Azris, 13k words, rated E.
A party on the continent, hosted by one of Koscheiās lackeys, goes awry. Nearly magicless, Azriel and Eris must survive on the continent together or die trying. Inspired by The Nutcracker, with a helping of Polish folk tales.
Iām so pleased to finally post this for my sweet friend, @krem-does-stuff!! I was so excited to get you for this yearās @acotargiftexchange, and I hope you enjoy it! Your theories about what my TikToks could mean had me rolling with laughter, because you were rather wrong, haha. I have so many more rat/Nutcracker-related TikToks to send you, and hopefully theyāll make (slightly) more sense once youāve read this. I tried to incorporate all the desserts you gave me (raspberries are very important in this), and I tried to write Eris in a way that was new to me but still believable and delightfully mean.
Special thanks to @witch-and-her-witcher, @queercontrarian, and @yanny-77 for their beta skills; to Cee and Emma again for saying āsend the TikTokā and holding my hand through the usual self-doubt; @pippsmcgee for shaking this fic until nearly all the present continuous fell out of it; @velidewrites for helping me translate a few things into Polish; @damedechance for helping me find something dirty to say; and, ofc, Dylan OāBrien. You know why.
Azriel stares out at the crowd, at the finery draped over every inch of this infernal castle, and he can almost pretend nothing is wrong. His leathers ā he had refused to wear something more formal ā creak as he shifts his weight, though itās eaten up by the merry shouting of the crowd.
This invitation had come, bristling with glitter and tied with a ribbon, from one of the lesser noble houses of a small duchy close to the border with Rask. The duke and duchess were newly appointed and quite young, only in their eighties. Let bygones between continent and island be bygones, the invitation had crowed.
It stunk of a trap, and Azriel had come because there was no one else who could.
Rhys had Feyre, Nyx, and a death bargain no one could undo. They couldnāt spare Cassian, never mind that Nesta wasnāt ever letting Cassian out of her sight again. Mor and Lucien never figured into the equation, Lucien because he wasnāt stupid, and Mor because she wasnāt authorized by the Queen of Vallahan to go anywhere else on the continent.
Itās Amarantha all over again. None of the original players are here, of course; none of them would be so stupid. But apparently not smart enough to stay out entirely.