Battle Scars

Dinner Feuds

Feyre was told about the bond soon after and needless to say, she hadn't stopped crying and thanking her for an hour. Eve blamed hormones when she had been arrested by Feyre' hug for half an hour. Azriel had simply stood and watched her pleading for help. Bastard, she had hissed then.

Presently, she had returned to the House of Wind, after spending half a week in Adriata with Tanvi and her friends. It was all quiet again now, unlike the streets of Velaris, or Adriata.

The sun was barely up and these days, more often than not, she would stand near the training ring and watch it come up in its array of colours. She sensed Cassian coming up; her brain now tuned with the sound of everyone here.

"Something on your mind?" he asked. "No." It was that kind of morning today. When she wondered what exactly had she let herself being sucked into. The morning after the nightmare- of the visions she had seen in the Cauldron, and about dreams of her parents and Mumbai, dreams that had turned into Cauldron-infused nightmares. Waking up with harsh breaths and tears was hardly ever a good morning.

She turned to face him, "I heard you got recruits." Cassian nodded, assessing her. "Nesta did." Eve grunted before walking to where the grass was greener. "Who are they?"

"Gwyneth, a Priestess in the library and Emerie, an Illyrian." He waited for a response but she gave none as she started her morning routine. "They have formed quite a .... Bond."

At this, she did snort. "Trouble comprehending Nesta getting a friend?" Cassian threw her a half-hearted glare, "Yes. No." She laughed then, though not as lively as he had hoped. They both focused on their own work after that, and then only her even after Nesta came.

She did not acknowledge her even as she came and stood beside her. Seconds came and went by and still, Eve would not speak. Finally giving up, Nesta said, "I am sorry." Eve raised her brow even as her eyes trained Cassian' form of fighting. "I am sorry for how I behaved. I will work towards earning your forgiveness, even though I do not deserve it. I apologize for how... how I was. Am. You are my friend and I should have treated you better, and I promise I will henceforth."

"I am not forgiving you yet."

"I know."

"Good."

And a smile ghosted Nesta's lips.

She quickly warmed up to Gwyn. It had helped that she had met her before, during those weeks after the Cauldron, seeking solace near the same bookshelves as where Gwyn would be stacking books. Emerie was a hard one to break but once the topic of books had been bought up and Eve had mentioned reading as one of her pastimes, she too had let her ice melt.

"What are you thinking?" asked Az, his shoulders let loose now that it was only the two of them in his apartment.

"Nothing," she lied. She felt him frown behind her. "Don't lie," he said, and she sighed. "Its fine. Just... thoughts. Its fine." She felt his frown deepen, his hands leaving her waist. Eve sighed. "Its just one of those days."

It was always one of those days.

****************

"Nesta has to start looking for the Trove," Amren said, swirling her wine in its glass as she sat across from Cassian at the river house's massive dining table. The monthly court dinner had turned into hours of talking around this table, and multiple bottles of wine later, as the clock ticked toward one in the morning, none of them showed any signs of moving. Only Feyre had gone to bed. Being pregnant made her unbearably sleepy, she'd groused. So tired that she needed naps throughout the day, and was asleep most nights by nine.