A Court of Fire and Starlight (ACOTAR Fan Fiction)

Star Blessed

ASTRA

Astra peeled her eyes open and immediately noticed the angle of the sun shining through her oversized window. Shit. She was already late. Her Aunt Nesta was going to eat her alive.

She frantically flung herself out of bed, not bothering to smooth out the silk covers. She quickly rummaged in her walk-in closet to find a clean set of Illyrian leathers. Splashing water on her face in the attached marble bathroom didn't do much to bring life to her features.

No time for breakfast either. She knew she was going to regret that extra hour of sleep. She winnowed above the House of Wind and landed with a thud in the open-air training ring. She couldn't keep the wince off her face at the pain that shot up her legs. She tried to smooth out her features and blend into the surrounding females but it was too late, Nesta had already spotted her and was stalking toward her with lethal grace.

A wisp of silver flames burned in her gaze as she said, "Late again, Astra. One hundred laps around the training area should give you time to contemplate your lack of dedication."

Her aunt didn't let anything slide when it came to the Valkyrie legion. Forming the all-female legion had brought Nesta back to life after she had her humanity taken from the Cauldron. She had proudly led them in battle during the more recent war against Koschei and the other ancient creatures.

Astra gave her aunt a half-grin in return and ignored the other females as they finished warm-ups. Running as a punishment, ha. Cassian must have put her in a good mood this morning.

While most warriors-in-training might find running to be a grueling task, Astra did not. She was fast. Unusually fast for High Fae. The Mother had thrown her a bone by giving her speed, rather than blessing her with wings. Nesta giving her one hundred laps was the equivalent of giving the other trainees forty to fifty laps.

Astra could run with all the momentum of a shooting star if she really pushed herself, but she chose a more leisurely pace for her laps today. Her slacking pace was still faster than many Fae could sprint. When she had finished, barely breaking a sweat, the other females were just beginning to split off into units for weapons training.

She jogged over to the opposite corner of the ring where the two females in her "unit" were waiting on her. They weren't really a unit. Not like Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie. They were outliers and would eventually part ways once they were deemed lethal enough. They were pleasant to each other but they had never broken past the barrier that separates acquaintances from friends. Astra thought there might be potential for an actual friendship, but she hadn't done anything with them outside of training during the ten months since they'd been paired together.

Alette was a tall blonde Seraphim, a few years older than Astra. She had been forced to relocate to Velaris after her parents decided their immortal lives had become dull on Cretea and they wanted a change of scenery. One of her preferred pastimes seemed to be was scowling down her pale, pointed nose at Astra. Her white, feathered wings were lovely, except for when Astra got a mouthful of them during one-on-one combat. She wanted to eventually join one of Prince Drakon's legions but had to settle for training with the Valkyries for now. It was the best Velaris could offer, unless she wanted to deal with the backward Illyrian males. They'd likely pluck her feathers out and then force her to clean them off the muddy ground.

Pix, the third member of their dysfunctional ensemble, was a demi-Fae that spent the early years of her immortal life in hiding on the other side of the wall before it fell. After discovering that she was no longer aging, she left the mortal world behind and made her way up through the courts to Velaris since its citizens were more accepting of her mixed heritage. She was wearing black Illyrian leathers that complimented her rich, chocolate skin and the mess of black curls that sprung out from every direction on her head. In that outfit, she might be able to blend into the shadows nearly as well as Azriel.