Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 16: The Mistakes

"Do you ever think things through?" Amren snarled in Nyx's face. "Stupid, foolish boy! You can't just waltz into the Illyrian camp and accuse Devlon of treason!" 

"What in the world were you thinking, Nyx?" Cassian asked him. "Devlon might be an asshole, but he's one of the only Illyrians in this god-forsaken land who might ever listen to us. You-" 

"Look, I know I screwed up, okay?" Nyx muttered from the chair his mother had thrown him onto upon returning to the river-house. He kept his gaze pinned on the floor, unable to meet his family's eyes. 

"No, not okay, Nyx," Nyx's father said from beside Cassian. "You have no idea what you've done." 

"The Illyrians are talking, Nyx," Azriel said quietly. "You know they already disliked you. But now there's talk of a collective reject of you as a part of their ranks." 

Nyx's head shot up. "What?!" 

"Some of them are saying you should be stripped of your rank," Rhysand told him. "And worse-" 

"There's talk of denying you as the future High Lord of Night." Feyre's quiet voice rang through the room. She stood by the fireplace, her arms clasped across her chest and her eyes pinned to the crackling flames.

Nyx's heartbeat rang in his ears. "Shit." 

"Yes, shit." Mor rubbed her temple. "In all your years, never have you so massively screwed up, Nyx." 

Nyx struggled for any idea of how to fix this. "I'll apologize. I'll-" 

"You'll only make it worse. You'll be seen as weak," Cassian interrupted. Nyx couldn't bear to look at him. 

Nyx groaned and slumped forward, tearing his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry. I've ruined everything." 

He wasn't all that surprised when not one of his family members bothered to correct him. 

----------------------------------

Nyx let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes, blocking out the moonlit snow outside his window. 

I really am a stupid, foolish boy. He thought bitterly. No matter how I try to fix things, I only make it worse. The Night Court might be better off without me as a High Lord. 

Nyx opened his eyes and looked out his window at the glittering lights of Velaris. His father was right about this place. The city was made to be seen in the night. His mother had made many a painting capturing the twinkling streets, but none of them ever did it justice. 

Nyx loved his home fiercely, no matter its faults. But...

There were days he wished he'd been born into a different court. A different home. The Night Court was beautiful in its own way, but it was also brutal in a fashion that none of the other courts had. Nyx's family had always done their best to balance what he experienced, showing him both the lovely and harsh sides of his home. The Valkyries and the Illyrians. Velaris and the Hewn City. 

Nyx groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. He was in some very deep, unending shit. He'd probably disgraced his family name forever, Amandla was still missing, and he hadn't done anything to help. Worse, he was now confined to the house until Cassian and Azriel could smooth out his mess. 

Nyx's leg began to bounce up and down, his anxiety bringing his restlessness out. When Nyx got nervous, he tended to move around a lot. A bouncing leg, a tapping finger, a wing opening and closing for no reason. His Aunt Elain liked to call him "Jitters." If this was a normal day, he'd fly to the Valkyrie camps and ask Artemis or one of the other Valkyries to spar with him. But now...

Nyx huffed out a sigh and stood up, beginning to pace the length of his room. He turned towards his window, the itch to move overwhelming him. 

"Oh, well," Nyx muttered to himself, stalking to the window and throwing it wide open. "I've never been much for rules, anyways." 

He glanced down and nearly fell out the window. His Aunt Nesta was standing below him, facing the open back door of the river-house. He could hear her talking to someone inside, probably his mother. 

"You don't think this has anything to do with-" Nesta was interrupted, and she scowled at whoever she was talking to. Nyx leaned farther out, trying to hear whoever it was. 

Nesta shook her head. "I still think you should tell them. Especially Nyx. He's killing himself over her disappearance." 

Nyx nearly choked on his own breath. What are they talking about?

Nesta turned away from the door and began walking away. "Fine. But don't blame me if it all goes to shit when they find out." 

Find out what? Nyx wondered. He tried to lean further out to see who his aunt had been talking to. Without thinking, he took a step forward. 

And promptly fell out the window. 

Nyx managed to keep some decency about him and hold in his yell, grabbing onto the windowsill and hauling himself back up. It was moments like these that he wished he could winnow. He sat there, breathing hard for a moment, trying to comprehend what he'd heard. He glanced back down and saw his aunt walking away from the house, Cassian beside her. He spied her turning her head to look back at the house and panicked. He threw himself back into the window, landing head over heels on the floor. 

He cursed when he landed heavily on his wings and stood up quickly, stretching them out. He peered out the window again and was satisfied to see his aunt hadn't seen him, and she was now walking through the street arm in arm with her mate. Nyx waited until they had turned the corner before he stepped up to the window again and launched out into the sky. 

The chilled air whipped through his wings and clothes, and it was all Nyx could do to not sigh into the night. His problems didn't vanish, but the feeling of riding on nothing but the wind pushed them to the back of his mind. 

I'm not running away, he told himself. I'll be back before they even know I'm gone. I just need some time to think, that's all. 

He crossed the border of Velaris and made his way toward the coastline. Other than the Night Court, the sea had always been the thing that called to him. Something about the rough waves and salt air awoke his very veins. Maybe he'd just sit on the beach for a while. It was good a plan as any. 

Just as Nyx finally heard the ocean from afar, the hair on the back of his neck rose. He twisted instinctively mid-air and saw a dark object flying towards him. 

Faster than he could react, a large metal net slammed into him. Nyx let out one sharp cry of surprise and tried to spread his wings, only to find they were pinned to his body. 

Nyx's mind went blank from panic. And he began to fall.