Hero laid unmovable atop the bed, arms and legs lazily set over the mattress, left exactly how they fell when Villain set them there. Their enemy looked at them from the door, leaving it unlocked, it was not necessary to take the precaution, not with Hero as they were.
Villain settled beside them on the bed, sitting chest height, towering over. Hero looked at them with tired eyes, barely bothering to open them all the way, that might have caused offence in any other situation, a declaration of safety, meaning Villain was harmless, yet then, the criminal was relieved Hero could lower their defences.
Villain cupped Hero's cheek with their hands, warmth guiding them to rest against it, a familiar feeling was certainly comforting.
"I'm sorry," Villain said, voice soft, "I should have never allowed you to leave my side."
Their hands travelled to the other's neck, a gentle grasp yet firm enough not to let it to be shaken off, if Hero ever pretended to move, twisting Hero's face from side to side, looking for more injuries than the evident.
Villains frowned.
"Are you just gonna allow me to do whatever I want with you, like a ragdoll?" And despite their accusing words, their tone remained soft
"You always could anyway," Hero rasped out.
"And what makes you so sure I won't use it against you?"
Hero hummed, no more answers given.
With a sigh, their enemy answers, thumb stroking the edge of their throat.
"I won't give you back to them, I will keep you this time."
And that was fine for Hero, they thought as they closed their eyes, at least then and there.
Villain pressed a kiss on their forehead, laying besides them on the bed
Pairing: Azriel/Eris| Word Count: 2709| Chapter Rating: T| Warnings: None
Previous Chapter| Masterpost| Read it here on A03
Fic Summary: Months after that one encounter, Eris receives demand for a response to his summons to visit the Night Court. He ends up with warning for the future and a certain shadowsinger back under his skin.
Chapter Summary: The aftermath
A/N: I am a slow writer. I apologize this took so long
Gen Tag List: @hieragalbatorixdottir @mybestfriendmademe
Azriel didn’t even bother to clean off the Truth Teller. Shadows protested as he used them to get back to Velaris. He ignored them. He ended up in the sitting room where everyone was waiting.
“Beron is dead.” Az tried to ignore Nyx excitedly reaching for him and calling his name from the floor where he was playing. “The former lady said we should have a drink for her in celebration. Official confirmation will come in the morning.”
“Eris is High Lord?” Rhys asked. Azriel nodded. “And you helped?”
“I let the former Lady of Autumn borrow my weapon. She and Eris did the rest.”
“Good for her,” Nesta replied from beside Cassian.
Nyx, realizing Azriel wasn’t responding, began to pout before whimpering and crying.
“Az! Up!” Nyx started crawling to him, refusing to be ignored.
“My hands are dirty, bud,” he said softly, stepping back. “I’ll go wash them.”
Feyre quickly scooped up her son and bounced him in her arms. Two shadows went to him and his cries turned to giggles.
“She deserved to be the one to end him,” she said, going back to her seat. “After everything he’s done to her.”
Rhys hummed beside her. “I think the story will be different, officially. I doubt Eris will allow his mother to claim that kill.”
“This changes things with Koschei,” Cassian muttered. “Beron was his sole ally in Prythian. He might be after Vassa sooner than we expect.”
Azriel understood what Cassian was saying. But the adrenaline of the short lived battle was leaving him. The realization of what happened between him and Eris- his stomach was churning.
“I’ll go wash my hands,” he muttered and left the room quickly.
Azriel went into the kitchen. He cleaned his knife first. The water was grounding and as he washed the blood. His hands were next. Even with no blood on them, he still felt dirty. Shadows hissed at him to stop scrubbing.
“Why aren’t you in Autumn?”
Az started, turning to see Elain looking up at him.
“My allegiance is to the Night Court.” Azriel replied immediately.
She stepped closer. Once upon a time he would have welcomed her presence; longed for this closeness. Now it was just a reminder that the cauldron had other plans. He felt nothing.
“You can’t hide from him forever,” she whispered. “I know from experience.”
He turned off the water and grabbed a towel to dry his hands.
“What did you see Elain?”
She shook her head. “What happens now is your choice.”
She walked away and left him more confused than before. He picked up his knife and dried it. Cassian and Nesta both stopped by the kitchen where he kept wiping the knife to avoid moving. They bid him good night, saying they would see him in the morning. He didn’t stop them.
Talk to the High Lord. His shadows whispered.
Azriel’s feet led him back to the sitting area. He found Rhys and Feyre alone, Nyx possibly taken to bed by his Aunt Elain.
“Rhys, can I speak with you? Alone.” Az didn’t want to face this truth with Feyre just yet.
Rhys and Feyre stared at each other, no doubt communicating through their minds. Az couldn’t look Feyre in the eyes after she nodded. Rhys beckoned him to follow and they walked to his office. When the door shut, Az realized he couldn’t look Rhys in the eyes either. It was obvious Rhys was waiting for Azriel to talk first.
“I found my mate.” He whispered.
There was a slight gasp. “I told you,” Rhys said with a joyous tone. “I knew you had one. Do we know her? Is she here or in another court?”
Azriel was sure this is what drowning in air felt like. He glanced up and saw the joyous expression on his brother falter. Rhys stepped forward, his expression changing to concern.
“What’s wrong? Is she with someone else? She’s safe, right?”
“The cauldron is wrong.” Az replied, his voice cracking and tears spilling from his eyes. “The cauldron has to be wrong.” He tuned out his shadows protesting his statement.
“Why would you say that?” Rhys’s hands were outstretched but he didn’t touch him. Not until Azriel told him he could. “You’ve waited over five hundred years for a mate, Az. How can-“
“My mate is Eris.”
As if he had struck a physical blow, Rhys’s hands dropped to his side.
“It’s a trick,” Rhys said confidently. “It would have snapped before now. Show me what happened in Autumn. We can look through your memories and find out where you were spelled.”
Azriel shook his head. “My shadows confirmed it before I even felt it.” He sniffled, trying to compose himself. “I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you. I can’t lose this. I don’t know how it works when it’s two males but I will reject it. I can’t-“
“Look at me.” He forced himself to look into Rhys’s violet eyes. “You will never lose me. You’ll never lose us or Velaris.”
“My mate is Eris, Rhys.”
Rhys shrugged, picking at his shirt nervously. “We can work that to our advantage. Especially now that he is High Lord.”
Anger washed over Azriel. “What do you mean? I’m mated to a monster! And you want to jump to advantages?”
“I’m trying to make light of the situation, Azriel. What I mean is, you don’t have to reject the bond. Not unless you really wish to.” Rhys stepped back and leaned against his desk. “He’s not a monster, Az. Not really. I wouldn’t have made an alliance with him if he was. We would not have helped him if he was. And neither are you. I know that’s what you’re thinking even without looking into your mind. Like calls to like but not in the ways you assume.”
“Then what am I supposed to do, Rhys? How can I tell Cassian? Tell Mor? I’m mated to the male who left her to die. Who calls Cassian all kinds of foul names. He even tried to steal Nesta.”
Rhys studied him for a moment. “What does he think about the bond, Eris? Does he know?”
“It snapped for both of us. He-“ Azriel thought about the confrontation he had before he left Autumn. “He said he doesn’t need or want a mate.”
Rhys eyed him. “What did the bond tell you?”
“That he was just as confused as me.”
Az didn’t mention the deep longing he felt. Mostly because he wasn’t sure if that was truely from Eris or himself. He tilted his head as he thought about what to say next.
“There were signs I guess. Signs I ignored. We might have been in a situation. Before.”
Rhys raised a brow. He sighed, words falling from his lips out of guilt or need to confess.
“I made a mistake. I might have- I have slept with him.”
Rhys’s brows shot up further.
“A few times.”
“When in the deep hells did you fuck Eris Vanserra?”
“First time was after a meeting. After, my shadows just took me to him.” Azriel replied meekly. “Did you know my shadows can have sex on their own? Found that out cause they went to him without telling me.”
“Your shadows fucked Eris by themselves? Without telling you? And yet you are shocked you are mates?” Rhys, to Azriel’s shock, was laughing.
“This isn’t funny.”
“It’s actually very funny. If someone told me my brother, my best friend, was fucking his enemy on the low, I wouldn’t have believed them. Cassian is going to lose his mind when you tell him.”
“Rhys this is serious.”
He ignored Azriel. “How far does this go back? Before or after the war with Hybern?”
“After.”
“Is that why you pushed to retrieve him from the continent?”
“It was after that.” And yet, maybe deep down he knew even then. “That last meeting with Mor about a year ago. I followed him. My original plan was to kill him.”
“And you fucked him instead.” Rhys nearly snorted.
“Yeah. I did.” Az tried not to smile. But he could even admit there was some ridiculousness to it all.
There was a lapse of silence and Rhys took a deep breath. “You know this compromises you as my spymaster. For Autumn at least.”
“Why do you think I told you first?”
“We need to bring Feyre in if we’re going to continue to discuss business. She is your High Lady. For now.”
“My allegiance is to the night court,” he repeated for the third time that night.
“Not when your mate is a new high lord.”
Rhys called for Feyre through his mind. She came in and stood by Rhys. Az explained everything to Feyre in a much calmer tone, though her look of shock still made him feel guilty. For what, he wasn’t sure. Rhys interjected with the story of the shadows, all but demanding with a smirk that Azriel explain how his shadows went off on their own.
Azriel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Rhys thinks this is funny.”
“It is funny, Az.” Feyre giggled. She took a deep breath and looked at him sincerely. “By the gods I’ll not be able to keep a straight face the next time I see him.”
Next time. Azriel wasn’t sure there would be a next time or what that would even look like.
“Give him time,” Rhys said, as if reading his mind though his shields were up. “He has a court to get in order.”
“I still have to tell the others,” Azriel added with a grimace.
“Only if you want to,” Feyre said sternly.
He nodded. He wasn’t looking forward to what Mor and Cassian would have to say. He bid Feyre and Rhys good night and left the house, taking to the sky. He felt lighter, having told them. But there was still a weight in his chest, a sadness humming there. The worst part was he wasn’t sure if it was his own or Eris’s.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Eris mended the wards after he took on the powers, he winnowed to his bathing chambers where he vomited up what little he had in his stomach.
A mate.
Azriel was his mate.
And Eris was High Lord now.
The power humming under his skin made him want to claw it off. He got off the floor and rinsed off his face. Azriel was his mate. He didn’t even think males could be mated to other males. He didn’t dare look at his reflection in the mirror, afraid of what he would see. He turned his back to it and slumped against the counter. His mate was spymaster of the Night Court.
This complicated everything.
He mentally slapped himself. He didn’t have time to be pining. He was High Lord now. The next few days would cement his power and influence or ruin it beyond repair. He had a court to gather. He needed to find his brothers before they started up a rebellion against him. Things he’d been planning for over the centuries but now had to execute. He left the bathing room and prepared to leave his quarters when his door opened suddenly and his mother stepped inside.
“Mother,” Eris started. He schooled his features like he always did. A lie fell from his lips easily. “Have you seen your sons? I haven’t found them yet.”
“Not yet. I wanted to speak with you.” Her hands wrung together in front of her “Your mate-“
“Do not call him that.” He nearly snarled.
“Eris-“
“And don’t look at me like that either.”
He realized too late the tone he used, his mother looking away with a scowl.
“You are high lord now, Eris. But I am your mother. Do not command me like that again.”
Shame washed over him. “I’m sorry I’m- I’m still getting used to it.”
She nodded and sighed. “I came to tell you your mate returned to the Night Court.”
“Good.”
He moved around her, determined to leave his chambers. She followed behind him.
“Good?”
“What do you want me to say?” He stopped at his door and looked at his mother. He watched her scan his face, no doubt to study the pain etched into it. “I am mates with a male. A lesser fae male! Father would-“
“Your father is dead. His opinions died with him.”
“You can say that but you don’t know what it’s like!”
He raised his voice but he couldn’t help it. His mother didn’t understand. It wasn’t just his father but the whole court. The courtiers and noble families would never accept his rule if they knew. Just like his father would have executed him if he were alive still.
“I don’t.” She reached out, placing her hand gently on his arm. “But there is a reason he came tonight. He saved my life. He helped you.”
He refused to admit it was out of obligation. Azriel was most likely sent by Rhysand due to their bargain. But saying that aloud hurt too much so he buried it and gave another reason instead.
“And he will never betray his family. Not when they despise me.” His mother gave him a puzzled look. Eris replied softly. “You know they still blame me for Mor.”
His mother was taken aback. “That was centuries ago. You were a child.”
“It doesn’t matter to them.” Eris shrugged, moving away from her grasp. “They see what they want to see. What they wanted to see was the male I was under father’s command.”
She scowled. “If they can believe Rhysand is a good male after the horrors he inflicted under the mountain, they can find it within them to believe you are one as well.”
He scoffed at that but she wasn’t wrong. “I told Azriel the truth of what happened. I don’t think it matters. He would put his family first over an enemy he’s hated for centuries.”
His mother gave him another look of pity. He couldn’t stand it but bit his tongue to keep from accidentally commanding her.
“We have a court to address,” he brushed the front of his shirt to give his hands something to do. He needed to change, looking down at himself and seeing soot and burnt cloth. “And I need to find my brothers before they start a rebellion.”
A glance at his mother, he could tell that accusation hurt her. But his brothers were Beron’s sons through and through.
“Promise me you’ll be fair to them,” she grabbed his arm again. “Please.”
“I will not kill my brothers without just cause if that is what you are implying.” She looked away, shame etched in her features. “They have a chance to prove themselves.”
There was a beat of silence between them.
“The body is still in the courtyard.” His mother whispered it, like if she spoke too loudly it wouldn’t be true. “I couldn’t.” She stopped and took a shaky breath.
“Go find the Captain. He’s one of mine. He will handle it.”
He ushered her out of his chambers. As much as he wanted to be there for her and remain while she processed this, he had work to do. Maybe she would forgive him in time. She nodded, still not looking at him. He didn't want to say it but he couldn’t let her be fully hopeless.
“There’s a letter in our cabin, from Helion.” She looked up quickly, hope in her sad eyes that made Eris nauseous again. But he pushed forward. “It’s unopened. The wards still respond to you. Go find the captain then I suggest you get the letter. It’s in the sitting room.”
“What about the court?”
“I will handle it.”
She smiled at him, hope refreshed. He prayed that whatever Helion put in that letter, it would not disappoint her. One of them deserved some happiness and it wasn’t going to be Eris. She kissed his cheek and departed from him. He gave himself a few more moments alone. Mostly to shove down the hollowness in his chest.
Eris Vanserra was High Lord of the Autumn Court now and he was about to make it everyone’s problem.
