The artwork above is not mine.

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Mikael glanced out the window. The moon was high overhead, but Estelle still wasn't back. He kept telling himself to stop being so paranoid, but there was a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't ignore.

Maybe she went for a flight, Mikael thought. Or she went to visit her parents. We are leaving soon after all. This is one of the last days she can see them. He stared out the window again. But she wouldn't stay out this late, would she?

Mikael sheathed Lovis at his back and left the bedroom. The hut was silent. Celeste and Sienna were snoring away in their room. Mikael spotted Calden in his. Nyx's bed was empty.

Maybe she and Nyx are off together? Mikael hesitated at the front door. I'm being paranoid. She can take care of herself. She wouldn't want me poking around in her business anyway.

Umbra brushed against his cheek. "Do you know where she is?" He whispered. The shadow angled itself towards the door. "Is she all right?" Umbra didn't move.

Mikael pursed his lips. She knows this camp better than I do. Another thought followed the first. Which means she isn't as aware of threats as I might be.

He shook his head, but couldn't shove aside the instincts that were urging him to go. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Mikael hesitated no longer. He strode out the door and leaped into the air, determined to find his Shadowsinger.

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Estelle stumbled down an alleyway, half asleep on her feet. She'd dropped a bottle of ale a few blocks back. After Nyx left, she'd chosen to find something to drink rather than going back to the hut right away. She was regretting that decision now.

She had completely lost her bearings. She was exhausted and half drunk. Her mind was fuzzy and the shadows' whispers were unintelligible. Estelle slumped onto a barrel and leaned her head against a wall.

She could feel a headache coming on, fueled by alcohol and lack of sleep. The shadows were tugging on her arms, but she ignored them. Maybe she'd just pass the night here and find her way back to the hut in the morning.

If Nyx wasn't gone, she'd reach out to him and ask him to take her home. Unfortunately, he was likely in the Spring Court by now. Not that he wouldn't leave if she needed him, but she wasn't going to interrupt whatever plans he had with Venelia. She'd be fine sleeping in an alleyway. She'd done it several times before.

Estelle stiffened, hearing something clatter to the ground close by. Footsteps dragged against stone. She sat up, peering through the darkness. The shadows were whispering urgently, but she couldn't tell what they were saying. They probably didn't even know what they were saying.

Five males staggered into view. Estelle recognized Ze'ev and Ronan. The other three were also Illyrians, some of Ze'ev's friends. She slid off the barrel a moment too late. Ze'ev saw her.

"Look who we have here," he drawled, slinging an arm over Ronan's shoulders. Liquid sloshed from a bottle in his hand. "Just the female I was thinking of." Estelle backed away, but tripped over something unseen. Ze'ev threw his head back with a laugh. "She's already got her legs in the air for me!"

Estelle pushed herself up to her knees. Her stomach churned and she vomited. She definitely wished she'd gone home now. Ze'ev and Ronan approached her, the other Illyrians in tow.

"This is the bitch who threatened me on the Bastard Lordling's behalf," Ronan sneered. "And all I did was give her a compliment."

"Estelle never has been one to like compliments. Maybe we should teach her how to show appreciation for them."

"If you touch me, I'll gut you where you stand," Estelle growled. She reached for Znaniya and Aesira, but found her scabbards gone.

"Looking for these?" Ze'ev held out a hand. Her weapons dangled from his grasp. "It seems I have a little more control over my magic than you do."

Estelle forced herself to stand. The world tilted around her and she stumbled into a wall. Ze'ev and Ronan laughed again, their unknown trio echoing their laughter. "This should be easy," Ronan snickered.

"Don't be so certain. Estelle is a slippery little thing. She's pushed herself through faebane. She could probably push through alcohol." A wicked smile curved across Ze'ev's lips. "Although, she might not be thinking of such things if my dick was in her mouth."

Estelle bared her teeth in a snarl and spat at the ground by his feet. Ze'ev's smile faded. He lunged at her without warning. Estelle sidestepped, but crashed into the wall again. Ze'ev stumbled into a pile of crates behind her. Estelle took off running, barely avoiding tripping over her own feet in the process.

She heard angry shouts as Ze'ev and Ronan gave chase. She couldn't fly or she would crash herself into something. If she tried to move through the shadows, the odds of her losing focus were too high. She'd just have to outrun them.

Estelle's stomach twisted again and she vomited, but managed to keep running. Something struck her back. Estelle screamed as she went down. Pain lacerated her spine and she couldn't move her wings.

Not again, Estelle thought. Not again. She scrambled to her hands and knees, looking up. Barren rocks and cliff sides met her gaze. She was on the outskirts of Windhaven. She hadn't realized they were so close to it.

Estelle twisted onto her back just as the five males burst into view. Ronan grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her towards them. She screamed again, the rocks shredding into the wound already bleeding down her back. Ze'ev grabbed her by the wrists, pinning her hands above her head.

"Get her wings," he snapped as Estelle thrashed on the ground. Ze'ev grinned again, leaning towards her ear. "I could have them clip your wings right now. What would you do then? Maybe you'd be lucky and the Bastard Lordling could heal them for you. Maybe you wouldn't be, and you'd carry worthless wings for the rest of your life."

Estelle tried to scream again and butted her forehead into Ze'ev's already broken nose. He wrapped his free hand around her throat, slamming her head against the ground. The impact distorted her vision, and Ze'ev blurred before her eyes. Estelle kept struggling, even as something was stuffed in her mouth.

She screamed when cold steel slashed through the thin membrane of her wings, trapping her. "How does it feel?" Ronan growled. "Move and you'll tear your wings even further."

Tears streamed down Estelle's cheeks. Fight them off, she screamed to the shadows. Do something! They couldn't. They were just as vulnerable as she was.

Someone began tugging at the buckles on her leathers. Estelle tried to break free of Ze'ev's grasp to no avail. The panels of leather were pried apart and ripped down to her elbows, leaving her only in the thin jumpsuit she wore beneath the leathers.

Ze'e'v's lips clamped down against her collarbone and Estelle kept struggling. The pain in her wings was blinding and panic fogged her mind. Not here. Not again. Not now. Not again. Not again. Not again. Not again. Ze'ev's hands set to work at the lacing and buckles of her pants. Estelle sobbed even harder. Not again. Not again. Not again. How could she have walked into this mess? Not again. Not again. Not again.

Blinding light filled the air and thunder cracked. Estelle could hardly see through the veil of tears coating her eyes. White wings unfurled as the Angel of Dawn tackled Ze'ev off of her. There was nothing but pure fury on his beautiful face. The light was coming from him. From his skin. The Prince of Sunrises.

Mikael drove his knee into Ze'ev's gut repeatedly, then grabbed him by either side of the face and smashed their foreheads together. He kicked the male aside and rounded on the others. Ronan and the three males were already running.

Mikael dropped down beside Estelle, his fury giving way to fear. He pried the blades from her wings and pulled the gag out of her mouth. Estelle practically choked on her sobs.

"It's all right, Batsy," Mikael whispered, sliding his hands beneath her. "It's all right. I'm taking you back to the hut. It's all right. I won't hurt you."

She didn't care. He could've been anyone. She wouldn't have cared. He'd stopped Ze'ev. Mikael lifted her and they flew away from the scene. Her sobs had quieted, but her tears still flowed and she couldn't stop trembling.

It almost happened again. Again. Again. Again. The thoughts roared in her ears and she buried her face against Mikael's chest. She didn't care that he was someone she barely trusted. She didn't care.

"It's all right," Mikael continued to murmur. "It's all right. You're safe." Estelle couldn't stop her cry of pain as they landed. The movement jarred her injured back and wings. "Shit," Mikael rasped. "Shit. Let me wake Sienna and Celeste and..."

"No," Estelle whispered. "Don't wake them up. Don't tell them. Don't tell anyone."

Mikael narrowed his eyes but didn't protest. He pushed the door open with his foot and carried her inside. He set her down on the floor of their bedroom. "Did he hurt you?" Mikael asked, lifting a hand to her cheek. "What happened? Why didn't you fight back?" He inhaled deeply. "Mother above. You're drunk." He started towards the door. "Devlon and Jorah got back a few hours ago. I'm going to tell them."

"No!" Estelle scrambled to her feet and grabbed his arm. "No, don't tell them. Don't tell anyone. Let's just take care of this and forget about it."

"Estelle, those males just tried to..." Anger flashed across his face. "You can't let them get away with that."

"If you tell Devlon and Jorah, they'll tell my parents. The last thing they need is to be worrying about me and the consequences of my stupid decisions."

"They're your parents. You shouldn't keep this from them."

"They don't need to know. No one needs to know."

Mikael stared at her, then closed the door. "What happened?" He tossed his sheathed sword onto his bed.

Estelle swallowed hard and finished removing her leathers. Ze'ev had been close. He'd come so close to... "I needed a drink but I got a little lost. Ze'ev, Ronan, and those other males found me and I was too disoriented to fight them off."

"Why didn't the shadows do anything?"

"Their abilities are extensions of my own."

"Meaning if you're drunk, so are they?" Estelle nodded and shed the last of her leathers. Mikael took a step forward and she tensed. "May I?" He gestured towards her back. "Someone has to heal these or people will ask questions."

"Fine." Estelle knelt and rested her forehead against the bed frame. Mikael's touch was barely perceptible as he began to heal the wound on her back.

"You haven't been sleeping well since we arrived here," Mikael pointed out. "Does that have something to do with Ze'ev?"

Estelle closed her eyes. "I learned a long time ago to sleep with one eye open while in Windhaven. For all its reformations, it's still a dangerous place."

Mikael set to work on her wings and Estelle hissed in pain. "Sorry." He hesitated, then said, "You're so calm right now." Estelle didn't reply. "Has this happened before? Is that why you have to sleep with one eye open?"

She remained silent, gritting her teeth as he kept working. "Lack of sleep can cost you greatly in a fight. I can shield the hut so that only select people can enter," Mikael said at last. "Or the room at least. You'll be able to sleep safely then."

Estelle's breath caught on a sob and she nodded. "Please."

Mikael's magic withdrew from her wings. "It's done," he said a heartbeat later. "Only Celeste, Sienna, Calden, your cousins, your brother, you, and I can enter this room." He gripped her by the shoulders and rotated her. His warm brown gaze took in the mark on her collarbone. Mikael leveled his hand over it. Golden magic swirled around the bruise and it vanished.

"Thank you," Estelle whispered. "Thank you for coming." He nodded, his fingertips still grazing her collarbone. "And I'm sorry, Mikael. I'm sorry I was so quick to judge you. I'm sorry for the things I said to you."

He smiled. "I'll accept your apology, only if you accept mine."

"Deal." Estelle managed a small smile.

"Go to sleep, Batsy."

Estelle didn't bother changing. She crawled into bed and folded her wings against her back. She closed her eyes, then opened them again briefly. Mikael tugged his leathers off, leaving him in a short sleeved shirt and a pair of thin leggings. She blinked, spying a narrow band of black around his arm. She blinked again and it was gone.

Estelle closed her eyes once more. He had come. Something...or someone...had told him to come. She thought she might know where her missing shadow was now. It was with the Shadow's Prince. The Shadow's Angel. It was with Mikael.