A Court of Stars and Ice

Chapter 2

Cassian led me out of the throne room, past the sneering crowd still cowering in the back part of the room. As high and mighty as they acted, they still feared the High Lord just like anyone else. Pathetic.

Once we were alone in the halls and past all the guards standing sentry, he let go of my arm and we walked together in silence. It took me a few moments to realize that we were walking upward and away from the underground city. My head snapped to Cassian's direction.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked him.

"Where do you think? The High Lord's chambers." He answered without even looking at me, like it was exceedingly obvious.

"Then why are we going towards the exit of the mountain?"

Cassian looked over at me, his face barely lit by the sconces hanging at intervals in the sloped hallway. "Because his chambers are not in the mountain. They are above it." Hmm. I guess that made sense for why the High Lord was not often seen under the mountain. It had never occurred to me that he actually left the mountain from time to time. The fact that he got to leave whenever he wanted but none of us could just made me resent him even more.

It was hard to tell how long we walked after that. I began marking the distance by the number of sconces we passed, but I lost count around two hundred. Finally we made our way to the entrance of the mountain and I was surprised to find it unguarded. I had a flashback to the stories they'd told my sister and I as children of the various monsters and vicious beasts that roamed the woods and mountains of the Night Court. I had never given much thought to fearing such creatures, real or not, until we emerged from the Mountain and suddenly stood under open night sky.

Cassian made a move to continue walking, but my feet were rooted where they stood. He gently grabbed my arm, trying to push me along.

"Wait." Cassian looked at me, eyebrow raised in silent question. I barely registered his face, or bothered to be bothered by it, because I was too transfixed on the view before me.

"I've never... I've never seen the sky before." I looked at Cassian in time to see his face soften. A heartbeat later, it was gone. He stopped tugging on my arm and stared up at the sky with me.

"It's just how I remember it," I said with awe in my voice. I don't care if I sound like an idiot in front of an Illyrian. I wasn't entirely sure I'd ever get the chance to see this again.

"I thought you said you'd never seen it?"

"I've dreamt of it. It didn't look exactly like this, but pretty close. I didn't realize how big the sky was." A moment passed where neither of us talked, both just taking in the sights around and above us. The air was so crisp and clean up here. A soft wind blew from the east and caressed the tangled strands of my messy hair.

"I know I sound like an idiot."

He took a minute to answer. "No you don't. Do you want to see it closer?" He gestured to his wings as he lifted them an inch or two.

"Oh no. No no. Nope, no thanks. I don't do heights."

"Have you ever even tried heights?"

"Nope and I don't plan to."

Cassian turned to me, his hair now pulled back into a bun. "Well unfortunately for you we have to fly anyway. It's the only way to Rhys's house at the top of the mountain."

"No thanks, I'm good. I'll walk." I started to turn towards the path that led up the mountain, but Cassian blocked me with an enormous arm. Acting completely on instinct and autopilot, I twisted his arm around and shoved him out of the way. He reeled back, clearly surprised. I could tell by the look on his face that he was not expecting that and he was not happy about it. Shit. I probably shouldn't have done that.