#☾ 〈 darkness falls 〉 ︙ eris | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

moonlightazriel · 11 months

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Son of the Darkness XV /// Azriel X F!Reader

Summary: Hidden for so long The court of shadows thrived, and things were great until the high lord's death, now the next in line should assume the crown of high lord of shadows, will he accept his duties?

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3,5K

Notes: Okay, the new chapter is finally here, but before you read, pay attention here. I used the book as a base for this chapter, but the thing is, I haven’t read it in English, so all the dialogues are completely made up in my mind as I translated as whatever the voices in my head said. That being said, if you feel like “Hey, this is not what happened!” It’s cuz you’re right and it didn’t really happen, or at least not like I’m describing it.

Son of the Darkness Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Azriel sighed annoyed as they walked through the halls of the Dawn Court, the bright colours made his eyes hurt, being used to Tornan by now and the Night Court in general. Y/N walked on his right and Evanore on his left, the golden crown atop his head weirdly heavy as he thought that months ago, he was getting ready for this meeting as the Spymaster from the Night Court, and now, as he pushed through the double doors, he was a High Lord himself.

He was the last one to arrive, as Rhys had suggested, one by one the High Lords had arrived, with those selected to accompany them. Thesan waited for them with a friendly smile, trying to ease the already tense atmosphere, Tamlin was nowhere to be found. The others noticed the absence of the Shadowsinger and how three seats remained empty, some hushed whispers were shared among them as they wondered what was happening.

The sound of the doors opening brought all the eyes to Azriel, he had a smirk as he watched the room fall silent, the looks of disbelief on their faces, especially the Vanserras. Evanore walked in smiling and waving towards the Night Court group, Feyre waved back, she was the joyful and colourful ray of sunshine among them, she was wearing a deep green dress, that reached her feet, a huge slit on one of the legs, her hair in a braid, she didn't looked like a soldier, not like Y/N.

Y/N walked in, her face a cold mask, her dress reached the middle of her leg, the thin straps and the deep v cut showed too much skin, showing the pink scar and the beautiful tattoo, the handle of her sword was poking from her back, she only looked to her seat, not even acknowledging anyone in the room, Eris watched her with a smirk.

Azriel's shadows covered the whole ground as he moved to his seat, anyone present could feel how he reeked of primal magic, the type of magic the tales talked about, ancient magic coming from the Mother, the bold ones would dare to say that he was more powerful than the High Lord of the Night. Even Beron had the sense of seeming disturbed by his presence, flinching away as he felt the touch of his shadows in his ankles. Rhys smiled brightly at him, feeling a sense of proudness fill his chest, Cassian could only agree that he felt proud of his brother.

"Shall we begin?" His voice was low and sensual as he took the middle seat, with the two females graciously and dead silent sitting by his side.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Y/N sipped on the peach juice she was served, it felt like this conversation was leading nowhere, they couldn't agree on a single thing, the High Lord from the Autumn Court was the hardest one to deal with. Evanore's voice caught her attention and she turned her head, Eva was staring straight to the autumn heir, her eyes glazed as she repeated the words.

"Fajro kaj naturo, naskitaj unu por la alia” (Fire and nature, born for each other) Again and again.

"Kion vi faras?” (What are you doing?) She whispered, leaning behind Azriel, too bored to care about manners, like she was woken up from a trance, her blue eyes pierced her soul as Eva replied.

"Iu diris al mi, ke en sonĝo, antaŭ jarcentoj, nun mi pensas, ke mi finfine komprenas, kion ĝi signifas.” (Someone told me that in a dream, centuries ago, now I think I finally understand what it means.) She looked at the heir again, and it was like she could feel it.

“Li estas via amiko?" (He's your mate?) She raised an eyebrow towards the blonde.

“Jes!” (Yes!) It was all that she said before she turned to him again.

The room fell silent again as the doors opened for the last time, a blonde male entered, smirking like the devil, green colours adorned his clothes and the annoying smell of spring told her that it was Tamlin, the last High Lord. The soft glow of his ring caught Azriel's attention and he averted his gaze from Tamlin to the circle around them on the floor, Y/N's magic worked as a barrier, every High Lord had its own protection, but that was all it was. His protection could be deadly to anyone who dared to step closer to them, Eva was also smiling as her bracelet shone brighter.

"We weren't expecting you, Tamlin." Thesan spoke in a calm voice, nodding to one of the servants so they could get a chair for him, which was quickly attended and Tamlin sat by the table, his gaze filled with hatred for the Night Court switched to curiosity as he laid his eyes on the trio from the Shadows.

"I was told this was a High Lords meeting, didn't know you let everyone enter in here." His sarcastic tone made Y/N growl at him, his mockery to her High Lord could not end well.

"I must admit that I'm also surprised." Beron spoke. " As we also were told that your loyalty belongs to someone else." His tone wasn't gentle. Tamlin kept looking at Feyre like he wanted to jump at her throat, Y/N kept watching his every move. After all, he was a traitor.

"We should keep going." Helion suggested nicely.

"I don't have the habit of discussing my plans with the enemy." Feyre replied and Tamlin scoffed.

"You only have the habit of fucking them." Everyone from the night court held their breaths at his comment.

"Should I intervene?" Y/N whispered in Azriel's ear and he shook his head in denial.

"Not yet." She looked at the male again.

"Seems like an option better than war." Rhys answered after a minute of silence and Tamlin lifted his chin.

"And here you are, after starting it." Rhys lifted an eyebrow, hand splayed across his chest as he pretended to be hurt. The other High Lords watched quietly as the two fought like children, a banter that wouldn't take them any closer to winning this war.

"If you hadn't stolen my bride in the dead of the night, i wouldn't have to take such desperate measures to get her back."

"It was daylight when I left you." Evanore tried hard, but the loud chuckle escaped her lips and all the heads turned to her, Eris covered his mouth as he hid his own laughter, his eyes watching her attentively, maybe he felt it too.

"Why are you here, Tamlin?" Kallias said, and Y/N almost thanked him, they were there for a reason and not to discuss how Rhysand and Feyre got together.

"I made a deal, conceiving access to my lands with a sadist to get the woman I love back, I was going to fight him, try to find a way to break the deal after i had her back, but Rhysand and his people had transformed her into a different person, and she was more than happy to tear my court apart and let Hybern go through." His smirk was vile.

"You cannot erase what you did and try to pretend you're the victim here." Feyre said, she sounded hurt.

His disgusted grin only grew wider as he looked at Rhysand again. "Have you ever noticed the little whimpers that leave her mouth right before she cums."

Azriel's fingers were shaking but his voice was firm, and deadly as he said. "Be careful how you speak about the High Lady of the Night Court." Tamlin looked at him surprised and his confidence faltered for a moment.

"Like he knows how to make a woman cum." Y/N whispered to her friends and Azriel had to hold back a smile. Rhysand shook his head and Feyre seemed like she was going to explode. They had certainly heard her, the expression on Feyre's face, clearly not bothered by his comment only enraged him more.

"Thank you, that's what I needed to hear now." Feyre's voice sounded in her head and Y/N gave a small smile to her direction. Tamlin kept throwing accusations around, Azriel had to hold her wrist a couple of times to prevent her from taking away his ability to talk.

"They offer us stories about defending our land and bringing us peace, but SHE.." he pointed to Feyre. " Came to my lands and exposed it to Hybern. She took my High Priestess and broke her mind, after breaking her bones for pure envy. And if you're wondering what happened to that girl that went Under the Mountain to save us, look at her and the male by her side. Will we fight against Hybern together only to be ruled by a King and a Queen after? She already proved her ambition, and he was more than happy to serve Amarantha."

"Oh by the love of the Mother, do you have any illness that prevent you from ever telling the truth?" Y/N spoke, having enough of that fucking conversation. The blonde looked at her with disdain.

"Who are you, Azriel's little whore?" Azriel felt his blood boil and he knew Tamlin was just messing with him, the blonde prepared to speak again but nothing came, not a single word left his lips, he choked and breathed, his nails scraping his throat, everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions. Eris had a growing smirk as he knew what was happening, Rhysand and Cassian tried hard to keep their composure but Eva just didn't care, her hands covering her mouth as she giggled.

"She's my general, and should be treated as such, with respect, after all some of us know how to actually take care of women." The irony in his voice almost stung, he watched with a predatory gaze as Tamlin kept struggling to talk, Y/N's hand was hidden under the table as the mist came from her palm. His large hand squeezed her thigh, and she stopped, the shadows retrieving back to her and Tamlin gasped and breathed loudly, looking everywhere to see what the hell had just happened to him.

"Why are you here, Tamlin?" Kallias asked again and the male decided to go straight to the point this time.

"I'm here to help fight against Hybern."

"Liar." Cassian growled.

"You need to understand why we are not comfortable with sharing our plans with you." Thesan said, trying to ease the tension once again.

"Even when I have information against him?" He retorted, smiling at Feyre once again. "Why do you think i invited them to my home? I told you once that I would fight against tyranny, not even you was enough to prevent me from doing it. It was easy for you to call me a monster even with everything I did for you, for your family. " He looked at Nesta and not even Y/N wanted to be at the receiving end of the glare she sent his way.

"You witnessed everything that he did Under the Mountain, and yet you opened your legs for him. He whored himself to Amarantha for decades, guess it was easy for you to do the same."

"Careful." Morrigan warned but he ignored her.

"Tamlin, this is getting boring, take all this lovers drama elsewhere and let the rest of us discuss the war." Helion said, his voice monotone as he waved his hand in dismiss.

"You will enjoy the war, considering how good the last one was for you." Tamlin kept going.

"No one said that the war cannot be lucrative for some." He simply said, not letting the childish behaviour get to him.

"Enough!" Kallias yelled. "We have different opinions about how this conflict with Hybern should be approached." Eva nodded, agreeing with him.

"I'm against Hybern." He finally stated a serious tone.

"Prove it." Helion challenged.

Tamlin flicked his hand and stacks of paper appeared in front of him. "Letters from the army, weaponry, faebane supplies and everything we need to know." Cassian scoffed.

"As noble as this might seem." Helion scratched his chin, looking at him with a fierce gaze. "Who can guarantee that this isn't false information to get us to trust you?"

"Who guarantees that Rhysand and his followers aren't Hybern's agents, and this isn't a way of making us surrender without noticing?" He replied back and even Vivianne groaned in frustration.

"You cannot be serious." Nesta finally spoke, her piercing blue eyes throwing daggers at him.

"If we need to unite against Hybern, you're doing a terrible job to bring us together, Tamlin." Thesan spoke again, rubbing his temples in exhaustion.

"I'm just warning that they might seem like your friends, but the truth is, he warmed Amarantha's sheets for 50 years, and just worked against her when things changed. I'm just saying that, even if he claimed his city was attacked by Hybern, they did very well, like they were waiting for the attack. Don't think they wouldn't sacrifice some building and some lesser fae to make it seem like we have an enemy in common. Why was the Night Court the only one to know about the attack in Adriata and were the only ones getting there in time to play saviour?" The smug in his face, like he had won the argument, quickly vanished as Varian opened his mouth.

"They knew." He looked at Tamlin. "Cuz I told them."

"Maybe you're also working with them, you're the next in line for the crown anyways." The whole room huffed in annoyance.

"Maybe.." the eyes fell on Y/N. "This is a fucking conspiracy, all of us work with Hybern and we are trying to convince you to surrender." She mocked and even Beron let out a scoff in his direction.

"Next time choose only one target, it's more convincing than just pretend that everyone is working with the real enemy just cuz things don't go your way." Evanore adviced and Eris paid attention to her once more.

She was the other female alongside Y/N that time in the Winter Court, she was beautiful, a type of beauty that not everyone achieved, it was like the Mother took her time to sculpt her beautiful face and the bright blue eyes. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her.

"You're insane." Feyre rolled her eyes. "Are you even hearing what you're saying? Hybern turned my sisters into fae after your pristress sold them."

"Maybe Ianthe's mind was already in Rhysand's control. And what a tragedy, be beautiful and young forever. You're a good actress, I'm sure it's a family thing." He spoke directly to Nesta. She let out a low chuckle.

"If you want to blame someone for all of this, try to look in the mirror." Tamin growled at her.

"Don't even think about it." Cassian said to him through gritted teeth. Tamlin looked from Nesta to Cassian and scoffed.

"Looks like other preferences run in the Archeron family." He mocked and Feyre sighed.

"What do you want? An apology? Or that I crawl back to your bed and play the happy dutiful wife?"

"Why would I want spoiled things back? After you let him fuck you like.." Once again the words stopped abruptly and Azriel looked to his right side, Y/N lifted her hands and whispered a "Not me." The male opened his mouth once, twice but nothing came.

"You are a poet when you're quiet, Tamlin." Everyone looked at Rhysand, the flicker of doubt and fear in their eyes. Tamlin was as powerful as any of them, but when Rhys took away his ability to speak, they remembered that they weren't equals. "If you want us to prove that we are not working with Hybern, just remember that it would be much easier to just invade your minds and force you all to do as I wish.”

Beron was the only one dumb enough to let out a sarcastic laugh, and Eris just leaned closer to his mother to protect her.

“Even if Varian told you all, when he wasn’t supposed to.” Tarquin finally spoke. “You came, bringing another powerful High Lord that ended with everything in minutes.” He pointed to Azriel. “You were the only one to come, and not asked anything in return, why?”

“That’s not what friends are for?” Rhys simply said.

“I take back the blood ruby, not a single debt between us.” Tarquin said again.

“Don’t expect Amren to give hers back, she liked it a lot.” Cassian blurted and a shadow of a smile spread across Tarquin’s face.

“The war is here.” Azriel spoke, his throat dry from not using his voice. “We shouldn’t waste time fighting with each other.”

“The Shadowsinger is right.” Beron agreed.

“It’s High Lord of the Court of Shadows for you.” Y/N replied. And all the attention was on the three again.

“Which brings us to an interesting question.” Kallias started. “You call yourself a High Lord, but from which court?”

“The Court of Shadows was destroyed in the war.” Helion casually remembered.

“My Court needed to recover after the war, but now we’re ready to fight for our land. Hybern won’t take what’s ours, no one will, ever again.” Y/N’s voice was a warning, a reminder that no one knew what they were capable of, let alone their High Lord.

“Who guarantees you’re telling the truth?” Beron asked like a stubborn child and Evanore got up. She showed them, the court, her home, Thera and everything they needed to see to believe.

“It’s just like I remember.” It was all Helion said. “Well, going back to what’s important.” He flickered his hands and more papers appeared on the table. “Copies.” He motioned to them. “If Tamlin is telling the truth, we should focus on getting rid of the faebane.” He pointed to the male that crossed his arms and kept his face in a frown.

“How do you suggest we do it?” Kallias inquired.

“We can take care of this.” Tarquin replied. “We owe that to them, for Adriata.”

“There’s no need.” Thesan intervened. “I have someone I want you all to meet.” A High fae entered the room, she had long black hair and brown skin.

“My lord.” She bowed to him.

“Nuan is one of my best craftsmen.” He pointed at her and she gave him a shy smile. “Maybe you all know her as the person that allowed Lucien to use his left eye again after Amarantha removed it.”

“And what does it have to do with the faebane?” Helion, straight to the point as ever.

“I found a solution.” She stated.

“We heard rumours of faebane being used in this war. Used in the attack against your city, Rhysand.” Thesan gesticulated. “We thought that it was better to investigate this before it became a great weakness for us all. She’s also a great alchemist.”

“The mother provides us everything we need in nature.” Eva clapped and whispered that's right, which made Nuan blush. “It was just a matter of time to find what in Prythian was able to stop Hybern’s venom that was able to prevent us from using our power.”

Eva looked at Y/N “Ĉu mi diru ion?” (Should I say anything?)

“Ne, mi ne fidas al tiu aĉulo.“(No, I don’t trust that asshole.) She shrugged.

“Can you two stop talking in your witchling language? I don’t understand.” Azriel whispered back.

“It's a private conversation.” Y/N winked at him, turning her attention back to the other female.

“Nuan has made a powder, it should be used with our drinks and food and guarantee immunity against the faebane, we have it ready to be distributed among our unified armies.” Thesan concluded and Nuan smiled proudly.

“And what about their weapons? They wore gloves to destroy our shields.” Tarquin stated.

“I’m afraid we only have our abilities against it, the powder only protects you against your powers being taken from you, if someone stabs you with it it might help as well.” She shifted her weight from one foot to another.

“And we should just trust you? With this thing?” Beron’s voice sounded bitter.

“I will take your antidote.” Y/N and Feyre said in unison. And Beron huffed in annoyance.

“I won’t risk my armies and my family with this theory.” He replied.

“It’s not a theory.” Nuan argued.

Eris looked at Evanore once again, when he said. “I will take it.” Beron didn't say a thing, but even if he did, Eris wouldn’t care as he was staring at the big smile Eva was giving him.

The High Lord from autumn looked like he was going to burst into flames as his oldest son agreed with that, Eris tried to keep the composure, but the way his father was looking at him, made him shiver.

“That’s enough!” Nesta's voice sounded. “This meeting should be about you all protecting your people, and those who need it. You’re the last thing standing between Hybern and all the things that are good in this world.” No one dared to interrupt her. “You fought against Hybern in the last war! Why do you refuse to do the same now?” Beron just kept quiet.

“You can hate us all you want, I don’t care, but I do care that you’re allowing innocent people to suffer, you must protect your land, your people, Hybern will make an example out of you.”

“How do you know that?” Beron inquired again.

“I was thrown in the cauldron, it showed me the King’s heart, he will take the wall down and slay those on both sides.” No one knew if Nesta was telling the truth, but they all knew what the King was capable of.

“You were chosen to protect this land, how can you not fight for it?” She finished.

“I’ll consider.” Beron replied, waving his hand to his family and they all vanished, the smell of burned wood was the last thing left behind.

“We will fight, with all we have and how we can to protect everything we know and love. I don’t care if you will help us, the Night Court will stand against Hybern.” Feyre concluded.

“You have our support.” Y/N winked at her.

“I will fight with you.” Viv got up, nodding her head.

“Me too.” Cresseida, the princess from Adriata also stood, four powerful females looking at each other, the males just smiled, not daring to go against them.

Helion only nodded and lastly, Thesan, and Tamlin, for everyone’s surprise, agreed. Seven High Lords out of eight, this wasn’t bad at all.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Taglist: @allison-rosewood-maximoff @devilsfoodcake22 @fieldofdaisiies @brekkershadowsinger @valeridarkness @margssstuff

#acotar #azriel shadowsinger #azriel #sarahjmaas #shadowsinger #azriel x reader #azriel x y/n #moonlightazriel #night court #velaris #son of the darkness

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icey--stars · 10 months

Text

Born For Tragedy: Part 17

Series Index

She was tragedy. Nothing except death, fear and pain followed in her wake. When she was young, she was beaten. Now she’s the one doing the beating as an assassin. A mysterious stranger comes to her, paying an absurd amount of money for her to kill Beron Vanserra, and protect the eldest son until the job is done. She stumbles across a story much similar to her own, and knows what must be done.

a/n: alright, so again, like stbt (my other series, azriel x reader) there will be time skips. during my extensive time skips (which i do because i don’t feel like writing out an extensive political plot for this when it’s already so long and it isn't my goal to write that in with another actual “climax”), nothing of significance happens. like, you imagine anything interesting? didn’t happen. it’s like college: you do all this work and it seems significant at the time, but by the end of it all, it just blends together.

WARNINGS: slight spicy at the end (smut next chapter)

↢ 『 ☾ 』 ��

The cuddling for that night had been… rejuvenating. It felt right. Valda had always had trouble falling asleep with others, even with Friar she preferred to stay awake until she was sure the female was asleep, and then detangle herself to avoid… danger. It was a habit that had been broken as she felt her eyes slip closed on account of her exhaustion. Eris hadn’t spoken anymore, but simply laid there and kept her close. It felt safe. Valda had felt truly safe for once in her life. Like there was no danger in the world.

Now, Eris was in for a lot of hard, grueling work. For endless hours, Valda watched him write up letters and strategize carefully how to make sure that there wasn’t a revolution. Though, he still made sure to make sure that she was taken care of. Various more sweaters were stolen from him, but she eventually got around to buying a small wardrobe of nicer clothing. The dress from the ball was saved and kept in the depth of Lady Merle’s old closet. Valda mostly worked in the field for Eris, being an actual messenger for him. But the difference was that she could winnow directly into a heavily warded area at any time. Their bedroom.

Yes, their bedroom. Despite that first night of cuddling next to each other, Valda and Eris had not yet acted upon their desire. Valda still felt it more and more each day though. The tension was growing and she knew it would snap eventually, but she was trying to stay focused on one goal. That goal was to ease some of Eris’s load as High Lord and force him to rest, and then help him plan. Though, she still felt something hard poking her backside in the mornings sometimes. Quite often, in fact.

She also found the time to collect her payment. The male had met with her on time in the proper location with the actual payment. She was highly surprised she hadn’t had to threaten him and he’d just handed over a cart of gold without protest. The Illyrian male was odd, to say the least, but not too dangerous if they’d required an assassin to do their bidding. Despite the Night Court darkness that seemed to follow them, they at least were respectable. She’d made sure to tell Eris where she was going though and, if needed, offer any of the gold she had stored up around Prythian if the Autumn Court needed it.

Before she knew it, a month had passed of her living at the Forest House.

Things had settled for the most part. While the nobility was still pissed, Eris had managed to make them relax when he lowered taxes on them as well, effectively making the entirety of Autumn Court relax. Valda and Eris had schemed to slowly raise them over time to make sure the Court didn’t go broke, but there were extensive savings from Beron’s time when he was greedy, so it wasn’t too bad.

The army had also relaxed after Eris had told them nothing was changing for them. They still respected their general. Valda had to hand it to Eris, he’d done a good job making sure they were loyal to him and not to Beron. To him and their Court.

A couple other High Lords visited as well, and Eris had to go to some odd meeting with a few of them, but Valda made sure to stay the hell away. Rhysand, luckily, had not deigned to visit again, nor his spymaster.

——

Eris cleared his voice at the end of the council meeting and everyone quieted. “Is there anything else we need to discuss? I have an announcement to make.”

Valda looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. Was he choosing this moment? They’d discussed telling people about a mate bond as of recently, and decided that should an opportune moment arise, they’d reveal it. Maybe not all of it, but most of it. His brothers didn’t even know yet… What was he doing?

“You all, by now, have met the person sitting beside me by now. She’s given numerous reports as a spy and messenger,” Eris explained.

A few nods and murmurs.

“Well, to say it straight, she is my mate,” Eris deadpanned.

There were a few blank stares and then they all looked at me. I stayed still and emotionless as they studied me.

“What is her name?” One asked, looking at Eris.

Valda forced herself not to swallow nervously.

Eris looked at her and sent a brief bit of comfort down the bond. And something along the lines that felt like ‘I know what I’m doing. Trust me.’

“Valda is my mate,” Eris said plainly.

“As in… Valda Callahan?” One asked, tensing.

She looked at Eris in a panic now.

“Yes,” Eris said. “She is my mate.”

“She murdered the High Lord-” Another began.

Eris cut in boldly. “She did not murder the High Lord,” he growled. “I am the High Lord. Beron is a piece of history now. We will not dwell in the past. We can all see how this land has benefited under my rule, correct?”

A few nervous nods.

“Val has helped me to make most of these changes,” Eris explained.

“You expect us to accept an assassin as your mate!?” One finally yelled, standing. Valda trained her eyes on the male carefully, fully prepared to mist him should he try to harm her mate. Their protective tendencies had only grown stronger in the month of chaos.

“Sit back down,” Eris snapped. “I’m not asking you to accept anything. I’m telling you. But you should know by stories or experience that if you harm someone’s mate, there will be revenge. Need I remind any of us of Rhysand?”

One spoke up. “I think it doesn’t matter who your mate is,” he said. “If she’s been helping you, then surely she’s not all bad.”

Valda remained silent, carefully examining the room. There was a bloom of hope in her chest from that one though.

Eris grinned. “You see, you’re smart. It doesn’t matter; that’s exactly right. Because it’s happened and will happen regardless of anyone’s interruptions. Beron’s death would’ve happened regardless. Valda being my mate would’ve still been true as the Mother decreed. If you truly have a problem with it, then you may walk yourself to the dungeons.”

There was more murmuring and then one stood. “High Lord, I agree with you.”

More stood and repeated the same phrase.

Only a few were left, including the one who’d first stood up in a rage.

Valda spoke up at last. “It is true of what I did to Beron Vanserra, but it was for the one male and the one male alone. Eris is my mate, and will forever be. I may come from another court, and come from a life full of killing, but in an immortal’s life, that seems pretty typical, doesn’t it? We’ve all just fought in a war against Hybern. We’ve all killed. Unless, you were a coward. In which, it’s your choice to be a coward.

“Despite this though, I have helped this court come up from where it cracked and crumbled under Beron. It’s only been a month, and more changes are to be made while this court heals from a tyranny that is slowly being realized. Sometimes, it takes a couple deaths to set things on the right course.”

Eris smiled at her broadly. One more stood.

“Guards,” Eris addressed. “Escort the three sitting males down to the dungeons.”

They went peacefully, surprisingly. Like martyrs on a death march.

“Do we tell the court of this, High Lord?” One asked, sitting back down.

“You may,” Eris allowed.

The male blinked. “No ‘but’ to add onto that, my lord?”

“No. You may freely tell who you want, what you want.”

“Won’t that cause disruption, if rumors begin?” One spoke up.

“Yes,” Eris agreed. “But like anything, the people will learn to accept change. There isn’t anything they can do about it anyway. Regardless, it will happen. Let the rumors spread, and then over time, they will fade. Just like the scars my father left me to heal for this Court to thrive.”

Valda looked at Eris and he smiled gently.

“Meeting dismissed,” Eris announced, and grabbed Valda’s hand to winnow them into their bedroom.

Valda took a moment to breathe before she sighed, closing her eyes. “That went better than expected,” she said.

Eris chuckled. “It did, actually. I expected at least seven of them to scream at me.”

Valda scoffed. “I suppose it's out now. What if something does happen though?”

“Nothing will,” Eris assured her. “I will protect you, just as I trust you to protect me. There won’t be a revolution, not at this stage in the process. There is a lot of change being done very quickly, and the fact we are mates will just be another bit of news to get used to. It’ll likely fade into the background because it affects nobody but us.”

Valda smiled. “My scheming High Lord.”

“I’m just well-versed with politics, my darling,” Eris chuckled. “I’ve also done quite a bit of studying into Rhysand’s divided areas and discovered that his slow method of change is ineffective.”

“He’s trying to change something?” Valda asked, looking at her mate for a moment. “The hell has he been trying to do?”

“Make things like Velaris,” Eris chuckled. “Peaceful, happy.”

“Well he’s failed at all of that,” Valda muttered. “Even the Illyrians still torture their own females.”

Eris hummed. “Would you ever visit Hewn City again?” He asked curiously.

Valda looked at her mate oddly for a moment. “What for? Do you need me to do something?”

Eris shook his head. “I was just thinking of visiting Rhysand again, darling. I just… don’t want you to live in fear of him anymore. I still want you to be my High Lady.”

Valda smiled a bit. “Maybe,” she said. “But not now. Perhaps when this court has calmed down more. I’d rather like to avoid him if I can.”

“I won’t force you to do anything,” Eris assured her. “It was just an idea.”

Valda nodded. “Let’s get in bed,” she suggested.

“Kiss me first,” Eris requested.

Valda smiled and leaned in. Eris still let her take the lead here, even if he was starting to get more demanding with when he wanted to kiss her. He didn’t deepen it still, and she knew that if she did, the tension in the air would snap and her control would be lost. They could wait a little while longer. She wanted to take her time. She needed that time to come up with more ideas anyway.

——

The morning after the reveal, there was a banging on the door as Valda dressed in the bathroom in her usual black. She tensed, finishing up quickly to come out and look at Eris for an answer.

“It’s my brothers,” Eris explained. “We can ignore them if you want.”

Valda scoffed. “Hue and Kuhn didn’t seem that bad. But we’re not meeting them here. They can wait for us to come out like civilized people.”

“I’ll tell them,” Eris said with a little smile and Valda dipped her head before heading back to the bathroom.

When she came out, Eris was dressed immaculately as per usual and looking entirely too good for Valda’s sanity to remain in one piece.

“Shall we go see what chaos my brothers have planned for us?” Eris asked.

“We shall,” Valda answered with a little smirk, standing on Eris’s right side and stealing his hand in hers before following him out.

According to him, his brothers were waiting for them in one of the smaller meeting rooms. When they entered, Valda saw Hue pacing back and forth beside the window revealing a maple tree and Kuhn playing with his fingers. Jax was sitting with a blank, yet strangely pissed-off looking expression on his face.

However, as soon as they fully entered, Kuhn shot to his feet and Hue moved to stand beside him. Jax didn’t even bother with looking at them, but Valda saw his hand twitch and decided to keep him in her peripheral just in case.

Hue finally broke the growing silence. “Eris,” he breathed. Then he looked at her, smiling a little. “And… Lady Fairyn, also known as Valda, I’m assuming?”

Valda’s lip twitched a little. It seems Eris’s brothers weren’t at all stupid enough to not notice. Good thing she didn’t see Jax too much that night. “You are correct,” she replied with a little dip of her head.

Jax groaned, focusing all the attention on him for a few seconds. “Stupid fucking assassin. You were also that servant, weren’t you?”

Valda smirked and looked at Eris. Eris rolled his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic, Jax. You lived,” Eris said.

“With that assassin living under this roof now, I don’t think I’m going to much longer.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Valda growled. A threat, sure, but she’d make good on it if he caused an issue. She already didn’t like him.

“Oh my gosh, wait,” Hue gasped. “You were-”

“Yes,” Valda chuckled, looking at the fourth Vanserra brother. “I was the servant you asked to keep an eye on Eris.”

Kuhn let out a burst of laughter. “Oh my gosh, Eris, you mean to say your mate has been fooling around with us that much? I don’t even care that she’s an assassin, or did in the first place, but that’s fucking hilarious. Jax, wasn’t she yours for a while there? Is that why Eris took you as his personal servant? Because you were his mate?”

Eris scoffed, but she saw the little mischievous grin on his face.

“Actually,” Valda began. “We didn’t know until the day that stupid shadowsinger was found here.”

Eris’s lips tightened slightly, but she ignored it. It was probably just a bad memory, of all that chaos. Didn’t Rhysand visit that day too? That must’ve been hell.

Hue scoffed. “Well, apparently Eris fell for your charm before. Which, I am sure you are absolutely charmful.”

Valda rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, so incredibly charmful.”

Eris bumped her gently with his elbow. “You can be charmful,” he argued. “You’re actually quite good at it. Remember the ball? Your dancing skills were wonderful.”

Kuhn groaned again. “I swear. Eris, how have you been dancing with an assassin and not known? When did you even learn that dear Valda here was the assassin who killed Father?”

Valda laughed. “Oh that. That was certainly chaotic. I’ll let Eris explain it though.”

Eris hummed, looking at his brothers for a moment. “The last time he got to me– that day. Before Calanmai. I found the Shadow in the woods and entrapped her.”

Hue seemed to pause at the beginning and then nodded. The joyful, teasing mood of the room instantly dropped its way into a dull sort of sadness and regret.

“So,” Jax broke the silence, looking mostly unaffected. “Our brother and High Lord is going to marry the assassin who killed our father?”

Eris snapped his gaze toward his still sitting brother. “Jax, now is not the time.”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Certainly. It never is. Never time for this or that conversation.”

Valda narrowed her eyes. Was Jax… feeling hurt? Perhaps there was more to this Vanserra than what normally shone through his hardened exterior. “We haven’t talked about it yet, Jax. Honestly.” She shot a little look over to Eris, feeling strangely… protective over Jax because she’d said something along the same lines to a lot of people.

Eris’s gaze softened and he sighed, tugging on the bond. That was all they’d managed to figure out recently with the unconsummated bond. Just little tugs. Sometimes with vague feelings, but Valda had yet to feel much. Eris, apparently, could feel most of her strong ones. She wondered what it would be like when they’d actually properly mated.

Speaking of which, her ideas were almost complete, especially with last night’s sex dream that awoke her, throbbing and needy and yet unwilling to break and decide to finally have sex with Eris. No… she wanted to lure him into her trap.

Jax sighed. “Right. Well, I hope you’re as good as you’ve claimed you are, Shadow.”

“Call me Valda,” She corrected. “I don’t think I’ll be using my assassin alias for a while.”

The male didn’t reply. And eventually, Eris managed to make some excuse about paperwork so they could escape the room.

“What’s up with Jax?” Eris asked curiously as he took a seat at his desk, actually having paperwork to do apparently.

“Just his words,” Valda dismissed. “I’ve heard them said before, and I’ve said them myself. Hit a bit close to home. Do you actually dismiss him that much?”

Eris winced, turning to face her again. “A lot more often than I probably should,” he admitted.

Valda nodded briefly to herself. She didn’t reply, but let Eris understand his own wrongs and hopefully right a few of them. It wasn’t her job to get in the middle of Jax and Eris and force the two eldest brothers to talk.

——

After that, the Autumn Court didn’t really change that much actually. Eris had been right when he said it’d blow over. It did, besides a few strongly worded letters from a few lords, but most were too busy trying to deal with reasserting themselves over their lands.

However, the tension between them only grew. Now, when she was in the room and noticed Eris staring off, she smelled his arousal quite often. It was downright addicting.

But she was waiting for the right moment to strike.

The moment came about two weeks after the announcement was made that they were mates. Valda felt ravenous and Eris seemed more uptight than usual, pulling her over close while he worked at his desk to “smell her scent” as he said.

She grinned as Eris came out of the bathroom in a towel. Valda herself was only dressed in a skimpy, comfortable, gold nightgown. She’d worn it a few times, but this specific time she had schemed very carefully.

Eris stopped dead in his tracks as he beheld her, one knee up and the other stretched across the middle of the bed. It hid absolutely nothing, and her mate’s self-control was fraying.

“Dear, come here,” Valda ordered, patting the bed beside her.

Eris swallowed and immediately came over, thoroughly distracted enough to forget he was only in a towel and smelled very strongly of arousal.

“What a sweet scent,” she said, leaning into Eris’s neck once he’d sat beside her. She lightly kissed the pale skin, grinning at the hitching of his breath.

“Stop holding back,” she growled. “I know what you want. I’m not giving you control, but I’m giving you permission.”

And Eris snapped. He immediately rolled over, smashing his lips to hers. Their tongues clashed and Valda groaned. Eris was a damn good kisser. She trailed a hand down his chest, rubbing a thumb over his nipple and delighted in the whimper he sent right into her mouth. Ah… she loved hearing the way she pleasured her partners. However, hearing the way she affected her mate sent her on the high of a lifetime.

When they pulled away to catch their breath, he rested his head against her shoulder, panting.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

Valda grinned. “Eris, there is nothing more that I want. I am your mate, and you are mine.”

Eris groaned against her skin and then brought both hands up to her face to meld his lips against hers again.

She couldn’t help the grin that came over her from the action. Oh… this poor male was about to have the awakening of his life. If he hadn’t been under a partner, then he was about to learn exactly what it was like to have a lover’s attention purely on him.

And Valda knew it was going to be amazing.

↢ 『 ☾ 』 ↣

TAGLIST (see post for getting added)

@bunnymallowo, @officiallyunofficialperson, @margssstuff, @rebloggiest-reblogger, @inpraizeof, @graciereads, @eos-princess, @imma-too-many-fandoms, @mali22, @sassybluebird, @bubybubsters,

#eris x oc #eris vanserra #eris acotar #acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar fanfic #original character #oc #mywriting

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