reader x azriel | it's never a good idea to fall in love for your best friend's little sister.
warnings: suggestive language & curse words.
a/n: it's been sooo long. so much has been happening in my life right now but i'm trying be more active, but, for now, i leave this one here :)
the infamous shadowsinger.
the relentless spymaster of the night court.
the male who made your blood boil so easily like a snap of his fingers.
you hated him—you hated him with all your strength.
you couldn’t remember a single moment where the male hadn’t been part of your life. after all, the said male, had been taken in by your mother when he was nothing more than a small child.
your mother had raised him, along with your older brother, rhysand, and cassian, your best friend.
the three of them, growing up together, created an unbreakable bond, something that not even the gods would dare try to break.
but the same didn’t happen for you.
when cassian and azriel were taken in by your mother, you hadn’t been born yet, only arriving a few years later.
growing up, your relationship with your brother rhysand could be described as any relationship between an older brother and a younger sister—one where the older brother is overprotective and likes to be in the know of everything, one that involves laughter but also some yelling and a playful rivalry, but one in which love and loyalty were never lacking.
and your relationship with cassian followed the same path, except for the fact that sometimes the two of you would get into trouble and both get punished later in result, something your mother later realized was not a good idea and started giving you punishments separately since you two only caused even more trouble when punished together.
that was the difference between the two of them—while rhysand did everything in his power to protect you from harm or trouble, cassian would set the path and lead you to it.
azriel was a different story—a very different story.
while azriel had a very close relationship with your brother and cassian, the same didn’t apply to you.
reciting facts, you couldn’t stand each other.
the constant arguing and insults were the living proof of that, not to mention the two times things went from verbal to physical—one involving your knee and his crotch (one that rhysand found funny) and another involving your ass and his hand (and one that rhysand definitely did not found funny, expressing his dislike by coloring azriel’s cheek in a vibrant purple).
as if that wasn’t enough, azriel had the superpower of knowing how to perfectly irritate you, like for example, he knew how to say the right things to drive you to the edge and that stupid, arrogant, self-centered smirk.
that smirk alone would drive you insane, and when you thought things couldn’t get any worse. . . surprise, they did.
as the second in line to the throne and one of the possible heirs, your father, the high lord of the night court, demanded that you and your brother received the same type of preparation so that one day you could rule the court, whether together or individually.
you never had the best relationship with your father, to tell the truth you didn’t even know where your heart stood before him, but you couldn’t deny that your father was a fair male despite his many flaws.
he gave you the same treatment as he did to rhysand, and not a different one because you were female and what many would do, was something you were always grateful for.
and so, just like your older brother, you were sent on your father’s orders to windhaven in order to receive your proper illyrian training, a birthright and an obligation as an heiress.
but of course, the camp, both its inhabitants and its lords, were not very pleased with his decision.
your residence during your stay in the illyrian camp would be none other than your mother’s cabin, and even though it was designated as off-limits to others, that did not stop a group of males from invading it and attacking you during the night.
luckily for you, rhysand and cassian had returned that night from the front lines of battle and were able to stop them, preventing their damage from becoming permanent.
you managed to escape with a bruised cheek, some sore muscles and a small cut on your right arm, but these were ‘avenged’ by your father who visited windhaven the following morning and made an example of the attackers in front of the rest of the camp.
azriel, who your father had kept by his side while he sent cassian and rhysand to the front line, had joined him that morning and before they left, your father confirmed that you were fine, aside from the new bodily additions, with a simple look and a squeeze on the shoulder.
but rhysand, being the great pain in the ass that he was, took advantage of that opportunity and suggested to your father for azriel to stay in the camp and watch over you since he couldn’t do it himself.
despite your several protests, your father ended up agreeing with your brother, stating that it was for safety reasons and that he refused to have one of his heirs taken from him and so, he designated azriel to accompany you at all times of the day until the end of your training.
and that’s how you ended in this situation—sutcked with the one male who you hated the most in whole prythian.
weeks after the attack, your body still protested on occasion but the recovery was visible, as was your progress in training.
on a monday morning, you opened the entrance door of the cabin and found the tall, hazel-eyed male leaning against the wall with his muscular arms crossed around his chest and that smirk that always made you want to punch him.
“good morning, little one,” he greeted you, clearly pleased by your annoyance at seeing him there, even though it had been weeks since he had started accompanying you.
you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at him. “shadowsinger,” you walked into the porch, closing the door behind you before locking it.
with a sigh, you walked towards the porch wooden stairs, starting to descend them without waiting for him.
azriel chuckled before pushing himself off the wall and following you, “ready for another day in my care?”
you had to grit your teeth to keep from cursing him with very inappropriate words, your silence eliciting a smile from him.
as he started walking down the stairs, about two steps behind you due to his long strides, his eyes glued themselves to your body, taking the opportunity to inspect you.
she looks better than she did last week.
he thought as he observed how your movements were no longer so restricted or rigid, starting at your arms and going down your back until they settled on your legs.
she is definitely walking better.
his eyes moved up your legs until they lingered for a few seconds longer in a certain area, tilting his head slightly to the side and letting the corners of his lips rise.
as if you felt his eyes on you, you stopped on the last step and turned to look at him, your eyes half-lidded and your eyebrows drawn down together “stop. looking. at. my. ass.”
your words made his smile grow, his expression changing from one of observation to one of amusement “i wasn’t looking, little one.”
he saw you take a deep breath before you turned back around and continued walking, your boots digging into the snow as you made contact with the ground.
the male shook his head, the smirk on his face turning into a genuine smile, before continuing to follow you.
as much as he didn’t like you, he couldn’t deny that he loved to rile you up.
in a matter of a second, the male was already walking beside you, a distance of just a few centimeters between you as you made your way to the tent where breakfast was served.
“you didn’t answer my question, little one. are you or aren’t you ready for another day in my care?” azriel asked again, his air of amusement still in place, intensifying when he watched your jaw clench before seeing the gesture being replaced by a smile full of irony and sarcasm.
“i don’t know, are you ready to have my knee in your crotch?”
azriel laughed, lifting his hand to wrap it around your braid and giving it a slight but firm tug, “what makes you think you can reach my crotch when you’re that short, little one?” he teased, emphasizing the nickname as his eyes sparkled with amusement.
the corners of your lips rose even higher at his words, your steps coming to a halt as you looked at him and azriel recognized the expression that now covered your entire face. it was one he knew all too well, one he had also witnessed on his brother cassian and it screamed ‘trouble’.
“is that a challenge, shadowsinger? are you forgetting that i’ve kneeled you in that spot before?”
“that’s exactly what it is, love. a challenge and let’s not forget that you only managed to kneel me because you were standing on the steps of that stairs.” he added, taking a step towards you and leaning down to be at eye level.
“is that so?” you asked, not giving the male time to answer as you moved towards him. what had once been your knee was now your fist and once again, you and the male found yourselves in the same situation as a few years ago.
azriel only had time to register what had happened about a second later when he was already doubled over and clutching his injured area.
“fuck,” he let out a sound of pain through his teeth as he continued to writhe, almost to the point where his knees landed in the snow “low blow, little one. low blow.”
“literally,” you said, followed by a laugh so loud that if you were near a snow-covered mountain, you would probably have caused an avalanche.
his knees finally touched the snow and the male brought a second hand to the injured area, forced to watch you almost cry from laughing at his expense.
“i’m not that little after all, am i?” you smiled, patting him lightly on the back before resuming walking, letting out another laugh in the process.
azriel struggled to straighten up, his face contorted in pain as it slowly subsided, needing a few seconds to breathe before he could stand up again and a few more seconds before he could walk.
“i swear to the mother, you are such a pain in the ass,” he muttered through clenched teeth as he walked behind you, quickly catching up with you with his long strides.
“you’re the one who provoked me, shadowsinger. you have no one to blame but yourself.” you said, your smirk still plastered on your face as you continued on your way.
azriel glanced at you through the corner of his eye and couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on his lips despite the situation.
he was impressed, to say the least, that you had actually done that. it had almost been funny to see him fall like that—almost.
“remind me never to provoke you again, or i will no doubt have permanent damage to the boys.” he chuckled.
can't believe it she kneeled me two times, two fucking times.
the sound of your chuckle reached the male's ears, and he couldn't stop his head from turning in your direction.
“yes, you will. and it would be such a shame since you're so pretty and would most definitely make cute little babies.”
this would have been the case where azriel would have choked on his drink, or food, if he happened to have any.
upon seeing his reaction, your eyes sparkled with amusement before you said, “i may hate you but i’m not blind, shadowsinger.” you said in the calmest voice ever.
azriel cleared his throat, composing himself and forcing his surprised expression back into his stupid, arrogant, cocky smirk as you liked to describe it.
“don't worry, little one. even if you happened to permanently damage my pride and joy, i would still find a way to keep my handsome face intact and make those cute little babies.” he said, his stupid, arrogant, cocky smirk turning into a mischievous one.
you shook your head as you turned your face forward, seeing the edges of the tents and the smoke from the fires appearing in their field of vision, signaling that they were reaching the center of the camp.
“good, because in a world full of balthasar's, lord devlon’s and alastair's, we need more pretty faces to look at.”
azriel couldn't help the genuine laugh that escaped him at your choice of not-so-attractive males.
did she just compliment me? hell must be freezing.
“don’t say that, i’ll get a massive ego.” he said, but didn't deny your words.
afterall, he knew very well how handsome and attractive he was. besides, it was one of the reasons that fueled your discussions over the years.
“another one?” you raised one of your eyebrows as you looked at him “are you sure you have that enough space with your already huge, big, infinite ego?”
“oh, i have plenty of space, love-” he grinned, his grin widening when he saw your wince at the new nickname he used, and continued speaking before you could interrupt him “and i'll have you know that ‘ego’ has not only gotten me a lot of girls back in my days at windhaven but also allowed me to be one of the best warriors pryhtian has ever seen.”
he saw you as you scrunched your face in disgust, releasing a quiet ‘ew’.
oh, how he loved to annoy you. he would never admit this out loud but you were his favorite person to annoy, mainly because you were so easy to rile up and also because of your size, with you being a ‘little one’ there wasn't much you could do against him.
he could be having a horrible day, but the moment he saw your jaw clench or your hands closing into fists at something he said, everything got better.
“oh, come on. why are you making that face? trying to hide how jealous you are?” he teased, pinching your nose lightly.
“jealous?!” you swatted his hand as fast as your slightly injured arm allowed you, an incredulous look on your face “jealous of what exactly? being another one of your conquests? pff, please, shadowsinger.”
oh, look at her getting all nervous.
“i don't know, maybe of all of the girls i've-” he made a gesture with his hand to indicate a vague ‘slept with’ amount.
“maybe you'd kill to be on that list, admit it.” he pauses for a quick moment before adding “though you're not my type, love.”
you stopped in your tracks, taking a step forward and tilting your neck up to meet his eyes “first of all,” you stretched your index finger, tapping his chest, “you're not my type either, ‘love’”. your mocking tone did not go unnoticed by him.
“and second of all, the only one who would be killing, would be my brother and you would be his victim if he ever found out you touched me like that.”
azriel let out a loud laugh at your response, pleased you were playing along with him.
“touché,” he said before answering your comment about your brother “please, rhys is not going to kill me just because we-” his smirk widened and shrugged his shoulder “hypothetically, of course.”
it was your turn to release a loud laugh, “yeah, right. you think just because you're his best friend, you're off the hook? keep telling yourself that, shadowsinger.” you patted his chest, your hand settling there.
azriel's breath hitched at the feeling of your hand on his chest, his smirk faltering for a split second before composing himself.
he was caught off guard by the sudden unknown feeling that rushes through him, the result of your touch.
he cleared his throat as he pushed that feeling into the back of his mind as his smirk returned to his lips in a heartbeat.
“please, your brother has already given me a lifetime's worth of threats and beatings. i grew up with him, remember? what could possibly he do to me now?”
those thoughts came back flooding his mind before he shook his head to push them back again.
i'll get back to analyzing those later.
“and if he did find out, well, we’ll just have to run away together, get married and have those cute little babies we talked about earlier.” he added, trying to cover up his brief slip.
fuck, i'm definitely going to explore those foreign thoughts later.
he heard you laugh and saw you shaking your head, your hands rested now on your hips “so, you have all of it planned out, huh?”
“of course,” he said almost immediately, his confident posture returning like it never left for a second. he grinned, raising an eyebrow at you, “what? you don't want to have my babies?”
“repeat that sentence in front of my big brother, it will earn you a punch right here.” you said, touching the spot on his cheek.
azriel grabbed your hand, scoffing at your comment though “do you think i have a death wish, little one? i'd rather keep my handsome face intact, thank you very much.”
a thought formed on his head, making his smirk spread even more.
he tugged on your hand, pulling you forward until you were standing right in front of him and he lowered his hand to look you down.
“don't tell me you're jealous that i might say that to someone else, little one.”
you scoffed at his words “please, i have no doubt that your conquests would trample over themselves at your offer.”
azriel nodded slightly, his free hand coming to hold your chin and lift your head a little higher.
his hazel eyes studied your violet ones for a moment, something unknown passing through it and disappearing at the same moment his smile returned.
“you're not wrong about that, little one.” he said, his voice almost a murmur, almost seductive, at the same time his thumb came to brush your lower lip.
azriel was caught off guard again, only realizing what had happened a second after it happened.
he didn't have time to react when you bit his thumb and resumed your walk.
“oi-” he grunted in surprise at your bite, seeing you walk away as he rubbed the—another—injured area.
you've got to be kidding me.
“mother help me. . .” he muttered, wincing a little in pain as he continued to rub his thumb and went after you.
you turned around to face him and walked backwards, a proud, satisfied smile on your face.
“think of this way, now you have three stories to tell those cute little babies of yours about how you got your ass handed to a girl.”
“haha, funny. very funny, little one.” he dropped his hands by his side, continuing to walk behind you, “and i’d get to tell them why that happened,” the smirk returned.
“and why is that?” you asked, curious.
his smirk widened before pointing at you “because their mother was, correction, is a pain in the ass.”
you barked out a laugh, your head tilted backwards with a hand over your stomach before looking back at him “and what makes you think that i would be their mother?”
“well, there's not really much options, little one,” he said as he fell in pace with you and you turned around again, “you'll either be their mother or their aunt.”
a look of confusion made its way to your face before you laughed at the thought that filled your mind, falling in pace with him, “oh, don't tell me you're in love with my brother and he'll be the one carrying your babies.”
azriel's head never turned so fast to look at you as it did that moment. “what?! ew, no. no, absolutely not.”
he slapped you on the back of the head as a warning to stop laughing.
“ouch,” you said, rubbing it.
“rhys is my best friend. he's like my brother and that's where it stops.” he told you.
“are you sure about that, shadowsinger?” you asked with a smile as you continued to rub the back of your head.
azriel huffed at your words, not believing this was actually the subject of your conversation, “of course i’m sure. i’ve been with plenty of females to prove it.”
and there is that eye roll again.
he chuckled as he watched you. your hand returned to pat his chest and so did his foreigner's thoughts at your touch “then you have plenty of options for the mother of your cute little babies.”
he shocked his head again, before rolling his eyes at your comment and smirked, finding this whole banter amusing.
“that’s truth, i do.” he stopped walking again and he brought you to stand with him face to face as his hand reached for your the back of your neck and the other one—the same one you bit a few moments ago—returned to brush your lower lip, “but somehow you seem the best choice.”
“you’re delusional,” you said and. . .surprise, surprise, you bite his thumb again.
“ow, you motherfu-ugh” azriel flinched once more as your teeth made contact with his skin, withdrawing his hand from your face.
oh, i swear to the gods. . .
he closed his eyes for a brief moment, annoyed with himself for underestimating you in biting him a second time.
however, his expression soon brightened, a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes. “you’re a biter, aren’t you? are you into that sort of stuff?”
you reached the center of the camp, keeping your eyes forward as you made a turn for the tent breakfast was served “maybe, but you’ll never find out.”
azriel ran a hand through his messy hair, not being able to avoid a genuine smile at your reply. you always had an answer for everything and everyone.
“never say never, little one.”
“i do. never,” you parted the tent’s flaps, allowing you to enter, and stood in the line that was already in motion to receive breakfast.
you grabbed one of the trays and surveyed the tent that was already packed with soldiers, officers, and lords eating—not a single female in sight, other than you.
azriel followed your movements, grabbing a tray and standing behind you, just a few inches away so that no one could get to you.
“you seem very confident, something that could be considered dangerous. especially around me.” he said as the two of you waited in line for your turn, his eyes sliding down to your waist.
“you said it yourself, shadowsinger. i’m not your type.”
azriel leaned forward, until his chest brushed against your shoulder and his lips were positioned right next to your ear.
in a whisper, he said “that was before you started biting me, little one. now, i’m curious.”
however, the male was at a loss for words when he saw one of the chefs looking at him with a judgmental look, no doubt having heard what he had just whispered to you.
you hidden your face in the crook of your arm, unable to contain your laughter at the situation.
azriel rolled his eyes and slapped you again on the back of your head before pushing you forward with a hand on your lower back as the line was moving forward.
“laugh all you want, little one,” his eyes returned to your waist. “doesn’t change the fact that you have my attention now.”
“you know what, shadowsinger? you-” your sentence was cut off mid-sentence when a soldier in front of you, a young male, dropped his bread on the floor right at your feet.
without hesitation, you bent down to pick it up.
“me, what, you little-” azriel started to ask before stopping suddenly, his words dying in his throat at the sight of you, bent over right in front of him.
as you bend over to pick up the bread, you end up having to take a step back, causing your ass to brush against azriel’s front.
his breath got caught in his throat, the touch of your ass making his brain short-circuit.
azriel mentally thanked the mother for wearing his uniform pants, the material thick enough to hide the growing bulge there.
it took all of his willpower not to place his hands on your hips and to step away from you.
“here you go,” you said, finally standing upright again and delivering the bread to the young male.
azriel tried to focus on anything else that wasn't your ass or your face, eventually deciding to stare at his own boots instead.
he couldn't remember the last time he got so worked up like this, certainly it hadn't been with none of the females he had slept with.
he watched you out of the corner of his eye, still trying to avoid looking at you, managing to see you turn to your food tray and placing your breakfast and a glass of water in it.
but when you took a step back again, to pick up a bowl of fruit that was on his side, your ass brushed against his front again and azriel could have sworn he was going to lose his mind.
he almost whined at the feeling, his eyes landing on your ass again, noticing how well you filled out your pants.
azriel quickly darted his eyes away, clenching his teeth and doing his best to ignore the feeling of his cock straining in his pants.
fuck. rhys, yeah, think of rhys. rhysand. rhys. future high lord. your best friend. your brother.
azriel’s eyes followed you as you picked up your food tray and moved out of the line, looking for an available table to sit down.
rhysand. with a hot sister. she’s so beautiful, so stubborn, so- wait, no. fuck.
he shook his head, too busy trying and falling to clear his head to realize he was now at the front of the line, standing there like an idiot as his eyes followed you.
oh, i’m fucked. rhysand is going to kill-
“hey! are you going to stay there all day or what?”
a voice sounded from behind him, pulling him from his trance. azriel looked behind him at the soldier who had just made his presence aware and watched as the boy cringed when he recognized who he had just yelled at.
the boy swallowed hard as azriel stared at him, his throbbing hard-on long gone. for a moment, azriel pondered whether he should throw the boy's tray of food to the floor for talking to him like that or if he should thank him for the distraction, saving him from a great humiliation.
eventually, when the boy had shrunk enough for his liking, the male then decided to opt for the second choice.
he glanced at the boy with one last warning look before picking up his tray and leaving the line, heading to the table where you were already sitting and eating your breakfast.
azriel seated across from you—silently thanking the mother for the space.
without glancing at you, he kept his gaze on his breakfast as he started to eat and desperately tried to control his. . .big problem.
but, as always, his luck was short-lived.
“aham. . .what are you doing?” you asked him with a raised eyebrow.
his eyes moved to you automatically, your voice making his whole body—and especially a certain part—tense.
azriel managed a strangled response, shifting uncomfortably under your violet eyes, “. . .eating?”
“i can see that, asshole. but you always sit by my side,” you told him, gesturing with your fork to the available spot next to you, “why are you sitting on the other side of the table?”
“oh-” azriel froze for a moment as you pointed out his odd choice of seating, “i. . .um-”
you were right, he always sat next to you.
cauldron boil me, please.
he was starting to sound like an idiot—a horny idiot—and without any idea of what to say, he looked down at his breakfast, shoving food in his mouth until it was full.
maybe if he kept his mouth busy, he could still save what was left of his dignity.
“okay. . .,” you send him a confused look for his weird behavior, focusing on your breakfast as well.
azriel actually managed to breathe in relief as he saw you return your attention to your food, and he tried to do the same, focusing on eating and not at the way his cock was still pulsing in his pants.
but his luck could never last, could it?
the air in the tent shifted and as he looked up he was met with the sight of your brother and cassian walking in the tent.
azriel saw you waving at your brother and how the male’s expression immediately morphed from a harsh one into a softer one.
you leaned forward, the action capturing his attention back to you, and with a smirk plastered on your face you whispered, “the future mother of your babies is here.”
he clenched his teeth at your attempt at a joke, “shut up, you little shit,” he muttered, glaring at you and when he saw you opening your mouth again, he gave you a warning look, “drop it. now.”
your smirked stretched to the corners of your mouth and lowered your gaze to your breakfast once again.
rhysand and cassian arrived at the table with their trays of food in hand, sitting next to you on each side.
azriel saw you greeting your brother with a kiss on his cheek as the male returned it with one on your forehead, his eyes on his you before rhysand returned his attention to him.
the shadowsinger tried to not shift uncomfortably under your brother’s gaze, he was already with one problem, the last thing he needed was another one.
azriel was still avoided looking at you for too long, but meanwhile, rhysand was simply. . .staring at him and he could swear he could see the cogs turn in your brother’s head, putting the pieces together of his weird behavior and realizing something was going on.
“is there something you need, rhys?” he asked, trying to keep his expression neutral.
“not really, no,” rhysand answered, still studying the scene happening in front of him, “you’re just acting weird.”
“he is weird,” you added, your smirk still plastered on your face.
rhysand’s gaze drifted to you, a smirk matching yours on his face, “oh, i’m very well aware of that, little sister.”
great. now it’s the two of them, this is just what i really needed.
azriel sighed in frustration, he couldn’t have a moment of peace.
“oh! i have a question for you, brother” you told rhysand but your eyes were on azriel.
he recognized that smirk, it’s the kind of smirk that screams trouble. azriel shook his head, shooting you a warning glare and silently asking you for once in your life to keep your mouth shut but of course that only made you smirk even more.
“hypothetically, what would you do if you found out one of your friends slept with me?”
rhysand’s head snapped towards you faster than the speed of light, cassian choked on his food and azriel’s mouth fell in horror.
she did not just- dear gods.
rhysand’s eyes fell on you before moving to azriel—who was now refusing to look at anything that wasn’t his breakfast—and his expression turned deadly.
cassian could only lean back and cross his arms, traces of amusement covered his face as he enjoyed the show.
a tug on his shirt, broke his gaze from azriel and shifted back towards you, “what?”
“you didn’t answer my question,” you said, an innocent smile on your face.
“i-” he paused, his expression softening a little at you but still with a hint of annoyance and protectiveness in his eyes. his gaze flicked between you and azriel before settling back on you “why are you asking?”
“it’s a hypothetical question, i’m curious obviously.” your innocent smile never faltered.
rhysand eyed you suspiciously and made sure his eyes were on azriel as he answered, “hypothetically, i’d be incredibly pissed off.”
azriel shifted uncomfortably, moving slightly closer to cassian’s side.
your brother narrowed at the male, not liking his reaction, and with his eyes still on him, he asked again “do you have a reason for this question?”
“azriel and i were talking and that situation came up. i said you would kill your friend and azriel disagreed,” you said casually as you took another bite of your food.
azriel’s eyes widened and he cursed himself mentally, begging you to shut up.
“is that so?” rhysand said, his eyes still trained on the male.
“he also said-” you started but were interrupted.
“shut up, you brat,” azriel said as his hand grabbed a handful of scrambled eggs and throwed them at you.
your mouth opened in disbelief, a shade of red creeping on your face and making your smirk disappear.
rhysand’s eyes travelled to you, taking in your appearance before he turn to look at azriel, he really was starting to not liking whatever was going on, “what the fuck is going on here?”
at the same time you tried to stand up, ready to throw yourself over the table and tackled down the hazel-eyed male, “you asshole!”
rhysand and cassian reacted simultaneously, both of them wrapping a hand around your arm to keep you seated.
“no-” your brother warned.
“don’t-” cassian said at the same time.
“this isn’t over, shadowsinger,” you said pointing a finger at him.
while you were still glaring at azriel, your brother was freeing your hair from the scrumpled eggs.
“ah, it’s good to be home,” cassian chuckled as he took a bite of his sandwich.
rhysand managed a small chuckle as he pulled eggs from your black locks, he was still pissed off and suspicious about this whole thing, but it was impossible to deny the sight of you wasn’t funny, “so, you guys were just talking? nothing else?”
you turned your head slightly upwards, a puzzled look on your face “nothing else? what do you mean?”
your brother raised an eyebrow at you, meeting your eyes for a moment before returning his attention back to the task in hands, “i swear it’s like talking to a child sometimes,” he said as he pulled more eggs from your hair, “you know what i mean.”
“aham, no i d- ouch!” you protested when he pulled your hair instead.
rhysand rolled his eyes, “don’t play dumb. you know what i’m alluding to here.”
your eyebrows furrowed down together as your eyes met azriel’s before being drawn to cassian’s, who made a very inappropriate gesture, helping you get there faster.
your eyes widened, “me and the shadowsinger?!” you asked in disbelief before you started to laugh out loud that several heads turned in your direction.
azriel groaned as cassian joined you in your laughter and rhysand, meanwhile, was just staring at you with a deadpan expression as he removed the last few eggs of your hair.
“me and the shadowsinger,” you said between laughs, “that’s the funniest thing i have ever heard in my life!”
“you didn’t answer my question, little sister,” rhysand glared at you, not seeing how what he said was funny.
“you don’t have to worry, brother,” you said while patting his shoulder, “there’s nothing going on and i’m also not the shadowsinger’s type, he said it himself.”
rhysand’s head snapped towards azriel, wondering why he would have even said that in the first place.
“that’s not-” azriel started before stopping as he realized he would just be incriminating himself even more.
rhysand expression hardened, “‘that’s not’. . .what?”
“nothing,” azriel answered quickly, making rhysand raise an eyebrow, something he recognized as a warning to tell the truth.
“shit, i’m late for training,” you said as you shoved the remaining of your breakfast in your mouth as you started to stand.
azriel let out a sigh in relief, gulping down the rest of his drink before standing as well.
you wrapped an arm around your brother’s shoulders from behind as you planted a kiss on his cheek, making his expression soften.
when he opened his mouth to say something he was quickly interrupted by cassian, “have fun in training, lovebirds.”
earning a glare from both rhysand and azriel, the general managed to pull a chuckle from you, who grabbed his hair and tugged on it, undoing his perfectly bun.
“son of a-” the general protested.
azriel guided you out of the tent with a hand on your lower back, not wanting to stay one more minute under your brother’s gaze.
you two fell into pace as you started walking towards the training grounds.
as his memory came back to him, he quickly looked down at his pants, only to see his problem had been solved during some of that chaos.
he could finally breathe again, “thank the mother it’s over.”
“what’s over?” you asked, looking at him confused again.
right. i forgot she was here.
“you know,” he said as he tried to disguise his slip, “that conversation with your brother.”
“oh, i don’t know what you’re complaining about. i loved it,” you said as you walked by his side and entered the training grounds, making your way towards where your class would be held.
“of course you did,” azriel muttered, “you’re so annoying.”
you reached your destination, several males already warming up for the next two hours of training.
“i know,” azriel mocked you, before pointing at your boots, “your boots.”
you knew the procedure, you crouched down and made sure the knots were well tied.
when you stood back up, azriel pulled you towards him and made sure your daggers were well secured and ready to be used at any moment you saw fit.
“turn around,” he said and watched as you turned around without protest. he reached for your braid and removed the hair elastic from where it had been held, starting to redo it from where stubborn strands were already coming free.
“remember what i told you. recite it. i want to hear it.” he asked, his fingers working through your soft black locks.
you rolled your eyes but complied, “never take my eyes off my opponent until the fight is over, use my speed and agility as an advantage against those who use their body composition against me and to use my feet work.”
“good,” azriel nodded his head as he finished doing your braid, “remember what i’ve been telling you from the beginning. just because they’re males and illyrians does not mean they’re stronger or more powerful than you.”
you nodded as you listened to his words, despite all the banter between you two, azriel never failed to support you, always being the first one to offer you his hand when in need.
his words of support weren’t just that, they were the reassurance you needed to get through this training, to survive in this camp—a camp ruled by males who saw females as their servants and inferiors.
if azriel believed in you. . .so did you.
“alright,” his voice broke you from your thoughts as he finished tying the braid, giving it a slight tug.
you turned to look at him and he gave you a small smile, “go get them, little one.”
you rolled your eyes but chuckled, “yes, captain.”
a genuine laugh escaped his lips at your cheeky remark and he shook his head, “smartass.”
azriel watched you as you made your way towards the others, a mix of feelings invading his heart and mind.
some familiar, some unfamiliar, and some intriguing.
he couldn't tell them apart, but the moment he saw you step into the ring to face your first opponent and knock him to the ground in seconds with an incredible right hook he taught you, he knew the greatest of them all was pride.
the following afternoon, azriel entered your mother’s cabin for one more of your private lessons with him.
today he was going to help you perfect your sword technique, and he made himself at home while you finished getting ready.
he rested his sword against the doorframe and walked towards the living room, passing the kitchen table where a bottle of wine made itself aware.
azriel shrugged. it had been a while since his last drink, and the cauldron knew he needed it after that conversation with your brother yesterday morning.
relaxing his muscles in the comfort of your couch, the male opened the bottle and drank straight from the source.
minutes passed before you were ready, but something wasn’t right.
azriel heard you coming down the stairs, but something wasn’t right.
he heard your voice, but something wasn’t right.
he didn’t know what was happening.
all he knew was that he was so warm, his skin so hot that could rival the burning wood on the fireplace but he wasn’t on fire.
his clothes drenched in sweat that looked like he had run a marathon but he hadn't moved from the couch.
and his body, every inch of it, aching like someone had dropped a damn tree on top of him but he had been alone all this time.
“azriel!” your voice pulled him from wherever he was, your hands on his cheeks grounding him back into the present, into your living room.
“by the cauldron, azriel, you’re burning up. what happened?!”
it hurt, everything hurt.
“did something happened on your way here?”
“are you sick? is it the flu?”
“was it something you ate?”
your voice was on a loop, ringing in his ear over and over again but azriel didn’t have the answer, he could only focus on hot his skin was burning, the aching of his muscles threatening to reach his bones, the drops of sw-
“was it something you ate?”
azriel’s eyes darted towards the bottle resting on top of the small coffee table, “. . .where. . .where did you get it?”
“azriel! where did i get what?!”
your head spinned around, leading you to the bottle of wine and how it was opened.
you returned your eyes back to the male, “i didn’t. it was left on my porch, i found it this morning.”
azriel was breathing heavily, his body in more pain by the second.
“how much did you drink?”
you reached for the bottle, seeing it about a half a palm empty, and inspect it from top to bottom in hopes to find something.
it was only when you smelled it that your eyes widened and panic invaded your heart, “oh my god.”
you stand up and run towards the kitchen leaving a very confused and aching azriel on the couch.
as you returned, you had a small vial in your hand, and the bottle of wine in the other.
azriel could see you were trying to remain calm, but he wasn’t liking your silence, “. . .what?”
“my brother gave me this before coming here,” you said, gesturing to the small vial, “it’s the breeding tonic some of the illyrian males have been working on. he gave it to me to learn to recognize the smell so i wouldn’t be caught off guard.”
azriel’s eyes were on you the whole time, never once breaking eye contact.
he knew what you were trying to say.
“they have the same smell, azriel.” you told him, no longer keeping the calm facade, “you drank breeding tonic.”
yeah, i really have no luck at all.
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