danydragons21 - Tumblr blog

danydragons21 · 3 months

Text

The Shadows that Sing: Chapter 36

Read on ao3 here.

Chapter 36: The Story of the Seer

“Do you remember when I told you about the Fae who trapped Koschei?” Vassa asked.

A slow, wary nod from Elain as she recalled the story Vassa had told her so many months ago.

“That Fae’s name was Katiya,” Vassa continued. “She was an ancient member of one of the earliest Fae tribes known to history, the Celians, a people renowned for their unique magical abilities, powerful warriors and strong military presence.

“And it was because of their fearsome reputation that Koschei decided it would be amusing ,” her face twisted into a sneer, “to terrorize the Celians. To show them that their strength was nothing compared to his. Over the course of several months, Koschei would enter the town at night, possess the soul of some unsuspecting being, and force them to kill themselves before releasing control of their soul.”

A sharp gasp escaped Elain’s throat before she could stop it. The following silence was so loud.

“Can you imagine?” Vassa asked quietly. “Waking up to find that your neighbor, or your friend, or your sibling, or your lover, or your child had killed themselves during the night? Can you imagine going to sleep every evening praying to the gods that it would not be anyone you cared about? Praying it would not be you ?

“Can you imagine knowing that it was going to keep happening and being powerless to stop it?”

Elain’s entire body felt numb with horror. No, she could not imagine. It was perhaps the most sinister, horrendous act of psychological violence she’d ever heard.

“During Koschei’s reign of terror, he killed over two-thirds of the Celian population - males, females, children, it did not matter. It was all a game to him. One he was easily winning, and he knew it.

“But what he did not know was that the Celians had a secret weapon.” Vassa’s dark expression grew brighter, fiercer, like the ignition of a flame. “ Katiya . The Seer of the Celians.”

“She was a seer?” Elain breathed. She was frozen in place listening to Vassa speak. The queen might not possess any magical powers, but her gift of storytelling was an enchantment all its own.

“Yes,” Vassa said. “A very gifted one, at that, and one of the first seers this universe ever knew. Thankfully, Koschei was unaware of her abilities. And it was this ignorance that eventually led to his downfall.

“You see, for a long time, the Celians did not know who or what was behind the surge of suicides. It was more terrifying that way, to be blinded so completely by the threat that haunted them. But once they figured out that Koschei was using soul possession to commit the murders, they were able to form a plan.”

“A plan that involved Katiya?” Elain interjected.

“Exactly,” Vassa said. “Because of Katiya’s powers, Koschei’s soul manipulation did not work on her. No one knows why or how seers have always been able to resist soul control, but they have. And though it took several months, when Katiya finally realized that she alone was able to keep him out, that she alone was able to keep her soul and her mind entirely her own - that is when the tides turned on Koschei.

When she realized this, she was able to hone her powers and foresee his plan to hide his soul. And so she ventured alone to stop him. Thank the gods she was successful in both banishing the Death Lord to the Lake he now resides and hiding the piece of his soul.”

“But how did she do it? How did Katiya banish him to the Lake?”

The queen swallowed, her face ashen. “Katiya was able to trap Koshei in the lake because of the other powers in her arsenal. You see, the Celians are also Blood Oracles. A Blood Oracle is -”

“I know what it is,” Elain said, her lips numb. Pieces were falling into place, and she felt as if the truth was circling around her, closer and closer and closer. Any minute now it would consume her entirely.

“When she used her significant powers together, she was able to foresee Koschei’s every step, and when he was at his weakest - in the few moments of limbo when he separated his soul to obtain true immortality - she trapped him at the Lake, and took the piece of soul, hiding it somewhere she knew he would never find it.”

“So where is it hidden now? You said the soul was in a box, right? Where is the box?”

And then a more pressing question occurred to Elain. “How the hell do you know all this, Vassa?”

“I know all this because Katiya is my ancestor.”

“What?”

“Yes. I am a descendant of the Celians.”

“But you’re human.”

“I am. The magic in my bloodline disappeared a long, long time ago, a result of Fae and humans interbreeding. But if you follow the lineage back far enough, you’ll find that it is the truth. I, and my entire family, are descendants of some of the earliest Fae known to our world.

“And the knowledge of Koschei’s hidden soul has existed in our family since before I was born. It is our most guarded and honored secret. And it is this secret that I have kept from you.”

“Are you telling me that you’ve known where his soul is this entire time?” Elain breathed. And then her voice grew harder, more urgent. “Where is it, Vassa? Tell me!’

“I will tell you. But before I do…” the queen swallowed heavily. “I know you will hate me after this. I know there will be no going back. But I do want you to know that I never wanted to hurt you. That I have spent my life trying to protect those I care about, protect the innocent, and I really thought keeping this from you was the right thing to do. Until it wasn’t.”

“Tell me,” Elain said, and even she was surprised at the cold command in her voice.

“When Katiya took the piece of Koshei’s soul, she returned to Celia, to the remainder of her people. They were faced with the task of destroying it - but they found that they could not. While Katiya had succeeded in fooling and trapping Koshei in the lake, there was no magic, even when all the Celians used their consider powers together, that could damage the soul at all, let alone destroy it entirely. Souls are resilient, you see; even that of a monstrous Death Lord.

“So they decided that if they could not destroy it, they would have to hide it. But where do you hide such an important, sought-after object? Koschei was - is - so powerful. He can control animals and peoples, the weather and the wind, and while he is unable to obtain the piece of his soul while he resides at the Lake, Katiya and the Celians knew it was only a matter of time before he found a way to escape. It seemed inevitable that he would then find his soul, too, no matter how well they hid it, no matter how long it took him.

“Unless, of course, they hid it in the one place they knew he could not find it. A vessel that, for reasons unknown, was wholly immune to Koschei’s powers.”

Elain’s mouth was dry. “I don’t understand.”

The sympathetic look on Vassa’s face intensified. She looked nearly pained. “The Fae of the Celian tribe performed an ancient spell that concealed the part of Koshei’s soul, the part that keeps him alive against all odds, within Katiya herself. Within the seer whose magic alone could withstand Koshei’s.

“And when Katiya died, that piece of his soul was transferred to another immortal. And when that Fae died, it was transferred to another one. And then another one.

“You see,” Vassa said quietly, her voice tremulous, “there is only ever one seer in the universe at a time.”

“No,” Elain whispered as understanding began to tighten its cruel fingers around her throat.

“Yes,” Vassa said, closing her eyes. “The piece of Koshei’s soul is entwined with the soul of the Seer, traveling from being to being, embedding itself in whoever possesses omniscient powers at the time. And right now, Elain, that being is you.”

Unconsciously, Elain shook her head, unable to accept what she was hearing, even as the magic inside of her sang in recognition of the truth.

“For a very long time,” Vassa continued, the words spilling quickly from her mouth, as if now that she’d started the story, she could not stop, “Koschei did not know that the Seer carried his soul. The Celians themselves started the rumor that the soul was hidden in a box that was kept somewhere far off and well-protected. Koschei believed this lie for centuries. I still am not sure how or when he found out the truth.

“But I think it’s safe to say, given his unparalleled and relentless interest in you, Elain, that he knows now that the key to finding his soul is the universe’s only Seer. Whether or not that means he knows the soul actually resides within you, I cannot say. I would assume that he doesn’t know that particular piece of information, or else he would not have let you go during your last run-in. But Koschei is a game player, and he is full of tricks and deceit. We would be fools to think he does not have a greater plan in action.”

“But what does this mean?” Elain asked, her lips as numb as the rest of her. “What does this mean for…,” she trailed off, gesturing weakly at herself.

“For your life? For your soul?” Vassa clarified. “Your soul is your own, Elain - Koschie’s soul simply exists alongside it. But souls are a finicky business. I don’t know how much the presence of his soul has affected your own, and vice versa. I don’t know if extracting his soul would damage your own - nor how that would even be done, nor how that would affect your actual life.” The queen swallowed thickly. “But I think it is safe to assume that, if Koschei were to ever take back his soul from where it is safely hidden now - inside of you - he would not do so gently. And he would not leave you alive after the deed was finished.”

"But then how can we destroy him? If the piece of his soul still lives inside of me, then without taking it out, is there any chance of finishing him for good?"

Another heart-wrenching silence.

"I'm afraid that, as long as his soul resides safe and sound within you, there is not chance of defeating him," Vassa said finally.

Finally - the truth. Well, she’d asked for it, hadn’t she? Be careful what you wish for, indeed.

What she was feeling right now wasn’t quite fear. Ever since Koschei cornered her in the conservatory, ever since he implied that Elain knew where his soul was, she’d suspected that his reasons weren’t entirely unfounded.

She just had no idea how incredibly accurate they’d turn out to be.

“You’ve known this all along?” asked Elain, unsurprised to hear her voice crack. “You’ve known from the very beginning that there is no box, that the seer is the keeper of the missing piece of his soul?”

Vassa closed her eyes and nodded once.

“You lied to me,” Elain said.

“Yes”, Vassa replied simply, tears glittering in her eyes. “I lied to you. Just as you lied to me.”

Elain’s mouth fell open.

“You think I don't know you came here to spy on us all? To figure out what I was hiding from the Night Court?”

“That’s different,” Elain breathed.

“Is it?” The queen’s lip curled. “I did not tell you the truth because I wanted to protect my people - and you. I thought not knowing would keep you safer. I’m not excusing what I’ve done. I have misled you from the start, and I will always be sorry for it. But I do not want to lie anymore, and I want you to be able to make whatever decision you want. All because I care about you and your happiness.

“Can you say the same? Can you look me in the eye and tell me that spying on me and those in my kingdom was done with my best interests at heart?”

“I did it for my court. For the safety of those I love and the citizens in my care,” Elain said coldly. “And I’d do it again if I had to.”

Vassa looked her up and down. “You would make a great queen, you know,” she remarked after a beat. Elain blinked in surprise.

“If there is one thing I have learned during my time on the throne,” Vassa continued, “It is this: Much of the time - no, most of the time - leading is nothing more than taking two horrible choices and choosing. There is not always a right and wrong answer. Things are never black and white.

“You made a choice when you came here to try and find information that would help those you care about. Just like I made a choice to keep the truth of your affinity to Koschei a secret until I knew I could trust you with it.

“We both lied to each other. I think it’s possible that I have lied, at some point, to everyone I’ve ever loved. But that does not mean I love them any less. That does not mean I would not lay down my life for them.” Vassa’s eyes were bright with emotion and fevered promise. “You have been a true friend to me these past few months, Elain. We may have kept secrets from each other, but every ounce of affection and friendship we shared was real. You have to know that is the truth.”

The truth. What an innocuous yet infuriating word. Elain was not sure she believed there was such a thing as truth anymore - at least not in the boiled-down essence of the word. Truth implies purity and honesty; it should be portrayed in black and white; it should provide clarity over confusion.

But she knew better now. No, the truth was an obscure, ambiguous, capricious little beast that hid in the shadows and twisted and transformed until it was no longer recognizable. It looked like one thing to one person and it looked entirely different to another, a dynamic and ever changing entity that could never be pinned down.

She had craved the truth for so long, but now that she had it, she found that it had spun her entire world off its rickety, precarious axis. Now that she had it, she didn’t understand why she’d ever desired it in the first place.

The truth was nothing more than a disappointment.

“The truth?” Elain repeated back. “If we’re speaking truths here, Vassa,” she continued, her voice low and icy, “How about you tell me the truth of your feelings for Lucien?”

Vassa stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“You love him, don’t you?” Elain asked. “That is the truth of your heart. Isn’t it?”

Vassa’s fingers had started to tremble. “I don’t understand why this matters,” she whispered, an uncharacteristic meekness about her.

For whatever reason, the queen’s meek demeanor infuriated her all the more.

“Of course it matters!” Elain was not surprised to find that her voice had risen considerably. Anger, at Vassa and at the entire unfairness of the world, at the knowledge that her soul’s fate was entwined with that of a death lord’s was dictating her every move. Heart racing, she continued on, clearly and recklessly crossing the line drawn in the sand. “Did you keep this from me because you want him? Because you wanted to remove me from the equation, destroy the mating bond, so you could have him for yourself?”

A look of dark fury spread across Vassa’s expression, the likes of which Elain had never before seen. “How dare you,” she hissed. “How dare you suggest I could ever do something so hideously abhorrent?”

But Vassa was not the only one who was angry. Elain’s hands shook with suppressed rage as she spat back, “You do not deny it, then?”

Vassa regarded her with a disgusted expression. “I deny keeping information from you for selfish, pitiful reasons, yes. But do I deny loving Lucien?” She lifted her chin imperiously. “No, I don’t deny it. Do you deny that you love Azriel?”

It was Elain’s turn to freeze.

“Of course I know,” Vassa said, answering Elain’s unspoken question. “How could I not know? How could anyone not know? The way you look at each other, how you dance around each other, the way you’re always finding excuses to spend time alone together. You are both fools if you think that no one else has noticed.

“Lucien has noticed, too,” Vassa added, and something heavy dropped in Elain’s stomach. “I told you when you came here to make a decision about him, but it seems you’ve instead decided to string two men along at the same time.”

Tears poured out of Elain’s eyes, sudden and unstoppable. She could tell that Vassa regretted her words the second she said them, but it didn’t matter. The damage was done.

“Elain, please,” Vassa begged, backtracking. “No matter my feelings for Lucien, it has never influenced the way I feel about you. You have been such a good friend. A true friend. I will forever be sorry for lying to you, but if I had to do it all again, I would not change a thing. To protect my ancestor’s secrets, to do what I thought was best for the realm…to do what I thought was best for you ,” the last sentence came out in a strangled whisper, and Elain had to look away for a moment, unable to meet Vassa’s piercing blue gaze. “If there is one thing you take away from this conversation, please let it be that I have always wanted what is best for you.”

If there was one thing Elain was going to take from this conversation, it was that she was a sorry fool to have trusted the mortal queen.

“Don’t speak to me again,” Elain said. Then she walked out of the mortal queen’s quarters, not looking back once.

The second she was in the hallway, a rush of panic overwhelmed her. Without even thinking about it, she pressed a shaking palm to the back of her neck.

He was there in an instant, enveloping her in his arms, in his shadows - and seconds later, they were at Rosehall, far away from the mortal manor, far away from the lies and the truths and the horror of it all. Vaguely, she registered that they were inside Rozaliah’s house, though she could not scent the female; she must have been at the market again.

“What happened?” Azriel asked, worry lacing his honey-smooth voice. “What happened, Elain?”

“Not now,” she breathed, and then she was kissing him like she’d never kissed him before, more desperate and urgent and needy than ever.

“Elain,” he managed in between kisses, “we should talk.”

“Not now,” she repeated, louder this time, sharper. She did not need to talk right now, she did not need to think. All she needed, all she wanted, was to feel something besides the debilitating shock and terror that had started to creep through her very veins. So she reached for his shirt and ripped it in two.

The grating sound that came out of Azriel’s throat let her know she’d won. He began tearing at her dress, leaving it in veritable shreds on the wooden floor. And then they were naked, and somehow they found their way to the couch, and then she was on top, riding him with vigor, and they were both moaning loudly and clutching at every piece of skin they could reach, and even though it was rough and hard and dirty, it also felt pure and true. Like this - this wild, raging connection between them, this coupling that threatened to undo her as much as it sewed her weeping heart together again, was all she’d ever need. It felt like the only good, real thing in her life. It felt like making love.

So why did it also feel like goodbye?

Tags (LMK if you'd like to be removed or added!)

@sakurakittypeach @shedoessoshedoes @courtofjurdan @lesolehabitantdelalune @suntoksabuwan @sweet-pea1 @ireneherondale24 @supernaturallynerdy @dreaming-of-azriel @bookstaninthesoul @cuppamelia @fawnandshadows @offtorivendell @impossiblescissorspeachpaper @nikethestatue @reverie-tales @nyaxxe @casuallivi @protectorofvel @briar-reads @creatureofnightmares @swankii-art-teacher @the-laughing-bubble @gracie-rosee @cntrol @magnolia-blossom87 @ela-ivp @potassium-boron @freepandahugs @karomdr-blog @athena-85 @justreallybored

#elriel #tsts #acotar #elain archeron #elain x azriel #post acosf #azriel x elain #acotar fic #azriel

28 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 5 months

Note

pls tell me the next chapter of TSTS is coming soon! i miss your fic a lot :(

Just posted ♥️

#dany is sorry she took 4 months to update #but also life is hard friends #but also i'll never go that long again swear!!!

4 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 5 months

Text

The Shadows That Sing: Chapter 35

Read on ao3 here.

Chapter 35: Reeds

Shock rang through Elain for a steady, pounding moment. Then panic hit her in full force.

“Vassa !” she screamed, the sound echoing throughout the forest. But she knew her friend could not hear her. What was she doing, wasting time screaming? Vassa needed her.

Elain did not allow herself the opportunity to get scared. Instead, she took a deep breath and dove beneath the surface.

It was dark, much darker than she anticipated, and the water warped everything, twisting and blurring it; even her Fae eyes were having trouble adjusting. Reeds and algae and other underwater growth tried to tangle itself around her limbs. Still, though, she kicked her legs as hard as she could and swam down, relying on Vassa’s faint, quickly-fading scent in the dense water to guide her toward her friend.

The lake was incredibly deep, far deeper than it looked from above the surface. The deeper she went, the less she was able to see, until finally she could not see anything at all. But then, as if she’d subconsciously willed it, her hands began to glow, fully illuminating the underwater scene before her.

And what a horrible scene it was. For several dozen feet below her, swimming rapidly in the other direction, large as a ship, was a monster of the worst kind of nightmare. It had the head of a shark and the body of a giant octopus, but to simply describe it as such would be an injustice to its grotesque horror. Bubbling warts and boiling blisters coated the monster’s gnarled skin, which was composed of scales and the color of dried blood; teeth long as her forearm and sharp as daggers protruded from massive, mythical jaws; its tentacles were the width of a tree trunk.

And clutched within one of those pockmarked tentacles, unconscious and pale, was Vassa.

Elain wouldn’t let herself consider that the Queen was anything but unconscious - of course it was temporary, of course she would be fine - and instead devoted all her energy to stopping the horrendous creature before her.

The monster either hadn’t noticed Elain’s presence yet or didn’t see her as a threat, because it continued to swim downward, quickly and one-mindedly. But what was it swimming toward? Elain wondered, for the only thing at the bottom of the lake was the bottom of the lake , right?

Right?

She’d rather not find out, she decided, and raised her hands. A second later, a burst of blinding white light burst forth from her fingertips.

It missed the creature by an inch, instead crashing into the rocky surrounding with a loud boom. Taken aback, the creature spun around. Its beady eyes narrowed when it saw Elain. It was definitely aware of her presence now.

However, to her surprise, the sea monster didn’t veer toward her, instead continuing its descent downward, though there was a significant increase in its speed. What was it doing? What did it want with Vassa? And what the hells was at the bottom of the lake that it so desperately wanted to reach?

Well, whatever it was, the creature would never reach it, Elain thought, a snarl forming on her pretty face. Not if she had anything to do about it. Her hands began to vibrate with righteous light and pure, unfettered power.

This time, her magic hit the monster square in the middle of its scarred dorsal fin.

An eerie, piercing shriek sounded throughout the cave, reverberated through the water and pounded in Elain’s ears with unnatural intensity. She smiled grimly - she had hit her target.

But her magic hadn’t killed the creature - it had only harmed it. And from the way it turned slowly toward her, its gruesome visage twisted into a deadly expression, she had also angered it greatly.

With an almighty snap of its sharp and unnervingly long teeth, the monster changed course and made a beeline for the Seer instead, Vassa still entwined in its tentacled grip.

That’s right, Elain thought savagely. Come and get me, you ugly bastard. She threw her magic at the creature once again, missing by an inch. She shot again. Direct hit to the chest. Still, the monster kept coming. The magic instead bounced off the creature’s scales and ricocheted against the wall behind her, shards of rock exploding through the water. The scales that coated its skin appeared to be made of something impervious to her magical prowess.

Panic threatened to crowd her focus, but she wouldn’t let it. She wouldn’t succumb to the fear, no she would not. Because Vassa was her friend, and she was Elain Archeron, and she may not be perfect and she may not be wholly good but she was a damn good friend and she would not be the reason this kind and good and fair queen died. She would not do that to the people of Vassa’s court. To the realm.

She would not let her friend go.

The monster was close now, too close. So close she could smell its rancid, rotting flesh; a smell she had only encountered one other time, when she’d been in the conservatory and -

Elain Archeron closed her eyes. There was no time to connect the dots.

Focus , she thought, a stillness washing over her. Breathe .

She opened her eyes. The creature was nearly upon her. It opened its wide jaws in preparation, and then -

Her magic hit the monster in the dead center of its wicked, beady eye.

An explosion emanated from the depths of the ponds; emanated from the small, brown-eyed female who held the power of worlds within her palms. It filled the pool with a blinding, scorching white light. One second the creature was wide-jawed and dangerous; the next, it was lifeless, its glittering eyes empty and unseeing. Its tentacles flopped uselessly in the choppy wake.

And Vassa, still unconscious, red hair bobbing eerily around her face like a halo of writhing snakes, began to float upward.

Elain swam and kicked with all her might, reaching her friend in a matter of seconds, ignoring her need for air - Fae did not have gills, after all, and her energy was quite nearly drained after that massive use of power - but she did not allow herself to rest. Through sheer will and determination, she forced her mind to steady itself. Then, with two hands cupped beneath her friend’s armpits, Elain dragged the queen upward.

Before she reached the surface, she glanced down once more at the depths below. Despite the visual difficulties she’d experienced just minutes before, she could now see perfectly to the bottom of the lake; it was that clear. Almost as if her magic had cleansed the water of all darkness and impurities.

Then she saw it. An object, lying in the center of the lake, wildly out of place, clearly left for her to see. For her to understand .

Comprehension hit her in the chest like a silver arrow.

Her eyes widened in terror, but she’d wasted too much time already - there was no time to dwell on the horrible realization she’d just had. Instead, Elain tightened her grip on Vassa and kicked toward the surface with all her might.

No breath had ever tasted as sweet as the one she took when breaking the surface. For a brief moment, she gulped down the night air, savoring the coolness of it, reveling in the expansion in her lungs.

With some effort, she heaved her friend's soaked body onto the bank of the pond and crawled out after. Then she knelt beside Vassa. The queen’s lips were blue, a stark contrast against her pale skin and the dark red hair plastered against her scalp.

“Wake up, Vassa,” Elain said. She shook her shoulders, softly at first before increasing in intensity.

But the queen did not move.

Shivering and trembling all over (and not just because she was soaked to the bone), Elain bent over and pressed her head to Vassa’s chest.

Silence answered her.

“No,” Elain said aloud, sitting straight up. “No,” she repeated, baring her teeth. She was shaking Vassa’s shoulders with absolute vigor now. “No, you can’t, you can’t,” she told her friend, her voice breaking like the waves against the Pentalos shore. But breaking wasn’t an option, not when Vassa needed fixing and only Elain was there to put the pieces back together - the pieces that she herself had caused to fall apart in the first place -

Elain began alternating between chest compressions and plugging Vassa’s nose while she breathed air into her mouth, just like she’d seen her father do years and years ago to a young stable boy who’d nearly drowned in a pond. The worker boy had been fine, but he hadn’t been beneath the water for nearly as long as Vassa. He hadn’t been snatched by a monster so horrible she’d never even imagined something like it could exist.

“Vassa, wake up,” Elain begged, still pressing her palms desperately against the queen’s soggy chest. Tears began filling her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “Vassa, please, you have to wake up, come on, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

Still, the queen did not stir.

“ No! ” Elain cried out. “Vassa, please !” Tears were now dripping down her cheeks in earnest.

She had to fix this, she had to, but Vassa wasn’t waking up, which could only mean she was -

Clarity hit Elain like a punch to the gut.

Slowly, hands still trembling, she removed them from her friend’s body. She accepted that was what Vassa was now: a body. Accepted that the Vassa that lay before her was nothing more than a fresh corpse.

But not for long.

Elain had never before summoned her magic in such sequential, back-to-back occasions, nor in such substantial amounts. She’d never been so drained, so exhausted in her very bones.

But somehow, at the same exact time, she’d also never felt more alive; never felt more dangerously and intrinsically powerful. Never felt more sure of herself and her abilities.

She closed her eyes and rooted herself in place, allowing her magic to rise within her like the tide.

By the time she returned her hands to Vassa’s chest, they were glowing like the bleached moon that watched them from amidst the starlit sky.

Elain poured every bit of her remaining strength into her magic. She poured and she poured and she poured, and she did not stop, not even when her vision went spotty and her head started to swim. She did not stop until she felt Vassa shudder beneath her.

The queen gave a great, heaving cough, water sputtering from her throat. Her blue eyes were scared and confused, her breaths were long and ragged, and her heartbeat was weaker than it should have been. But she was alive, she was blessedly and beautifully alive .

Gasping for air and shaking herself, Elain collapsed onto the damp grass beside Vassa. Instinctively, she curled against her friend’s newly-warmed body. Vassa clutched onto her skin like a lifeline.

“ Elain ,” the queen rasped, sounding scared and confused and awed, all at the same time.

“S’ okay,” Elain managed to respond, her voice nothing more than a hoarse, tired whisper. Her head was starting to spin ominously; sleep was calling to her in earnest. But there was something she needed to tell Vassa first, something wildly important, something that couldn’t wait -

“What the hells happened?” a voice shouted, shattering the thick quiet of the night. She tried to sit up and see who it was, but she could barely keep her eyes open long enough to make out the trees encircling the clearing, let alone move into a sitting position.

“ Elain! ” Someone else screamed. A pang went through her chest. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know who that was; she’d recognize her sister’s voice in death. And besides, she could taste the thick panic emanating from Nesta.

“Holy fuck, do you feel that?” another recognizable voice said, sounding stricken. “What is that?”

“Vassa!” That was Lucien, she was nearly sure of it. He must not have left for the Autumn Court yet, she thought dizzily, breaths growing deeper and slower.

Her vision was now going black, the sweet lull of unconsciousness impossible to deny much longer. She knew it was only a matter of seconds before she succumbed to inevitable exhaustion, but just as the thought crossed her mind, someone knelt beside her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

The touch was all too telling. Rough and demanding, yet heart wrenchingly gentle. Panicked, yet incredibly controlled. A contradiction in and of itself. It was the only touch in the world that could give her the strength of will to force her weary eyes open.

It was him. Of course it was. Of course it was , and he was just as perfect as ever, his kind and handsome face gazing down at her with an expression so worried, so abject, that it must be love. And he had come for her. Just like before. Just like he’d sworn he always would. A thousand centuries, he’d said, that first afternoon in Rosehall. A thousand centuries, and he’d come for her every time.

Did he know she would do the same? Did he know there was nothing she wouldn’t do and nowhere she wouldn’t go to ensure his safety? To keep him by her side, where he belonged?

This was the last coherent thought Elain had before she closed her eyes and let sleep swallow her whole.

***

Azriel had lost count of how many times he’d thrown Truth-Teller at the same spot of the tree trunk. He was sure his shadows were keeping count - they were the ones fetching the dagger each time, after all, and had impeccable observation skills - but he wasn’t interested in knowing.

He’d been standing in the clearing for several hours - the same clearing with the same lake that had swallowed Elain and Vassa and then spit them out. The same lake that used to hold a monster, though Rhys had seen to pulverizing the thing’s carcass two days ago.

Two days. It had been two days, and both Elain and Vassa had yet to wake up from whatever stupor they were both stuck in. Suffice it to say, it had been 48 hours of inexplicable agony for the shadowsinger.

While the healers insisted that both women would be fine - that their bodies were recovering the best way they knew how, and they’d both wake up soon enough - Azriel knew he wouldn’t be able to relax until Elain opened her big, brown eyes and smiled at him. Only then would the knot of terror that had wedged itself in his chest unloosen. Only then would he stop throwing Truth-Teller at the same spot of the same godsdamn tree trunk.

A shadow curled up to his ear, telling him what Azriel had scented the very same moment - he was no longer alone in the clearing.

“Care to share why you’re here?” Azriel got straight to the point, not bothering to turn around. He didn’t feel like talking right now, and Cassian knew it. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone. Not until Elain woke up.

Not until he knew she was going to be okay.

For whatever reason, a memory from centuries ago, from when he was just a child, flashed through his mind right then. It was a conversation he and his mother would have nearly every time he was forced to leave Rosehall:

“I’m scared, Mommy,” he’d say.

“That’s okay, darling,” she’d reply. “That doesn’t mean you can’t be brave, too. Fear and bravery go hand in hand.”

Fear and bravery go hand in hand, the words echoed.

Gnashing his teeth, he threw the dagger yet again. It missed the center by several inches.

“It’s nice to know some things never change,” Cassian commented as Az’s shadows retrieved the knife.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Whenever you’re stressing over a woman, your technique gets sloppy.”

Quick as a snake, Azriel threw the dagger right at his friend’s face.

“And slow ,” the Illyrian General added, intercepting the dagger with obnoxious ease and tossing it back to Azriel by the hilt.

“Say why you’re here or leave me alone,” the shadowsinger said, his voice deceptively calm. He threw Truth-Teller again. This time, it hit its target perfectly, quivering in place afterward.

Cassian sighed heavily. “I came to get you,” he said.

“I’m on guard duty. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re going to want to come for this.”

“For what?” Az asked despite himself, glancing back at his brother. The long-haired Illyrian was watching him carefully. Too carefully.

“The healers said she should be awake any minute now.”

Azriel froze. “What did you say?” he asked in a deathly quiet voice.

Cassian regarded him carefully, then gave a tentative and strangely encouraging smile. “Elain is about to wake up, Az. I figured you’d want to know.”

He took in the news. He processed it. And when the truth finally sunk in, the Mother herself couldn’t have stopped the wide smile from blossoming across his face. He didn’t even care that Cassian could see. He didn’t care at all.

She was awake, and that was all that mattered.

***

Someone was calling her name.

Elain , the voice said, soft and sweet.

She didn’t know where it was coming from. Above her, behind her, inside of her - it didn’t matter. It was there all the same.

Seer , it sang, tempting as a siren. Kingslayer , it cooed, like something from a nightmare.

What do you want? Elain asked, sounding braver than she felt.

What I’ve wanted from the very beginning , the voice taunted. This time, it was clearly coming from behind her. She turned - there was no one there.

But then the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she just knew whoever - whatever - was speaking to her was right behind her, truly this time, and then the voice whispered a chilling question directly into her ear -

Elain Archeron opened her eyes.

After a few blinking, blurry moments, a striking golden head swam into focus.

“Took you long enough,” Mor murmured, grinning down at her, but there was an odd strain to the blonde’s smile.

“How long have I been out?” Elain croaked. Hells, her throat was on fire. She sounded like a male bullfrog.

“Two days,” Mor said apologetically.

Grimacing, Elain accepted the glass of water the other female offered her, gulping it down in a single swig. Mor refilled it for her once, then again, then again. Several glasses later, Elain finally set the glasses aside.

“Where is everyone else?” she asked, her voice sounding semi-human now.

“Waiting for you,” Mor answered. “Are you ready?”

Elain blinked. “Ready for what?”

Mor raised an eyebrow. “For the inquisition,” she answered ominously. “Everyone has, oh, about a thousand questions for you and Vassa.”

She hoped the blonde couldn’t see her heavy swallow.

Five minutes later, Elain once again found herself in the grand atrium, seated at the long oak table. There had been a flurry of hugs and kisses and thank the gods you’re okays when she’d first arrived - Azriel had even embraced her in front of everyone, albeit quickly - but now everyone was staring at her expectedly, waiting for her to begin telling her story.

However, she had a few questions of her own first.

“Where’s Vassa?”

“Still asleep,” Nesta answered. “The healers say she’ll be waking up any minute now.”

Elain nodded, unsurprised. She didn’t know how to explain it, but she already knew that Vassa was and would be perfectly fine. Like she could sense her friend’s wellbeing as much as she could sense her own now.

“How did you know we were in trouble?” she asked.

“We heard the explosion,” Lucian answered.

“It was hard to miss,” Jurian said dryly.

Elain bit her lip and glanced down. “Oh.”

“Tell us everything,” Feyre said, her voice quiet but commanding. “From start to finish.”

The Seer was silent for a long moment. What was she to tell them? The truth - or only parts of it? How could she give them the entire story without disclosing the full scope of her powers?

She wished she could have spoken to Vassa alone before this bloody interrogation. She was sure her friend would be more than willing to keep this secret if asked, especially since Elain had just saved her damn life. Though, of course, had Elain not so foolishly suggested a midnight romp in the woods, her friend mightn’t have needed saving in the first place.

“Elain,” Feyre said quietly.

“Give her a second,” Azriel snapped. “She just woke up, for gods’ sake.”

“It’s alright,” Elain replied after a moment, rather breathlessly. The shadowsinger had just defended her publicly, and it filled her with enough confidence to answer her sister’s question - though with some key details omitted.

“Months ago, Vassa and I talked about swimming in the lake out in the woods. Vassa used to go there all the time before - ” she cut herself off. It wasn’t her place to talk about the queen’s trauma with Koschei. “Anyway, tonight, we decided to actually do it. But moments after we jumped into the lake, Vassa was pulled beneath by - by a -” she broke off, barely restraining a shiver. “I don’t actually know what it was.”

“You were attacked by a luska,” Feyre said. “I recognized it immediately when Rhys disposed of its carcass.”

“A luska?” Elain repeated. “What’s that?”

“A giant half-shark, half-octopus hybrid that can travel at breakneck speeds and change colors to match its surroundings,” Feyre answered readily. “Despite its massive size, it can warp its body just so that it can worm into small crevices, underground caves, rugged seabed, shallow water - you name it. Luskas are incredibly dangerous. Hardly anyone survives an attack from one, let alone kills one.”

“How do you know all this?” Nesta asked, sounding slightly awed. “I’ve never even heard of one until two days ago!”

“I read about it,” Feyre answered.

“Impressive,” Nesta remarked.

Feyre went slightly pink; compliments from Nesta were as precious as they were rare.

“Well, what happened next?” Lucien asked impatiently. His eyes were noticeably bloodshot; he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

Elain hesitated for just a second. This was the part where she’d have to tell some selective truths.

“I dove in after her. I swam down, deep into the lake, where the monster was dragging her away. I started just - just screaming at it until eventually it changed direction and headed toward me. I truly don’t know why I thought that would help, and I certainly don’t know what I was planning to do when it did notice me. I just knew I had to do something.

Then, when it started coming at me in earnest, I was so sure it was going to swallow me whole, but suddenly there was this huge flash of light and it just… died .”

“It just died ?” Cassian echoed hoarsely, his normally bronzed visage rather pale. “But how did it die?”

“I’m not sure,” Elain answered, semi-honestly. Just because she knew she had the gift of life didn’t mean she understood how it all worked. “I got lucky, I suppose,” she finished with a lame shrug.

“It wasn’t luck that defeated the luska,” said Feyre quietly. “It takes an incredibly powerful being to defeat an ancient monster like that.”

“What are you implying?” Jurian asked.

“You think someone else was down there with them?” Mor asked, eyes wide.

“It’s the only logical explanation,” said Feyre. Her grey-blue eyes met Elain’s wide brown ones. “Did you see anything suspicious? Do you remember anything strange?”

She thought again about the object she’d seen lying on the lake floor, grateful at that moment that Azriel had taught her how to keep up her mental shields all those months ago.

“No,” she answered. “No, I didn’t notice anything like that.” She was proud of herself for maintaining steady eye contact with her sister the whole time, her face even and open, not feeling guilty in the slightest. Some secrets weren’t meant for more than two people, and what Elain had seen at the bottom of the lake - well, that was a message just for her. What difference would it make for them to know about it?

“She’s lying,” someone said quietly.

Her head spun around. It was Lucien who had spoken. He was leaning forward slightly, a dark, foreboding look in his one good eye.

And Elain didn’t need to use her seer powers to sense that everything between her and Lucien - everything between her and everyone - was about to change.

“It wasn’t someone else who defeated the luska,” he said. “It was Elain.”

___

A deep, resounding silence followed Vanserra’s declaration.

Everyone around the table looked puzzled, as if they weren’t comprehending what the red-haired male was suggesting. Even Azriel, who knew perfectly well that Elain was capable of defending herself against the creature, was having trouble comprehending the turn the conversation had taken.

“Are you suggesting she took down a luska…with her seer powers?” Nesta asked, frowning in confusion.

“No,” Vanserra continued, an awful bite of impatience in his voice. “Her other powers. The ones she’s been hiding.”

Azriel blinked. A strange numbness was spreading through him.

“Stop,” Elain said, her perfect pink lips barely moving; there was a wild, frozen look about her.

“What are you talking about?” Feyre asked.

“She has far more magic than just seer magic,” Vanserra said through gritted teeth. “But that’s not important right now. Keep going. What happened next? What happened to Vassa?”

“Back the fuck up, Vanserra,” Nesta snarled, silver flames burning in her grey-blue eyes. “You don’t get to decide what is or isn’t important right now. ” Her fiery gaze turned toward Elain. “What the hells is he talking about, Elain? What other powers?”

When Elain didn’t say anything, Vanserra spoke again.

“Tell them,” he said.

Across the table, Elain let out an unintentional noise, like something a wounded animal would make. “Lucien,” she said, her voice raw, “ stop. ”

“ No ,” Vanserra said fiercely. “This isn’t something you can keep a secret. Not anymore. Not now that this has happened. Tell them the truth .”

The numbness in Azriel continued to spread, joined by a ringing in his ear. Vanserra couldn’t possibly be talking about…there was no way Elain would have told him about her…

“Elain? Is there something you want to tell us?” Mor asked quietly.

The middle Archeron sister remained silent, though she rather tellingly clasped her hands behind her back.

“If you don’t tell them, I will,” Lucien threatened.

Her brown eyes went wide, and everyone could scent the rise of her panic. “Lucien, please .”

Lucien, however, seemed undeterred, something fiercer than anger crackling through him. “I swear to the gods, I will,” he said, baring his teeth. “ Tell them. Now. ”

The look she shot at the red-haired male could only be described as betrayal. “Fuck you,” she hissed, angry tears shimmering in her eyes. But then she turned to her sisters, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin.

Bravery and fear go hand in hand, his mother whispered to him again.

“It wasn’t someone else who defeated the luska.” A deep swallow worked its way down her slender throat. “It was me.”

A deep, resounding silence echoed in her confession’s wake, leaving everyone reeling as they processed what most of them were hearing for the first time.

Azriel, however, was reeling at a very different realization.

Vanserra knew about Elain’s powers? How? Or, more precisely, why ? Because of course Elain had to have told him; no one else besides himself knew. Not her sisters, nor their mates. Not Vassa. Not any other member of the Night Court.

But Vanserra knew. Vanserra . Before any of the others, she’d told him this significant secret. And as to the answer of why…well, it must be because she trusted the Autumn Court princeling. Because she cared about him.

Even though a small part of his brain knew that Elain had trusted him first, had told him, Azriel, before anyone else…he couldn’t focus on that. All he could think of was how big of a deal she’d made when first sharing her powers with him. How he’d made a fucking bargain vowing to keep the truth of her powers quiet.

But apparently she trusted Vanserra enough to not only tell him about her magic, but to tell him without requiring such similar promises be made.

He could feel Elain trying to catch his gaze; like always, he was hyper aware of her presence, of her every move. But unlike always, he had no desire whatsoever to look at her.

Something worse than shame, worse than guilt, was coursing through his veins. He felt played. Deceived. He felt like the biggest fucking idiot on the planet. He felt like cutting off all of Vanserra’s hair and stuffing it down the High Fae’s throat till he choked.

Mostly, he felt like his heart was breaking, though he knew that couldn’t be quite accurate; he didn’t have a heart to break, you see.

There was nothing else for it but this: she did not trust him. And right now, he did not trust her, either.

And in that moment, and for a shameful amount of moments that followed, he resented Elain Archeron for it.

Before anyone could say anything, the doors to the room were thrown open. Through them, wearing a tartan dressing robe, her red hair wild and untamed, a look of queenly determination in her bright eyes, was Vassa.

This meeting is over, she announced. I need to talk to Elain. Alone.

***

Elain sat on a velvet chaise in Vassa’s quarters. No tears ran down her cheeks; no passion fueled her spirit. She wasn’t even angry; not even toward Lucien, who’d betrayed her secret. In the wake of the revelations revealed in the throne room, all she felt was empty.

“You may leave us now,” the queen told her handmaidens. They bowed and left the room.

Vassa let out a great sigh. Slowly, she made her way over to the opposite chaise, dropping down into it with the weariness of a woman half-a-century her senior.

Finally, the queen looked at Elain.

“Are you alright?” she asked quietly.

“No,” Elain replied in a rasping voice. She was the furthest she’d been from okay in a long, long time. “But that's not why you want to speak to me, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

They were both quiet for a long time.

“It’s time I tell you what I should have told you a long time ago,” Vassa said.

A spark of something flared in Elain. For weeks now, all she’d wanted was for Vassa to be honest with her. Now, though, on the tail-end of losing one of her own, most valued secrets…did she really want to know what Vassa had to say? Secrets were weapons all their own - was Elain ready to face the potential blaze of ruin the sharing of this secret could ignite?

Unbidden, her thoughts turned to another secret, one she’d just gained - and one she still hadn’t lost. One that was, for now, only hers. She thought of what she’d seen; thought of the teasing, taunting message left there. She could see it so clearly, even now, lying on the rocky lake floor, crisp and newly-trimmed and blood-red in color, its perfectly full petals swaying delicately in the current.

She thought of the question the disembodied, reedy voice had whispered into her ear, during what she was not quite so sure was a dream anymore:

"Did you like the rose?"

The spark in her turned into a steady, flickering flame.

“Do your worst,” Elain said. “I’m ready.”

Tags (LMK if you'd like to be removed or added!)

#elriel #tsts #acotar #elain archeron #elain x azriel #azriel x elain #acotar fic #post acosf

36 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 8 months

Text

Just now seeing this but love this so so much. TY for the shout-out.

❤️👀Me when I open up Tumblr and see an update to a Fanfic I am reading🥹❤️

When I finally get a minute to read it .

See ya’ll later ….

Thank you! 🥰😊🙏

I hope you all know how much joy you bring to peoples lives by sharing your art.

@ultadverb

@nikethestatue

@fawnandshadows

@casuallivi

@danydragons21

@rowanaelinn

@dottielovegood

@snelbz

@tswaney17 @tswaney17fics

@theladyofdeath

@thefangirlofhp

@rhysanoodle

@slytherhys

I know I missed some wonderful writers so please share and tag anyone you think deserve a shoutout

57 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 8 months

Note

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii

huge fan of TSTS, ngl check A03 more often than is healthy like uPDatE?! I love it so much. any chance we could get a snippet of chapter 35?

Thanks for being a fan of the story & sticking by me and my horrible, no good, very bad habit of going months without updating! Almost done w/ Chapter 35, though. Not much longer now.

To tide you over, here are the first few paragraphs:

CHAPTER 35: REEDS (Sneak Peek)

Shock rang through Elain for a steady, pounding moment. Then panic hit her in full force.

“Vassa!” she screamed, the sound echoing throughout the forest. But she knew her friend could not hear her. What was she doing, wasting time screaming? Vassa needed her; needed her now.

Elain did not allow herself the opportunity to get scared. Instead, she took a deep breath and dove beneath the surface.

The lake was incredibly deep, far deeper than it looked from above the surface. The deeper she went, the less she was able to see, until finally she could not see anything at all. But then, as if she’d subconsciously willed it, her hands began to glow, perhaps brighter than ever before, fully illuminating the underwater scene before her.

And what a horrible scene it was.

#dany is sorry she is going through a quarter life crisis #being an adult is hard #happy fucking elain archeron week though

6 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 10 months

Text

TSTS Chapter 34: The Hourglass

Read it on ao3 here.

Chapter 34: The Hourglass

Elain scented her sister before she saw her.

The eldest Archeron was in the library at the Mortal Manor, a book balanced between her palms, blue-gray eyes narrowed intently as they quickly and smartly scanned the page. She was so enraptured she didn’t even notice Elain, who was on her way back from Vassa’s quarters - she had just tried to intercept the queen at the start of nightfall yet again, unsuccessfully, of course - when she’d caught a whiff of Nesta’s signature scent: rich vanilla and silvery smoke and burning embers.

She had to call her sister’s name to get her attention.

“Nesta,” she said.

“Elain!” she replied, surprised. She snapped the book shut.

“What are you doing here?” If Elain was blunt, she didn’t much care. What was it with her family showing up unannounced, time and time again?

“There’s an impromptu meeting this evening to discuss the ball. We need to go over the plan and discuss a few…loose ends.”

Elain regarded her sister suspiciously. “Is it anything I should be worried about -?”

“Oh no, no,” Nesta reassured. “Just logistical things, mostly.”

“Oh.” Elain nodded. “Okay.”

They were both quiet for a long moment.

“So how have you -”

“I’ve been meaning to stop by -”

They spoke over each other, stumbling over their words, before resorting back to an uncomfortable silence.

Then Nesta sighed, heavily.

“It used to be so easy between us,” she said. “Don’t you remember?”

“Of course,” Elain replied warily. Of course she remembered. Nesta was her closest companion, the other half to her whole, for so many years. Even before their mother died, but especially after. Poor, sweet Feyre, always shunted to the side…but Elain and Nesta were inseparable. For a long time, Elain believed it was because her sister loved her more than anything else in the world. Now, she sees it for what it was: a love of control.

Nesta's eyes were sad. “The meeting is in an hour. I was hoping you’d like to spend some time together before…” the eldest Archeron trailed off.

What was she supposed to say? No, I’d rather not spend time with you, because every time I look at you I feel a simmering, boiling rage that I simply don’t know what to do with ? That would do no one a drop of good.

So instead, Elain nodded tightly and gave as genuine a smile as she could muster. “How does a walk around the Manor sound?” she suggested, and ignoring the stab of guilt she felt when Nesta’s worried expression brightened at her acquiescence.

***

After a slightly awkward albeit rather relaxing walk around the Manor, in which Elain intentionally avoided visiting the conservatory (Cassian might have been fooled by the fast growth of the flora but Nesta most certainly would not, and Elain was in no mood to answer difficult questions), the two sisters entered the doors to the grand atrium.

They were the last ones to arrive. Everyone else was already seated around the long table in the center of the room: Feyre, smiling brightly but tiredly; Jurian, his face tan and weatherbeaten, as if he'd been out in the field more often than not; Lucien, who was avoiding Elain’s eyes; Cassian, who was avoiding Nesta’s eyes; and Vassa, who was avoiding everyone’s gaze all together.

Elain couldn’t blame them. She was feeling slightly uncomfortable herself; it was the first time she’d seen Lucien since that night in the gardens, and it was the first time she’d seen Vassa since returning from her travels.

Not to mention it was the first time Cassian and Nesta had seen each other since The Incident . She tried to send a subtle, warning look to Cassian, but he wasn’t looking at her; instead, he was staring fixedly at the floor, as if even glancing at Nesta would make the secret come spilling out.

Whatever. He could handle things however he wanted as long as he stayed quiet. If he kept his mouth shut, there was no way Nesta could find out, right?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her elder sister give her mate a curious, suspicious glance. Then she thought about how Nesta could always tell when she and Feyre were lying as kids, and her stomach started to hurt.

In an attempt to distract herself, Elain looked around the room. She'd only been in the grand atrium once before, at the very beginning of her stay at the Manor. Vassa had taken her. The queen said it was a hallowed sort of space used traditionally, reverently and sparingly for only the most prestigious of occasions - but it was also rather plain.

That is, except for the one piece of decor in the room: the gigantic hourglass embedded into one of the walls. It was filled with silvery sand that glimmered as it trickled down and protruded so naturally, so effortlessly, from the wall that it looked like it had grown there, like some sort of plant. Like some sort of rot.

Every time the sand in the top bulb emptied entirely, the hourglass - and the pieces of stone wall it touched - moved until the hourglass was flipped upside down, and the whole process started again. It was both impactful and beautiful.

“My father used to joke about why the first royals might have put the hourglass into the Grand Atrium,” Vassa had told her. “He said that it was obviously to keep track of time during long and tedious meetings, because if our ancestors were anything like me and my mother, then impatience was as in grain ed in them as the grains in the hourglass.”

Elain had smiled then, but she wasn’t smiling now. The hourglass did not seem beautiful anymore. It seemed more like a taunt.

The queasy feeling in her stomach intensified, but before she allowed herself to mull over it, she turned her attention back to the table. Everyone seemed to be watching Vassa, who was scanning the contents of several handwritten papers. Elain couldn’t help but notice the dark purple circles rimming the queen’s eyes.

“Notes on Koschei,” Feyre said in an undertone, noting Elain’s curious glance at the documents. “Amren, Rhys and I have been visiting different libraries throughout Prythian and finding every book on him we can. We haven’t found much information that is helpful, to be honest. It almost makes me wish we knew where Bryaxis was so we could ask it for details; I’m sure it knows plenty about Koschei, given that they’ve both existed for eons.”

Elain considered reminding her sister that they had enough to worry about without adding Bryaxis into the equation, but she just nodded instead.

“This is nothing I didn’t already know,” Vassa said, throwing the papers back at Feyre. “But that’s alright. I wasn’t expecting much anyway.”

Startled, her sister blinked. Elain felt similarly taken aback. She’d never heard Vassa sound so…uncaring.

“Well?” the queen asked, raising an eyebrow. Impatience laced her words. “Who wants to begin?”

“I can,” Nesta said. Then she cleared her throat.

“There are three levels to this plan,” she said, voice louder and deeper than before. The voice of the Captain of the Valkyries, dangerous and cool. But sometimes, when her sister spoke in such an authoritative voice, she was reminded of when they were little and Nesta would boss her and Feyre around the house like the little mother she was. Elain had to fight back a grin. Then she remembered that she was still angry at her older sister, and the grin faded away.

“The first level is the Bait,” Nesta said. With the world’s smallest, tensest grimace, she nodded toward Elain. “AKA, Elain.”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward her, and she did her very best to remain cool and collected, staring blankly into her sister’s blue-grey eyes.

Nesta tore her gaze away, jaw flexing, before continuing. “As we are all aware, Koschei believes Elain knows where the missing part of his soul is being kept. During the ball, we are going to use this to our advantage and leverage Elain to lure Koschei into a trap.

“Because of this, I’m sure you’ll all agree that a majority of our magical protection should go toward surrounding Elain,” Nesta said.

“Elain is the bait, yes, but what about Vassa? Have we forgotten the curse he put on her? Have we forgotten the promise he made to return her to that hellhole of a lake? Vassa must remain just as protected. What if he’s tricking us into who his true target is?” Jurian said, eyes gleaming fiercely.

“That’s a good point,” Elain murmured thoughtfully.

“I don’t think so,” Vassa said. “As soon as the power of the curse returns in full force, he will not have to trap me to get me to return to his lake. I will immediately be back under his enchantment. There will be no capturing or chasing or tracking that he will have to do. I will simply be gone.”

Lucien’s knuckles turned white. “No,” he said darkly.

“It is not something you can have an opinion on,” Vassa said sharply, refusing to meet his eyes. Refusing to meet any of their eyes. “It is simply the truth. So fine, put some level of protection on me, but the majority should be on Elain. He may not be able to control her mind, but he will try to get to her in other, more dangerous ways. I am an inevitable casualty at this point. Elain is not.”

“Don’t say that,” Elain said quietly, but the edge in her voice was all sharp steel.

Vassa remained quiet, as did the others, until finally Nesta resumed the plan.

“We will have a welcome ceremony the evening before the actual ball, with appetizers and cocktails and the like. We have more than enough rooms in the mortal manor to provide lodging for the guests. It’s the perfect way to get a feel for what we’re up against before the ball the next evening.

“When the ball begins, Vassa will make a welcome announcement. She will thank everyone for being there, and then specifically thank Elain for helping her with an unknown project. She’ll make sure to mention how dangerous the task is and how Elain is doing it out of the goodwill of her heart, along with her desire to keep all the courts safe from outside forces that might try and hurt them.”

“In short, she will place even more of a target on Elain’s back,” Jurian said flatly, but she knew him well enough by now to clock the worry lacing his tone. She felt a sudden rush of affection for the mortal.

“Sounds good to me,” Elain said, keeping her tone light. She didn’t want anyone to worry about her. “Keep going.”

Nesta continued on, Feyre and Cassian interjecting every now and then with more details. Lucien surprised them all with his cunning, thoughtful questions that poked holes in the plan - “ What happens if he hasn’t shown up by midnight? Do we have a backup plan if the magic doesn’t hold during the Presentation of the Courts? What if the other courts are gone by the time we reach Level 3? ” - forcing them to reevaluate and redesign specific components. But eventually, they all came to an agreed-upon scheme.

Well, almost.

“What exactly is our game plan during cocktail hour?” Lucien asked, “Because ‘ roam around and observe ’ doesn’t exactly sound strategic.”

Feyre let out a giggle, clearly forgetting they were in a serious and important meeting. Then she cleared her throat.

“You’re right. Let’s expand on that. How about..after Vassa gives her speech, we will split into groups and observe our guests,” Feyre suggested. “We can decide on the exact groupings later, but it would make sense, and look less suspicious, if those that are couples stay together. Rhys and I, Nes and Cas…”she paused.

Vassa interjected, “Jurian and I will remain together. The mortals that will be there know both of us well, and it would make sense to present us as a united force.”

Feyre nodded her approval, though Elain noticed Lucien’s jaw tighten.

“We have invited Gwyn and Emerie to come, as well. Having the three Valkyrie leaders will add an additional level of prestige as well as protection. Gwyn and Emerie can stick together,” Nesta added.

“Smart,” Jurian said.

“Since Amren will remain behind to protect the Night Court, that just leaves Elain, Lucien, Mor and Azriel…” Feyre trailed off awkwardly.

Elain cleared her throat and braced herself. She knew what she had to do, for the sake of the plan. “I’ve thought a lot about what you all suggested. About…about pretending that Lucien and I,” she gestured toward the red-haired male, who blinked in surprise, “have accepted the mating bond.”

A thick quiet wrapped itself around the group. Feyre stared at Elain with wide eyes while Nesta, quite uncharacteristically, gasped softly in surprise. Jurian and Vassa exchanged a startled glance. It dawned on her that she’d never so explicitly mentioned the bond in front of the two mortals. Cassian looked utterly bewildered and, unless she was imagining it, slightly displeased.

The only other person in the room who didn’t seem taken aback was Lucien. He simply regarded Elain with a wary expression on his face.

It was the longest they’d looked at each other since that night beneath the fae lights.

“And?” Feyre asked.

Elain cleared her throat. “And I think you’re right. There will be many potential enemies there. But if Lucien and I act like a pair, those enemies will be less likely to instigate anything. So I’m okay with…with making it seem like we are together. For the evening. But only if it’s okay with you,” she added awkwardly, finally meeting Lucien's gaze. His one good eye burned into her, and the memory of their almost-kiss flashed across her mind without warning. She was sure he was thinking about it, too.

“Of course it’s okay with me. It is what is safest for you, and that is all that matters,” he said finally.

She nodded once and looked down at the floor.

“So that just leaves Azriel and Mor,” Feyre said, returning to the matter at hand.

Despite the fact that Elain knew her decision was the right one, not only for her safety, but for the safety of others and for the good of the plan as a whole, her heart dropped at the thought of Azriel and Mor sashaying through the ballroom, the beautiful blonde hooked on Azriel’s arm. She could already see the way his hazel eyes would glow as he stared at the female he’d loved for centuries, who for the night was all his, all his . It was enough to make her feel slightly nauseous.

As was the thought of how Azriel would react when he found out she and Lucien were going to pretend to be mates for the evening.

But gods, he had made it clear as day that they were not a couple. Sure, he’d admitted to caring about her, to liking her, but that was it. If the Cassian debacle had proved anything, it was that he wanted to keep their affection a dirty little secret. Perhaps she would simply have to accept their relationship (or lack thereof) for what it was and what it was not. Accept it was all it would ever be.

Just as Azriel would have to accept that for two nights, she would pretend to the world that her heart belonged to another.

Even if it was just another bitter lie.

***

Elain had hoped to speak to Vassa after the planning meeting and confront her at last, but the Queen slipped out before she could reach her. Then Nesta and Feyre had cornered her to tell her just how proud they were of her for agreeing to be fake-mates with Lucien for an evening. As if it was a favor she was doing them. As she was a little girl in pigtails who needed to be praised and coddled for every "correct" decision she made.

She didn't do it to make her sisters or anyone else happy. She did it because, deep down, she knew they were right. Not about everything, of course; she still wanted to give Rhys a swift kick up his 500-year-old ass in retaliation for the last time he'd imposed his sense of right and wrong on her. But about this one thing - about this, they were right. It was safer for everyone, not just her, to pretend that they had accepted the mating bond. Safer, and better for the plan, and the right thing to do.

But every time she though of Mor and Azriel together, smiling and dancing, she wanted to throw something. Or scream. Or both.

Suffice it to say, Elain was not a pleased female by the time she left the grand atrium.

Hence the broad scowl that graced her face as she stomped angrily through the corridors. What the bloody hells was she supposed to do with the rest of her evening now? She was too worked up to sleep. Too emotionally-unsteady to do something productive. Too angry to hang out with anyone else in this stupid manor, especially -

“I hope that face isn’t because of me.”

Elain whipped around. “Don’t flatter yourself," she told Lucien with a small smile. "You may make me mad, but only my sisters can make me this mad.” She considers for a second. “And Vassa,” she added, then cringed. Lucien and Vassa were very close, after all. “Sorry.”

Unexpectedly, Lucien grinned. “I like it when you’re honest with me,” he says.

She grinned a bit back, but she couldn’t hide her wariness. This was the first time they had been around each other since the almost-kiss in the gardens, let alone standing in close proximity to each other in a vacant hallway.

Without warrant, her heartbeat sped up.

Lucien seemed to notice the change in her mood too, for the sly grin dropped from his face. “I’m about to leave again,” he told her. “I’m going to…going to the Autumn Court.”

“What?” Elain breathed, her eyes wide. “No, you can’t,” she said, her voice rising in panic.

“Beron is threatening to not come to the Symposium or the Ball if I don’t pay him a visit,” he said grimly. “And we need him here that night. He’s an essential part of the plan.”

“What does he want with you?” she nearly whispered.

Lucien’s shrug was too tense to be casual. “Who the hells knows. Maybe he just misses my pretty face.”

“You don’t think he knows about…you know,” she hedged.

Lucien’s face remained unreadable.“I guess we’ll find out,” he said finally.

Well, that wasn’t reassuring at all. She frowned at him, and he visibly softened.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. Then a corner of his lip twitched up. “Though it’s sweet of you to worry,” he teased.

Elain smiled without thinking about it.

Her smile seemed to trigger something in him. He sobered up immediately, and before she could even question what was wrong, grabbed her face with both his hands.

“Before I go,” he said, his mouth so close to hers she could feel his hot breath on her lips, “I have to kiss you first.”

She froze, utterly shocked.

“Just once,” he murmured, those arresting, uneven eyes staring straight into her own. “Just to see.”

And she was so shocked, so taken aback by the declaration, that she didn’t stop him when he leaned forward and kissed her.

***

While Elain was frozen, the Shadowsinger was in the middle of an interrogation.

Azriel studied the male in front of him, frowning slightly. This was taking longer than he expected. Longer than he had wanted it to take; otherwise, he might have made it to the Ball Planning meeting on time. Unfortunately, the Autumn Court soldier, who had been captured by one of his loyal spies, had yet to break. He’d already lost three fingers, for Cauldron’s sake, yet he still wouldn’t talk.

But Az wasn’t worried. He would talk. They always talked in the end.

It had been several months since he last traveled to the Court of Nightmares. He might not admit it to anyone else, but he could admit it to himself - it was somewhat of a relief to be back. There was no better time for him to… let loose, per say. If only because his blood was close to boiling over already, what with every other burden he bore on his back.

The anxiety. The guilt. The secrets . How come he’d never fully realized before how heavy secrets were? They were weighing him down like sand.

But here, in the dark and cool caverns beneath the Court of Nightmares, where not even the strongest Fae hearing could detect a scream - here, he felt the glorious relief of lifted pressure; of steady, pulsing silence. Here, he could wear the worst parts of himself like a shining suit of armor. Here, he could be the Azriel everyone knew and feared.

Smoothly, he slipped Truth-Teller out of its sheath and twirled it between his fingers with casual, lethal precision.

“Next question,” he said. “Where did you stay while in Pentalos?”

The male said nothing. The only sounds were his ragged panting and the blood dripping slowly from the little stumps on his hand.

“I’ll wait,” Azriel said. “I’ve been told I’m very patient.” A pause. “But I’m also incredibly impulsive, and I get mad easily. So who knows what will happen.” He cocked his head to the side. “I suppose we'll find out soon enough.”

Still, the male said nothing. Instead, he summoned all his strength and spit in Azriel's direction.

The dagger was in the Spymaster's palm, and the next second it was lodged in the man’s kneecap, deep and through the bone. The scream the soldier let out was so blood-curdling that even his shadows winced, tightening themselves against him like a second skin.

But Azriel did not react a bit. No, he simply watched as the male screamed in agony, his own expression blank and empty. There was nothing he hated more than insolence.

He let the soldier cry and sob until there were simply no tears left to cry. Slowly, Azriel approached the man and retrieved his favorite dagger before retreating once more. And only then, only then did the Spymaster speak.

“I’ll ask you one more time,” he said quietly. “Where did you stay while in Pentalos?”

The soldier let out a dry, hopeless sob, and Azriel knew he had won.

“In the caves,” the male said, his voice raw and rasping. “In the underground caves.”

Azriel froze. “There are no underground caves on Pentalos.”

“There are,” the soldier said, exhausted. He was getting close to death; Azriel could tell. “There are.”

Well. That was news to Az. And everyone else who scoured the island. This prisoner was turning out to be useful after all.

“One more question. Almost done,” he said, but there was no compassion lacing his voice. Just an underlying, dark promise. He tried to ignore the sudden pounding of his heart. “What does Koschei want with Elain Archeron?”

A grating, humorless laugh worked its way out of the soldier’s throat, and Azriel had to fight the urge to kill him right then. “What does he want with her?” he repeated, but his tone wasn’t mocking; just resigned. Just tired. “He wants her ruined .”

“ No ,” Azriel growled, as if the intensity of his objection could ensure Elain’s infinite safety. “He won’t ever get what he wants. Ever. But why does he want her?”

The soldier shook his head, something close to regret in his expression. “She can’t be saved,” he rasped. “Koschei wants her too much. He needs her too much.”

Pure, unadulterated panic shot through his chest, followed closely by white-hot, furious denial.

His fingers clenched around Truth-Teller.

“Wrong answer,” he said. There was a flash of silver, a shocked, gurgling gasp, and the Autumn Court soldier spoke no more.

But the panic threatened to drown the Shadowsinger all the same.

***

It was four in the morning, and Elain had yet to sleep a wink.

Her mind simply wouldn’t shut up. She couldn’t stop thinking about - well, about everything , about so many things she couldn’t keep track. Things that happened today and things that happened yesterday; things that happened decades ago and things she wished she could do again; things that never happened and things that never will. All of it flashed through her mind at the speed of light:

The cabin she used to live in, when she and her sisters slept in one bed together, curled around each other like cats;

Nesta in the library, smelling like vanilla and smoke and wariness;

The garden in the Night Court, thriving and beautiful without her tending to it;

Vassa, loving her like a sister and then avoiding her like the plague;

The cauldon, big and black and formidable, mocking her with its mightiness;

All the things she wished she would have said to her father - and to her mother;

The Flame Keeper tapping on her chest three times as she mouthed 'speak to the Queen;'

Lucien in the hallway, a deafening quiet engulfing them as his lips pressed against hers;

The looming presence of Koschei hanging over her like a storm cloud;

Azriel on his knees and between her legs, smiling at her and kissing her thigh with heart-wrenching tenderness, a thousand unspoken words gleaming in his piercing hazel eyes -

She sat straight up in bed, her chest heaving. For a long moment, she was frozen, just staring intently at the full moon.

“Fuck it,” she muttered, then threw the covers off and stood to her full height.

Less than a minute later - she forgot how convenient Fae speed was sometimes - she was outside Vassa’s quarters, knocking on the heavy oak door with loud and obnoxious persistence.

A servant answered the door. “Lady Elain, what is it?” the young girl asked. “Do you know the hour?”

“I need to speak with Vassa,” she said promptly. “And don’t bother telling me she isn’t awake. And I apologize in advance for my bluntness, but don’t bother trying to stop me from going in.”

The servant swallowed, glancing behind her nervously. “Lady Elain, I’m very sorry, but the Queen has given orders -”

“I don’t care what orders she’s given you,” Elain said patiently.

The servant looked downright scared now. “I’m very sorry, my Lady, but -”

Elain sighed, then strode past the servant faster than the human could blink.

She found Vassa in the last place she expected - outside, on a small balcony just off the side of her bedroom. With all the time she’d spent outdoors since the curse returned, Elain assumed the queen would much prefer the indoor comforts of her home. But perhaps even the familiar felt strange to Vassa now.

Unnoticed, Elain observed her friend for a minute. The queen looked too tired. And too skinny. And too sad, too hopeless , her eyes blank and open as she surveyed the starlit night, hands gripping the railing like it was a lifeline.

“Vassa,” she said softly, trying not to scare her.

To her credit, Vassa didn’t even flinch. And she did not turn around as she said, “Elain.” It almost sounded like a sigh. Like she’d been expecting and waiting for and dreading this moment, and here it was.

But Elain didn’t let that mess with her. “You’ve been avoiding me,” she said steadily.

Vassa still didn’t bother turning around. “Yes.”

Slowly, like approaching a wild animal, Elain joined Vassa at the balcony. She followed her friend’s lead and stared at the expansive landscape before them.

“Did you have a good relationship with your mother?” Elain asked out of nowhere.

Vassa visibly started. “What in the world made you ask that?”

Elain shrugged. “I’m not quite sure, to be honest.”

“Yes,” the queen finally answered. “Yes, I did. My mother was a wonderful person. Both my parents were.” A clear note of wistful grief rang in her voice.

Elain smiled, just a little bit sadly. “That’s good,” she said. “I’m sure they were lovely, seeing as they managed to raise a woman like you.”

“What was your mother like?” Vassa asked after a beat, her voice noticeably softer.

“Oh, she was an absolute delight.” Elain let out a laugh that didn’t sound quite right. “She was intelligent, beautiful, and well-connected. She was incredibly good at reading people. She was trendy, and her taste was impeccable, and she loved finery; she always made sure we were dressed in the latest fashions.

“And she was also cold, callous, and cruel.” Elain shook her head slightly. “It’s hard for me to pick which one of us she was most awful to. We all got it worse in some ways, I suppose. Nesta was the heir apparent, treated more like a soldier than a child, expected to not only obey but to carry out my mother’s every order. Feyre was the forgotten child.

“And I was a pretty little puppet who was too silly and naive to try and cut off the strings that held me in place.”

Elain’s hands flexed unintentionally on the railing. She forced them to relax.

“I don’t think of my mother often,” she continued. “And I talk of her even less. My sisters are the same way. Sometimes it feels like she never existed, like I just made her up in my mind, but even I’m not enough of a masochist to imagine someone so uncaring. So unkind.

“But even though we never talk about her or miss her or hold any fond feelings toward her at all, and even though she died when we were quite little…I think she’s left her stain on us all. And I wonder, sometimes, if it can ever be washed out.”

Vassa was quiet for a very long time. But Elain was used to waiting. Used to being patient. It was yet another thing that separated her from her sisters: where Feyre and Nesta were impulsive, Elain was content to wait in the shadows for the proper time to strike.

And wait she did.

Vassa finally broke the silence.

“Why did you come here tonight, Elain?” she asked.

It was then that Elain turned to face the queen fully.

“There’s something I need to do. And you’re coming with me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s quite important, actually. And guess what?” Elain raised a brow.

“What?” the queen asked dryly.

“You're going to do it, too.”

"I am?"

"Yes. You need to do it, actually."

“Do I really?”

Elain nodded, ignoring the lack of enthusiasm in Vassa’s tone.

“And what, may I ask, do we both need to do that is so important you barged into my quarters in the dead of night?”

Elain cocked her head at her and grinned slightly. Something in her expression finally tipped Vassa off.

“Oh, I don’t like that look,” the queen said, and though she was shaking her head, the first traces of excitement finally seeped through her voice. “What are you planning?”

Elain just grinned wider. “Vass,” she said, “Do you fancy a swim?”

***

The two females hurried through the woods. Leaves crackled beneath their feet; a heavy breeze whooshed over their bodies, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake; moonlight streamed through the gaps in the lush forest canopy, lighting their way.

“We are nearly there,” Vassa said, and though she spoke quietly, the sound still had Elain jolting slightly. Being this deep in the woods, no one around but the creatures who lived here, no sound but for the whispering wind and the rustling of foliage, had words themselves feeling foreign. Alien.

Rounding a corner, they came to a huge clearing in the forest. The trees here arched toward each other, creating a high, curved canopy. In the center of the clearing was a large, glassy pond, or perhaps a small, circular lake, depending on who you asked. The surface was still as a statue, and the way it reflected the night sky made the water look like it was composed entirely of silvery starlight.

“Wow,” Elain whispered. Vassa nodded in agreement. Together, they approached the edge of the glossy lake.

“When was the last time you were here?” Elain asked.

“Ages ago,” she said. “I don’t even remember. I fly over it sometimes, when I’m…in my other form. But I’ve not been this close since before the curse. Since before I became Queen, perhaps.” She shook her head as if the movement would shake away the memories.

“Are you ready?” Elain asked.

“No,” Vassa said. “But let’s do it anyway.”

They stripped to their undergarments. Elain neatly folded her clothes and placed them on a large, flat rock; Vassa threw hers in a pile on the ground. Elain dipped a toe in and shivered.

“It’s cold.”

“It’s November,” Vassa reminded her.

“Well. It’s not going to get any warmer with us standing here,” she replied shrewdly. “Come on. Let’s jump.”

A thick swallow worked its way down Vassa’s throat. Her hands were trembling, and Elain did not think it was because of the cold.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” she said softly.

“Yes. I do,” her friend replied. She took a deep, rattling breath and then held out her hand to Elain.

In that moment, Elain forgot any anger she had with the queen. Without hesitation, she grabbed Vassa’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“On three?”

The red-haired woman nodded tightly.

“One,” she began.

“Two,” counted Vassa, her voice a nervous croak that nearly vanished with the wind. Elain couldn't deny it, either: she was nervous as well. She still hadn't dunked her head entirely underwater since the Cauldron...but she had to. She had to get Vassa to talk to her. And this was the only thing she could think of that might work.

“Three,” they said together, and then they were jumping. The second they hit the water, their grasp broke apart. It was cold, so cold, but so lovely too, invigorating and refreshing and a delicious shock to her very soul.

Kicking her way up, Elain gasped as she broke above the surface, relishing the way the cool night air bit at her damp skin. A few feet away, Vassa emerged from the depths, crimson locks plastered to her face, blue eyes bright and gleaming in the light of the moon.

“It’s fucking cold,” the queen gasped.

“Is it?” Elain asked. “Feels amazing to me.”

In unison, they started laughing uncontrollably. If asked, Elain could not have said what was funny, but maybe that was the point; maybe it was simply the nature of the situation, the thrill of acting on an impulse, that had mirth uncontrollably bubbling up inside of her. Or maybe it was the way she felt renewed; the way she felt clean , like all the dirty parts of her had been eliminated by the biting cool of the water; washed away like the tide, utter and absolute. Like all the rot inside of her had been cut out and replaced with new, thriving life.

After several minutes, their laughter guttered out, throats left raw from the act. They stared at each other, treading water, soft smiles on their faces.

“Thank you,” Vassa said. The thin film of moisture in her eyes did not seem like it was from the pool they swam in, but Elain couldn’t be sure. “I don’t know if I ever would have come back here if it wasn’t for you.”

“You would have,” Elain said confidently. She was sure of that. Her friend may have her faults, but Vassa was brave and bold and true, and she would not let any obstacle stand in her way for long. Not if she could help it.

Suddenly, Vassa's expression shifted dramatically, going from bright and giddy to starkly sober.

The mood shifted immediately, the queen’s words a catalyst to the thundering of Elain's heart. Even the forest around them seemed to quiet, the wind stilling, no creatures stirring, all listening for what came next.

“Elain,” Vassa said, low and clear. “I need to tell you something.”

Afraid a trembling voice might give away her nerves, Elain merely nodded in response.

Vassa took a deep, rattling breath. “Before I go any further, I want you to know that - “

She never finished the sentence. One moment she was there, staring at Elain with serious and mournful eyes, and the next she was gone. She vanished beneath the surface as if she was never there at all. She was gone so quickly she did not even have time to scream.

But Elain had seen the petrified expression on the queen’s face before her friend was pulled beneath the surface. A horror so heavy it sank like stone.

TAGS (lmk if you would like to be removed/added)

#elriel #tsts #acotar #elain archeron #azriel #elain x azriel #elriel fanfic #post acosf #azriel x elain #theshadowsthatsing #danydragons21 #elain supremacy #acotarsmut #acotarfanfic #lucien acotar #vassa acotar

33 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 10 months

Text

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

“𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒂 𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒎. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎.”

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

✮♱✮ art by hanna.digiart

✮♱✮ commissioned by me

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

I hope you’re all doing very well today!!! I’m so very excited to share this absolutely beautiful and magnificent masterpiece done by the amazing and wonderfully talented hanna.digiart. I’ve loved Sleeping Beauty ever since I was a child, and the theory that Elriel could be a Sleeping Beauty retelling just makes my heart race with excitement so I’ve been dying to commission this!! I was also inspired by pandoras_book and her breathtaking Sleeping Beauty Elriel pieces!! So I hope you guys are as in love with this piece as I am, and once again show support to the insanely awesome hanna.digiart for bringing my ideas to life in ways I couldn’t even imagine! This piece was also very inspired by my lovely friend, @elriell sleeping beauty Elriel commissions!! If you haven’t already, you MUST check hers out they’re absolutely perfect!!!

Sleeping Beauty Elriel Theory

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

✮♱✮ characters are Elain Archeron and Azriel from A Court of Thorns and Roses

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

✮♱✮ likes, saves, and shares are always appreciated!

✮♱✮ no reposts allowed.

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

682 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 10 months

Note

i thought the next chapter was coming out very soon 🥺

It was and then life got insane and I am sorry :( I could write a novel on all that's happened to me in the past month but ain't nobody got time for that.

Good news is next chapter is done - just want to run through and edit one last time before I post. So it will be up very very very soon!

Thank you all for your patience <3 Just don't blame me when the cliffhanger at the end of the chapter has you screaming...

2 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 10 months

Note

Can we get a sneak peek of the next chapter? Please?

TSTS Chapter 34: The Hourglass

SNEAK PEAK

Azriel studied the male in front of him, frowning slightly. This was taking longer than he expected. Longer than he had wanted it to take; otherwise, he might have made it to the Ball Planning meeting on time. Unfortunately, the Autumn Court soldier had yet to break. He’d already lost three fingers, for Cauldron’s sake, yet he still wouldn’t talk.

But Az wasn’t worried. He would talk. They always talked in the end.

Full chapter will be posted sometime today!

2 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 10 months

Note

Hi! Just curious as the when we should expect a chapter update for TSTS?

Will be posting within the next 24 hours!! PINKY PROMISE THIS TIME

8 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 10 months

Text

everyone’s fighting about what shadowboi wants but tbh there is only one thing we know regarding factual, concrete want + attraction in canon:

and that is that azriel wants to eat elain’s…

erotic essence.

this 👏 shit 👏 aint 👏 complicated 👏

139 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 11 months

Text

♥️ love you so so much @shedoessoshedoes you are forever the best

1000 kudos?!?!

Guys. The Shadows that Sing just hit 1,000 kudos on AO3!!! OH MY GOD. Truly, I'm at a loss for words. I cannot thank you all enough for your support of this little fic of mine - it is not an exaggeration when I say that playing a small part in the wonderful Elriel community has been an absolute highlight of my life. I am so grateful for everyone whose read, reblogged, faved and posted about TSTS. This story means the world to me, and so do all of you who love it.

In honor of 1,000 (!!! still not over it !!!) kudos, here's a teaser for the next chapter of TSTS - which will be published by the end of the month at the latest:

“Even if I agree to keep whatever this is-'' he waved a flippant hand at the two of them - “a secret, Nesta will know I’m keeping something from her. She’s smart like that.”

“Or you’re just incredibly bad at keeping secrets,” Azriel said dryly.

Cassian glared at him. “You’re awfully bold for someone who just got caught in a garden shed with their dick hanging out.”

Azriel growled. “At least my dick is big enough to hang out of my pants. Shame you can’t say the same.”

Again, I love you all. #Elriel is superior, now and forever!! ❤️

34 notes · View notes

danydragons21 · 11 months

Note

Please come back and bring us the next chapter of TSTS🙈.

P.s it's your fault that we're impatient because it's soooo good 🤌

Next chapter is posted 😘 And the next NEXT chapter is almost finished, as well, so the wait will not be nearly so long this time!

Thank you for reading ♥️

1 note · View note

danydragons21 · 11 months

Text

TSTS Chapter 33: The Incident

Read on ao3 here.

Chapter 33: The Incident

“Oh my gods,” Cassian yelled, covering his eyes.

“Fuck,” Elain hissed, spinning around.

“Fuck,” Az echoed, turning and stuffing his half-hard dick back into his pants. His heart was pounding against his chest. Next to him, Elain was frantically lacing up the few corset ties he’d managed to loosen, her face bright red and fingers shaking. For perhaps the first time since meeting her, he was very glad she was fully clothed; at least she was able to preserve some decency. Unfortunately, he couldn’t say the same about himself; he was quite positive Cassian had gotten a full view of his partly-flaccid manhood.

Not to mention, of course, that he’d seen him and Elain. Seen them locked at the lips, seen their hands twisted around each other, their bodies pressed together so tightly it was impossible to discern where he ended and she began -

There wasn’t a chance in hells of playing this off as something innocent. Not a single one.

“ What the fuck is going on here?! ” Cassian practically bellowed.

“Keep your voice down,” Elain snarled, spinning around and fixing a dagger-edged stare at her brother-in-law. Her voice was mostly steady, but Azriel could hear the thundering of her pulse; she was just as thrown off, just as distressed as he was. “Do you want to alert the whole godsdamn manor?”

“What the hells are you even doing here?” Azriel demanded. His siphons were glowing brightly, and tension and something like panic clanged through him like a bell. Nuala and Cerridwen knowing about them was one thing, but Cassian…Cassian was another level entirely. If Cassian knew, it was only a matter of time before everyone else knew, too. And if everyone else knew, then he and Elain would have to - well, he exactly wasn’t sure what they would have to do. That was the problem in and of itself. He had no idea how the others would react. Had no idea how it would change the very dynamic of their tight-knit group, their family -

No, if his and Elain’s secret were to no longer be a secret, he hadn’t a clue what would happen next.

And he was a strong enough male to admit that he was rather afraid to find out.

“Looking for you two!” Cas shouted, his voice only slightly quieter than a moment ago. “I wanted to hang out!”

“And you didn’t use your supersonic hearing to realize that we were not just ‘ hanging out ’ in here?” Elain said incredulously.

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT THE SOUNDS I HEARD WERE - “

“Shut up, would you?” Az growled, his wings flexing menacingly behind him.

“But you two - you and you -” he pointed at Az, eyes wide with shock before narrowing in outrage. “What the hells were you doing with her!?”

The Shadowsinger was about to bite back when Elain beat him to it.

“Are you requesting a play by play?” she replied coolly.

The General gaped. His mouth kept opening and closing like a fish on a hook. “ What is happening ?” he asked again in a hoarse whisper. He looked rather faint, and there was an unmistakable sway in his knees.

Azriel’s suspicions were confirmed when Cassian dramatically fell back onto a work stool. He scoffed while beside him, Elain rolled her eyes.

“Why are you even at the Manor right now?” the shadowsinger asked, unable to keep a throaty grumble out of his voice.

Cassian’s look of shock turned into one tinged with frustration. “I told you I was coming to the Mortal Manor tonight! I told you not even eight hours ago! Or have you gotten so old you’re going senile?”

Azriel blinked. He was so caught off guard that he didn’t even think to be offended by the insult. Was that true? He thought back to their conversation on the rooftop…he could have sworn both Cassian and Mor were supposed to arrive tomorrow…But, to be fair, his mind was rather preoccupied with several other things at the time.

He scratched the back of his neck guiltily. “I thought you said tomorrow,” he muttered as the arches of his cheeks went warm.

Cassian scowled. “Well, obviously, I didn’t.”

There was a beat of silence. Then Cassian buried his face in his hands and groaned, seemingly overwhelmed by the events that had just taken place.

Elain and Azriel took advantage of his distraction by having a silent conversation.

Are you okay? she mouthed. Genuine concern gleamed in her big doe eyes. Despite the embarrassment he knew she was feeling, here she was, putting her own feelings aside out of worry for his own.

Affection fluttered in his chest. A moment later, it was replaced with sour shame. Mother above. What was wrong with him? He was acting like a scared, selfish little boy. Despite his initial reaction, the very last thing he wanted - and that included getting horribly cockblocked mere moments after receiving the best blowjob of his life - was for Elain to walk away from this situation thinking he was in any way ashamed of her. Not when that was so far from the truth. He simply couldn’t bear it.

But he wasn’t sure how to say all that, so he just gave her a quick, terse nod.

Elain looked quickly away, and after a few seconds, sighed long and loud. Cassian finally raised his head to look at her.

“Okay. Here’s what’s going to happen,” she said, a calm and even expression on her face. “You’re going to ask us three questions, and we’re going to answer them completely honestly. But only three. That’s it. That’s all you get.” She glanced sideways at Az. “Right?”

He didn’t hesitate. Wherever she was going with this, whatever plan she had, he had full faith in it. In her. “Right.”

“Fine,” Cassian said, “How long has -”

Elain held up a finger. “I’m not done. We will answer three questions if , and only if, you promise us something.”

“Promise what?” he responded, voice laced with suspicion.

“You have to promise not to speak about anything you saw or heard here tonight. Got it?”

Cassian’s eyes bulged out of his head. “Do you realize what you’re asking me to do? I can’t keep this from Nesta!”

At the mere mention of her elder sister, Elain’s shoulders tightened. “I don’t see what any of this has to do with her.”

If the heavy sigh he gave was any indication, Cassian noticed Elain’s reaction, as well. “Even if I agree to keep whatever this is -'' he waved a flippant hand at the two of them - “a secret, Nesta will know I’m keeping something from her. She’s smart like that.”

“Or you’re just incredibly bad at keeping secrets,” Azriel said dryly.

Cassian glared at him. “You’re awfully bold for someone who just got caught in a garden shed with their dick hanging out.”

Azriel arched an eyebrow. “At least my dick is big enough to hang out of my pants. Shame you can’t say the same.”

“Shut it, the both of you,” Elain ordered. Then she pinned a serious gaze on Cassian.

“I didn’t want to play this card, but you’re forcing my hand,” she said. “You have to keep this a secret. You owe me , Cas.”

Cassian blinked. So did Azriel. What in the world was she talking about?

She widened her eyes meaningfully. “Remember?”

Cas stared at her for another long second before he threw his head back and groaned. “Fuck,” he whined. “You’re right. Ugh. Ugh . Fine,” he said, focusing his gaze back on Elain, a pouty scowl on his ruggedly handsome face. “You fight dirty, Archeron.”

“I’m sorry you had to learn the hard way.”

The Illyrian General shook his head. “I thought you were supposed to be the sweet sister.”

Elain smiled ruefully. “You thought wrong,” she said, then inclined her head. “Ask your questions.”

“How long has this been going on?” he asked immediately.

The other two glanced at each other. Azriel wasn’t quite sure how to answer. When did this thing with him and Elain begin? If he was being incredibly frank, it began the moment he saw her clutching that fork in the mortal lands, when she was endearingly human; when she was small and fragile and scared - and brave. Always brave, even then.

But “ this” was an incredibly vague identifier, and Azriel wasn’t interested in digging into any kind of unnecessary details here. Besides, he was pretty sure Cassian’s question was mainly referring to the sexual nature of their relationship, so..

“A while,” he finally said. “A few months, at least.”

Cassian gaped like a fish out of water. “Months?” he gasped. “ Months ?” Then he turned to Azriel with a hurt expression. “How could you keep this from me? I thought we told each other everything!”

Before he could answer, Elain said, “Is that one of your questions?”

“No,” Cassian replied sullenly, throwing another dirty look at Azriel.

“Then ask your actual next question.”

“Does anybody else know?”

“Nuala and Cerridwen know,” Elain replied. “Rhys knows we almost kissed about a year ago, and I guess Feyre and Mor know about that too, but that’s it.”

He turned to Az with comprehension dawning in his eyes.“Wait, is that why you and Rhys - ?” Then he stopped himself, clearly remembering he had limited access to the information he desired.

“We are fairly confident they’re the only ones who know, anyway,” Elain continued. “And you too, now, I guess,” she added wryly.

“What a joyous club to be a part of,” Cassian deadpanned. If Azriel wasn’t so worked up (being simultaneously annoyed, panicked and still a bit horny wasn’t doing his cardiac system any favors), he might have smirked.

“Last question,” Elain said. “Better make it a good one.”

With a wary gleam in his eye, Cassian’s gaze swiveled between the two of them. “Do you two like each other or something?” he asked finally. “I mean, is this just…you know…or is it…”, he trailed off awkwardly.

Elain opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instinctively, or so it seemed, her eyes darted to meet Azriel’s.

And before he could think twice about it, and despite the tight ball of panic still pulsing in his chest, he said, “Of course we like each other.”

The beautiful shine in her eyes made it all worth it.

Cassian sighed, long and loud. “And everything was going so nicely,” he said dramatically.

The adoring look on Elain’s face dropped immediately. She turned to Cassian, narrowing her brows. “Don’t you worry your below-average-sized wings,” she said, causing Cassian’s mouth to drop and Azriel to bite his tongue in an attempt to stifle his laughter. This girl . Godsdamn.

“This isn’t your problem,” she continued. “This isn’t anyone’s problem. Got it?”

She bared her teeth. Her gaze was so ferocious, her tone so commanding, Azriel didn’t even blame Cassian for wincing slightly.

“Got it,” he said weakly.

“And it’s going to remain that way, right?” she said, just as intensely.

“Right,” Cassian finished lamely.

Elain nodded, satisfied. “Well, it must be near dinnertime.” Her tone was suddenly sweet and casual again. “Let’s go eat, shall we?” Then she led the way out of the shed.

As they walked through the conservatory, Cassian looked around with wide eyes, taking in the practical indoor jungle around them. “Hey, didn’t all this get destroyed by Koschei months ago?”

Elain and Azriel exchanged a brief glance. “Yes,” she said, “I’m not sure if you knew this, but plants can grow back.” The corner of her lips twitched when Cassian immediately scowled - and she couldn’t help but smile fully when Azriel let out a short, rasping laugh. She watched him for a moment, smiling all the while, their eyes locked together. The gaze broke apart when they sensed Cassian’s gaze.

He was shaking his head again. “Nice sister, my ass,” he said under his breath as they continued along the twisting dirt path.

***

If Elain was even a bit nervous about how Azriel would handle The Incident , as she’d had taken to calling it in her head, her worries were short lived.

It was true that dinner had been an awkward affair. Vassa was predictably absent, but Jurian, who’d been gone for several weeks leading his armies, was there. At first, Elain had been rather grateful for his presence; at least he distracted Cassian enough that he stopped shooting wildly-obvious glares at Elain and Azriel.

But she’d severely underestimated Cassian’s burning hatred for the mortal general.

In retrospect, it made sense. Azriel hadn’t liked Jurian at first, either - and why would he, after the human had shredded his wings once? But after months of living in the Manor with the mortal, she could tell - even if he’d never explicitly said it - that any anger Az held toward the mortal had vanished.

Unfortunately, Cassian was just beginning his journey on the Road to Forgiveness; thus, the entirety of the meal was filled with barbed comments, pointedly rude observations and outright aggressive insults that grew progressively more offensive as the evening bore on. Elain bit her lip through most of the immaturity, but when Cassian snarkily referred to Jurian as a “One-Eyed Wonder of the World,” she neatly crossed her fork and knife over her plate and excused herself for the night.

She had more important things to do than try and make the boys play nicely. With all the chaos of the last week - from the revelations at the Day Court to the almost-kiss with Lucien to her and Azriel’s emotional reunion and to Cassian’s interruptions - there had been no time whatsoever to focus on calling forth any relevant visions.

Well. Perhaps there had been time, she thought guiltily. She simply had not made the time.

By this point in her training, Elain had grown powerful enough that she rarely went an hour without having some sort of premonition. However, unless she truly focused and exerted intentional energy toward her magic, the visions she did receive were incredibly fleeting and mostly useless. For example, when she got into bed each night, she foresaw the dress she’d choose to wear the next day. Did it save her time in the morning? Sure. But it certainly wasn’t solving any issues pertaining to the greater threat at play.

Two weeks. That’s all the time they had left before the Ball. All the time she had left to find out Vassa’s secret and how it pertained to both her and Koschei. All the time left she had to make a goddamn difference in this fight.

And if she was being entirely honest with herself, she hadn’t put forth the amount of effort she should have been exerting given the quickly-shortening timeframe.

Walking a bit more aggressively than before, she pushed open the door to her quarters, determined to spend the rest of the evening focusing on eliciting a vision that would be of some use to her and her family. It was her duty. Her responsibility. And she was going to succeed. She wouldn’t accept any other alternative.

But the second her door shut, she realized she wasn’t alone. She felt his presence behind her, felt the toe-curling chill that constantly accompanied him. The cool she always craved.

An instant later, she was thrown onto the bed, not roughly but with enough force that she bounced. She lay in the center of the mattress, propped up on her elbows. She couldn’t help the breathy little moan that escaped her lips as she watched Azriel prowl toward her. Gods , he looked like an Angel of Death, hazel eyes rimmed with darkness and onyx wings spread so wide the tips nearly grazed the walls. Then they curled in slightly, the claws at the end gripping the bed posters as he crawled onto the bed.

Cool, quick hands snatched at her ankles and dragged her forward until she lay flat on her back. And before she could even begin to protest, he spread her legs wide and pushed aside her undergarments. Any inkling of responsibility vanished completely from her mind the second the cool air hit her folds.

Then he returned the favor she’d given him earlier in the shed and devoured her like she was his last meal. She came quickly, so quickly it might have been a bit embarrassing if it was anyone else but him, crying out softly as her legs shook.

After he’d lapped her up, he found her lips and kissed them so softly, so tenderly, she felt like she was melting. She kissed him back, just as intensely, loving the taste of their desires mixed together.

They kissed for so long she lost track of time. When Azriel finally moved away, his lips were cherry red and swollen and juicy. She was sure hers were, too.

For several moments, they simply looked at each other, attempting to catch their breath..

“Az,” she finally said, still breathless.

“Mmm?”

“About…about earlier,” she began, then stopped. She was not sure how to phrase what it was she wanted to ask next.

If she was Nesta or Feyre, she’d have no problem coming right out and asking all the questions she wanted to ask - What is going to happen know that Cassian knows? or What the hell does this change in living arrangements mean for us? or What about when we leave the manor in just a few weeks? and most of all, What exactly are we to each other? In the shed, he’d said he liked her. But what else did that mean? What did that entail?

She was starting to fear she’d lose her mind if she didn’t get answers soon.

As it was, she was not either of her sisters. Much to her - and their - chagrin.

Azriel seemed to be blissfully unaware of the mental battle she was currently going through. One hand palmed the back of her head, the other thumbed her bottom lip. His eyes were hazy and unfocused. “Yes?” he murmured.

Sometimes, after sex, he looked at her like…she didn’t know how to explain it. Like he could look at her forever. Like he would never be done with her.

This was one of those times.

The questions she wanted to ask died on the tip of her tongue. She couldn’t bring herself to ruin the moment. “When do you leave next?” she asked instead.

He frowned immediately. So much for not ruining the moment.

“I should have left hours ago,” he admitted.

It was her turn to frown. “And you stayed because of The Incident?”

He raised an amused brow at the moniker, but he nodded without any other comment.

She shook her head. “That was unnecessary,” she said. “I appreciate the gesture, truly…but you know I can handle myself.” A gentle finger traced the sharp line of his jaw. “You’re an important male with lots of important responsibilities.”

He shrugged. “Semi-important,” he allowed. “And I know you can handle yourself. It was Cassian who I was worried about. He has a very fragile constitution, and given the shock he went through earlier, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to faint or anything.” Azriel’s voice was low and teasing.

She loved him like this - relaxed, teasing, at peace. But she couldn’t shake the nagging disquiet that he’d shirked his responsibilities for her. His fierce dedication to serving the Night Court and ensuring all its citizens were safe was something she loved most about the shadowsinger. And the last thing she wanted was to hold him back from fulfilling that role.

Apparently, she didn’t do a very good job of keeping her worry off her face. “You have nothing to feel guilty over, Elain,” he said.

She chewed on her lip. “I don’t want to ever keep you from your duty,” she said.

“You are my duty,” he said seriously.

“Oh, stop it,” she said after a moment, though her effort to play off his comment was severely diminished by the deep blush that was indeed dusted across her cheekbones.

One side of his mouth tipped up. “I love how easy it is to make you blush.”

She groaned and covered her hands with her face, making him laugh. It wasn’t long before she was laughing, too.

By the time their laughter faded, an apologetic expression had replaced Azriel’s fond and relaxed one. “I do need to go now, though,” he said.

She immediately sat up. “That’s alright. I understand.” And she did.

The spymaster’s shadows appeared and engulfed him; seconds later they cleared, revealing a fully-clothed and fully-armored Azriel.

“I’ll only be gone for a day or two. Maybe three, if things don’t go as expected.” he said. “There’s someone I have to - something I have to do. But it shouldn’t take long.”

The desire to ask him where he was going was on the tip of her tongue. But if he wanted her to know, he would have told her, right? So she bit back the urge.

His bright hazel eyes roved over her face. “I’ll see you in a few days,” he finally said.

Elain nodded. Then she moved forward, and before he could register her actions, wrapped her lithe arms around his neck. After a stunned moment, he returned the gesture, enfolding her small, warm body in his embrace.

“Be safe on your mission,” she murmured, stroking the hair at the nape of his neck. Her fingertips brushed the top of their bargain tattoo; the slight contact was enough to send a trail of embers down his spine, leaving him feeling rather unsteady. Not to mention that the softness of the action (and the instinctual way she’d done it, like it was second nature to her, like she couldn’t possibly imagine not doing it) had thawed a piece inside of him that had been frozen far too long.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said.

He swallowed back the strange knot in his throat and forced out a low chuckle. Thankfully, as Elain leaned back to smile softly at him with a mischievous glint in her eye, she did not notice anything off.

He must have been staring at her for too long, because Elain let out a bright, lovely laugh. “Go,” she repeated, kissing his cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Soon,” he said back, his cheek still tingling from her kiss. Gods. If only his enemies could see him now: the great Illyrian warrior, the fearsome Shadowsinger and Spymaster of the Night Court, brought to his knees by a simple peck on the cheek. Would wonders never cease?

He hoped not. Perhaps, if he somehow was able to keep Elain by his side, he could ensure it.

TAGS (lmk if you would like to be removed/added)

@sakurakittypeach @shedoessoshedoes @courtofjurdan @lesolehabitantdelalune @suntoksabuwan @sweet-pea1 @ireneherondale24@supernaturallynerdy @dreaming-of-azriel @bookstaninthesoul @cuppamelia @fawnandshadows @offtorivendell @impossiblescissorspeachpaper @nikethestatue @reverie-tales @nyaxxe @casuallivi @protectorofvel @briar-reads @creatureofnightmares @swankii-art-teacher @the-laughing-bubble @gracie-rosee @cntrol @magnolia-blossom87 @ela-ivp @potassium-boron @freepandahugs @karomdr-blog @athena-85 @justreallybored

#tsts #elriel #acotar #acotarfic #elrielfic

43 notes · View notes