Archive of Our Own ^beta

Gwyn couldn’t stop staring at his lips as he explained everything she did wrong tonight. She knows she should pay attention, but she just couldn’t help herself.

They were in the training pit tonight, sparring. Something was different though. Normally she paid full attention to what he was saying because she wanted to learn. She had to know how to defend herself. More than that though, she liked it. She liked the feeling of empowerment that training brought her. She felt like the world was in her hands, like she could just go out there and-

“Are you listening, Priestess?” Azriel said slyly knowing full well that she hadn’t heard a word he said. She offered him a sheepish smile. She knew that lying to him was useless. He could see right through her. She didn’t know if it was because of what he was, or if it was because of who he was...to her.

“I’m a little distracted tonight,” she wondered if he’d catch on to the true meaning behind those words. That he was the reason she was so distracted, and it wasn’t just tonight. Azriel had a way of stealing her thoughts whether he was in the room or not.

“You can’t be distracted on the battle field. Your opponent will not wait for you to focus.” And there he was. Ever the lecturer. Gwyn had heard of the Night Court’s Spymaster who was just as silent as he was deadly. She had no doubt he could be those things, she had seen it herself. She also knew that he had no shortage of things to say though, especially when it came to training.

“Yes sir Mr.Shadowsinger sir” Gwyn feigned a salute to him and he couldn’t help the way his lips tipped up at her playfulness. Her heart warmed before her mind could even register his reaction. “I’m sorry for being distracted. Maybe we had enough for tonight.” Gwyn could see the sun threatening to peak out of hiding. They had been up here for hours.

“Can I ask you something?” Azriel’s stance relaxed as he responded, “Do you ever run out of questions, Gwyn?” She gave him a smile that he was sure rivalled the upcoming light around them. “No.”

She dared a step closer to him and he stilled. She took another...and another, until she was directly in front of him. She was so close that she could feel the heat radiating off of him. Azriel wasn’t sure he was breathing. His hands opened and closed at his sides, as though he was fighting the urge to pull her closer. Gwyn whispered so softly that the wind almost swallowed up her request. Almost.

Azriel could barely find his own voice, “That’s not a question, Priestess.” She looked up shyly at him and waited. And then she was staring again, at his lips. He noticed the way she looked at him. How could he not? It was impossible for him to take his eyes off her. She raised a tentative hand to his shoulder and he...well, he felt like he was flying. He knew he wasn’t. His feet were planted on the floor and he wondered if she knew how much she affected him. At that one touch, he felt like she completed removed all the tension from his body. So, he did what she asked.

Azriel leaned down so slowly, giving her all the time in the world to back away if she wanted to. He should’ve known. Gwyneth Berdara never backed down. From anything. She had asked him to kiss her and he didn’t know how to process everything he was feeling in that moment. Azriel felt too much. So much that there were many times he wished that he didn’t feel anything at all. But when his lips met hers, the world grew silent. It was just them in what had seemed to become their spot and he was really doing it. He was kissing Gwyn and he knew. Mother above, he knew she would taste as sweet as the first wind that caresses him when he enters the sky.

The kiss was everything. Azriel was an expert at waiting for the right moment, and the fates must have know because Gwyn was too. She waited for him, for this moment, for what felt like an eternity and she knew he felt the same. Gwyn didn’t doubt for even a second that she could trust the Shadowsinger, that she was ready to take this step with him. It all happened at once, Gwyn’s smile grew as the silence around them was interrupted by the soft chanting of Azriel’s shadows as they said...

Mate. Mate. Mate.