A Court of Gold and Shadows

Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours- Chapter 4

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Chapter 4: Feyre, High Lady of The Night Court (and Nesta, Lady Death...and Bryaxis)

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He did not figure it out in the weeks that followed.

He had theories of course.

For lack of a better idea he was back at Azriel pining for some female he couldn't have for some reason or another.

Which didn't make it any easier to narrow down the options.

It wasn't like Azriel had ever lacked companionship. If females weren't outright terrified of him then the chances are they fawned over him.

But then there was also the fact that...well. Azriel had never seemed to outright have the appetite for female companionship that Cassian and Rhys had over the centuries. His brother had always held himself aloft, removed from it.

Cassian had never investigated that more thoroughly but now it was there, scratching at the edge of his brain, puzzle pieces without a second one that matched.

All of it didn't make sense. He was missing something. And he was sure that it was obvious...

If Azriel was pining over some unavailable female and it wasn't Mor, then who was it?

And then Azriel threw a spanner in his theories.

"Anything else I need to be aware of?" Rhys asked at their weekly meeting at the River House. Azriel had told him all about Governors that had been making under-the-table deals while Cassian had once again complained about Devlon.

Some things never changed.

Cassian shook his head.

"I need a break."

The words came so out of left field that Cassian's jaw dropped.

But Azriel sat there, staring them both down, jaw set.

What?

In all the years that Cassian had known Az...these words had never once left his mouth.

But there they were. Azriel admitted that he needed a break and dared them to disagree with him.

What.

What was happening?

"A break?" Rhys repeated, trying his best not to make the surprise show on his face and failing horribly.

"Yes. Cassian and Nesta took a week in the Illyrian steppes a few months ago. I want a break," Azriel said, crossing his arms defensively.

He had taken that break. He had been quite happy about that break as well, but then Cassian had throughout his long life taken more than one break of his own free will.

The last time the Spymaster of the Night Court had taken a break longer than a few minutes or to sleep...well that was when he had taken a near-fatal injury. And even then, Azriel had been chomping at the bit, unwilling to stay away as long as Madja had wanted him to.

So for him to just come to them and ask, or demand, a break...that was so unlikely that it scared the shit out of Cassian, to be honest.

What was going on?

"You want a break," Cassian repeated. "Did something happen?" he wondered, looking at Azriel.

He seemed fine. Granted that didn't need to mean anything.