A court of Night and Fire

waterfalls are loud

Asterin POV

Training goes well in the morning, with Cassian, Azriel, Emerie, Gwyn and Nesta teaching me some of the Valkyrie methods of fighting. Rhysand seems to be away doing some high lord shit but Feyre comes to watch us. About half way through, Ash and Nyx arrive, arguing with each other about something. "you're late" Cassian calls as they approach. "I don't remember us setting a specific time, so, no, we're not late" says Nyx. Cassian just rolls his eyes. "I'll tell you what, the two of you can spar with Asterin. See where your genius get's you then" he says, smirking at me. I smirk back and approach them.

I am not stupid. I am more than aware that both Ash and Nyx are good enough to rival their fathers. However, they have the same advantage that I do of being smaller and more agile. Hopefully this will mean they're harder to beat. "I'm not going to bother beating your asses individually, I'll take on both of you. With weapons" I say, looking them over. Azriel had given me my twin blades when we came into the arena and they were now strapped across my back. I draw them and turn to face Ash and Nyx, who have drawn their own blades. I smirk and the fight begins.

The three of us are a whirlwind of clashing metal, moving so fast that to human eyes we would be no more than a blur. Ash and Nyx are good, very good. I grin as I feel the adrenaline rush through my veins. I love this. We fight for a long time, longer than I did with the others, but I manage to sweep Nyx's legs from under him and kick out at Ash so he falls to his knees. I kneel on one knee before them, a blade at each of their throats. We stay there like that for a minute, covered in sweat and panting. "I rather like the sight of you kneeling before me" Ash says quietly so only I can hear. I raise my eyebrows "unless I'm not mistaken, you are kneeling before me" Ash just smirks at me "I guess it's a matter of opinions. However, I think I could have you on your knees, begging for me if we were alone" he says and I smirk at him "keep thinking that. Make sure to remember it when you next kneel before me" I stand up and remove the blades from both their throats.

Lunch goes reasonably well, this time I'm sat between Azriel and Gwyn, the latter wanting to tell me everything about the Valkyries. When we finish I get up to leave but Ash calls my name. I turn to face him "do you want to come flying with us?" he asks. I smile  "yeah, okay, I'll meet you down here in ten minutes" "we're going to go out to the mountains, so bring weapons. My mother left you fighting leathers in your room. As the name suggests, they're made for fighting. We don't plan to run into trouble, but it's the mountains so it's better to be safe than sorry" says Nyx and I nod and leave.

Feyre is waiting outside my room for me and we enter together. "what's in the mountains?" I ask, out of curiosity rather than fear. "a lot of very horrible things" she replies as I remove my training leathers. "you'll want to wear these" she says pointing to the two piles that appeared on the bed. One was a set of black fleece lined leggings and long sleeved top, the other was a pile of leathers, slightly different to the ones I had just removed. I change into the fleece lined clothes in the bathroom.

When I come out, I walk over to a drawer and pull out the other blades that I fell into this world with. Feyre just looks amused as I lay them out on the bed. There are 8 smaller blades, including the four I was currently wearing, made in a very similar way to my twin swords. They were made of the same material and had that beautiful engraved pattern on both sides. I also have 6 throwing knives. "It's a random selection" I say as I strap them all on carefully "but they were the ones I had on me when I fell out the sky. The daggers are made the same as my swords, meaning I can use my magic with them. The throwing knives are there because I enjoy throwing them when I'm bored. But they can come in useful in a fight"

Feyre helps me with the fighting leathers, working from the bottom of my legs to my neck as usual. Once she's finished, I sheathe my two twin swords diagonally across my back, thank her and go down to meet Nyx and Ash, who now have their wings out. They nod to me and I shift. Together we take off into the skies. 

We fly for a couple of hours, with me between the two of them. I love the feeling of the wind and the sense of peace that comes with it. I call on my own wind to allow us an easy flight. Nyx is on my right and Ash on my left. An idea appears in my head as we fly over a gorge with a waterfall at one end. I bank sharply upwards, flying towards the clouds. I hear Nyx and Ash laughing as they watch me. I stop flying and let my body pivot and fall, straight towards the gorge. I pin my wings to my side to allow me to go faster.

I reach the top of the waterfall and keep going, Nyx and Ash freefalling just behind me. The freezing spray from the waterfall coats my feathers but I keep falling, savouring the feeling of the wind tearing at me. When I'm a metre away from the plunging waters below, I spread my wings wide, using my previous momentum to glide forwards, just above the surface of the water. Nyx and Ash join me on either side, both looking exhilarated. I fly upwards towards the top of the gorge, landing and shifting back into my fae form. 

Nyx and Ash land in front of me, their wings vanishing. They both wear grins that match my own, their hair soaked and plastered to their faces. The fine spray from the waterfall is already soaking my hair, the leathers are waterproof. "that was awesome" Ash says, looking to me, his hazel eyes dancing. "it must be easier in a bird form" Nyx says, his violet eyes fixing on my own. "I'd imagine so" I say, still grinning. 

We sit with our legs dangling over the edge of the gorge, watching the sun set and listening to the roar of the waterfall. Nyx is on my left and Ash on my right. "do you miss it?" asks Nyx, gazing to the setting sun. "miss what?" I ask "your home. Terrasen" I think for a moment "yes, and if I have to stay here forever, I doubt I will ever stop missing it. However, I think that if I have to stay here, it will not be so bad" Nyx and Ash look to me at that "providing I can keep kicking your asses" I add, smirking, and they laugh.