A Court of Darkness and Melodies

Chapter 14

Before I start this chapter, I wanted to say some things, first being that the song above is my life and second, IMAGINE AZRIEL IN A TUX I CAN'T-

Azriel's POV

Azriel flew up to the House of the Wind, going to get ready, trying not to think about Gwyn. The mating ceremony was in a grand ballroom in the heart of Velaris and Rhys's promise to Nesta of it being the most magnificent ceremony ever was certainly fulfilled. 

He had overseen the preparations and even he had been shocked at how much Rhys had spent. There had been expensive decorations everywhere. The hall was massive, with an aisle decorated with black rose petals in the middle, and about two hundred fancy chairs on each side. The stage where Cassian and Nesta would make their vows had been decorated with all sorts of flowers, from lilac tulips to white roses and even gold hyacinths. And the amount of food. He wasn't even going to think about that.

Azriel landed smoothly on the balcony of the House of the Wind. He crossed the living room and started to go down the hallway that would lead to his room before he realized what he was hearing.

Jogging backwards, he peeked in Cassian's room and saw him putting something on his hair and singing. Azriel tried to hold back his laughter at Cassian's delightful singing, but that just resulted in his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

"You know I can see you, you bastard." Cassian said, brushing his hair and looking at Azriel in the mirror. A loud snort slipped from him and Cassian burst out laughing. 

Grinning, Azriel opened the door of Cassian's room completely, meaning to walk in, when the smell of sex hit him and made him stop in the doorway.

His face scrunched and he waved a hand in front of his nose disgustedly, "What the hell have you been doing in here?!"

Cassian threw the brush at his face which his hand snapped up to grab centimeters from his cheek. Throwing it on the bed, he walked in, nose wrinkled, and slapped his brother on the back.

"Congratulations." He said genuinely, still trying not to laugh, and Cassian threw him a grin, turning back to the mirror and starting on his hair again.

Then as Azriel started to walk out of the room, he met Cassian's eyes in the mirror again. "Thank you, Az." Cassian said to him, humming again, and Azriel sent one of his shadows to mess up Cassian's hair before he walked out of the door. 

"Hey!" Cassian's shout echoed at him down the hallway and he quietly chuckled to himself. But his hushed laughter soon disappeared as the memory of Gwyn shivering against him suddenly rose up in his mind. He quickly walked into his room and shut the door, leaning against it and sighing.

He did not know why he had offered to close Gwyn's dress's zipper for her. He knew how uncomfortable she was around men and she had practically rejected him a few hours earlier. 

Azriel locked the door to his room, pulling off his shirt and taking off his boots. He wanted nothing more than a warm bath right now. The silence hadn't made him feel at ease since quite a while now.

Azriel padded into the bathroom barefoot and turned on the faucet, standing in front of the mirror while he waited for the bath to fill up. He looked at the shadows beneath his puffy eyes, his rumpled hair which he hadn't bothered to brush in a while, and the tired look in his eyes. 

The he slipped out of his jeans and slowly settled into the hot water, feeling his muscles relax. He stayed in there for a while, with nothing but his overbearing thoughts and shadows for company. 

********

"Hurry up Az! I don't wanna be late to my own mating ceremony." Cassian barked outside his door, constantly turning and jiggling the door knob in attempts to get the door open.