The artwork above is not mine.

•༻☾☽༺•

Seren pulled a book off the shelf and opened it. A slip of paper fell from between the leaves. She picked it up, skimming over her plans. She dropped the book and began tearing the paper into tiny pieces.

"I will not betray them. I will not betray them," she repeated in a hushed voice. A lump formed in her throat. Seren pushed past it. "They trust me and I. Will. Not. Betray. Them." Being High Lady of the Autumn Court wasn't worth this price. She would find another way to help her old home, but she would not betray the friends she'd made in this one.

Flames singed her fingertips and set the shredded paper ablaze. Seren watched it burn, keeping the fire contained to the paper alone. Beron would learn of her betrayal eventually. She would deal with that when the time came.

As the last of the paper dissolved into ash, Seren exhaled. Guilt and fear fled from her mind, leaving her feeling serene and exhausted. The ashes disappeared and she stood. Seren returned the book to its shelf and collapsed onto her bed.

•༻☾☽༺•

Azriel entered the river house and started up the stairs. He was running behind again. He'd stopped by the House of Wind to set up a few things for Seren's next lesson. Gwyn had found him and asked for some help with her own blade tactics. He had worked with her longer than he meant to.

"Az."

The High Lord approaches, his shadows whispered.

Azriel turned and spied Rhys climbing the stairs behind him. Nyx was in his arms. "Yes?"

"Things didn't go as planned this morning."

"What do you mean?" Concern pricked at his gut. "Is Seren all right?"

"She's fine. Her powers are stronger than I expected. We did a simple exercise, and then...she told me things."

"What kind of things?"

"She's resting," Rhys replied, ignoring his question. "And I think you should let her."

"If she isn't awake, I'll leave her be," Azriel promised. He turned away, but Rhys spoke again.

"Did you break your bargain with her?"

"What?" Azriel gestured to the flame that had been wrapped around his arm the entire day. "No?"

Rhys shook his head with a grin. "I wondered about that, but I'm talking about your other bargain. The first one. Seren said you promised to stop monitoring her after her daemati training began, but she still has her tattoo?"

"I do too." Azriel turned, letting Rhys see his bare shoulder and the three crescent moons, interwoven with his other tattoos. "And no, I didn't break the bargain. I promised to stop spying on her when both you and Feyre trained her. Right now, you're the only one training her. The bargain isn't complete."

"Ah. You should remind her of that," Rhys said. He rocked Nyx gently. "Are you still angry with me?"

Azriel stiffened and tucked his wings closer to his back. Shadows curled over his face, offering comfort and security. "No."

"Are you sure?"

They watched each other for a moment. "What do you want me to say, Rhys? You ordered me to stop pursuing Elain, even when you knew how she made me feel." Azriel's voice dropped to a whisper. "As my brother, I thought you would understand that. How would you have felt if someone had ordered you to leave Feyre alone when she was with Tamlin?"

"If Tamlin made Feyre happy, I would have let her go with him," Rhysand shot back. "You don't get to make that comparison."

"I think I do. Elain had expressed her feelings for Lucien. She didn't want him. She wanted me. Damn it, Rhys." His voice grew louder. "For the first time in my life, someone wanted me simply because I'm me. Not for my power. Not for protection. Not because we were in a drunken stupor. Just because it was me. You took that away!" Azriel fell silent, recollecting himself. He made his voice flat once more. "I respected your order because you're my High Lord."

"I..."

Azriel held up a hand, stopping him. "We'll talk about this later."

Rhys nodded after a moment. "Fine." He went back down the stairs, cuddling Nyx closer to his chest.

Azriel continued upwards until he reached a landing. He drew close to Seren's door and raised a hand to knock. The door swung open as he tapped on it. She left it unlocked? That's a first.

Azriel poked his head inside. Seren was sprawled across her bed, her breaths deep with sleep. Her cinnamon and honey scent reached him. Buried beneath it was the faint odor of smoke. She used her fire, he thought. Because she was upset, or for another reason?

Her shadow broke away from her arm and rejoined the others clustered on Azriel's shoulder. Seren's flame disappeared, leaving his new tattoo exposed.

She is relieved now, her shadow whispered. She was distressed before.

"What happened with Rhys?"

Memories. Terrible memories. I saw them.

Azriel's mouth dropped open as the shadow passed images into his mind. There were so many bruises and cuts that had been hidden. There were so many scars that remained. He saw the hand shaped burn on her sculpted thigh. He saw her face, bloodied beyond recognition, complete with a broken nose and shattered jaw. He felt her fear and pain as though it were his own.

"Enough." The images faded. "Rhys is right. I'll let her sleep." He watched her for a moment longer. She shifted, her hand falling across the band on her arm. Seren's fingers twitched, as though she was feeling for the shadow. "Go," he commanded it. It slithered away from him and returned to Seren's arm. As soon as it settled down, the band of fire returned to Azriel. He stepped back and closed the door softly behind him.

•༻☾☽༺•

Seren blinked her eyes open to steady afternoon sunlight, pouring in through her balcony doors. Her stomach growled and her eyes were still heavy with weariness. Oh no. Did I oversleep? She sat up just as Nuala and Cerridwen appeared within her room. Nuala set a tray of food down. Cerridwen began to straighten up a few things.

"What time is it?" Seren mumbled. Neither of them answered. They finished with their work, then disappeared once more.

Seren rolled out of bed and sat down next to the food tray. A notecard was situated beside the plate. She read it as she bit into an apple. She hummed a simple tune as she read.

You missed our second lesson, which means you have homework. Practice reaching out again. I want you to try to find Azriel's shield when you train with him. I believe you have enough control over your powers to do this safely. I'll check in with him later and see if you were successful.

~Rhys

P.S. Please tell Mor and Elain that I did NOT harm you while we trained. They've been breathing down my neck the entire time you were asleep.

P.P.S. Please give me an excuse to drive Rhys into the mud.

~Mor

P.P.P.S. I'd love to try out some of my new moves on him.

~Elain

Seren grinned and set the note aside. "Apparently they have been breathing down his neck, literally." She furrowed her brows, thinking. "Wait, I missed our second lesson? That means I slept through the remainder of yesterday, last night, and most of today!"

She scarfed down the rest of the food on her tray. Seren grabbed her training clothes and changed quickly, nearly falling as she attempted to jump into her pants. She slipped a boot on while braiding her hair. A knock sounded on the door.

Seren tugged her other boot on and went to unlock it. She narrowed her eyes, spying the unlocked doorknob. I forgot to lock it? I was more tired than I thought.

She opened the door, revealing Azriel. "Nuala and Cerridwen said you were awake," he explained. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I missed two lessons. I didn't mean to stay asleep so long."

"It's all right. Rhys told me what happened and so did the shadow." He gestured to the small wraith on her arm. "Have you eaten?" She nodded. "Then let's go."

Rather than leading her down the stairs, Azriel stepped into her room and headed over to the balcony. Seren fought back a blush, realizing how many clothes she'd left on the floor. Azriel merely waited for her to come.

"Why are we going out this way?" Seren closed the door and joined him.

"Lucien is here and in the garden with Elain."

"And you didn't want to see them?"

Azriel didn't reply. He held onto her and took off. Seren glanced at his hands, recalling her conversation with Rhysand. Azriel had wrapped them firmly around her waist, making sure they weren't touching her skin. She let her arm slip down, bumping against his hands. Azriel tensed. She moved her arm with a murmured apology.

They reached the House of Wind and landed on the roof. Seren tilted her head, eyeing the targets and sawdust filled dummies that had been set up.

"Blade work, remember?" Azriel handed her a wooden dagger. "We'll start with this." Seren wrapped her hand around the hilt and angled the blade up. He nodded approvingly and moved behind a dummy. "Show me how you would attack its weak points."

Seren balanced on her toes, then launched herself at the dummy. The wooden dagger glanced off the dummy's inner elbow. From there, the dagger found a solid mark in the dummy's neck, then up its nose and eyes. She dropped low and slashed the dagger across its abdomen. Seren straightened, waiting for further instruction.

"You missed a number of spots but your handling is good. Are you more comfortable with that than with your dagger?" Azriel patted his thigh, where Hiraeth was sheathed next to Truth-Teller.

"This isn't an actual weapon," Seren murmured. I never want to touch that dagger again.

"You're using that so you can learn how to use an actual weapon."

"Maybe I'll be more comfortable with the idea of them by that time," Seren replied. "Which spots did I miss?" She crossed her arms. I need to reach for his shields too, she reminded herself.

"Armpit, inner wrist, ankles, back of the knee, and groin. There are more, but those are the ones you'll remember and be able to reach in most scenarios." Azriel rolled his hand, gesturing for her to continue.

Seren took her position once more. She aimed for each of the spots he'd pointed out. As she did, Seren began focusing her mental presence. She became a flaming hand once more. She left her own mind and began searching for Azriel's shields.

She found a barrier of shadows and Illyrian steel around his mind. Seren drew closer. Her physical body dealt a blow to the dummy's knee. From Azriel's mind, she could sense strong emotions. Anger, frustration, and a fierce urge to protect. How can I feel that if his mind is shielded? She wondered.

Seren scraped her flaming nails over his shield. Azriel watched her, his wings tucked tightly against his back. His shields fell a fraction of an inch. I'll tell Rhys you were successful, his voice echoed in her mind.

Are you all right? These emotions...did something happen? Seren caught a glimpse of her face. It was gone a heartbeat later, but not before she recognized the memory. The shadow told you?

It showed me.

And you are angry? Azriel didn't reply. Seren pulled herself away from his mind. His shields became impenetrable once more. "That happened several months ago. I don't remember what led up to it. I just remember that Father was angry and I must have done something to make him turn that anger onto me."

"He broke my nose and shattered my jaw. I remember that I couldn't see anything and I felt like my own blood was suffocating me. Father had to hire the best healers in the Autumn Court to come and fix me. It took them five months. I don't remember anything from those months. The healers said I have partial amnesia. I suppose it's for the best though. No one would want to remember that."

Seren bit her tongue, her mouth going dry. Cold anger gleamed in Azriel's hazel eyes. Once more, Seren was relieved that her father was dead, but not because of what it meant for her. Judging by the look on the Spymaster's face, death would have found Trestwyn again if it were possible. It would have been far more painful than the first time.

Azriel pointed to the dummy. "Again." Seren obeyed.