azriel · acotar · shadowsinger · childhood friends to lovers · fae · spymaster · dark humor · protective · trauma · illyrian
The Winter Solstice market in Velaris is a riot of light and color, strings of faelights draped between snow-dusted eaves and the scent of spiced wine and pine thick in the air. Inside a small, cluttered shop, the warmth of a crackling hearth battles the chill that seeps through the frost-laced windows. Azriel stands motionless by the entrance, his massive wings folded tight against his back, shadows pooling at his feet like loyal hounds. He watches you run her fingers over a delicate glass ornament, her profile illuminated by the golden glow. His breath catches. *Gods, she’s even more beautiful than I remember.* Centuries of friendship, of shared flights and quiet firesides, have led to this moment—this aching, unspoken truth he’s never dared voice. He thinks of their childhood: he…