𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏

"𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘪 "

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╰┈˚ · ° .   THE FOLLOWING MORNING, I WOKE UP FROM the little sleep that I had gotten after returning from the job I was sent to do. When I walked downstairs, the blood of the faerie that had died the previous night, had been completely cleaned up as nothing had ever happened.

Just as I climbed down the last stair, a voice called out my name.

"Maiven, can I talk to you? It won't take long." Tamlin said, walking towards me with sure and composed strides.

"I guess." I answered unsure. My only hope was that the conversation wouldn't end up in angry shouts or death glares. I knew that he didn't know about me sneaking out during the night as he was burying the dead faerie, and I knew he didn't know about what I had actually done after I was back in the room that he had given me. And he definitely didn't know about the one I had killed as he mourned the male that had died in his dining room. The poor fae that I killed would serve another purpose. One that I did not know and I didn't want to but I had a feeling that I would soon enough.

"I want to give this to you." He said, extending his arm in front of him.

In his hand there it was. My knife. I was a little shocked to say the least. For all the time that I had asked about my weapons he never, not even once, replied with a maybe or I'll think about it. Not that I needed the others anymore since I had a chest filled with them hidden away in the woods now.

I reached forward, taking the knife. My grip on it was strong once it was back in my hand. I looked up staring at the High Lord in front of me with furrowed eyebrows. It still didn't make any sense to me.

"Why?" I asked totally and utterly confused

"Take it as a thank you for what you did yesterday night. It might not be all your weapons but I guess you can have at least this knife." He answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

I nodded my thanks to the High Lord before the High Fae swiftly turned around and walked away back to the way he had come from.

I twirled the knife, relishing in the familiar weight of it in my hand. A small smile formed on my face at the feeling of having it back.

The sound of steps alerted me of someone coming my way, but I never took my eyes off my newfound weapon. I soon recognized those steps. Steps that belonged to the red-haired Fae born in the Autumn Court that strangely enough now was the emissary for the Spring one.

"Why is this knife so important?" He asked without missing a beat as soon as he stopped directly behind me.

"Good morning to you too, Lucien" I said with amusement, still giving him my back. It was a psychological move, a way to let someone know that you do not fear them. I guess at that point I just functioned through The Temple training because I knew that Lucian was even trying to intimidate me.

"Yes, yes. Good morning Maiven. You wanted this, you didn't care about your other weapons, did you? Now, what makes this knife so important that you care for it so deeply? " He asked once again. This time I turned around to look at him, and the curiosity that gleamed in his eye behind the fox mask made me want to smirk.

"Someone gifted it to me" I simply replied with an unbothered shrug. It wasn't a lie, but still, I concealed the majority of the story behind it.

"Someone perhaps that you care for?" Before I could answer he continued "We talked about Feyre's love life back in the mortal lands but you never said anything about yours. So tell me. Is the person that gifted you this knife mayhaps be a boyfriend? A lover?"

"Why are you so curious about my love life, Lucien?" I answered, for once grinning like I really felt amusement coursing through my veins. Even if it was just an imitation of it.

"Normal curiosity and... I really want to know what makes that knife special." He replied with a grin that matched my own.

"No boyfriend, no lover. I didn't have the time for things like that in the mortal lands. I would have my fun and that was it. The knife was gifted to me by someone that I know." Or better yet, he knew me. I explained as easily as I could without giving much information.

"You are not going to say more about it, are you?" He said with an annoyed huff and an even annoyed roll of his eyes. Even his metal one made his annoyance transpire.

"No" I stated with a small smile, twirling on my feet and began to walk away before shouting one last thing "Goodbye Lucien."

────༺☽༓☾༻────

╰┈˚ · ° .  Days had passed from my interaction with Tamlin and Lucien. Feyre started painting again, something that had warmed my heart once I had learned of it. Feyre loved painting, but with the small amount of money that we had back when we were in the mortal lands, it was almost impossible for the girl to have paint. The only visible pieces of my sister's love for art were the small details that adorned our old and rundown cottage. The feet of the table, the dresser in our room. To this day, I still had no idea why Feyre decided to paint that on my drawer. The whirls and ribbons made with red and black paint. I didn't really care what it was because it had been my twin that had painted it, so for me, that was enough.

Feyre explained to me of Calanmai, the fire night, that apparently was exactly that night.

Tamlin had said that the both of us were not invited and to stay inside the manor. So here I was, in Feyre's room, watching as the girl fought against herself as the drums echoed in the room followed by the tang of magic.

"You want to go." I said flatly. The older twin just huffed. "Fey, please there are probably hundreds of fearies out there. Do you really think that going is the smartest or the safest thing that you could do?"

At that, Feyre's shoulder slouched before she dramatically threw herself backward, dropping ungracefully on the bed.

"You are right." She said defeated as she let out another huff as more drums could be heard in the distance.

"Why don't I go to get us something to eat for dinner so we can stay here and talk? Or maybe you could do a portrait of me? What do you think?" I suggested with a wiggle of my eyebrows trying to lighten up my twin sister's dark mood.

The small laugh from Feyre was the last thing I heard before I skipped downstairs to the kitchen to prepare something to eat.

But just minutes after, I heard the front door open and close.

I'm going to kill you— That was the first thing that I thought. I knew that it was Feyre and that she'd decided to go to Calanmai.

I ran upstairs to my room to grab my cloak all while I cursed out loud my sister's stupidity. I shouldn't have left Feyre alone knowing how much the girl wanted to go, but to my defense, I was hungry. My small blades were already hidden in the boots and the knife strapped to my thigh, as the couple of blades that I kept with me from the chest that was safely hidden in the woods, were hidden under the rest of my clothing. I rushed downstairs and to the stables. I didn't even stop to put a saddle on the horse, just the reins, before I was outside and trotting away from the mansion. I didn't even need to guide the horse, he too, followed the lure of the drums, and ascended the first of the foothills.

Smoke and magic hung thick in the air. Concealed in my hooded cloak, I gaped as I approached the first giant bonfire atop the hill. There were hundreds of High Fae milling about, but I couldn't discern any of their features beyond the various masks they wore.

I dismounted the horse, quickly securing him to a tree.

Making my way through the crowd, I searched for the features that I knew by heart, most of which I too had. But I couldn't find my sister anywhere. You would think that a human would spark like a beacon with all this Fae, but no, she was nowhere to be found. Beads of panic bled into my mind as I could see more and more faeries but not my sister.

I made my way back up the hillside and stood along the edge of a bonfire near the trees, still watching the Fae trying to recognize my twin between them.

I was drowning in my panic and I knew that I needed to calm down before I would succumb to it.

I rested my back on the trunk of a tree, taking big breaths, trying to calm my mind and heart. I needed to be in control. My emotions were clouding my judgment, and it was with that knowledge that I closed my eyes.

The panic quickly faded as my mind became empty and my emotions hollow. At that moment, I left behind the human girl and wore the skin of the trained assassin. Just a shadow between many. My eyes scanned the crowd once again but the sound of carefully placed steps coming towards me, sounded into my ears.

And so I disappeared.

Hidden in the dark I climbed on the tree directly next to the one where I was previously resting. I knew that my scent had saturated the bark of that tree with my heavy panic, but that only helped me hide away between the branches of my chosen tree.

The male walked forward. His eyes scanned the forest, searching for what I knew was the human scent between the many of the Fae.

From my spot on the tree, I knew that he was searching for me. I could see him. The male was tall, handsome and had short blue-black hair, like a raven's feathers. Violet eyes with flecks of silver like starlight and golden-brown skin.

He was High Fae and I knew that he was dangerous. I could feel the amount of power that this male had. But it wasn't enough for me to just turn my back and walk away. it should have, but he was like a magnet that drew me in.

So I unstrapped the knife from its place on my right thigh, holding it tightly in my right hand. And with the other hand, I retrieved the biggest of my blades that I had hidden in the boots.

Without thinking about it twice, I jumped from the tree and landed perfectly on the male.

Took by surprise, he fell on the ground with me above him pointing my knife to his throat and the blade to his heart.

"What do you want?" I said, tightening my hold on the weapons even more.

"I wasn't expecting this, I will be honest." The male spoke with a grin that spoke only of mischief. "I was just curious what a human was doing here on the Fire Night. That's all." He continued as he widened his grin. He was comfortable even with my bladed pointed at vital part of his body to live.

His answer just annoyed me, so to that, I pushed the point of my knife deeper into his skin making a bead of blood appear on it. But strangely, the idea of killing him never crossed my mind.

"Don't follow me." I commanded him with a clear tone, before once again, I disappeared into the darkness. I wanted to be gone before the male could have any chance to unleash his magic on me. He had probably been too surprised by me, a mere human, attacking him, that he hadn't thought of using it. But I was not going to try my luck more than I was already doing.

I started to search for my sister again, scanning the faces of the Fae in front of me, then mingled between each other as they sipped what was probably Fae wine.

From the corner of my eyes, I finally recognized the familiar features that my twin and I both had. A small smile formed on my face as relieved breath escaped my pink lips.

I started to walk towards Feyre, but quickly froze once I saw three faeries approach her too. Without a second thought, I slipped back into the shadows trying to find an advantage position, still keeping my eyesight directly on Feyre and the three faeries.

The three strangers had sharp-featured faces, free of masks. They looked like High Fae, but there was something slightly different about them, something taller and leaner than Tamlin or Lucien, something crueler in their pitch-black, depthless eyes. Faeries, not Fae.

"Human woman." One of them murmured, "We've not seen one of you for a while."

"What do you want?" Feyre demanded keeping her brave facade on.

Just a little longer Fey.

I slowly made her way to them. Concealing my steps and blending myself the best I could as I pushed down the need of having their blood coating my fingers.

The two faeries who flanked the first one that spoke smiled at Feyre, as he reached out and grabbed her arm in a harsh hold. "Just some Fire Night fun," He said, his pale, too-long hand brushing back a lock of her hair.

"Leave me alone," Feyre said, louder and angrier than I had expected.

"Bold statement from a human on Calanmai." said the one holding her arm. "Once the Rite's performed, we'll have some fun, won't we? A treat—such a treat—to find a human woman here."

I slipped behind the faerie that had just talked, pointing the knife at his throat. I immediately felt him stiffen as he released Feyre from his grip.

"I guess you are lucky tonight. Two human girls." I stated as I gripped his hair in my left hand to uncover more area of his throat for my blade to slash across from it.

The knife pushed deeper to the skin. A small line of blood slowly descended from the superficial wound before it healed. The other two faeries stilled for a moment. Feyre let out a small breath of relief as her eyes landed on me, recognizing me even if my face was still hidden under the cover of the black hood of the cloak.

The two faeries hands moved, but before reaching Feyre, they were halted as a new voice echoed in their ears.

"There you are. I've been looking for you." The voice belonged to the black haired male. The one that I had left on the ground just minutes before.

I rolled her eyes as we made eye contact. The male now stepped to Feyre's side and slipped a casual arm around her shoulders.

The three lesser faeries paled, their dark eyes wide. My eyebrows raised at that. Fear coated every inch of their faces.

"Thank you for finding them for me," The male said to them, smooth and polished. "Enjoy the Rite." There was enough of a bite beneath his last words that the faeries stiffened even more.

I huffed a little before pressing the knife further into the faerie's neck.

"I told you were lucky tonight. You are getting out of here still alive." I whispered in his ear with a smirk and a taunting tone before releasing her grip on his hair and lowering the knife that I had held to his throat.

The faerie looked back at me as one of his hands traced his blood-coated skin. And my smirk widened as I put my hand up and waved my fingers at him tauntingly.

Without further comments, the three faeries scuttled back to the bonfires.

Feyre stepped out of the male's arm quickly walking towards me. I sent her a glare, we would talk about this later, but as soon as she was at arm's reach, I brought my sister in a tight hug before pushing her behind me and farther away from the annoying male.

A half smile played on on the male's lips as he spoke "What are two mortal women doing here on Fire Night?" He asked.

I took a step in front of Feyre, covering her even more, before narrowing my eyes and glared at the male "You."

"Me." He answered, smirking.

And for some reason, I still could get myself to fear him like those three faeries had done, even if I could feel his powers on my skin, even if I knew that he was dangerously powerful. Maybe I was more damaged than I had previously thought.

"Our friends brought us." Feyre answered, catching the glare that I was sending the Fae and perhaps trying to calm the thick air that had created between me and the raven-haired asshole.

"And who are your friends?" He was still smiling—a predator sizing up prey. That is what I thought. So I did the same with him.

"Two ladies," Feyre lied again.

"Their names?" He prowled closer, slipping his hands into his pockets.

When it became apparent that the sisters wouldn't answer, he chuckled. "You're welcome," he said. "For saving you."

"I clearly had everything under control." I said, hissing at him. "And you just scared away my kills."

His eyebrow raised with a chuckle that was followed by a hum.

"Strange for mortals to be friends with two faeries, Aren't humans usually terrified of us? And aren't you, for that matter, supposed to keep to your side of the wall?"

"We've known them our whole life. We've never had anything to fear from them." Feyre answered, coming up with a quick lie.

"And yet they brought you to the Great Rite and abandoned you."

"Who said they have abandoned us?" I said, going along with my sister's lie.

"They went to get refreshments," Feyre said, and his smile grew.

Well, fuck.

"I'm afraid the refreshments are a long way off." he said, coming closer now. "It might be a while before they return. May I escort you somewhere in the meantime?" He removed a hand from his pocket to offer his arm.

"No." I simply answered with a nonchalant look that made Feyre pinch me on my side trying to shut me up.

"So you're not a part of the Spring Court?" Feyre asked

"Do I look like I'm part of the Spring Court?" The words were tinged with an arrogance that only an immortal could achieve. He laughed under his breath. "No, I'm not a part of the noble Spring Court. And glad of it." He gestured to his face, where a mask might go.

I pressed her lips shut together tightly trying to be discreet. I was really trying to hold in the laugh that wanted to escape, or whatever joke that I wanted to make for those masks that everyone seemed to wear there at the Spring Court.

But he saw it. His lips stretched into a wide smirk sending a wink my way that made my features change quickly to a more deadly one.

"Why are you here, then?" Feyre asked.

The man's remarkable eyes seemed to glow—with enough of a deadly edge. "Because all the monsters have been let out of their cages tonight, no matter what court they belong to. So I may roam wherever I wish until the dawn."

"Look at that, I could actually fit in." I mumbled with a snort.

Feyre, obviously having heard it, jammed her elbow into my side harshly. She always hated when I would say something like that, because for Feyre, I was the most important person in her life. The one that she loved the most. And she didn't like when I would compare myself to a monster. Even if I acted like one most of the time. Not that I cared.

The High Fae male titled his head to look down at me with an expression that I couldn't explain or understand.

Then I felt it, his magic started to swirl inside of him. Awakening. Something old, powerful. But he quickly leashed it back before anything could happen. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as it hadn't been his intention to do it. And for some reason, I believed him. His magic, though, didn't feel like a threat.

"What? " His voice echoed from somewhere, even if his lips had not move an inch,

My face scrunched. I didn't understand what had happened. It almost seemed like something was calling me, reaching for something buried deep inside of me. But it ended as soon as it came, draining me of almost all my energy. Noticing the male deep in his thoughts, Feyre took that opportunity to get us away.

"Enjoy the Rite." She said before dragging me away with her.

I turned one last time to look at the male, and strangely enough, his gaze was already on me.

"How? " His voice came as if it was far away, almost just an echo. But I had heard it. But he had not spoken out loud.

And with that strange note, I turned back around following after my sister.

As Feyre scanned the crowd her eyes met with those of a masked Fae. One that was russet and shone as brightly as his red hair. The other was metal.

"Oh no." Feyre said, making me look towards where she was still looking. And there, Lucian was.

The time that it took us to blink, he vanished into nothing, and a second later, someone had grabbed both my sister's and I elbows, yanking us away from the crowd.

"Have you two lost your senses?" Lucien shouted above the drums. His face was ghostly pale. "What are you two doing here?"

"Lucien, take your hand off my arm before I cut it off and shove it down your throat." I said darkly. I was still trying to figure out what happened with the raven-haired male and honestly, I was feeling more and more tired as the seconds passed.

Lucien watched my eyes darkening, deciding to take his hand off me was a better option than to test my limits and how much true my words held.

"I wanted to—" Feyre started, but was cut off by Lucien, who cursed violently.

"Idiot!" he yelled at her, then glanced behind him toward where the other faeries stared. "Useless human fools. the both of you" Without further word, he slung Feyre over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes before saying "I'll bring her back to the house you go as quickly as you can."

As I was still angry at Feyre for sneaking out like she had done, I made no move to rescue her from the Fae. So, with a nod, I let them go as I made my way towards where I tied the horse safely to a tree. I mounted him and without thinking of any direction, the horse led me back into the stables.

When I entered the mansion, I tiredly made my way to the room. My hunger was forgotten as I didn't have any energy left. Not to talk with Feyre. Not for taking my clothes off. Not for anything else. I just threw myself on the bed, cloak and boots still one as quickly as I fell into a deep sleep filled with dreams. The one that accompanied me for most of my life. Of the place that existed under the light of the brightest stars in the darkest of the nights.

I dreamed of Velaris. The City of Starlight.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

Maiven dreamed of Velaris?

Anyways, hi Rhys!!!

He is finally here with Calanmai.

I want this to be clear. This is an Azriel x oc fanfiction. There will be no other love interest other than him. What happened between Rhys and Mai in this chapter is not a mate bond. Rhys and Feyre are mates, just like in the books.

Btw I love this chapter and there is sooo much that is the base for what is going to happen going forward! I'm so excited!

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Saturday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾