I'm shocked still for a solid minute before I'm moving as fast as I can. "Rhysand, get Rhysand." I tell my shadows as I grab one of Azriel's jackets before instantly winnowing to the Steppes. Snow comes up to my knees, but I force my panic down as my shadows shoot out over the landscape for Azriel. Somehow, he's already fully dressed with Truthteller in his hand as he stalks towards the cabin Devlon is housed in with shadows writhing around him. I winnow directly into him and the second I have a grip on him, I winnow up as far as I can within the mountains.

"What are you doing?" I hiss the instant we hit snow as I pin him to the ground with my body and shadows holding him down. "Do you want to cause a war?" I go on, but there's nothing but icy calculation in his eyes.

"He insulted you." He growls as I completely sit on his hips. "He propositioned you. Touched your wings."

Something in me keens at his instinct to protect, knowing that he's at least partly right, but I can't listen to that part of me right now. "And I handled it. Returned to you without a scratch or bruise." I soothe, but that icy fire doesn't calm for a second. I'm already trembling with the cold, fear swirling in my gut as panic rises with memories of red splattered on white, all held back by the simple thought that my mate needs me.

"I felt how you felt." He grinds out and my shadows flare as he strains against them. His own shadows fight against mine and I'm unused to pushing mine harder without the intent to harm. Never have our shadows fought one another. Never. "Felt your fear. Your panic. All in the moment, then repeated when I touched you. He brought that back." Panic starts to rise in me again, not only that I'm losing the fight against his shadows, but at the cold seeping into my limbs. While he's fully dressed, I'm only in a jacket and my legs on either side of him are buried in the snow to try and keep him down.

My hands squeeze his clasped in the snow. "If you do this, then you will start a war in the camps. Someone worse will replace him and will be biased against us." His face is still set and I feel tears gathering behind my eyes. "Azriel, please—" My head snaps up when a figure exits the trees and relief washes over me at seeing Rhysand with worry written over his face. Feyre too, exits the woods behind him. "Help me." I plead. "I can't hold him."

In an instant, all the resistance against me vanishes as Rhysand's darkness takes over restraining him. I nearly fall forward with exhaustion as my shadows pull back. "Look at her, brother. Whatever your intentions are, no matter why you came here, you are hurting her. Your mate." My body is shaking violently from the cold and the flashes of memory of that damned cold pit as he looks at me. Slowly, that cold fire dims. His arms reach for me under Rhys's careful supervision and I stand, every crunch of icy snow under my feet making me wince.

"Take him home." I tell Rhys and he hesitates before nodding once. Feyre walks over to me and tentatively loops her arm with mine, tugging me close when I don't pull away. My eyes burn as I stare down at the snow while Rhys and Az vanish, then Feyre and I.

A black marble fireplace reveals where we are, the townhouse, and I remain standing for one second more before falling to my knees and starting to cry. Adrenaline mixes poorly with the memories even as relief fills me that we avoided whatever disaster could have happened tonight. Feyre falls with me and wraps her arms around me, pulling my head to her shoulder as her hands slide up and down my back between my wings. A blazing fire starts in the fireplace and Feyre tugs a heavy blanket off one of the couches to drape over me.

She doesn't try to give me any soothing words because there are none. The only thing she can give me is no judgement and her friendship, which she gives freely.

When my tears are spent and I pull away to wipe away the remnants, Feyre squeezes my hand. "You're exhausted. You need to sleep." She tells me and I simply follow her when she heads upstairs, but my brows furrow when she tugs me into her room.

"What about Rhys?" I ask and my voice crackles on its way out.

She shrugs and lays out sleeping clothes for me while shrugging off her jacket. "He's probably sharing the bed at your house, so he won't mind if you share ours." She slides into bed and I note that she and Nesta sleep on opposite sides. It takes me a moment, but I shed my jacket before slipping on the pajamas. A fire crackles nicely in the background as I slide into the bed beside Feyre and set a pile of blankets on top of my feet. After a second, I extend my wing to lay over Feyre and blink when she laughs softly.

She turns over to face me with a smile. "Rhys does the same thing." She tells me and her words manage to warm my heart a tiny bit. "I'm here if you want to talk. Both of us are." I know she means the other person whose scent soaks this pillow.

I swallow as my eyes look over the window and the moon shining beyond before I look back to Feyre. "Azriel and I have argued and disagreed before, but I've never had to hold him down like that. Did I...did I do wrong?"

Feyre's eyes are bright even in the dim firelight as she reaches over to clasp my hands in hers. "No, you didn't. You stopped a fight that could have ended up in death or serious injury, not to mention possible civil war." She pauses to let the words sink in, then continues, "But you could have told him what happened. It's a lesson Rhys and I have had to learn the hard way, but we've learned it's the best thing to do. Even if telling the truth will hurt the other person. It's less hurt than they'd feel if they find out you're hiding it."

Her words hit their intended mark, not just with this instance, and I suck in a deep breath. "Thank you." She knows I don't only mean for the advice.

Her hands squeeze mine for a beat. "Anytime."

*     *     *

We're in the same position when I wake up in the morning and I gently remove my hands from hers before sliding out of bed. After planting a feather soft kiss to her forehead that puts a smile on her face, I return home for less than a minute to grab my leathers. To avoid confrontation for a while, I change in the House of Wind before heading up to the roof.

The roof is empty as the sun climbs over the horizon and I allow my mind to empty as I work through my stretches. I'm wearing the coat I wore last night and relish the sweat dripping down my back, the heat swarming around me, cocooning me from the whip of the cold wind around me. There are two layers of socks on my feet and I find myself wiggling my toes every so often. Just to check. I don't stop when I hear Cassian land and he doesn't say a word as he begins his warm-up. He knows then. No doubt Rhys warned him this morning to avoid my wrath. It's almost enough to make me laugh. Almost.

Neither of us talk as we come together and train. My coat is abandoned to the side so I can move more freely and I know I'll be warm enough soon. I let my body take over as I jab, dodge, and repeat. There's a sort of music to the sound of our panting, grunts of pain, and flesh hitting flesh. Different than the music of sex. This rhythm is less exact and the notes stronger. I've yet to compose anything for the sound of battle that still sometimes rings through my head when I hear steel on steel. Usually when Cass and Az are sparring.

I sigh when Cassian calls it a little after noon, but plop down on the bench to put a hand on my head. A glass of water appears in front of me and I glance up to Cassian gratefully as I take it. "Join me for lunch?" He offers as I down the entire glass. Right, when was the last time I ate? Barely anything yesterday and nothing today. That explains the headache and I know Cassian has noticed the same.

My head shakes at the sweet gesture. "Think I'll take lunch with a grumpy Archeron today. Thanks." I'd like to be with someone who isn't looking at me with concern and Nesta fits that requirement perfectly.

Cassian gifts me a slanted smile. "They both want to talk to you. No avoiding it."

I heave a sigh as I down another water and stand. "What did they tell you?" He shrugs his broad shoulders while wiping down his face with a towel.

"Not much. Heard Rhys tumble out of bed last night and met him in the hall. Said he had to go after you and Az. Filled me in on the details this morning." His eyes darken and his fists clench. I sigh. Overprotective Illyrians.

"I'll talk to you three about it later." Mother knows they'll need a talking to before we go up to the Steppes tomorrow to see the camp together.

"You'll have to face them eventually." He reminds me and drapes his towel over his neck.

"Want to bet on that?" I dare.

A grin cuts across his handsome face, then fades slightly. "You could have told me, little sister."

I huff, "So I could run after you instead?"

"Kaira, sometimes I don't think you know how to defend yourself." My mouth opens, but he holds up a hand. "Not physically, but in every other way. You just take whatever everyone throws at you and move on. We, the people that love you, can't let things like that stand. Not that what Az did was right, but his actions are understandable."

I'm silent as I take in his words. Any other day and with any other person, I would have gladly ripped them to pieces, but Devlon is different. He's an ally, in the broader sense of the word, and destroying him would have greater ramifications. Not to mention he made a bargain with me that I need to be carried through and to remain a secret.

Cassian sighs when I don't answer and lets a small smile shine through again. "Go have lunch, little sister." He turns away, but I pause for a second.

"Cass." I call and he turns back with a quirked brow. "Could I...I mean, would you mind—" He cuts me off as a grin slices across his face before he hauls me up into his arms. He holds me tight and only a second passes before my arms wrap around his neck and my head falls onto his shoulder. I soak in the comfort he offers before pressing a kiss to his cheek as he sets my feet back on the ground.

"Anytime, little sister. Just ask." He tells me and I hold onto the warmth he gave me. Cass flicks the tip of my nose before turning and I grab a towel, roll it, and whip it out. The yelp that jumps out of his mouth is distinctly unmanly and puts a genuine smile on my face as I jump off the House before he can get back at me. My wings snap open and I relish the wind filling them along with it whipping around my face. I stop by one of the shops in town and pick up a bag of simple sandwiches, then stop in at Nesta's.

I manage to knock on the door this time and when she lets me in, thankfully, she doesn't have any other visitors. "Make another bargain?" She asks sharply.

I hum a soft laugh. "Not today." Her eyes shimmer with humor before I look to her window and find the wind chime I gave her dangling there. A breeze filters through the window and the glass hits together softly in gentle, little clinks. "You were taking too long to come help me hang it so I did it myself." Nesta says when she follows my eyes.

I smile and walk over, letting my hand graze over the smooth glass. "I don't know why I didn't make myself one of these." I muse.

Nesta quirks an eyebrow and says, "You still can."

My lips purse before I turn to her with a smile and an outstretched hand. She frowns. "Come to the beach with me." I request and she opens her mouth to say no, but I plow on. "There's a small, secluded one that no one knows about. No one will see us there." Her expression is still pinched, but she doesn't immediately say no. "I know you'd like to berate me for my stupid choices. I made more just last night." Her lips twitch and I get a little triumph when she takes my hand. I tug her a little closer and when she doesn't balk, scoop her up before winnowing out into the air. I'm too tired to winnow any further today. My wings snap open and I take a deep breath of air not tinted by sex or wine.

"I've never flown with you." She comments as her thin arms wrap around my neck.

I blink. "You're actually the first person I've flown with." I realize and glance at her face to find it clear for once. Not pensive or stiff. "Perhaps we should do it more often." She's skin and bones anyway. Light as a feather in my arms. She says nothing, but continues looking out over the world as we grow nearer to the beach.

We land and I take great satisfaction in tucking away my socks and shoes in a fold before burying them in the sand. I sigh as my toes scrunch in the furthest thing from snow that I can reach. Nesta watches me and slips off her wine-stained shoes, then merely steps onto the sand without taking her eyes off me. She's waiting for me to tell her what happened. I rise and move to her side, then tell her the events of last night with far more detail than I would anyone else. Even down to everything in the bathtub that led to those events.

She pays close attention throughout and even points out a few pieces of glass for my future windchime. Then we simply sit on some hot rocks bathed in the sun as I give her some food from the bag I brought. Shockingly, she eats half a sandwich before tossing it into the sand. "I wouldn't have minded seeing Devlon ripped apart if I were you." Nesta says, head turned towards me away from the sun.

I shrug a shoulder. "Devlon is the lesser of many evils. And I'm not mad at Az for feeling the way he did or acting how he did. I'm angry because he didn't listen to me. Didn't even pause to think about what his actions could bring on." My head shakes as I think back to the anger on his face, anger that he couldn't curb to think for even a minute. Anger caused by me.

"You would have acted the same." Nesta points out and my eyes snap up to hers. "Think on it before you get pissy." Her tone is sharp, but I take a moment to think about it. If someone had made Azriel feel that way after all the progress we made together...I grimace. I would have acted the same and I doubt I would have been stopped. And I wouldn't have just killed the person either.

"Alright...I see your point." I allow and Nesta rolls her eyes as she looks out to sea.

"You're both idiots. He was an overprotective brute and you are keeping secrets from him. If you think he doesn't feel that, you're more of an idiot than I already know you are." She says and I sigh, lips pulled up in a smile as I tilt my outstretched wings to catch more sun.

"You always have a way with words, Nesta." I bid and her lips finally stretch in a real smile, no matter how brief. We're quiet for a bit and I enjoy simply being with a friend.

When she speaks next, her words are so quiet that I can barely hear her over the crashing of the waves. "It's nice for someone to care about you so much that they'd go to that length to protect you." She murmurs and I look up at her, but her eyes are shut with her face turned towards the sun.

"If you think you don't have anyone like that, you're mistaken." I tell her and her body goes stiff for a moment as her head snaps towards me. I don't look away from her intense gaze.

Her body laxes after a minute, then she slides off the rock. "Take me back to the apartment." She bids and I pull in my warm wings to stand beside her with my hand outstretched.

"At least you're not calling it yours." I say and her eyes narrow before she takes my hand.

Once we're in the air, I take the long way back to her apartment. We surf over the waves, coast over the city, even pass over my home with that ridiculous boat on the sandy bank before we head towards the slums. "I wish you'd come stay with us for a while. A night even." Rather than that cold, filthy apartment. "I'd ban Cassian while you were there."

The corner of her mouth twitches. "Tempting." She says and that's it. She lapses back into silence and doesn't head back into her apartment when I land on the street, but struts to the nearest shit bar.

My head shakes and I'm about to shoot up into the air before the flapping of someone else's wings has me rolling my eyes. "Cass rat me out?" I ask, turning around to the twinkling eyes of Rhysand.

He fights a smile as he shrugs. "He didn't. This is simply the only place in Velaris we hesitate to go." Long, relaxed strides bring him over to me and I scan him the same time that he scans me. Only he's looking for information about me while I'm looking for information about Azriel. Neither of us had reached out for one another today, to give each other space, but I miss him. We'd never fought like this before. "He's fine. Grounded at the house for the day." He tells me with a more sober expression. I nod, a little relief wriggling itself into my heart. Rhys's head tilts. "Care for some training, little sister?"

A smile pulls at my lips, but my head shakes. "Think I better go home first." I tell him and he nods slowly.

"Find me afterward, then." He says and falls into step with me as I head towards my home and my mate.

My eyes roll, but I loop my arm with his as we walk. "Feyre is going to come after me for monopolizing you."

Now, he frees that lazy smile. "Oh no, she'll thank you for it. With me gone, she's finally gotten the chance to get some work done." I laugh softly and he brightens at the sound. People glance our way and smile at their High Lord and Advisor, the Shadow of Velaris lurking the streets with Night Triumphant.

"How did things go back there?" His chin jerks back towards the slums and I shrug.

"I got her outside into the sun rather than out in a bar. She even ate a little." I admit and Rhys releases a soft sigh.

"Good. Feyre will be relieved." And he's relieved that a weight will be removed from her shoulders.

"Although Nesta wouldn't approve of me reporting on her." I remind him and he nods.

"She won't know and you're not reporting. You're sharing." He counters and my eyes roll yet again. "Besides, it helps Feyre." And Rhys would do anything or pay any price for that. My house comes into sight, but I decide to keep a hold on Rhysand for a little longer.

"Hope you didn't mind sharing her last night." I poke a little fun and he raises his eyebrows while mischief fills his eyes.

"Should I worry about you stealing my mate, little sister?"

My elbow digs into his side and he lets loose a laugh at my red cheeks. "Shut up. She just...I put my wing over her and she said that you do the same thing." And something about being similar to you fills a hole inside me. One carved out by the fae that murdered my family. I continue in my head, but I won't tell him that. Not today.

Still, his eyes shimmer as if he knows anyway and he tugs me tighter against him as we reach my front gate. "Well, you may have served as a fine snuggle substitute for Feyre, but your mate was seriously lacking compared to mine." He winks at me as I shoo him away. "I'll see you soon." He reminds me before taking to the skies and I watch him go with a quiet sigh, then step in.

*A/N*

I'm excited to see what you all will think about this chapter. Was Azriel wrong? Was Kaira? Were they both wrong? Tell me!