Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 31: The Insult to Injury

Estelle heard someone yell for help, quickly joined by sounds of a fight. She shot to her feet from where she'd sat beside Odette as Odette opened her present. 

"What's that?" Odette asked, making to stand up. Estelle didn't answer. She flew into the crowd, elbowing her way through officials and nobles. She prayed she was wrong about who, exactly, she could hear fighting across the hall. 

To her chagrin, she was not. When she finally pushed her way through the crowd, she found Nyx on the floor, on top of one of her court's lesser noble's sons. She thought she recognized him, but she couldn't tell now, with how much blood was streaming from his nose. 

Gods damn him, I left for ONE MINUTE. She hurtled forward, grabbing Nyx's arm to stop him from throwing another punch. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" 

Nyx stopped, looking up at her. The anger clouding his gaze shocked her enough that she took a step back, releasing him. He looked... well, he looked like an angry Fae male. And only one thing made Fae males angry enough to lose control like that. 

Her gaze slid to the young noble. Her eyes narrowed as she realized, who, exactly, Nyx had attacked. "I know you." 

Raoul was his name. That little leech who'd tried to grope her in the castle halls last year. She'd thrown him out the first-story window. Apparently, he hadn't gotten the message. Estelle squatted down to look at him, anger simmering under her skin. 

"Let me guess," She purred to the young man. "You were spreading rumors about me being a whore again?" She jerked her head to Nyx, standing up and taking a step back. "Get him on his feet." 

Nyx obliged, not even bothering to object. Estelle glanced around the ballroom, finding her parents. Her mother's face was white, her lips bloodless with anger. Estelle couldn't tell if it was aimed at Nyx, her, or Raoul. Estelle didn't dare to look at her father. She'd never told either of them about Raoul's advances. She hadn't wanted them to worry. 

Estelle looked to Odette, who'd stood and pushed her way through the crowd as well. She looked confused, and a little angry. 

"Sorry to interrupt the party," Estelle said quietly. "They were just leaving." She turned back to Nyx, her blood boiling. "Weren't you?"

Nyx stared at her for a moment. Then he dragged Raoul out of the party without another word. 

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Apologizing to Odette took more time than Estelle had meant it to. Her friend kept trying to say she hadn't done anything wrong, but Estelle still felt guilty. She felt as if she'd taken the celebration from Odette, and wanted it to be clear she hadn't meant to. 

"Nyx is responsible for his own actions, honorable intentions or no," Odette had finally told her. "You're not the one to blame here." 

Now, Estelle walked through the halls of the castle, asking the servants about Nyx. No one had seen him, but one of the maids, Nina, said she'd heard he'd taken Raoul to the castle healer. 

Estelle stormed into the healer's hall and spied Nyx immediately. Those infernal wings were flared as he sat backward in a chair, his chin resting on the seatback. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She yelled as she stalked up to him. "You had no right to attack a member of our court like that. None."

Nyx didn't even look at her. "He called you a whore." 

Estelle refused to let the insult sink in. "I've been called worse. That doesn't give you a free pass to attack him." 

Nyx still refused to look at her. "He thought I was your lover. Asked me things about you. He--" Nyx cut himself off with a snarl. "He deserved a lot worse than what I gave him." 

Estelle could hardly hold in her own snarl. Lover, indeed. She'd sooner nail his balls to the palace gates. "Do you realize how bad you've made me look? Made my family look?" 

Finally, Nyx looked at her. There was a strange... emptiness to his face. "I'm sorry. I meant no harm to you or your family." 

Estelle bunched her gown in her hands to stop herself from throttling him. "Look. I get that you're... having a hard time. But what you just did? That was not okay."

"I know." Nyx looked down again, resting his chin on his arms. Estelle suddenly found his whole defeated-and-sad demeanor very, very annoying. 

"Then why did you do it?" She snapped. Nyx was silent for a moment. Then--

"He called the Queen a traitor."

Estelle went still. "He did what?" 

Insulting her was one thing. But her mother... after everything Aelin had gone through, every scar she wore for her kingdom, every drop of blood she'd spilled for her people...

"Where is he?" She asked, working very hard to keep her voice calm. Nyx met her eyes. He raised a hand and pointed into the room, down the hall of beds, to one covered by a hanging sheet. 

"Don't do anything you'll regret, Princess," Was all he said. Estelle didn't care. She walked slowly, deliberately, toward that bed. She shoved aside the sheet, exposing the healer leaning over Raoul's undoubtedly broken nose. The healer straightened and, no doubt seeing the fury lingering in Estelle's eyes, turned and walked into her supply closet with a mumbled excuse for bandages. 

Estelle turned her fiery rage on Raoul, who had the good sense to wince. "What's this I hear about you insulting my mother?" 

Raoul sniffed, the sound wet and clogged. "I did no such thing." 

Estelle forced herself to stay calm, to keep that flickering heat underneath her skin. She pointed a finger at Nyx. "He says otherwise." 

Raoul sniffed again, holding an already-bloody cloth to his nose. "He's a liar and a con." A slow, cruel grin spread over his mouth. "What's with those stupid wings, anyway? Do they make him more enjoyable in bed?"

Estelle tried to tell herself to keep calm. Tried to tell herself that she was bigger than this, that she had some semblance of control where that gods-damned Illyrian didn't. 

It didn't work. 

Estelle leaned forward and seized Raoul by the front of his tunic, dragging him from the bed. To her delight, she found that she was actually a few inches taller than him now. 

"I am only going to say this one time," She hissed with deathly quiet. "You stay away from me. You stay away from my family. And if I catch you spreading lies about me or my mother again, I'll have you banished from Terrasen." She released him, letting him fall back on the bed. She allowed a bit of her fire to ignite in her eyes, an effect she knew worked from the whimper that came from Raoul's mouth. "Is. That. Clear?" Raoul nodded. "Good. I want you out of the castle by dawn." 

With that, she spun on her heel and stalked back to Nyx, who'd gotten to his feet. A slight grin appeared on his face as she came nearer. 

"Not a word," She warned. To her surprise, Nyx suddenly threw back his head and laughed, his grin splitting across his cheeks. 

It struck her suddenly that she'd never heard him laugh, not in the entire time he'd been in Terrasen. It was a pleasant sound, warm and bright and loud. She stopped, tilting her head a bit as she watched him. 

His grin remained for all of a second before he noticed her staring. Any joy on his face promptly vanished, returning to that cool demeanor, that barely-there smile. "I wouldn't dream of it, Princess." 

And Estelle couldn't help but wonder what he'd seen in her face that had caused him to lose all that laughter so quickly.