Chapter 106
Arwen hunched over what used to be her brother's desk but was now transformed into hers. A large clip held her hair from her face as she bowed over the frankly boring paperwork she had to get through if she intended to spend her day frolicking about as she had planned. But with the headache beginning to form, she had a nagging guess she would be in a dark room with a mug of tea instead.
She bit into the length of her finger, tapping the end of her quill on the wood which was already stained from the growing habit. Realising what was missing, Arwen quickly scrawled it in before her mind went adrift. That would do for the day, at least.
Just as she put the quill and ink away, the door opened. "Morning," she said to Azriel who slipped into the office. Rising from her chair she careened around the desk. "I'm going to go into town and get some fresh bread and something for breakfast. I'm feeling like a pastry of some kind. What would you like?"
She took the long moment before he answered to note that he hadn't put on his leathers this morning, just a light shirt and trousers, though as always his siphons were on the backs of his hands. "Wh-I can go get breakfast, Arwen."
"I want the walk. Hoping the fresh air will kill the headache," she said, motioning to her temples.
He frowned at her, then at the still-rising sun through the window behind her. "I didn't expect you to get up so early. I wanted to bring you something to eat in bed. Actually, I was hoping we could spend a few hours in bed before this afternoon."
Arwen blinked before frowning as he was. "This afternoon? What's on this afternoon?" Nothing that she could remember. Nothing she had been informed about. "I'm going to visit the city's library and get a few books that have just been transported from the continent later." He stared at her, perplexed. "I've forgotten something important, haven't I? Was I supposed to have something ready? Is Rhys going to kill me? Didâ"
Azriel grasped both her cheeks. "You're fine." He held her steady as he kissed her lips and then her forehead. "Go get breakfast."
Arwen dazedly grabbed at his wrists. "Sure," she murmured, dragging out the word. "What would you like?"
"Same as you."
She gave a slow nod as his hands dropped away from her face. "You sure everything is alright? You seem... out of it." Confusedâhe seemed just as confused as she was. Perhaps he had a strange dream that he was struggling to shake. Arwen certainly knew that feeling.
Azriel nodded with a tight-lipped smile. Murmuring her acceptance, she moved around him and headed out of the town house with a woven basket through her arm. As she wandered down the street, a blur of a shadow whizzed past her feet. At first, she thought it might have been one of Azriel's shadows sent to accompany her, but it disappeared as quick as it came. Shielding her eyes and looking up, Arwen realised that it was Azriel's shadow. The Illyrian form flew high in the sky, nearly nothing more than a black mark against the otherwise clear blue.
"Well how am I supposed to bring you breakfast if you leave?" she spluttered to herself, dropping her hand to slap against her side. He usually shared his plans of departure which only added to her annoyance.
It didn't take long for her nose to hunt down a bakery and choose a fresh loaf. Her trip turned out quite short and despite expecting his absence upon her return, she brought him a scone. Arwen rubbed at her temples as she neared the town house, only to find another Illyrian present.
"Cassian," she called. Cassian leant back from the door he had been knocking at with a slight jump of surprise. "Elain stayed at the River House overnight with Feyre and Azriel just left. Bit strange not to have anyone inside, isn't it?"
"Azriel left?" he echoed. "Where to?"
"You tell me." She shifted the basket into her other arm and pushed the door open.
Cassian shadowed her from behind. "Well, good thing I'm here to wish you a good morning." Arwen let out a surprised noise as both his arms enveloped and folded across her chest, followed by a hard kiss on her cheek. "Morning princess."
"Morning, Cass." A wrapped box appeared in front of her. His arms loosened only at her reach for the black wrapping. "What is this?"
He laughed in her ear. "The whole point is to open them and find out."
With a questioning and tentative look over her shoulder, which was only met with his grin, she stepped out of his hold. Placing her basket on the narrow table against the wall where they kept odd, decorative ends, she fiddled with the quite large box until she found a place to hook her thumb into, but paused. "Hang on, let's go sit down."
Cassian gestured for her to lead the way so they went to the sitting room where she could put it on the table. Sitting, Arwen gave him another odd look but tore into the wrapping. It was a box with a simple slip lid so she pulled that off next. Reaching inside, the first thing that she felt was a book.
"Oh!" She snatched it close to her chest upon seeing the title. "I was going to go get this at the library."
He smiled softly, elbows rested on his knees. "You've mentioned it once or twice and I thought you'd prefer your own copy."
Gingerly, she placed it aside before diving back into the deep box. The next thing she pulled free was a small, velvet pouch. Inside was a single earringâone that would sit from her ear's point to her lobe with hanging gold chains and tiny but glittering diamonds. Arwen sent him another look, this one with a smile. "Thank you, it's gorgeous."
He only nodded towards the box.
Her heart was beating quite fast, unsure what to expect and if she was truthful with herself, she was anxious. Both he and Azriel had been acting strange. It made her wonder if they had done something, something that might upset her. There were two more things in the box. Next, she pulled out a perfume that was utterly divine, her eyes widening as she smelled it.
"I thought so too," he chuckled. "One more."
Arwen placed the perfume on the table next to the earrings. "You are spoiling me. Why are you spoiling me, Cassian?"
His smile widened, resting his chin on interlaced fingers as he placidly watched her reach for a final time. "Because I love you. And I'm allowed to spoil you."
Her fingers hit lace. Her brows raised. Not taking her eyes off him, she lifted the material out of the box. "Is this what I think it is?" He smirked. Arwen dared to look. "Cassian!" She threw her head back with a laugh, clutching the scandalous material to her chest before pinching it to hang in front of her and examine it closer. Her eyes blurred with tears of amusement. It was black and had cuts that were more sensual than outright revealing. "You are lucky that nobody is here." She might have died if Rhysand saw her pulling it out.
"I would have told you to open it alone." He pushed off his knees and leant back into the chair as she neatly folded it back into the box with the rest of the gifts for safe storage. "So, am I your favourite Illyrian?"
"Wellâ" Arwen kicked off her shoes and planted her bare feet on the lip of the lowered tableâ "considering that Azriel left after I told him I would bring him back breakfast and Rhysand isn't here to complain about it, then yes. Currently you are. But I have to ask why."
"Why?"
She nodded with a light hum. "Why the presents? I'm not mad you for anything and this is certainly more than just a thoughtful gesture."
His brows furrowed together, not quite in a frown but in bewilderment. It seems everybody was just as confused as everybody else today. Had... Had something happened to her memory? "Arweâ"
"Cassian."
Arwen jumped in her spot. She hadn't even heard the front door opening. Twisting her spine, she found to her delight that Azriel had returned. Feyre and Rhysand trailed in behind him, both quiet with unreadable expressions. "There you are," she called. "There's a scone in the basket if you want it. If you had told me you were bringing people over, I would have brought more."
"Thank you," Azriel said to her before his eyes jumped back to Cassian. He gave a sharp jerk of his head. Cassian slowly raised from his spot on the lounge, squeezing her shoulder as he went by her. He disappeared with Azriel into the hall. Feyre smiled at Arwen before following.
Arwen raised her brow in question to her brother, the only one left in sight. He sighed through a low smile and ambled into the room. "This has been a strange morning," she told him.
Rhys sat on the low table opposite her and rubbed his hands together. "Why's that?"
She gestured to the presents Cassian had just given her. "Those. Azriel was talking about staying in bed. He said something about this afternoon but I keep a diary of all our plans and I know there's nothing put down for today. Rhys, you know I would never forget our plans. I have the memory of a Suriel."
She watched as his lips tightened, the amusment fleeting. He reached inside the pocket of his jacket and extracted a thin silver box the size of his palm. "I have a present for you too," he said slowly, almost carefully.
Arwen leant away from it. "Why?"
"Because, Arwen," he said, "it is your birthday."
~
"What?" She frowned, staring at the small, silver box. Her birthday? Her mind processed the day's date. It didn't feel like anything special. It had been so long since she had thought about the event and even longer since it had been celebrated. Her gaze turned to the window as if the sun and sky could confirm that it was on this day that she was born.
Her birthday hadn't even been a thought. Hadn't been something to remember or anticipate. Arwen had made herself forget it years ago.
"Bu...But..." There were no buts. It was her birthday. "Oh."
He nodded. "Azriel wasn't sure how to bring it up. We knew it might be a hard day," Rhysand said softly, "but none of us realised that you might have forgotten."
She slumped against the lounge, hands limp in her lap. Rhysand lent forward and placed the present next to her. "Do you want to celebrate it?"
Breaking into a fervent nod, she said, "Yes. Yes, of course. I just... wasn't expecting it. I don't even know how old I am." How should it be counted? Was age anything more than a way to count the length of existence and experience, or was it a measure of the body?
"You can decide. One-hundred and ninety-six, or four-hundred and fifty-eight," said Rhysand, squinting as he counted in his head. Now that it had been said aloud, counting herself as barely two hundred felt foolish. The number was naïve and didn't reflect what she felt. The answer must have been on her face as he said, "As much as I hate knowing I missed so much, I think that's right too."
Arwen rounded her lips into a small smile. "I didn't even get to smother you this morning."
He smirked. "You can make it up to me by stepping on my toes tonight."
"Where are we going?"
"The Rainbow."