A Court of Fire and Starlight (ACOTAR Fan Fiction)

Free Fallin' Part I

ASTRA

Fifty-five minutes later, Astra was pulling on her clothes in preparation for the Inner Circle's monthly dinner.

She paired a deep navy sweater that billowed over her hips with tight leather pants and knee-high boots. It complimented her toned frame well. As she surveyed herself in the body-length mirror propped up against a pale blue wall, she couldn't help but notice the mix of features she possessed from her mother and father. Tan skin and violet eyes were a trademark of her father, though she was still sporting a set of nasty bruises underneath. Even speedy fae healing hadn't cleared them up yet. She had the classic Archeron golden-brown hair that she shared with her mother and two aunts. Hers flowed down in waves to the top of her rib cage.

One trait she didn't share with her family was their graceful long legs. She stood at a petite height somewhere between her mother and Amren, though she often wore heeled boots that put her closer to eye level with her mother.

Her train of thought was broken by a soft tapping on her mind. Do you want to head up to the House of Wind with your father?

No, I'll winnow myself, She instantly shot back toward her mother's mind.

After a long pause, too long to be natural, her mother's reply floated gently into her mind. As you wish. Be careful of the drop to the balcony.

She rolled her eyes at that response.

While Astra's short height set her apart from the rest of her family, the most noticeable and aggravating difference was her lack of wings. It had been a constant source of an annoyance since she was a small child. She had been desperate for a set of her own from the moment she understood that Illyrian wings enabled flight.

Her brother had been born with a beautiful set of velvety, black wings. It was rather unfortunate that those wings nearly killed all three members of her immediate family during childbirth, but her aunt had solved that problem long ago. And yet, her father never could forget the image of his nearly dead mate and premature baby. Astra was fairly certain he was still plagued with the occasional nightmare about that day.

To combat that potential scenario, her parents made sure that neither of them had their wings out when conceiving her. There had still been some small chance that she would have been born with them anyways, due to her father's heritage. As it turned out, she didn't win the genetic lottery, nor did she inherit her mother's shapeshifting abilities.

When she had asked her parents about it, their response was equal parts rational and irritating. Even with an Illyrian-shaped pelvis, it was still risky to birth a babe with wings and once had been enough for them. Nesta hadn't bothered to test out her new pelvis yet either.

Astra knew she had stared at her reflection long enough to make her late, which would leave her in the worst seat next to Amren and she'd be forced to listen to the constant complaints about having to eat normal food.

She winnowed with a small flash of light to the boundary of the ancient wards above the House of Wind and then proceeded to free-fall thirty feet to the red balcony below. Even after several years of practice, her knees still buckled with the impact.

Luckily, she wasn't the last one to arrive. After slipping through the glass doors and making her way to the informal dining area, she spotted several empty seats and strategically chose a seat next to her Aunt Elain, who was least likely to stir up trouble.

Elain looked as lovely as ever in a pale green gown. Astra noticed how her skin was glowing with a slight tan she had managed to acquire while "wintering" in the Spring Court lands. On the other side of her, Lucien had an even deeper tan that offset his single russet eye. They spent the Winter season living in a cottage near the High Lord's estate so Elain could continue to grow flowers year-round and Lucien could help the Spring Court flourish after its near-collapse several years back.