A Court of Ash and Necromancy

50. When the World Was Right

    The weeks turned into months as Estelle slowly readjusted to normal life. Her mother was staying at the Palace with them, helping Estelle prepare a room for the baby and simply looking after her when Mikael was busy. When her mother wasn't around, Estelle was accompanied by Sienna and Celeste, who could hardly be persuaded to leave her side.

    Only a few times had she dreamed that she was back in Melantha's dungeons. Mikael always woke her before the dreams worsened, and held her as he reminded her of where she was and who she was with. Estelle hadn't dreamed about Ze'ev once since being captured by Melantha. She hoped that meant the nightmares were gone for good.

    Wholesome food, plenty of rest, and an abundance of care was proving beneficial for both Estelle and the baby, which was now making itself known. Already, her scent had changed and her stomach was noticeably rounded. Not as noticeably as Venelia's though. Estelle had no idea how her friend could even walk without the weight of wings to balance herself with. Estelle was finding that very handy when it came to going up and down stairs.

    Estelle couldn't help but feel a little smothered at times. Between Mikael, Celeste, Sienna, occasionally Corbin, Thesan, Ameer, and her mother, she was overrun with offerings of food, foot rubs, back massages, and more. At least she didn't have to worry about that so much when Azriel and Lysander came to visit.

    Azriel wasn't quite as overbearing as Estelle had expected him to be. She wondered that was because he sympathized with her and was doing his best not to add to the ranks of her doting caretakers. As for Lysander, the whole idea of pregnancy seemed unsettling to him. Estelle had tried to convince him to feel the baby move. He did once, then tripped over his own feet with a surprised yelp. Lysander hadn't tried again since. She made sure to tell Venelia to try to convince him to whenever he visited her.

    Quite often, Estelle found her thoughts drifting towards her fellow prisoners. She wrote to each of them regularly, just to check up on how they were doing. Elain seemed to be recovering the best. Cresseida now had a terrible fear of water, although she assured Estelle that she was working to overcome it.

    Evren was all right, but according to Eris, she'd reverted to a few habits she had when he first met her. She couldn't stand sleeping under blankets, wearing cloaks, or even long gowns. They both said that with time, Evren would work past that again.

    As for Venelia, she occasionally suffered a few nightmares, like Estelle. She still felt guilty when it came to Wynter and the things that had happened to him. Estelle wondered if Venelia would ever rid herself of those feelings.

    She wondered the same about Wynter. He'd only replied to one of her letters, and that response had been just a few sentences long. Kallias and Viviane said he was now living in a townhouse by himself, much to their dismay. They tried to visit him daily, but he turned them away.

    That knowledge worried Estelle, and Mikael as well. Whatever Wynter was facing, he shouldn't face alone, and yet, he seemed determined to do just that. Mikael had managed to visit him a few times. He wasn't turned away, but Wynter was quiet and never said much. When Mikael asked about Ellie, Wynter ceased talking completely.

    He sought out the female and she reassured Mikael that she was making an effort to help Wynter, but she hadn't made much progress. Mikael and Estelle both hoped that time would change that. There was only so much they could do from the Dawn Court, and Mikael didn't like to leave Estelle for very long.

    All across Prythian, changes were visible. Melantha's forces were gone, crumbled into ash. Nesta and Cassian had gone to the remnants of Inmortui to make sure there were no hidden surprises waiting to be revealed. They found nothing, and Nesta had destroyed the last of Melantha's bones completely. It seemed that for now, their troubles had abated.