A Court of Fire and Starlight (ACOTAR Fan Fiction)

Extra Chapter - The Pleasure Barge

RHEA

Summer was everything Autumn was not. Blissfully warm. Brimming with joyous life. Filled with carefree children playing in Adriata's streets. It all mesmerized Rhea.

Had Beron cared, he could have morphed the cities in Autumn into something similar over the course of centuries, but her dead husband thought himself in a better position to rule over fearful, dismal faeries. It left her as nothing more than an easily breakable accessory on his arm, like a tarnished bracelet ready to fall apart at the slightest movement.

It took many years for Rhea to turn into the bleakest version of herself and even with Beron gone, she didn't find her recovery instantaneous. Each night she dreamt of Beron barging into her room and dragging her by the ankles to the edge of the bed. Daydreams felt lucid when she looked at her sons and pictured them with bruises and injuries she hoped to never see again.

There were days when she opened trunks and forced her most precious belongings inside and rang for a maid to assist with her departure, only to remember that Autumn remained at a tipping point. Eris was capable and meticulously trained to rule, and yet he remained woefully unprepared for the rashness of his mate. Rhea watched and sent her handmaids to silently observe day after day, often dismayed at her eldest son's lack of honesty.

There was no denying that Eris was infatuated with Astra, but his plan to win her over without revealing the full truth would bring about disaster. Rhea no longer wished to dwell in the court that brought her so much sorrow, but she didn't want it to be reduced to ash as she sipped fruity liquor on a sandy beach or perused libraries in the dazzling mountains.

Rhea took a steadying breath, forcing all thoughts of sun-kissed mountain peaks and book stack rendezvouses from her mind. She'd penned letter after letter to the Lord of Day but had yet to send a single line of text. What would she say? Could a simple I'm free suffice? He knew Beron was dead but he hadn't reached out either.

She suspected he waited for her lead, as he always had done. Pressuring her wasn't his style and being free meant she was free to go anywhere and do anything. There were choices before her that she continued to push off, instead, throwing herself into assisting Eris in whatever way she could, going as far as to help him prepare for the evening.

Looking now at Tarquin's famous party barge, Rhea felt unsure about boarding. Her experience with boats was limited to calm lakes and she'd never left the shore during any of her visits to Stormrun. Eris twiddled his thumbs as they waited, his face revealing none of his anxiousness. If allowed to do so, Eris would remain at Astra's side permanently and fuss over her every move.

Rhea blanched at the sight of Amren donning jeweled cuffs that had previously been stowed away in the Autumn treasury, but Eris gave no indication of surprise so he'd likely gifted them to the peculiar creature. It was unsettling to be so close to the main character in spooky stories she used to tell her sons and Rhea almost asked what rumors were true until Tarquin spoke up.

"Absolutely no fighting or so help me-"

A shadow fell over the dwindling orange sunlight and the thin hairs on Rhea's exposed arms stood on end. She didn't need to turn and gawk like the others, for she already knew what she'd she.

"Mother fucker," Eris hissed at her side.

She finally turned at that, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment she wished didn't burden her. The absolute irony as Eris's curse forced her spine painfully straight. She'd stepped outside her unwanted marriage and dealt with Beron's punishments over the fact for years, so she could face this too.

Helion loved to make an entrance. He rose each day with all the brilliance of the sun and wouldn't leave without a devastatingly beautiful show like a pink-hued sunset. He was bold to the point of being obnoxious with everything except her. Had he swooped into Autumn on a midnight black Pegasus on the day of her wedding, she never would have been subjected to Beron's form of love.