The next morning, well night, Nala was up long before the sun had shown its first rays of light. It was only a few hours after midnight when she - clad in training clothes which consisted of a puffy green shirt with long sleeves and an underbust corset that had special holders for her daggers sown into it, her legs were covered in tight leather pants and a pair of heeled boots kept her feet warm in the cold winter morning/night - snuck her way through the quiet townhouse to the garden. She swung her dagger Cleaver around her body, her wings tucked in and her shadows twirling around with her. All while training Nala's mind was elsewhere. To anyone else, she might look to be deeply focused on her body's moves and the sharp blade in her hand, but in reality, her mind was focusing on the male shadowsinger. She wanted nothing more than find Azriel and make him hers, but she also knew that she couldn't. It was clear to anyone with eyes that the quiet male was deeply in love with Mor. And that broke Nala more than she cared to admit. The other part of her mind was focusing on Amren and the silvery bond that between the two females. How the silver-eyed woman could make Nala's temper to explode without trying but at the same time were the only one who really understood Nala and the massive powers the halfling had.  

Hours passed with her training in the cold morning and the sun stood above the horizon when Cassian found her. "How long have you been out here?"

Nala jumped at the interruption and threw Cleaver at the sound only missing the Illyrian by a millimeter thanks to his reflexes. "Shit!" She shouted, looking almost apologetic. "You scared the shit out of me, your big bat!" She curses as she retrieved the dagger, all while the massive male just laughed at her.

"What are you doing out here so early?" He asked, placing an arm around the short girl as he led her into the kitchen where Nuala had placed breakfast on the table.

"Training and thinking and don't ask," Nala answered and shot down the question on the male's face. She suspected that he had some suspicion about her and Azriel. She knew that Rhysand knew so she could only assume that the 3rd brother knew as well.

"Alright then" the Illyrian spoke as he began to eat. Nala began to eat herself, the silence between them was heavy and she knew that Cassian had a million questions.

"What?" She finally asked after 10 minutes of him staring at her over his pancakes.

"What is between you and my brother? And better yet, between you and our lovely Amren?" Cassian asked, carefully looking at the short half-fae before him. Looking for any reaction, the female just slowly lifted her glance from her tea to look into his eyes with her own burning amber eyes.

"Nothing" she answered, making sure to keep her voice cold even though her shadows had gone slightly crazy at the mention of him.

"See..." Cassian began as he pointed his fork at the short female. "I don't believe you because I saw how your shadows reacted to each other and how you gravitate towards each other. And I have seen how you and Amren work in perfect sync, even when you argue. I have seen how you gravitate towards them both and them to you." He pointed out and he was right. The two Shadowsingers craved each other's touch. And she was in sync with the silvery female. She needs her just as much as she needed Azriel. And while Nala and Azriel's shadows craved to be close, Nala refused to allow herself to hope. She couldn't have him. He was Mor's and there was nothing she could do to change that. With Amren it was different. It was more careful; the other female was reserved and didn't like showing what they had. 

"There is nothing between us, and there never will. It's clear that Azriel is another female's and I'm not going to challenge that. And Amren and I have a understanding." Nala spoke, getting up from the table and walking to the front room just as Amren walked in.

"Ready?" Amren asked the Shadowsinger, sensing the tension flowing from the halfling. Nala just nods and grasps her coat and magically changed out of her workout clothes to a more reviling and Shadowsinger look. Her pants were tight and black, her high heels were clear with a black sole. The top was pure lace with Illyrian swirls that only covered her nipples completely, the shirt was a deep V-neck and very puffy sleeves. 

She then walked out the front door without saying a word to Cassian.

"So, what are we doing?" Nala asked Amren as the two walked down the streets of Velaris.

"We are meeting with a few people and then we have a meeting in the House of Winds with the city council," Amren spoke, keeping her hands tucked in her coat as they walked side by side through the city of starlight. But still making sure to walk close to the female shadowsinger. 

***

Amren and Nala had finished their meeting with the city council rather fast and had settled for waiting for the other at the House of Winds. The two had found a bottle of wine in Rhys' cellar and cracked it open while talking. It had started as a simple polite conversation about the meetings and how Nala would fit into the inner circle but had slowly drifted towards more sensitive topics like Nala's childhood and Amren's time at The Prison.

"So, you and Azriel?" Amren poked as she poured another glass of wine for both of them.

Nala let out a sigh as she leaned back on the couch, her wings tucked into her back. "We are something." She told the older female but saw no surprise in those silver eyes, only curiosity and understanding, "but I don't know what it is."

"So?" Amren asked, her tone natural, but Nala knew that she was protective of Azriel as a friend. She didn't want Nala to be one who only wanted Azriel for his status or who saw something wrong with the male because of his past. But she also didn't want to assume things with the newest female in the inner circle. Amren knew that she and Nala had more in common personality with each other than anyone else in the inner circle. 

"Nothing," Nala signed again and took a swing of the sweet faery wine. "You know other than the fact that he can never be mine since he already belongs to a female." The last she whispered, but Amren heard the pain and suffering in the halfling's voice. 

"Azriel doesn't have a female?" Amren said even though she had a good feeling about who the amber-eyed girl was talking about. And Amren needed to talk with that female about her hate for Nala. 

Nala simply snorted as she took another swing of wine before answering: "Maybe not, but he is deeply in love with Mor, who by the way hates my guts," that made Amren laugh, "and I don't want to get between that. I don't want to fight for someone's attention all the time so it's just easier to not have any relationship with him."

"And how does he feel about that decision?" Amren asked, her voice still bored but Nala could see the curiosity in the older female's eyes. Amren took a swing of her wine and shifted so the two were facing each other. Sitting so close that Nala could feel Amren's breath on her face. 

"Don't know, he doesn't speak to me unless he has to. But he knows about the bond, and I can constantly feel him through it, but he doesn't reach out, so I don't either." Nala admitted as she moved closer to take the bottle of wine from Amren's hand to fill her cup. The two were so close that Nala could see just how silver Amren's eyes were and how the silver seemed to be alive like it was a fog swirling in there. She could almost see the magic swirling in the silver eyes and could see the silvery bond between the two pulsing and pulling them closer to each other. 

"Are you going to reject him?" Amren spoke, watching the younger female with interest in her eyes. Nala understood her on a whole other level and that intrigued the centuries-old female. Amren lightly reached out and pushed a piece of golden hair away from Nala's face. She had honesty thought that she would be envious of the male shadowsinger when she had felt the golden bond between the shadowsingers. But she felt nothing but contempt. Their gold bond was potent, but so were Amren and Nala's silver bond. The two swirled beautifully around Nala, complementing each other without one needing to overpower the other. 

"No, I don't want to put that pain on him. If he doesn't want me and wants her, he can reject me." Nala shrugged. She had come, somewhat, to peace with it. If he wanted Mor then fine, she would leave the Night Court and find her father. She knew that she couldn't see them together, that it would be best to leave if that was the case. Feyre would be safe with Rhys; Nala was sure of that much. Hopefully, Amren would still want to see her. And hopefully visit her when she had found her own spot in the fae world.

Before Amren could say anything, Cassian flew through the open door at the balcony, his finger already pointed at Nala. "What does that mean, what you told me this morning?!" He all but shouted at the short female. Coming to her rescue though was Amren who quickly picked a fight with the Illyrian to get the attention of her new friend as she knew Nala didn't want Cassian to know about the bond between the Shadowsingers.

The two only got to argue a few minutes before Rhys and Feyre dropped in from the same door Cassian had arrived at minutes before. The two arguings froze in their shoes, but Nala jumped up from her spot when she saw the state of her older sister.

"You smell like grilled flesh" Amren spoke and took a step back, almost stumbling but Nala's wing caught her as she stood next to the female, wrapping itself around the short female and pulling her to Nala's side.  Cassian let go of the dagger that was placed on his thigh.

Feyre seemed to be trying to get her breathing to calm down. Her feeling was so big and out there that Nala could feel everything. With the hair that stuck to Feyre's body and clothes and the claws, Nala felt every ounce of the anxiety Feyre was feeling.

"Did you kill her?" Cassian asked.

"No," Rhys answered, he too could see that Feyre was too out of it to answer. He tucked his wings in. "But the way the Weaver was screaming has made me very curious to know what our dear Feyre did to her."

Nala felt the fat like it was stuck to her skin and felt her sister's nausea a second before Feyre threw up on the floor.

Cassian cursed, but Amren, without pulling a face, waved her hand and the vomit was gone as well as the filth on Feyre's body.

"For some reason... she felt me, she knew that I was there," Feyre got out as she held herself up by the big black table and wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her leather jacket. Nala stood next to her and rubbed her hand in smoothing circles on her sister's back, trying to help the older girl to calm down. "She locked the door and windows. I crawled out the chimney but got stuck" she added because Cassian was lifting his eyebrows in an asking manner. "I threw a brick in her face when she tried to follow me." Feyre finishes, looking down at her shoes. The room was eerie quiet as the 4 took in what Feyre had told them.

Amren looked at Rhysand. "And where were you?" Nala too looked at the High Lord, her glance as intense as Amren's.

"I waited far enough away so that she wouldn't sense me."

"I could have used the help!" Feyre snarled at him, her teeth showing a bit.

"You survived, saved yourself," he countered, but Nala saw the cold look in the High Lord's eyes. Something else had happened or almost happened out there. And with the massive anxiety waves coming from her sister, Nala had a good idea of what.

Panic. Almost didn't make it. Panic

Her shadows informed her, showing her what had happened inside the hut. How Feyre almost hadn't made it out of there. Her anxiety had almost been too much. This was a test. Nala relished; Rhys was testing Feyre to see if she could handle her anxiety. It wasn't only about her powers. Nala tighten her hold on her older sister just a bit. To give Feyre comfort and to ensure that the older Archeron was okay.

"So, it was also that it was about?" Feyre snarled, her gaze locked on the High Lord. "Not just that stupid ring and my powers, but to see if I could control my anxiety." She took the ring up from her pocket and threw it harshly onto the massive table.

Cassian cursed again, this time with his eyes locked on the ring. Nala had to admit that it was a beautiful ring, but she couldn't help the little voice in the back of her mind telling her that the ring was much more important than what Feyre believed it to be and much more than Rhys led on. She could see it in his eyes, how they followed the ring.

Amren shook her head, making her black hair sway back and forth. "Cruel, but effective."

"But now you know it. That you can use your powers to find us things and therefore also The Book from the Summer Court without losing control because of the anxiety," was all Rhys said.

"You are an Asshole, Rhysand," Cassian said quietly, and Nala had to agree with the male even though Rhys' method was effective, and Nala properly would have done the same in his shoes.

Rhys only tucked in his wings with a graceful slam. "You would have done the same."

Cassian shrugged his shoulders in agreement. Feyre looked down at her hands and Nala followed her eyesight. The older girl's nails were ripped and bloody from climbing up the chimney.

"You need to teach me to fight. Help me become stronger. If your offer still stands?" Feyre turned to Cassian. Her whole posture screams determination.

The winged male's eyebrows shot up. "If we are going to train," he didn't even look towards his High Lord for permission, "then you'll soon begin to call me an asshole as well."

"True" Nala interrupted with a grin; her tone playful. Cassian only acknowledged her with a middle finger to her face.

"And I know nothing about training a human – how fragile the human body is for example. Or was, I mean. I guess that is something we'll figure out."

"I just want other options than running," Feyre said.

"Running was what saved you today." Amren and Nala interrupted in sync, but Feyre ignored both. Making the youngest roll her eyes and Amren smirk at said rolling of eyes, placing a hand on the female shadowsingers back.

"I want to learn how to fight so I can take care of myself. I don't want to be dependent on someone to save me." She turned to look at Rhys. "Well, have I proven my worth today?"

He only picked up the ring and nodded at her before turning towards Nala. "Amren tells me you are good at advisor stuff. Are you going to say yes to the job as my advisor?"

Nala looked from Amren's slightly soft eyes to Feyre's very curious eyes before focusing on the High Lord with a sigh. "Yes, I accept."

"Excellent," he said with his focus back on the ring. Nala took this as her dismissal and with one last comforting squeeze to Feyre and a small smile to Amren, Nala walked to the balcony to fly off into the night.