A court of Night and Fire

nine sparkly gems

Nyx POV

Oh god. Maeve. Damn.

I watch Cassian pull Ash aside so I put a hand on the small of Asterin's back and lead her out. She says nothing. She doesn't even protest when I lift her into my arms and carry her outside. I sit down on the bank of the Sidra and put her down next to me carefully. She leans into me and I wrap my arms around her, kissing her hair. Tears slide down her cheeks. "Asterin, darling, look at me" I say softly and she does. Those beautiful eyes meeting my own, reflecting the stunning sky above us. I carefully wipe away her tears "we will find a way. Together. I promise" I say and she smiles slightly, nestling into my chest further.

My father tells me that Ash won't be free for another few hours so I winnow the two of us back up to the cabin, the magic in it already having provided two cups of some sort of tea. She curls up next to me on our bed, her breathing gradually deepening as she  drifts off to sleep. She's stunningly beautiful even when she's sleeping. 

Ash arrives a few hours later. I know it's hard, but try to be quiet, she just managed to get to sleep.
How is she? comes his reply
Not particularly good. She was crying earlier. She's worried about her family
I'm not surprised from what I've heard

He enters the room and it takes me a second to realise. My eyes widen but I daren't move or speak due to the sleeping female beside me. You have siphons!
Yes, I can have them now we've completed the Rite he replies, scanning Asterin from head to toe. Satisfied, he goes into the bathroom to change and i notice the siphons on his hands are a turquoise colour that reminds me of his mate's eyes.
How many?
Nine.
Holy shit Ash.
I know.

Once he's changed, he slowly gets into bed, wrapping his arms around his mate and drifting off to sleep. Nine. Wow. The most powerful Illyrian male. The next morning I'm woken by Asterin's excited shout after hearing the news. Ash shows her one and she runs her hand over the surface. Once she's finished admiring Ash's siphons, we get changed into leathers ready for training. We're about to winnow out when something changes. Me and Asterin freeze. Something just changed. It was like a ripple of power. Asterin looks to me, clearly thinking along the same lines. Valg. 

I grab both of them and winnow in the direction of the change. We arrive in the middle of the forest. Asterin immediately shifts into a hawk and takes off. Ash taps one of the two siphons on the backs of his hands and black armour spreads over him, holding his other seven siphons. He looks quite a sight. The two of us launch into the air and we spread out, searching. I'm not entirely sure what we're searching for, but I scan the woods for any sign of an anomaly. My eyes catch on a bright light in one of the clearings. I signal Asterin and Ash into their minds. I land and at the centre of the clearing is a ball of bright light. Asterin lands next to me with Ash on her other side, all 9 siphons glowing.

The light recedes. There, in the middle of the clearing stand four figures. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust. There's three males and one female, all fae judging by their pointed ears. It was then that I recognised the female. She looks like an older version of Asterin. And then it hits me. This must be her family.

Asterin POV

It takes my eyes a moment to adjust, but as soon as they do I recognise them at once. My mother, father, Aedion and Dorian. Rowan looks tense, in a fighting stance as he looks us over, his eyes catching on me. They came. They actually came. I sheathe the twin blades I'd drawn back and walk forward tentatively, cautious of this all being a dream. My father walks forward and I run into his arms. He pulls me tight and lifts me up, kissing my hair. I bury my head in his chest breathing in his scent. He pulls back slightly and I realise that he has tears in his eyes. Rowan Whitethorn, legendary warrior, King consort of Terrasen, is crying. "Asterin" he breathes, as if he as well is scared this is all a dream. 

He let's go and I turn to my mother who also has tears in her eyes. She pulls me into a hug and says "you have one very interesting story to tell ,little phoenix." I laugh "yes, I do" I turn to Aedion and Dorian, both of whom look like they might cry. Aedion says nothing but pulls me into a hug as well. Dorian embraces me with a grin "wait until Manon sees you, she might pretend otherwise, but deep down she was just as worried as the rest of us" he says and I laugh. I turn back to face my mate and carranam, both of whom seem to have very conflicting emotions. Rhysand, Cassian, Azriel and Feyre have winnowed in and are standing behind them.

"there are some people you will want to meet" I say them and gesture to Nyx and Ash who walk forward. "this is Nyx, heir to the night court and Ash, currently the most powerful Illyrian." they both smile slightly at my parents. "this is where it get's interesting" I say to them and Aelin laughs. "Nyx is my carranam" I say and Nyx bows slightly. My mother smirks, my father inclines his head to Ash, Aedion raises his eyebrows and Dorian grins and laughs "trust your carranam to be in a whole different world As" he says and I laugh "that's not even half of it" I reply and turn to Ash. "Ash is my mate" Aedion and Dorian look a little stunned but my father looks Ash up and down and smiles at him. My mother just walks up and hugs him and then Nyx "welcome to the family" she says, smirking. "there's a lot more of us back home" I say and look over to Rhysand who approaches with Feyre, wings out 

"you might recognise them" I say to my mother. It takes her a moment before realisation dawns. "you're the ones who helped me when i fell through worlds" she says and Rhysand nods. "my name is Rhysand and I am the High Lord of the night court. This is my wife and mate Feyre who is High Lady" Feyre smiles and my mother smiles back. "thank you" she says "without your help, I never would have got back." Rhys just smiles before turning to the two Illyrians behind him "this is Azriel my spymaster and Cassian the general of our armies" he says, and both of the males step forwards. 

My mother nods "I am Aelin, Queen of Terrasen and the faerie queen of the west. This is my husband, blood-sworn, mate and carranam Rowan, King consort of Terrasen" she says, and Rhys bows slightly towards them. "this is Aedion, my cousin and blood-sworn, general of my armies" Aedion inclines his head to them "and lastly this is Dorian, King of Adarlan" Dorian smiles and bows towards them.

My father turns to me, smiling "well, little phoenix, this better be one hell of a story"