The artwork above is not mine.

•༻☾☽༺•

    The days following their mating ceremony took on an unusual pattern. They had chosen a new room in the house and were busy decorating it during the day. Seren often enlisted the help of Mor, Feyre, and Elain. Azriel occasionally had to accompany Rhys to some meetings.

    At night, they returned to the hidden valley. They had yet to sleep in their new bed. They'd agreed that they would not until this...frenzy...had dulled. Breakfast and dinner were awkward enough, between Azriel growling at anyone who looked at her too long and Cassian constantly egging him on. They both carried new bruises at the end of each day. Sometimes Rhys did as well.

    Seren picked up her three paintings and took one last look into her old room, then Azriel's. "Is that everything?" Elain asked.

    "I think so. If not, I suppose we'll find out soon enough." Seren tucked the paintings beneath her arm. They headed across the floor towards the new bedroom. Seren attempted to hide the shakiness in her steps.

    She hadn't been able to walk at all the morning after their mating ceremony, not that it had been an issue. They'd spent three whole days and the accompanying nights in the valley before they came home.

    Elain opened the door for her. Seren hung her paintings near the bed. She stepped back, making sure they were straight. Elain tapped her painting of Azriel. "Did you ever title this one?"

    Seren nodded with a small smile. "After I accepted the Bond. The Flame's Shadow."

    "A play on the nickname his shadows gave you?"

    "Yes."

    Elain sat down on the bed with a sigh. Seren moved about the room, organizing a few things. She settled her new sword, Elysian, into the weapons rack that hung from the wall. Several of Azriel's swords and daggers already filled it. Metanoia sat in one spot and there was an empty place beside it for Truth-Teller.

    Elain crossed her hands over her stomach. Seren straightened, knitting her brows. "Are you all right?"

    "Yes, I'm just thinking." Elain turned to face her. "Do you think of Erebus when you..."

    Seren shook her head. "I haven't. I've been afraid of that, but I haven't. When we're together, I feel the Mating Bond and it reminds me who I'm with. It reminds me that I'm safe." She bit her lip nervously. "I've had a few nightmares though." Usually, the nightmares included Beron and her father as well.

    Elain stared at the ceiling again. "I've been thinking about accepting the Mating Bond," she blurted out, "but I'm scared. Doing that means I've given up my mortal life completely. Nesta told me she struggled with the same thoughts when she found out she and Cassian were mates."

    "You love Lucien?"

    "I...I think so. Yes. I love him."

    "Have you told him?"

    "No. I'm scared." Seren crossed the room and sat down beside her. Elain slipped her hand into Seren's and squeezed. "I've acknowledged that I'm no longer mortal. I'm High Fae. My life is here and my family is here, but some days, I can't help but miss the way things used to be. Even when we were poor and starving, and Feyre and Nesta hated each other, things were simpler. We didn't have to worry about wars or courts or mates. We just had to worry about surviving. It was simple."

    "But it wasn't living." Seren met Elain's warm brown gaze. "I've shared similar thoughts. I have to wonder where I'd be if my father hadn't taken me to Beron. I'd probably still live in my old home with no knowledge of any of you, beyond stories. I'd be stuck fitting into the mold my father gave me. I wouldn't be who I am now. I wouldn't know how to fight or winnow or use my daemati powers. I'd still be a bargaining chip for my father. I wouldn't have found Azriel."

    "Do you miss it?"

    "I miss the familiarity of it," Seren replied, "but nothing more. I was scared when I...ran...from the Autumn Court. I was scared for a long time after I came here. There are days when I'm still scared, but for different reasons now."

    "What do you do?" Elain asked.

    "I remind myself that it's all right to be scared. Change is scary. It can lead to good or bad. The point is, it leads somewhere and who wants to stay in one place forever? It's important to feel ready for something, but sometimes, it's just as important to take a leap of faith."

    Elain nodded carefully. "I see what you mean. Do you think I should tell him?"

    "Do you?"

    "I'll talk to Feyre and Nesta first."

    "No one can make the decision for you, Elain. They won't tell you what to do."

    "I know," Elain sighed. "Talking helps me clear my thoughts. Don't tell Lucien anything, please."

    "I won't. Besides, he's not even here," Seren laughed.

    Elain grimaced. "Don't remind me." She hopped off the bed. "I'll see you later. Are we still going to plant the snowdrops tomorrow?"

    "After my daemati training."

    "I'll start turning the soil." Elain grinned and ducked out the door. Seren went back to work, stashing clothes in the wardrobe, placing books and trinkets on shelves, and smoothing out sheets.

•༻☾☽༺•

    "I'm worried." Rhys paced across the room, his hands clasped behind his back.

    Azriel and Cassian shared a look. "We can tell," Cassian replied. "About what?"

    "There's still no word on Koschei or the Mortal Queens. We've had no contact with Eris so we don't know what Beron is planning. I'm not risking sending someone into the Spring Court again after Tamlin attacked Az." Rhys ran his fingers through his hair, exasperated. "There's something going on and we're missing it."

    "Maybe they're all laying low because they know we have the Dread Trove and Nesta's swords," Azriel suggested. "And my spies are doing their best. I could go and..."

    "No," Rhys interrupted. "No, you're not going to look for any of them on your own. You're not going to watch Beron either. It's too risky."

    "I'm curious why they haven't tried to take the swords or the Dread Trove," Cassian said. "Who even knows where they are?"

    "I do," Rhys replied. "So do Amren and Az. No one else within this court, though."

    Cassian narrowed his eyes. "Why does Az get to know where they are and not me? Why not Feyre?"

    "Because I'm not Bonded to Nesta, and I know so that I can keep an eye on them along with Rhys and Amren," Azriel explained.

    "Feyre can't know because she's Made. If she knew where they were and they tried to call to her, she might answer. She might be able to get past the wards somehow, like Nesta did. It's the same reason why Elain can't know," Rhys added.

    "Amren was Made." Cassian crossed his arms, waiting.

    "Amren is...after the Cauldron...I can't..." Rhys scrubbed at his face. "You can't know because if Nesta learns anything through your Bond, the results could be bad."

    Azriel shot Cassian a warning look. "All right." Cassian sighed and uncrossed his arms. "I get it."

    "Don't worry too much, Rhys. We can't do anything until they show themselves. We'll just have to keep doing what we've been doing. We'll be ready when their plans are revealed," Azriel said.

    "Do you think Seren knows anything about Beron that could help us?"

    The High Lord she fears, the shadows whispered. He haunts her dreams. The bearded male, the High Lord, and the winged monster.

    Azriel stiffened and shadows twisted around his shoulders, ready to strike. "No, and even if she did, I wouldn't let you ask her."

    Rhys held his gaze, then dipped his head. "All right. I'm sorry."

    "It's fine. Try not to worry." Azriel started for the door.

    "Where are you going?"

    He only smiled in reply. Azriel breezed out of the office and made his way up the stairs. When he reached the third floor, he was surprised to see Seren's paintings gone from in between their old rooms.

    "Over here," she called. He turned, spying her in the new room.

    Azriel entered and surveyed the room. She'd kept herself busy while they were home. All of their things were arranged into a cozy setting. Their chairs and a table were by the fireplace. Books and a clock sat on the mantle. More books covered several shelves. Their weapons decorated the rack on the wall. Seren's three paintings hung next to the bed. Her new art supplies sat in a corner, waiting to be used. The bed was the same size as Azriel's old one, complete with a mahogany headboard and dark blue sheets. This room also had a balcony and an attached bathroom.

    "Do you like it?" Seren asked.

    "I liked it when we chose it." He lifted her off the floor and nuzzled the crook of her neck. Seren laughed as his shadows curled around her shoulders and wove through her hair. Azriel carried her over to the bed.

    "What are you doing? It's nearly dinner time," Seren giggled.

    "We can have dinner later," he replied. His siphons glowed and a shield formed around the room. "I want you now."

    "Oh," was all she said. Or all she could say, considering he was kissing her breathless.

•༻☾☽༺•

    "It's what you deserve, Girl. It's what I raised you to become."

    "You will never escape me. I own you, remember?"

    "He has not forgotten you, Girl."

    "I have not forgotten."

•༻☾☽༺•

    Azriel pulled the hair away from her neck as Seren knelt over the toilet, vomiting. When she'd woken from the dream, night was giving way to dawn. She still couldn't stop shaking. She couldn't wipe the words from her mind. He has not forgotten you, Girl. He has not forgotten.

    She needed to tell her family. How could she tell them? She'd kept it a secret for so long and now...Seren sobbed and threw up again. Azriel crouched down, rubbing circles on her back. What would Beron do? Would he come after her? Would he threaten her family? Would he threaten Azriel? Her mind drudged up Elain's visions and the screams she had described. Seren threw up once more. It was only liquid now.

    "Are you all right?" Azriel asked.

    She swallowed, the acrid tang of vomit burning in her nose. "I..." Seren closed her eyes, trying to calm her breaths. I need to tell you something, her mind thought. "I'm fine," her voice replied. "It was a nightmare."

    "I know. You were screaming."

    "I'm sorry."

    "Don't apologize. You can't help it." Azriel helped her to her feet. She flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth out repeatedly. "Was it...something I said or did?" He asked after a moment.

    "No, never. Don't think that." Seren hugged him, burying her face against his chest. "It wasn't your fault."

    Azriel threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. "Are you going to go back to bed?"

    "No, I don't think I could sleep. I'll go practice winnowing around the city or something."

    "Do you need me to come with you?"

    Seren shook her head. "I'll be fine. Go do your ridiculously early morning training." She rested her hand against his cheek and kissed him. Azriel pressed their foreheads together briefly before he left the room. Seren wrapped her arms tight around herself. I have to tell them. All of them. Soon.