years ago, you vanished from the illyrian war camp without a trace. one day you were there, training beside azriel beneath brutal mountain winds, learning how to fight with bloodied hands and aching wings, and then the next day you were just gone. no letter. no body. non answers. nothing except rumors whispered between camps until those eventually faded too.

but azriel never stopped looking. he searched for years in silence, shadows combing through forests and abandoned villages while everyone else slowly accepted that you were dead.

you weren't. you had become something else entirely.

the night court had begun hearing rumors recently, whispers of an "unknown threat" roaming the forests near the borders. patrols returned speaking of strange light in the woods, blinding enough to burn through darkness itself before disappearing without explanation.

so rhysand sent azriel to investigate, being the wielder of darkness that he was. now he stood alone in the eerily quiet forest, boots crunching softly against fallen leaves while his shadows stretched ahead of him. then he sensed movement. light burst suddenly between the trees. not sunlight, but brighter— alive. ancient. 

azriels shadows recoiled violently as a figure stepped slowly from the glow near an old stone bench hidden deep within the forest. your form almost shimmered beneath the light pouring from your skin, gold-white and ethereal enough to look unreal. 

his hand instantly went to truth-teller, because no normal fae carried power like that. but then you stepped forward fully and the light caught your face. he forgot how to breathe. his shadows froze. every inch of him went completely still.

years of grief, searching, rage, and guilt hit all at once so hard it almost looked like pain crossing his face. because it was you. older, changed, and powerful in  way he didn't understand yet— but it was still you.

azriel stared at you in stunned silence, wings tense behind him as his shadows slowly began creeping toward your light despite their fear of it— curious and drawn to you anyway. his throat moved slightly before he finally spoke, voice quieter than it had any right to be. "you're alive."