Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 44: The Distraction

Nyx had decided that as much as he liked the princess, he really, really hated her right now. 

Aelin was grinning like a madman, her sword moving in a blur as she attacked. Just as Estelle had predicted, she'd pounced at the chance to get out of the castle for a while. And she'd agreed even faster when he asked her to show him how she fought. 

He'd been training with warriors his whole life. But he'd never seen anyone move as fast or sure as the Queen did. So far, the longest he'd lasted against her was a solid five minutes. And even that, he knew, had been her going easy on him.

Once again, she knocked his sword out of his hand, sending it flying. She tapped his shoulder lightly with her blade. "Tell me what's on your mind, Nyx." 

Nyx stooped to grab the sword she'd lent him. "Nothing's on my mind, Majesty." 

Aelin scoffed at the title. "Please, we're beyond such formalities now. Call me Aelin. And yes, there is. You've been trained by the finest warriors in your world, and I've knocked you on your ass today more times than I care to count." She sheathed her sword, effectively pausing their fight as she began to stretch out her arms, lifting them high above her head. "Tell me what you're thinking. Rarely do I get the time to talk to the son of Feyre Archeron and Rhysand Starborn. Come on, tell me. I know you've got something." 

You owe me, Estelle. Nyx sighed and picked up his own sword, sheathing it. He took the time to roll out his wrists, which ached from being jarred into dropping his weapon so many times. "I suppose I'm thinking about Amandla. And my family." 

Aelin's eyes softened. "Ah. I am so sorry that all of this happened, Nyx." 

Nyx shrugged. "It's not your fault." 

Aelin sighed heavily, leaning down to touch her toes with ease. "It is, in some ways, though. If Feyre and I hadn't made the choice to keep all of this from you, you might have been better prepared. You might have helped us. We might have known about everything sooner, found a way to prevent all of this." 

"You mean you would've found a spell to seal the doors tighter? To stop this 'Blood of the Sworn' loophole thing?" Nyx asked, dragging a hand through his hair. Aelin hesitated. 

"Yes. Yes, we would have. I suppose we can see this as a blessing. If we hadn't left open that loophole, we might never have seen each other again." 

"Aelin..." Nyx crossed his arms. "You act like the only way to break the spell is for one of you to die. But you couldn't possibly have done that. I know my mother, she thinks of you as family. She'd never have resigned to losing you forever." 

Aelin played with the leather vambraces around her wrists. "No. There is a way to break the spell. It's just... well, we promised each other we wouldn't break it for anything." Her eyes turned guiltily to Nyx. "Not even for our families. This was bigger than that. The queens meant to take everything from my world. We didn't know how they were going to do it. All we knew was that it was a danger, one my kingdom would never recover from." 

"I understand," Nyx found himself saying. "My mother is High Lady. She has her own people to look out for. That's the whole point of being a leader. Being able to take into account the lives of your people over your family." 

Aelin looked mildly surprised at his insight. If he was being honest, he felt a bit surprised himself. He'd never had to put himself into the mind of a leader before. The thought shamed him a bit. He realized now what a sheltered life his parents had given him. 

"Nyx." He met Aelin's eyes again and found her examining him, her gold-and-turquoise eyes made of flaming steel. "Why don't you want to go home, now that you know how to open a Wyrdgate?"