Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 10: The Advisors

Nyx landed hard on the balcony of the House of Wind. He sprinted towards the doors and tugged on them, but found they were locked. 

"Oh, come on!" He complained, banging on the House's doors. "Not you, too!" 

The doors suddenly flew open so fast they smacked him in the face. Nyx reeled back, cursing at his throbbing nose. He ran inside, making his way towards Artemis's room. "Artemis? Are you here?" 

"Nyx?" Nyx turned when he heard his Uncle's voice. "Is that you?" 

"Uncle Cassian, I need your help," Nyx yelled, turning to follow Cassian's voice. He found him in the kitchen, a chocolate cake sitting in front of him. 

"What's up, kid?" Cassian asked, spearing a big bite of the cake with his fork. "What'd you do this time?" 

"It's... hard to explain," Nyx hesitated, suddenly wondering if this was a good idea. His uncle wasn't above the idea of knocking some sense into him, especially if his daughter was involved. "But the important thing is, I messed up. Big time." 

Cassian swallowed and stood up. "How big are we talking?" 

"Huge," Nyx replied. 

His uncle crossed his arms, an eyebrow raised. "How huge, Nyx?"

Nyx coughed. This definitely wasn't going to end well. "I think it might be my fault that Amandla left Artemis." 

Cassian's eyebrows shot up. "That's... not what I was expecting you to say. But okay. What did you do?" 

"Artemis thinks I caused Amandla to doubt that she was good enough for her," Nyx said. "I didn't mean to, but apparently it gave Amandla enough reason to end their relationship." 

Cassian nodded, his eyes lingering behind Nyx. "Did you apologize?" 

"Yes," Nyx replied, tapping his fingers together nervously. Cassian nodded again, a slight smile on his face. 

"I was wondering when you'd figure it out," Nyx nearly jumped out of his skin when his Aunt Nesta spoke behind him. He wheeled around to face her. 

She raised a forboding eyebrow. "I heard you. Talking to Amandla that night. And then I heard her when she cursed herself for being so stupid after you left." 

Nyx felt awful. "I didn't mean to make her doubt herself." 

"Well, you did," Nesta snapped, crossing her arms. "I honestly couldn't care less that you're my blood. If you weren't the High Lord's son, I'd smack you across Prythian. In pieces." 

"Nes-" Cassian stopped himself when his mate glared at him. She turned back to Nyx, some of her forgotten fire glittering in her eyes. 

"Whatever threats Artemis may have made, consider mine ten times worse. Fix this. Now." Having said her piece, Nesta swiftly turned and exited the room. 

After a moment, Cassian coughed loudly. "Artemis stopped by. She already told us everything." 

"Oh," Nyx sighed heavily. "Are you going to throw me off the balcony?" 

"Nah," Cassian said, throwing his arm around Nyx's shoulders. "You admitted you were wrong, and you're trying to fix it. That's good enough for me. But also-" He leaned down, squeezing Nyx tight enough for it to hurt. "Your aunt and your cousin have already told you what happens if you screwed this up permanently. I figure you have enough incentive." 

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"I think you're blowing this out of proportion, personally," Amren said from across the table the next morning.  

"No, I'm not. I hurt Artemis, and I hurt Amandla. I feel terrible," Nyx replied, stirring his drink restlessly with a spoon. 

"So her lover left her because of the doubt you put in her head," Amren said, sitting forward and lacing her fingers together. "You may have planted the seed, boy, but it's not your fault Amandla made the final decision." She rolled her eyes. "Your family is just severely overdramatic when it comes to these things." 

"You admitted you were wrong, love," Nyx's mother squeezed his shoulder gently as she passed him. "Artemis will come around eventually." 

"I'm more worried about Aunt Nesta, actually," Nyx admitted. "She was already giving me death glares even before Artemis found out." 

"She'll come around, too," Feyre insisted. Nyx could tell she was distracted as she walked away, leaving the room. He turned back to Amren and opened his mouth to speak. 

"I have no patience for more gossip, boy." She interrupted, sipping delicately at her tea. "You've heard my opinion." 

"But how am I supposed to fix this?" Nyx demanded. Amren sighed dramatically. 

"How should I know?" She drawled. "If you want heartfelt advice, ask your mother. Or perhaps Gwyneth, the bleeding heart she is." 

Nyx considered this. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." He swiftly downed the rest of his drink and stood up, pushing his chair back. "Thanks, Amren." 

Amren waved him off as he left the room and walked outside, then took to the skies. He flew over Velaris, headed straight for the library. 

The second he touched down, he was already running. He made his way down the winding stairs to Clotho's desk. 

"Is Gwyn around?" He asked her as he approached. Clotho seemed to jump a bit at his voice and looked up from the book she'd been reading. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," He hastily apologized. "Is it okay if I go look for my aunt?" 

Clotho's pen began to move. Gwyneth is not here. Azura, however, is on Level Three. You have my permission to enter. She paused, then added, Please do not get lost this time.

"I'll try," Nyx saluted her and followed the signs to Level Three. There, he found his cousin sleeping soundly while resting her head on a massive book. He walked over to her and poked her shoulder. 

"Zuri," He muttered, poking her harder when she didn't stir. "Wake up, lazy." 

Azura yawned widely and sat up, blearily turning to look at him. "What do you want?" 

"Where's Gwyn?" Nyx asked. "I need her help." 

Azura yawned again and scratched at her head. "She's in Illyria helping Emerie move her things to Velaris. Papa and Mor are with them as well." 

Nyx groaned. "Terrible timing, Aunt Gwyn." 

"Why? What do you need?" Azura asked, propping her head on her hand. "Maybe I can help." 

Nyx raised an eyebrow. "You're half asleep." 

"No I'm no-o-o-t," Azura interrupted herself to yawn again. "Okay, I'm sorry, I was up until four last night. Merrill told me to finish translating this text by tomorrow." She squinted slightly at the book. "Today, I guess." 

"What is it?" Nyx asked, leaning forward to peer at it. "It looks ancient." 

"It is," Azura replied, dusting off the pages a bit with her hand. "It's a tome from the Old World." 

"The what?" Nyx asked, confused. Azura laughed. 

"Library term, sorry. The Old World is what we call Erilea, the home of Queen Aelin Galathynius," She explained. Nyx felt his eyebrows draw together. He knew that name. Then it hit him. 

"Oh, the World-Walker?" He asked, a bit proud of himself for remembering. Azura nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember he'd not come to talk about books. "Sorry. What did you need again?" 

"Advice," Nyx admitted. He sat in the chair across from Azura. "As much as I can get." 

Azura sighed. "If it's about warfare or training, I'm sure my father would be-" 

"Actually, I need advice on girls," Nyx interrupted. Azura's brow quirked up, and she rested her chin in her hand. 

"I'm listening."