afflicted

38

It was around noon when Rhysand poked his head into Callie and Azriel's room. He looked ghastly- like this was the absolute last thing he wanted to be doing with his day. Callie untangled herself from a grumpy Azriel to smile at Rhysand in the doorway.

"I'd love it if the three of us could talk," Rhys said quietly.

"Fuck offffff," Azriel grumbled, rolling over and burying his face in the pillow. Callie threw him an apologetic glance, cringing at Azriel's tone of voice. She knew he was still quite angry with his brother. They hadn't spent very long talking before they'd both decided Azriel needed rest more than anything. When Callie had first arrived, she'd slept for days. She couldn't judge.

"I think he's grumpy because he's still tired," Callie said, rubbing her hand lovingly across Azriel's back. "Maybe after dinner? So, we can all have some time to think about what we want to say? Give him some time to rest and wake up?"

"I'm right here," Azriel grumbled into the pillow. Callie rolled her eyes, fighting back a smile. With every minute he'd been here she'd seen more and more of him slowly come back to life. It made her hopeful for the future. Maybe things could feel okay again someday.

"Plus, I have something I really need to do," Callie said, kissing the back of Azriel's neck as she climbed over him and out of bed. She had a lot of hard conversations ahead of her and it was hard to know which one should come first. But a certain blonde had been chomping at the bits for a moment alone with her.

"Sounds good," Rhysand nodded from the doorway, shutting the door behind him as he left. Callie looked to Azriel with a glare, and he peeked his head up to see her, just to groan and rebury his face when he saw her expression.

"He's trying," Callie said softly. "You should at least hear him out."

"He almost got you killed," Azriel scoffed. "I think we're past the point of hearing him out. He caused all of this and all he had to do was fucking talk to me." Callie sat on the bed next to him and he rolled over to face her.

"You know it was more complicated than that," she sighed. "I still am not even clear on all the details, so it would be helpful for him to fill those gaps. You know your brother, Azriel. He never would have put anyone in danger if he saw any other way." He wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her to where he laid. He hadn't been able to stop touching her since he'd arrived. She couldn't really blame him. She could only imagine the levels of panic he had experienced while she'd been gone.

"I love you, Callie," Azriel said. "To me, you are what is most important. If you want me to hear him out, I will." Callie smiled, leaning to kiss his cheek. He closed his eyes and gave her a sleepy smile.

"I love you," Callie said.

"I'm so sorry for what I've done to you," he said, suddenly somber. "I'm not sure there will ever be enough I can do to apologize to you, but I'll spend the rest of my life trying to. Just know that it's my biggest regret in this life." She brushed his messy hair off his face and looked at him with so much adoration that it felt like it was flowing out of her.

"You kept me alive and safe and healthy even when you thought I'd murdered your entire family. You, of all of us, have the absolute least to apologize for." He looked at her for a long time, unsure of what to say or do. His heart felt heavy, and his eyes stung with the exhaustion and building threat of tears.

"I will always be sorry," was all he said.

"As will I," she agreed. "I'm going to go find Vera. Stay here and get some rest and I'll see you in a bit, okay?" He nodded, rolling back over to fall back asleep and she smiled at the fact that he was hers. Then finally, she walked through the house to find her friend.