolled his eyes. “Chivalrous winged males cannot save you when you’re sitting on a ledge alone, Berdara,” he scolded, earning nothing more than an apathetic hum in reply. So stubborn, she was. Nearly reckless in her contentment. His shadows danced lazily around them both as he gazed upon her, drinking her in like a male dying of thirst.

The priestess had tilted her chin, angling her face to be warmed completely by the sun as it continued to rise over the horizon. Her skin had taken on more color as training had progressed, staining her cheeks a near-permanent pink, and her freckles had multiplied, splattering over her cheeks to outnumber the stars in the night sky. Azriel often found himself wanting to count them, connect them, commit them to memory.

Clarity struck him like the tip of a spear, aimed at his heart. While the bond had thrummed incessantly behind his ribs, what he felt for the redhead beside him went far beyond mystical magic and power matches. The deep pit of despair and icy rage that had sharpened him when she’d been stolen and dropped into the Blood Rite – those were not the bond’s doing, but his own thawing heart. The smiles and the laughter and the heated debates over the best way to take one’s tea – those intimacies were not forged by a mystical cauldron or a deity in the heavens.

It was her. It was him. It was them.

The Cauldron didn’t always choose mates that were compatible beyond the power games of the fae. His brothers had just been extremely lucky.

Perhaps Azriel was just lucky, too. But only if Gwyn felt the same.

The silence stretched, with the Valkyrie smiling gently into the sun as his shadows drifted and his lungs filled and the hum lifted, singing to him with a siren’s song. Beckoning. Encouraging.

“Do you still feel it?”

He didn’t know if it was a question so much as a plea. Please, still feel it, his heart beckoned. Please want to.

Gwyn’s eyes were wide and gleaming like the Sidra at midday as she jerked her chin toward him, rosy lips parted in surprise. Her expression softened after only a moment, a sad smile lifting the corners of her lips.

“Every day.”

Azriel swallowed, an effort to dislodge the lump in his throat. He’d wondered about this for a few weeks, now. Wondered whether he should tell her. Whether he should try to reach out to her, try to acknowledge this link between them.

Mother knew where the courage came from, but he summoned it with a deep inhale and placed his scarred hand over hers on the stone.

“I feel it, too.”

He hated the way that her eyes shuddered, growing dark with uncertainty. “Az—”

“You told me two years ago…” his voice drifted off, realization dawning on him.

Fuck… this was really it. He was doing this.

“You wished for me to find someone that could see all of me,” Azriel continued, thumb absently drifting over her knuckles. “Do you?”

“I do,” Gwyn whispered. He smiled, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. “I can’t believe you remember that.”

“Of course I do, Gwyn. I could never forget that day,” he admitted, then continued before she could respond, “You also told me that you wished for me to find someone who could match my beauty and strength and courage. Someone truly deserving of me.”

“Azriel—”

He lifted his hands before her eyes, a silent question, and her breath hitched even as she nodded, silver tears flowing over her lashes. Azriel cupped her cheeks in his palms, brushing away those tiny droplets as he stared deep into her stormy blue eyes.

“Gwyneth Berdara. You are the strongest, bravest person I think I’ve ever known. You could have stayed in the Library forever, shielded from the outside world, and nobody could have ever judged you for it. And yet… you didn’t. I have watched you build your confidence and hone your body. I’ve been blessed to get to know you and laugh with you, to call you my friend. I’ve had a spectacular vantage point to watch as you have blossomed into the fierce, incredible female that you are.” The words were a declaration. A vow. A plea. Everything. Azriel laid himself bare before her, praying that she understood how wrong she was those years ago. “If anything, it’s me that doesn’t deserve you.”

His favorite Valkyrie sniffled, doing her best to shake her head as he held it. That was the only sound, and his heart threatened to beat out of his chest if she didn’t answer, and soon.

Gwyn’s palms were warm over his fingers – holding him, holding her. “You deserve the world, Azriel. I just,” she hesitated, taking a shaky breath, “I just don’t know if I can give it to you.”

It was Azriel’s turn to shake his head, his unruly hair falling in front of his eyes until he shook it away again.

“I don’t need the world, Berdara. I just want you,” he murmured, watching her expressive face for every twitch and hit of reaction. She was never able to hide her feelings from him, not with the way her eyes would widen and her lips would hitch for a moment. A tiny smile lifted one corner of her mouth, but her gaze was still unsure. So he plunged onward, “You said back then that you were broken. I think you know, by now, that I am, too. Maybe our broken pieces will fit together. Maybe that’s how it was always supposed to be.”

He pulled away for only a moment before reaching for her again, grasping at her fingertips and gripping one of her hands between his.

“There’s no pressure. No expectation. I care for you deeply, Gwyn. Not because some magical relic proclaimed it, but because I have been blessed to know you. I only humbly pray that you might want to give this a chance. Because the only person who fits all those criteria you so thoughtfully laid out – what feels like a lifetime ago – is you.”

Azriel had always known that Gwyn’s smile was a wonder, incandescent and genuine and joyful. But seeing it now, as he begged her to step fully into whatever this thing between them could be, felt like flying.

“You want me, Shadowsinger?” she breathed on a wet little disbelieving huff. He grinned back at her.

“I do, Berdara,” he confirmed. And then she laughed with all of her voice, a melody of bells and harps and strings finally joining that cello humming in his heart, and threw herself into his chest, her arms circling his neck.

“I want you, too,” she whispered as he wrapped her in his embrace.

And his shadows sang along, the symphony complete.

[rheareadsss]

Mistake 6

It is now up to date with the ao3 now, weekly updates starting with the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy and please leave me your thoughts!

•••••

“What’s going on?” Nesta asks Elain, it was the next day and Nesta had gone to the river house while Cassian and Azriel went to windhaven.

Elain turns to her no longer paying attention to the rose in front of her “I love Azriel and married life has been great but I feel like something is missing” Elain admits while trying to understand herself

“What do you mean?” Nesta asks as they were alone in the gardens

“Azriel has certain- preferences, fetishes that I cannot fulfill” Elain whispers and turns away from her

Nestas gasps

“I know that his job is a bit complex- complicated” Elain started

“Complicated? It’s a part of him Elain”

“I- just- I”

“Are you afraid of him?” Nesta turns Elain towards her again, her hands on her shoulders

“No I know what he does, I knew that before I made my choice and married him but-” Elain can’t find the words

“You expected him to leave that behind?” Nests asks confused as she can see the doubt in her sister

“I know he’s the shadow singer, the spymaster, I just knew one part of him, the sweet loving part of him” she admits “I- nobody prepared me to expect a bloodied male in our bedroom, a male who loves control in all sense of the word” she adds in a whisper

Nesta couldn’t believe what she was hearing “this is going deeper than his preferences”

“I try to oblige but I can’t- it’s weird to me”

Nesta shakes her head “have you talked to Feyre about this?”

“No of course not, I- just you” she admits and turns away from Nesta again, walking slowly and inspecting flowers

“I don’t know what to say, try to compromise a little” Nesta suggests as she follows her

“I am but I know he expects more, stuff I can’t give him” she whispers

“Shit”

“I know it’s bad” she finally stops and looks at her sister again

“Let’s not panic, this is your husband, he would understand if you can’t” Nesta says unsure “fulfill certain stuff?”

“I’m afraid he will look for that in another place” Elain admits

Nesta thinks about Gwyn “he wouldn’t” she says “talk to him”

“I will”

•

Emerie moved in with Gwyn, they were fixing things over at their place

“I’m gonna miss the house, she always obliged me” Emerie says

“Yeah the apartment doesn’t get you hot cocoa or cake in the middle of the night” Gwyn laughs

“I bet Nesta will love the privacy”

Gwyn nods then jokes “yeah that kitchen won’t be so sanitary next time we’re there”

“You can bet on that” Emerie says

“I’m sure training will be cancelled tomorrow”

Both girls laughed but it was true, the next day the training was cancelled which they took full advantage of and decorated the apartment. When sundown started they decided to go out to eat instead of staying in, they walked by the sidra before heading back to their apartment.

The following day they were transported by Balthazar, whom Emerie promised to take him food as she was cooking that afternoon.

They girls quickly jumped in to training, Gwyn was sparring with Balthazar when Azriel arrived to training.

He watched as Gwyn and Balthazar danced around in the mat, Balthazar would attack but Gwyn would always block him. Always using the techniques he showed her, she was fast with the daggers.

Gwyn went for a killing blow but Balthazar blocked her and fast she was with her back to his chest and a sword to her neck.

Azriel was tensed, fists clenching and unclenching while watching them. When Gwyn started laughing with Balthazar he couldn’t stand it, he instead walked to the other side of the training area.

He was serious during the rest of the training and harder on Gwyn than anybody else.

“Again Berdara” he shouted

Gwyn threw a dagger towards the target and ducked fast just like how he teached her in a smooth maneuver.

“Again” he shouted

Sweat clung to Gwyn but she did it again

“Again”

Gwyn was annoyed by that point and went straight to him “are you annoyed with me?” She asks “you and I both know I did it perfectly”

“You can always improve” he says harshly

Gwyn can see the stormy rage in his eyes, he was mad at her for whatever reason.

“I’m done” she says leaving towards the house, leaving him to his tantrum.

“Berdara!” He shouted

“Bye Shadowsinger” she waves not turning back to him

“Berdara!” He took a step to follow her but stopped when he noticed he had everyone’s attention.

Nesta and Cassian just watched and didn’t say anything, Azriel left after that without a word.

•

That night Gwyn felt the pain double, her chest was a roaring fire of pain.

She felt hollowed, like she was empty and she was struggling to sleep, she cried while clinging to her pillow.

She heard a knock on her door but couldn’t talk, she couldn’t get words out. The pain was unbearable and the knocks grew desperate.

“Gwyn open!” She heard Emerie in the distance

She couldn’t do anything, it was like she was watching herself from afar and didn’t have control of herself.

The knocks grew desperate and she could hear loud cries, then it turned to screaming.

She heard a loud bang then she felt like she was being lifted.

“Take her to Rhys” she heard in the distance

•

Gwyn woke up with a bad head ache and chest pain, she opened her eyes and noticed she wasn’t in her apartment.

She took in her surroundings and she was in a beige room, a window was opened and she could see a river.

“You’re finally awake”

“What happened?”

“I think you are feeling the bond more now, you went into a pain trance” Rhys explained

Gwyn closed her eyes “they were getting bad but I never thought they would double” she admits

“Emerie was scared, she called Balthazar whom he brought you over to Madjas then I had your transfer here” he admits “so we could take care of you”

“Poor Emerie, she must have been scared”

“She was, she’s doing better now but still worries since you didn’t wake the next day or the day after” Rhys adds

Gwyn’s eyes widen “how long have I been out?”

“3 days today” he admits

Rhys could see the fear brewing in her eyes “don’t be scared, this happens when a bond isn’t being reciprocated, usually when it’s being rejected, I think it might have to do with you being around him and his partner”

“I- I can’t be like this anymore” Gwyn whispers

Rhys hands her a vial “madja made this, it’s supposed to help with suppressing the bond in a way”

Gwyn takes it immediately “we both know this isn’t a permanent solution”

“What are you thinking?”

“If this persists I want you to help me break it” Gwyn whispers

Rhys shook his head “I can’t help you there”

“Rhys, you have to” she sounded defeated

“I don’t know how to” he admits “and it’s impossible to break a mating bond”

“Maybe putting distance like Lucien may work?” She asks hopeful

“He’s doing better than you yes, maybe it’s because he’s in the mortal lands”

“I want to leave-“

“Gwyn” Rhys says now sitting next to her in the bed “ I don’t know how to but I will look into, I can’t help but maybe Helion can or knows a of better suppressant that the one Madja can give you”

Gwyn nods “thank you”

Rhys wrapped his arms around her “you don’t have to thank me Gwyn”

•

‘Our Valkyrie finally woke up’ his shadows informed him

Azriel had been in the river house when his shadows alerted him that she was being taken to Madjas.

Azriel left the house without telling anyone, he got there once she was barely getting there.

“What happened?” He questioned Emerie

“I don’t know, she keeps crying and screaming, I had to call Bal”

“Where is she?”

“Madja is tending to her now”

Azriel kept pacing back and forth in a very calm way that scared Emerie, then a few minutes later Rhys, Cassian, Feyre and Nesta got there.

Emerie explained to them what happened and now they were just waiting.

Madja went out to talk to them after 15 minutes “she went in to a trance, I was just able to stabilize her” she said towards Rhys

“Is she awake? Can we see her?” Nesta asks

“She won’t wake until tomorrow most likely but you may see her” Madja then turned to Rhys “can we talk?”

Rhys nods and walks with Madja to her officer while Nesta and Emerie go to see Gwyn.

One of Azriels shadows goes after Rhys.

“It’s an effect of a rejecting bond” Madja says “it’s causing her great pain, it will only double, she needs to accept the bond” she adds

“It’s complicated, her mate has recently married to another female, his side of the bond for Gwyn hasn’t snapped” Rhys explains

“That’s what’s casing the trance, she’s being exposed to her married mate”

“Can she reject the bond while his side hasn’t snapped?” Rhys asks

“She can’t, she can sever the bond, suppress it but if his side hasn’t snapped it can’t be rejected” Madja explains

“Severing it will lessen the effects on her but once the bond snaps on his part, her side of the bond can trigger into re-snapping, she can reject the bond then for good” she adds

“Rejecting the bond, will it trigger anything for any of them?” Rhys asks

“It can go well and be rejected fine or the one being rejected can go into madness” Madja answers

“If she severs the bond without his side snapping, will it cause him danger?”

“No because technically there’s not bond on his part” she answers truthfully.

Azriel knew then that Rhys was going to get Gwyn to sever the bond and he couldn’t blame him. He wanted the best for Gwyn too, maybe severing the bond would get him back his friendship with her.

[antipinkkitten]

My Gwynriel Week contribution

Chapter 35: Into the Light

Summary: Gwyn POV of Day Court, Helion catches on to her and she has a moment with Azriel.

A Court of Blooms and Blades (99215 words) by antipinkkitten Chapters: 35/50 Fandom: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, Crescent City Series - Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Elain Archeron/Lucien Vanserra, Elain Archeron/Azriel, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand, Nesta Archeron/Cassian, Azriel/Gwyneth Berdara Characters: Elain Archeron, Lucien Vanserra, Azriel (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Feyre Archeron, Gwyneth Berdara Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Rejection, Eventual Smut, POV Multiple, Mating Bond, Heartbreak, Break Up, Healing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Therapy