A Court of Wings and Fate

21. A Family of Artists

Estelle reached the River Estate shortly. She passed through the wards and entered the house. Rhys, Lysander, and Corbin were already in the main entryway. Rhys hugged Feyre tightly, then turned, hearing Estelle approach.

"Devlon mentioned you would be home soon and that you wanted to see me," Estelle explained.

Rhys nodded. "Lys, Corbin, you can go."

"Celeste seemed to miss you," Estelle snickered as Lysander passed by. He grinned and chased Corbin out the door.

"We can talk in here," Feyre said, pointing to a sitting room. They entered and Estelle took a seat. "Is the next group of Illyrians ready for the exchange?"

Estelle nodded. "I discussed it with Devlon and Jorah this morning."

    It was hard to believe that four weeks, an entire month, had already gone by. A wave of homesickness crashed through Estelle. She hadn't been home for very long and already she'd be leaving again. This change was still going to take some getting used to, apparently.

Feyre smiled. "You're taking a lot of initiative with this."

"Why wouldn't I? It's my responsibility." Feyre merely inclined her head.

"Is training going well? Nyx has told me that the Peregryns and Illyrians seem to get along for the most part," Rhys said.

"Training is fine. We're all warriors, keen on expanding our abilities. The Peregryns are more excited about it than the Illyrians, but no one has caused trouble so far." 

"And have you made any progress improving things with Mikael?" Rhys arched an eyebrow.

Estelle lifted her chin proudly. "Yes. We officially apologized to each other last night, in fact."

Feyre shot Rhys a smug look. "I told you making them share a room would help."

Estelle rolled her eyes. "Of course you were the one who decided that."

"Yes, well done, Feyre Darling," Rhys chuckled. "And I'm glad you apologized, Estelle. Try to avoid any future arguments from now on."

"I'll try, but I make no promises. He's surprisingly infuriating."

"Most males are," Feyre sighed in amusement. "There's no need for you to return to Windhaven today. You should go see Ser and Az."

"I will," Estelle promised. She bowed her head to them and left the room.

Estelle let the shadows carry her away from the estate and to her own home once she was past the wards. She arrived outside the townhouse with a smile. She entered, but saw no one downstairs. Estelle mounted the winding staircase and spotted Lysander sprawled across his bed. She ignored him and continued to her mother's art studio.

Estelle nudged the door open quietly. Seren hummed while she worked. She was painting a portrait of Lysander. Estelle let her eyes wander over the paintings that already lined the walls of the studio.

Several of them had been painted before she was born, but many more came after. There were paintings of her as a baby, and Lysander too. There were paintings of gardens, the stars and mountains, and the hidden valley. There was a painting of a flaming fist, and shadows and embers. There was a hand reaching out of a tumultuous sea.

Estelle smirked, spying several paintings along the floorboards. Those paintings faced the walls, which meant they were paintings of Azriel. Likely inappropriate ones, hence why they were turned around. Her mother liked to hang those paintings elsewhere.