"Her wings are made of starlight."
In which a mortal girl and an immortal Illyrian
are gifted neighboring cells Under The Mountain
and change each other's lives forever.
𝑨𝑪𝑶𝑻𝑨𝑹 -
...
𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. chapter nine; Training Starts Tomorrow " I'll need my strength before war comes to us. "
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CASSIAN WAS TRYING his damndest, but it was very difficult when Nixie seemed so determined to bury her nose in paperwork. He had attempted to convince her nothing needed looking over, it had all been taken care of, every bit of it, but she shrugged it off and continued.
"What if I say please?"
"I'd be impressed that you finally learned some manners," Nixie mumbled, sighing, "Cass, I don't have enough energy to train with you yet."
"Okay, I can work with that," Cassian jumped with a bright smile, "What about a walk around Velaris?"
"A walk doesn't count as training."
"We're easing you into it!"
Nixie stared at him for a long time, her expression flat and unreadable. Guilt crept in as she stared at his hopeful eyes shining with worry. Worry about his friend, the girl he trained with, laughed with, danced with, she was but a ghost of that now.
And he only wished to help her recover.
"Only if we can make a trip to the Palace of Bone and Salt."
Cassian agreed instantly.
The two walked almost aimlessly through cobbled streets, mingling lightly with passersby who happily greeted Nixie and praised her return.
"Are you okay?"
"I was so sure our people would be angry at my return."
Cassian furrowed his brows instantly, turning to face the woman.
"Why would they be?"
"Because I failed them," Nixie said softly, "I didn't protect our High Lord. I did nothing to take Her down."
A heavy arm rested on her shoulders, urging her towards one of her favorite pastry shops in all of Velaris.
"All anyone cares about is that you and Rhys are back, alive."
As the shop owner greeted Nixie in a flourish, insisting she take a bag of pastries at no charge, Nixie couldn't help but believe Cassian's words, just a little bit.
The two made their rounds, and when Cassian noticed Nixie's exhaustion set in, they found a quiet spot to sit and share these sweets.
"What was it like all this time?"
Cassian shifted, picking apart the baked good.
"Velaris remained safe. No one in or out. Our people carried on, because there was no other option."
