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divinemare · 1 month

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Cruel Cauldron

✎ᝰ┆azriel x oc

ᝰ┆part five

part four

—— —͙ – -

Two weeks ago…

“Are you really making me do this?” Karina’s husky, low voice asked her mother minutes before her departure from Anthra.

“My sweet girl, I would’ve thought that you would have understood your purpose by now. I must say I’m disappointed, I raised you to be more intelligent than that, Karina,” her mother’s fake sweet voice sounded more cruel than anything, giving Karina chills.

“I’m sorry to be a disappointment, mother. Yet again. But what’s new, right? So please just explain to me why the fuck do I have to marry that pretentious batstard!” She exploded, because just at the thought of Azriel’s face —a thought that, annoyingly and inevitably had been printed in her mind since what happened in the balcony—, made her blood absolutely boil.

“A bat what?” If her mother didn’t scold her for raising her voice, it was only due to her perplexity at the ridiculous name Karina had just spilled.

“He looks like a bat and his a… you know what, forget it mother, I’m just gonna disappoint you further.”

Verena sighed and rolled her eyes as if to say that that was, in fact, true. Karina ignored the sting in her heart as she had been doing for 250 years now.

“I’m sending you there not as a bride but as a weapon. You’ll bring them to their knees, destroy them from the inside out, without them even knowing what happened. You and I, my dear, we’ll take Anthra to glory.”

The hairs in the back of her neck stood on end, and her skin went so cold with dread that she had to suppress a shiver.

Karina had no idea what her mother was talking about, and Verena would surely not elaborate any further, she would only know when her mother considered it was the perfect time. That only intensified her dread, because nothing remotely good could ever come from that look of absolute cruelty of Queen Verena Basdearg.

Oh good Mother, what have I gotten myself into.

៚ ·

Present Day…

Arisa used to compared her a lot with camaleones, claiming that her little sister had a huge ability when it came to adapting. Karina could mingle in any given space, attracting attention and looking so natural like she was just a part of.

Yet it was the start of her second week in Prythian, and in the Night Court more specifically, and she couldn’t still get used to the horrendous predicament she found herself in.

She barely left her room, only at late hours of night to explore the breathtaking castle she now apparently lived in. She knew, —not only by her power but for the instinct of already knowing him—, that Azriel watched her every step, and that was the only thing keeping her from dying of boredom, toying with him until she could feel the vein in his forehead pop without even seeing it.

That, and her brunches with Mor and Feyre. The two females had been her only consolation in here. Feyre, from the moment she arrived, had tried to make her feel as comfortable as she could possibly, and Mor and her had always gotten pretty great along in the decades of knowing each other.

But as much as she enjoyed the company of both females, and appreciated the beauty surrounding her and the way Rhysand had tried to make up for the whole mess by giving the most ravishing, luxurious gifts, it wasn’t enough to appease her sorrowful heart.

She missed her castle, her guards; those who had accompanied and guarded her since she was merely just a youngling. She missed visiting the Silver Land to make presence as their Princess. She missed her sister, greatly, their morning walks in the palace’s immense garden, their horse rides whenever Arisa was too tired from Crown Princess duties, and of course, their endless talks. Karina missed her confident, her greatest advisor, her big sister.

And, of course, she missed Maxon, so fucking much she started scolding herself and her heart for being so stupid.

Of course she could’ve never married him, marry the male she loved, marry for love. She had been stupidly naive to even believe it a possibility.

But she had, deep inside her, she had. Karina had dreamed marrying her best friend in the Talihsiz River. Moving to a Estate in the Silver Land and finally finding some peace by herself.

Now her reality was very, very far away from that.

She would no longer have a beautiful wedding in the place she considered the most beautiful place on earth, she would no longer move to a beautiful Estate in her beautiful piece of land, in fact, she may have to live in here for the rest of her life, and, most importantly, she would no longer marry her best friend, but rather the male she couldn’t stand at all, and whom couldn’t stand her at all too.

What a change of scenery that had been.

A knock on her door adverted her attention from the bubbles of the bath she was playing with. With a sigh, she sent sparks of her power to every corner of the room, covering those spots where shadows could linger.

“Who is it?” Karina asked in an innocent voice, making spirals with her fingers in the water.

“Azriel,” the rough voice of the shadowsinger sent a shiver down her back, even tho the water was hot and steamy.

“Then come back later, Karina’s not available right now,” she smiled wickedly even tho Azriel couldn’t see her, and she could almost hear his jaw and his fists clenching at the other side.

“When would that be, then?”

“When a rock falls down your head and I’m delivered with the tragically awful news of your passing.”

A frustrated groan was everything she heard for a moment, as if Azriel had to take a couple of seconds to regain patience before speaking again. That only made things much more amusing for Karina.

“It is important, Karina,” the way he used her name always sounded like a scold, like a grumble, like it was difficult for him to even pronounce every syllable without clenching his teeth.

“Ok then, come in,” she sighed dramatically, and only lifted her gaze from the water when the door closed.

Her cat-like smile only intensified when she saw the shock and redness creeping up Azriel’s face, for a moment, he looked so unlike the Spymaster she had known for so long it was… refreshing. Only for a moment, of course, because quickly enough, he recovered and went back to full seriousness, the only hint of his uncomfortableness was the way his eyes moved all around the room, suddenly finding the dust in the carpet very, very interesting.

“Really, Karina?” His clenched teeth told her he was probably mad with her.

But when was he not, right?

“What? You said it was important,” for toying purposes, Karina lifted a leg out of the bathtub, the rock beneath her skin felt cold now, and the air gave her sudden chills. But everything was worth it while watching Azriel go rigid in his spot.

“Please just… put on something, anything,” he was damn good at hiding it, but the small color in his cheeks was proof enough for her to know her game was working.

“What? Are we not supposed to get married in, what, a week?” She said it so nonchalantly that Azriel’s jaw tightened at the point of almost snapping.

“Can you please just…put something on?” He said through gritted teeth, causing a slight laugh from Karina.

As she knew Azriel wouldn’t dare to look at her, she simply got out of the bathtub and climbed the stone stairs to the floor, fully naked, to where she had left her bathrobe.

“So, what was that so important thing you came to say?” She fell to one of her bedroom sofas with a dramatic sigh, crossing her legs and playing with her wet hair.

Azriel only dared to look at her for a fraction of a second. His eyes went up to her, and as fast as they came, as fast as they stared away. Karina caught a glimpse of something in them, but they were gone so quickly she did not have the time to guess what it was.

“Rhys wants to talk to you about the ceremony preparations,” his tone was as serious as ever, his back so straightened she wondered if it hurt, and his wings so tucked in they look rigid.

At least all of this would have some fun, after all.

“No thanks,” with another dramatic sigh, she dismissed what it even hadn’t been a question, and stood up to go to her closet to start looking for something to wear.

“Karina, this is really important.”

“Well then you can do it, both of you can do it, if I only may request we add some drops of poison in the dessert so I can die before this whole thing starts, that’ll be great, thanks.”

The male tensed his jaw for literally a split of a second in an attempt to calm his anger, but by the way his eyes moved so fast, Karina could bet it was not working.

“You think I want this? Believe me, it brings me no joy to think I’ll have to be bound by you for eternity, but you can thank all of this to your mother. Now, if you want to stop this wedding, then go convince her not to start a war with us,” 99% of the time, Azriel was the most impassive, nonreactive male she’d ever known, nothing could bother him, nothing could face him, nothing could make that serious mask slip off.

But that 1%, the one he was remotely close to her, he could lose every bit of temper and calmness like nothing in this world could ever.

“Maybe you are stupider than I thought, because how in the holy Cauldron’s name do you expect me to do that. Now I may be pretty and smart and funny and charming, Azriel, but I don’t do miracles.”

“You know what? I’m gonna walk away from this conversation before you make me a 500 years older,” with a heavy sigh, and more of a defeated look than anything, he hurried out of the room. Not before turning around when he was nearly out, and speaking his last words. “Rhys wants to meet up at dinner. Don’t be late.”

Those last words felt so threatening anyone else would immediately get the message: it was a threat. But even tho the hairs on Karina’s back straightened at hearing his grave voice, she made it a point to communicate her displeasure with a huff before Azriel left the room completely.

Well, at least she could wear a pretty dress tonight.

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divinemare · 1 month

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-ˏˋ⋆ 𝔄 𝔠 𝔬 𝔲 𝔯 𝔱 𝔬 𝔣 𝔤 𝔬 𝔡 𝔰 𝔞 𝔫 𝔡 𝔪 𝔬 𝔫 𝔰 𝔱 𝔢 𝔯 𝔰 ⋆ˊˎ-

└──» ✎ 。 Azriel x Oc

part twelve

part eleven

┊✧*｡ ✯┊☪︎⋆✧*｡ ┊

The screaming in her ears somehow intensified as she got farther and farther away from the small cottage. Birds chirped atop of her and howls that sounded like something more sinister than animals combined in an almost unbearable grieving symphony.

Mareena woke up from her nightmare without so much as a jolt. She was used to them by now, she had had them since she had any memory. They had stoped tho, for some time. And then, out of nowhere, had started again.

She got out of bed slowly, taking her time to shake off the side effects of the nightmare, she didn’t wanted to go down looking like this. So she purposefully took longer than usual getting ready to go start the day.

The spring sun in Velaris greeted her with warm when she stepped outside of her balcony, the air was filled with warm smells. She let herself be momentarily carried away by the peacefulness of the moment, until soft, almost inaudible knocks on her door made her open her eyes again.

“Come in,” she already knew that, when she turned around, Azriel would be standing on her doorway with his hands on his back, not daring to come inside, no matter how many times she invited him in.

So she smiled, and turned around to face the Shadowsinger before her.

“Goodmorning,” his deep voice was like morning coffee, and it made her smile grow wider and the feeling of reluctance slip away.

“Goodmorning, Az, want to come in?” Her smile turned amused, and one of her eyebrows shot upwards already knowing what his answer would be.

“No, uhm, I just came to… breakfast is ready, are you coming?”

Mareena laughed softly, and nodded.

“I will, in a minute.”

Azriel nodded too, and turned around as if to leave, but stoped midway. He wanted to say something, Mareena saw it in the way his eyes twitched ever so slightly.

“Another nightmare?” He asked after a moment of silence.

Mareena’s smile disappeared and a heavy expression settled instead. She sighed deeply, and nodded as she closed the window to the balcony.

“Yes, how’d you know?”

“You always go out the balcony in the mornings after a nightmare,” he said as a matter of fact.

Right. Azriel knew her better than literally anyone else. Even herself.

She smiled softly, for she would be lying if she said her heart didn’t beat a little faster whenever he pointed out any small details that only he noticed. But it did.

“I’m ok, same as always,” in his hazel eyes Mareena saw perfectly how her answer hadn’t convinced him at all, and that it only made him much more worried.

But Azriel didn’t argue, he simply nodded softly and looked anywhere else but at her.

“Ok, then… I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he gave her one last look, and when Mareena smiled softly in only response, he left the room in complete silence.

She stared back at the city under her, and sighed one last time, reminding herself that everything she needed was right there, and she didn’t need to look back on old pointless fantasies.

“Oh hey, good morning!” Mor’s sweet voice greeted her first when she stepped into the dinning room, she looked as gorgeous as ever, even if it was only morning.

“Good morning,” Mareena answered with a smile, and gave her good mornings to Amren as well when she saw the female coming down stairs.

Amren was somewhat like a… new friend, if 70 years could really be considered new. She was a petite, strange looking female who really actually frightened her most of the time. Not to mention she was so old not even Rhys knew how much.

But she had become really important to the Inner Circle, not only because she had become part of them, but because of everything she had actually done for them.

Amren had taught both Rhys and Mareena how to control their powers during a time were they were so volatile it became more like a huge problem. Just right after losing Alhena and Valeria, actually.

She had kept them alive, and now they owed her, big time, for it.

“Breakfast is ready, there’s only one cinnamon roll left, so who wants it?” Azriel asked from them kitchen, bringing over the plates him an Rhys had cooked with the help of the violet eyed male.

“It’s mine!” Cassian screamed while he rushed down the stairs, his big and powerful steps reverberating in the walls.

Mareena immediately woke up completely and started running before Cassian gave the last step to come down.

“Uh-uh, it’s mine!” They raced each other, trying to push the other out of the way to get to the last cinnamon roll.

☪︎⋆

Later on that day, Azriel and Mareena found themselves doing groundwork for a mission Rhys gave them.

It was dangerously close to the Middle, so Azriel decided it was a mission he had to take on himself instead of sending any spy.

Since Rhys became High Lord, things had drastically changed for them. Not only the war ended months after, but their lives as they knew them as well.

Cassian became General, it had been an entire problem on its own, since Illyrians did not wanted to accept a bastard as their General, and still were weary about. Azriel had become Spymaster, which, was really the least surprising of them all, he was just born for it, and it finally gave him a purpose in which to use his abilities. After some time, and Amren becoming part of their family, she took the place of Second, and Mor of Third. And for her… well, for everyone else she was still the High Lord’s “puppet”, the Goddess of Death of the Night Court.

Almost immediately after being bestowed as the new High Lord, Rhys had offered to break the bargain that was transferred to him upon his father’s death, but Mareena knew very well that it wouldn’t be a good idea as new High Lord, one that already had much against him being considered a desgrase for being a Half Blood. He needed her as the monster she had served his father. And at the end of the day, Mareena felt a thousand times safer with him that she had felt with Rhett, she knew perfectly well that Rhys would never use his power on the bargain to make her do anything she didn’t wanted to do, and that was enough for her to play the part outside her family.

“Now it can just be a nice tattoo,” she had said to him in response.

And it was. The mark on her body that had meant submission, that had bound her in the body of a monster she had never wanted to become, was now just another reminder that she had too survived that, just as the scars on her body.

“Don’t get too far away, ok?“ Azriel murmured to her, earning a side long glance from Mareena.

He always told her that whenever she accompanied him to any mission. The overprotective ass-bat.

“Don’t… even say it,” Azriel read her thoughts before the nickname could even roll out her tongue, and Mareena had to hold back her laugh at his expression.

She only nodded, and let him get some steps ahead before murmuring:

“Ass-bat,” she could almost hear him roll his eyes, and she chuckled internally.

They spent hours working together, until they finally found what they needed, and decided to go back to Velaris.

It was past midnight when they finally found what they were looking for, so the dangers grew as each minute passed. But Mareena never really felt threatened or scared, just as she hadn’t felt when she first escaped the Spring Court. There was just something unexplainable that kept her calm while being in the most dangerous place of Prythian.

She could actually say, but never out loud, that she liked that place; it felt mysterious, like something was calling her to explore it.

It had always been like that, but tonight it felt bigger, like a real call.

It happened from a moment to another; she started listening a whisper that resembled too much like the sound of her name. A whisper that felt both familiar and unknown, young and old, warm and cold.

She turned around, trying to look for the source of said whisper.

“Az?” She asked, turning back again, only to find she was surrounded by nothing else but trees and darkness.

No Shadowsinger in sight.

What the actual fuck?

She was sure she hadn’t been here a moment ago, that this was not the path she had been taking with Azriel, she was no longer near the Middle, she was now actually on the Middle. How in the Mother’s holy Cauldron had she gotten here, then? And where was Azriel?

He couldn’t have left, he would never leave her here, she had probably absentmindedly wandered away, and he was surely now looking for her with several reproches in mind.

Oh, he was going to kill her, badly.

“Oh Mareena, oh Mareenaaa,” she cursed to herself with a big sigh.

Everything was going to be fine, she knew the way, she could walk without problem, or maybe stay here, Azriel would find her surely in no time.

But then there it was again. That Mother damn whisper. It sounded stronger now, closer, clearer.

“Mareena…”

It was definitely saying her name.

Her heart began to race unexpectedly, she looked all around her, not finding anything at all.

“Ok, now maybe I’m scared,” she murmured to herself.

“Mareena…”

But even as she felt a tight knot on her chest, she began walking towards the way where the whispers seemed to be coming from. She couldn’t understand why, it was just as if a force was pulling her closer and closer.

This was so fucking reckless and dangerous and reckless, and good Mother had she done some reckless things in her life.

This definitely topped them all.

“Mareena…”

“Mareena..”

And just as when she had gotten lost the first time, she did so again, it had seemed to her that she had walked a few steps, but now she found herself in a totally different space.

In front of her, two big trees made an arc that resembled an entrance, and beyond, a clearing that looked nothing like the rest of the Middle was being illuminated by the moonlight.

Unlike the rest of the forest, that was dark and seemed to have a monstrous vibe in it, this place was colorful, full of life.

“Mareena…”

But even then the whispers didn’t stop, rather became so strong now that it was no longer a whisper.

That voice…it sounded much more clear now, but…

“Mareena…”

Her heart contracted on her chest, her eyes teared up with the sudden necessity of letting tears run.

“Mareena…”

A cottage was sat between a field of flowers not so far away, and she only now noticed it was right there in front of her.

That cottage…it was the cottage.

“Mareena…”

She let out of gasp as realization settled in, and an underwhelming feeling clouded her vision with hot tears.

Then the voice became louder, and louder, and louder, until her ears were pierced with a terrible scream.

“Mareena!”

And then she was awake.

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