𝒜 𝒞𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑅𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓈 | ᴀᴢʀɪᴇʟ

Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Arwen smiled to herself, reading over Lucien's letter. He was glad to hear of her recovery or at least the road towards it. Of course, he not-so-subtly asked about Elain between his rants of his newfound friends and Azriel's sudden appearance two days ago. Azriel was either unwilling to share such information or Lucien didn't bother asking. Both thoughts made her smile wider. 

Using magic to send her letter to her room until she could seal it with wax, Arwen stretched herself out along the smoothed stone bench wall, leaning against a column. The Sidra lapped just paces ahead of her against the rocky ledge, filling her nose with sea salt. Taking hold of the sketchbook she had brought with her, she opened it against her thighs to a blank page.

Her sketch turned into Azriel's face.

Once the rough image was complete, Arwen closed the book, not sure whether she was embarrassed or not at the possibility he might see it. But she had shown him her drawings before. There were only very few that she kept private.

That thought made her smile even wider.

She spent the entire rest of her afternoon wandering Velaris, entering every shop that took her fancy and eating alone at Sven's for dinner. There were many that approached her through those hours and Arwen happily took to the company. Then she went to the city library and huddled down in a lantern-lit corner with a new soppy romance. The librarian had to kick her out come nightfall.

Dotted hues of gold outlined Velaris, the cobblestone path lit by moonlight and gilded rings from the lanterns. Still in early spring, the night was chill and fresh. Arwen let her eyes drift across the inside of the shop windows that lived into the night. One beheld a dance class, bodies behind the glass moving synchronously, like a moving painting, the low hum of the ballroom tune spilling into the street. She could almost dance with it.

She did. Arwen quietly opened the door so as to not disturb them and waited for the song to end. The instructor noticed her arrival and was more than happy to include her in the lesson. Paired with a handsome grey-skinned and black hair fae, she danced into the late hours of the night, laughing and avoiding toe-stepping.

Her feet dragged against the ground as she hobbled her way back into the town house past the stroke of midnight. Wincing at the bright light in the hall, Arwen groused at the chattering from inside, wanting nothing more than the comfort of her bed. Before she could make it to the stairs, her brother emerged from the sitting room.

"Where have you been all day?" he asked flatly.

She frowned at him. "Out," she answered, too tired to give more of an answer and continued forward. But he wasn't alone. Cassian and Feyre came out on either side of him. "Hi," she grumbled.

"You missed dinner," accused Cassian. It wasn't a family night, so she hadn't missed anything at all. They wouldn't have one until Azriel returned from his assignment and Mor wouldn't be home until tomorrow either, visiting Hewn City.

"I ate."

"Enough?"

Her shoulders dropped as she turned to look at them. "Yes, Cassian, I ate plenty."

His hazel eyes thinned on her. "You shouldn't have been out all day."

Arwen threw out her hand. "Was there something here I missed? I wanted to spend the day in the city."

Cassian folded his arms, taking a loose step forward. "Yes, you missed out on the rest you are supposed to be getting. Do you even realise how weak your body had become? How weak it still is?"

Her bones had become as brittle as that of a bird, Helion had said.

"Yes," she breathed, closing her eyes. "Now I'm tired so please let me go to bed to get the rest you so adamantly suggest I get." Before they had to carry her upstairs. It had been a good day until this moment. Now the frustration of rest being so near that the disturbance of their questioning was not just an annoyance, but infuriating.