𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎

𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨 

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𝐀𝐳𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

[His pov from the last 2 chapters]

╰┈˚ · ° .  THINKING OF MEETING THE REST OF the Archeron family was more jarring than I had thought. I couldn't lie, I was feeling nervous at the prospect of meeting her father and sisters. I felt my fingers twitch at the thought that I hid quickly behind my back.

In the foyer of the Town House, alongside my brothers, we waited for Feyre and Maiven to arrive in a tense silence that was finally put to rest when Cassian finally spoke, "I don't think it's a good idea for her to come." He said lowly, almost fearful of admitting this out loud.

Rhys raised a challenging brow, "Do you want to be the one to tell Maiven that she shouldn't come?"

No one would willingly want to face her wrath at insinuating that she shouldn't come with us. We all cared about the hearts beating in our chests or the blood in our veins. Maiven was scary on a good day, I couldn't think of when she was actually angry and on a warpath.

"Fuck no." Not leaving any room for argument Cassian shook his head vigorously.

"They are her sisters." I said, knowing that the reluctance was because of Nesta and Elain, nothing to do with her father.

"And she thinks that they hate her." Cassian stated, using his hands to gesture widely. "It's not going to be pretty. At all. Probably bloody too." He mumbled the last bit under his breath as if we would not be able to hear him the same.

"Wrong." I let out a breath, "She wants them to hate her. She thinks that is what she deserves." It wasn't hard to spot the self-hate for her actions that she tried to cover up with indifference. It was clear, at least to me it was.

It hadn't been a surprise that Feyre had chosen me to fly her out to the mortal lands, the suspiciousness that had wanted to talk to me hadn't left my mind since the day I had first met her. Many underestimate her, but the Archeron girl wasn't as blind of queues as one would think just because she hadn't grown up with receiving any education.

I bowed my head to Feyre in agreement to her request, picking her up in my arms aware of the questioning look directed at me from Rhys, before he winnowed us away.

Wings snapped open, ready to balance us instantaneously once we were airborne nearby the wall, trying to make it as comfortable as it was possible for the girl in my arms.

Feyre was tense, I knew that not having wings would make anyone nervous to be so far up from the land. I cleared my voice, deciding to speak, trying to lessen her nerves. "It's abhorrent, isn't it," I said referring to the wall that divided the two worlds with a magic barrier.

"I can see why you—we were deterred for all these centuries," Feyre said, wincing as she corrected her words.

"You'll get used to it—the wording," I told her, noticing how she still had trouble referring to the Faefolk as her own people.

"I don't really know where I fit in anymore," She admitted lowly, her voice almost lost to the wind roaring around us as we flew.

Passing through the gap in the wall wasn't comfortable to say the least. It felt like the magic was lunging at you, as if enraged we'd slipped past.

It lasted for an uncomfortable second that stretched too long before we were on the other side.

The mortal lands were covered in layers of snow, a drastic difference from the ever-long spring weather of the first court that bordered it.

Another moment in silence passed before I braved to speak again. To confront the girl of the reason why she had chosen me to fly her out.

"Ask." I simply said, trying to not grip her tighter with the sudden rush of nerves.

"I know there is something between you and my sister." Feyre started, "You have to be blind and stupid to actually be unaware of it." A small smile formed on my lips at her words. For my part, I knew I hadn't been the most subtle person regarding my feelings for Maiven, so it wasn't a surprise that she had caught it. "I just want to know if you really like her. Because if you don't, if you are just playing around with her, then stop. If Maiven starts to care about someone, she does it with all she has. And I know my sister. She cares about you. And with all she has been through, she doesn't deserve to have her heart broken too. She already suffered enough."

I swallowed the lump in my throat at the emotions behind her words. Hurting Maiven in any way was the last thing that I wanted to do. Now or ever.

I didn't know if it was the right thing to say, but it was the truth, and I needed Feyre to understand. The love that Maiven had for her sister was so pure and infinite, that I wasn't sure I had ever seen something like it before. It was just a testament to how much she could love someone.

"She is my mate." I revealed through a low murmur. Just enough to make Feyre's Fae hearing catch it.

Feyre widened her eyes, her lips parting to let out a gasp. "Mate?" She breathed out, "Does she–"

"No." I cut her off with a shake of my head, "Not yet. I don't want to scare her away." Which we both knew it would have happened if I had told her as soon as the bond had cemented on my part.

"You have to tell her." Feyre said after a moment of thinking, "She will be scared and possibly she will run away. But she will come back, I can assure you this." I saw the begging look in her eyes, only then I understood how imperative it was that I revealed this to Maiven, that she was my mate. She needed to know. It was the right thing to do and it made me feel even worse that I had to still do it. It's not like I hadn't thought of it before, but maybe it was me that was afraid. Afraid that she would reject me.

I clenched my jaw, I already kept it a secret for too long. "I will tell her once we go back to Velaris."

 ──── ⋅⋅•☽⟡☾•⋅⋅ ──── 

╰┈˚ · ° .  The atmosphere was tense in the Archeron estate, turning even more sour after Maiven had stormed off following the confrontation with her sisters. I couldn't help but sigh in relief once it was over, using my shadows that had tracked her to stay with her, to find her.

I noticed as the days passed how they seemed to search for Maiven more often— even without my command— it was like they yearned for her as much as I did. It had been centuries since the last time I held so little control over them, and for this, for her, I couldn't find myself to care.

When I traveled to the roof of the estate, I found her with her gaze locked to the rolling lands around the house. But I was surprised to see that much of the pent up anger and energy she had carried over dinner, was finally lost.

It was maddening having her so near and yet so far away.

I had been angry when she had revealed that Braken wasn't done with her. How even after she had died, after all the trauma that Fae had caused her, he was still wanting to hold her hostage to him.

When I moved closer, I willed my shadows to surround us. I wanted to hide her. From the assassins, from any dangers, from the rest of the world. And when wisps of my power touched her, I was gone. I needed more than anything to have my hands on her skin, I wanted to feel the warmth, the bumps of the scars that covered her like paint on a canva. I need it more than my next breath.

And when my thumb traced the line of my jaw, and her eyes slammed shut with a sigh of relief, I knew that I couldn't move away. I knew that nothing would ever make my heart ache as much as she did. It was uncommon to see that someone could ever be relieved to have my hands on them— hands burned and cursed— but she did.

"You are beautiful." I told her. Un understatement. There were no words to describe her.

My eyes searched for hers, gray as a storming sky. Then her lips, red like a fresh berry. Her body was flush against mine. The softness of her breast pressed against the hard panes of my body making my head spin.

I wanted her. Oh, how I wanted.

Her lips crashed against mine making me almost weak to the knees. It wasn't clean, careful. It was all hunger and yearning. Hard, filled with hunger. There was no softness. Her tongue against mine, I devoured her in the way a starved man would. She was everything I had ever wanted and needed.

Guilt for kissing her without her knowledge of the bond made itself known for a second, and then she tugged at my roots, a groan spilling from my lips.

I tilted her head back to kiss her even deeper if possible as I wrapped my hand around her throat. Mine. Mine. Mine. She felt like mine.

I was so distracted that I hadn't thought of the consequences. Only when she staggered back, lips red and swollen and eyes wide, that I remembered.

There was no wall to divide the bonds. She was mine and I was hers. The bond had cemented, I could feel her, completely, leaving no place to further question if it had been only in my imagination.

Fear. Dread. They slammed into me as betrayal flashed through her gaze.

The pleading tone her voice had taken when she had begged me to tell her that I had not lied to her. That I had not known that she was my mate.

I couldn't. Not again. I couldn't lie and tell her that.

"I'm sorry." Pain seared my heart as she took another step away from me. "Don't go," I begged her, "Maiven, please."

She was gone, and with her, so was my soul. 

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

Okayy, sooo, we have Az POV too because I couldn't help but rip your hearts out with the last chapters and set it on fire with this one. Man that was painful to write, even more so the Maiven because Azriel is painfully in love with her already and he thinks that he doesn't deserve her. That she deserves better than him.

Thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Tuesday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾