Azriel wore a simple black tunic and breeches as she got dressed for dinner that night with Ashdeer. She felt hurt and abandoned by him and everyone else. Ashdeer had been gone for almost a month. A long and lonely month, for her to be spending in a strange place where she knew no one too well. He had been giving his time and attention to Layla, his first wife and then grieving her. Where did that leave her? Would they now be engaged? What sort of 'arrangement' was he angling for? She was pretty keen on the answers.
She was still seething with the way Malia had played with her emotions that afternoon in her magical cavern. She had not expected for Ashdeer to appear like that out of the blue, and she had never ever expected that her own feelings and emotions for him would betray her so easily. What kind of fool was she to be manipulated by the two brothers, who used her for their own purposes and then disappeared on her when she needed them.
She was still seething when she marched into the foyer for dinner with Ashdeer sometime later.
"I need some answers, Ashdeer!", she announced to him as she walked in.
He turned around and looked at her quizzically. He still wore his black uniform himself, and she knew he must have had a really long day, if he hadn't changed for dinner. She could see the low table where she had last sat with Layla laid out with two places for dinner and the bile rose in her throat. She was just a replacement for the the real thing, now that she was gone. There was no way she was going to let Ashdeer off that easy. She stood in the middle of the room, her legs wide apart and her hands on her hips as she took off.
"I've been alone here for a month. I'm constantly under surveillance by Tara and Wole. I'm trying so hard to learn all the random things that Victus teaches me, the amount of hell Malia has inflicted on me to get me to change to your goddamn Phoenix and then the horrible amount of beatings and training I've had to undergo with Tara."
Ashdeer's eyes were downcast and he sighed and crossed his arms on his chest. Azriel felt a pang when he did that. Did he have to be so heart stoppingly attractive?
"You are right Azriel. None of us have been fair to you. Not your father, your brothers, Ashmeer and even to some extent myself. I can only say Azriel....", his voice broke off as if he were debating something in his mind. Then he took a deep breath and continued, "Azriel since I first looked upon you, by the lake of the ruined castle, since I saw you in that bedraggled state, your dress all dirty, your hair askew from your excursion with Ashmeer...."
"Wait, what do you mean my excursion with Ashmeer?"
"Ashmeer can transform into many creatures Azriel. His demonic father has given him magical abilities, among which one is that of a bird. He was there scouting the ruined castle as our party was approaching Andora. We both felt a strong new magic in the castle that morning and I had sent him ahead to scout for it. He had to tell me it was you only because I saw you at the lake shore and sensed the resonance of your aura with the magic stamp I sensed. I had my own....my own ways of getting information out of Ashmeer and keeping him on a straight and narrow path....I"
Azriel sat down with a thump.
"You both knew about me already didn't you. That's why you both agreed to help Andora with the Blight. You knew that it was me all along."
"Azriel, my duty is to protect the entire Elveren Kingdom from the dark forces of the Blight. King Alvamere wishes to transform the entire Kingdom to the One True Way, but he neglects all the forces that threaten the Kingdom. I've been handling a lot of these security concerns alone for the past few years, but recently Ishatar stepped in as well. She is...anyway all this is for another time...and while much of it does not concern you, your fate is inexorably linked with all that is happening here."
Sudden tears rolled down Azriel's face, "What is to become of me? Why am I here? I want to go away? I want my old life back? I want to run away Ashdeer..please let me go, I beg of you!"
He was with her in two large bounds, holding her in his big strong arms, as he soothed her. She could feel his breath, warm against her forehead, as she fit into the crook of his arm and came up an inch or so above his shoulder. She felt sobs rack her body as he caressed her hair with his large hand.
"Shhhh....my darling...shhhhhhhh, please let me help you, don't do this...don't cry. I won't let anything bad happen to you Azriel, I will only protect you, but am afraid that I cannot let you go. I can't"
She looked up at him through her tears and asked, "Why not?"
Wordlessly, Ashdeer bent down his head and kissed her, his lips grazing her lips slowly at first and then more insistently till she found herself parting her lips and giving him access to herself. His toungue devoured her as he pulled her even tighter towards him and kissed her in a way she had never been kissed before. She felt a strange tumult of emotions as they joined in this embrace. To her utter shock, she found herself tentatively placing a hand on the nape of his neck and then tiptoe up to kiss him back harder. Her heart was tumbling across her chest, her tummy was doing tiny somersaults and every nerve in her body was tingling!
All too soon, Ashdeer disengaged from the kiss, even as his hands tightened across her shoulders. His eyes were dark and his face was set.
"Azriel....I don't want it to be like this. I don't want to take advantage of you when you are so emotionally vulnerable. Compose yourself and allow me to compose myself a bit as well. We have much to talk about and discuss. I ...have no intention of making you feel like a prisoner here. I dind't realize how trapped and alone you were feeling. I'll tell them all to hold your lessons for a few days."
"No...Ashdeer, please don't. Those lessons help me pass my day, else I will go mad. I just...i just need to understand what's going on. I need to speak with Eva...I ..."
"All that and more can be arranged my darling Azriel...just give me some time to make this work. Tomorrow morning, we will go riding and I will show you parts of Fortress Irismus."
"Riding in the Fortress?"
"Yes, Azriel, riding in the Fortress...it's an experience you will never ever forget."