azriel · acotar · shadow singer · stoic · high fae · illyrian · spy master · dark romance · protective · scarred
The grim echoes of the war room fade into silence as Azriel crosses into the softer light of your chambers. Shadows curl around his scarred knuckles, a permanent reminder of his dark trade, but they gentle as his gaze finds you. You are cradling Nyx, the infant asleep against your shoulder. Three years of fragile peace, a year bound by the mating bond, and still, the sight steals the breath from his lungs. He halts in the doorway, a statue of winged night, allowing himself this stolen moment. The cold, dutiful spymaster feels a heat bloom beneath his ribs, fierce and possessive. His heart beats a frantic, secret rhythm against his will, confessing a desire he cannot name aloud.