A Court of Stars and Memories

11. Brotherly Love

    Mitsi clung to Lysander anxiously as they flew towards the northern mountains of the Night Court. She thought she could already see the shape of buildings dotting a stony plateau, but she wasn't certain and she couldn't find her voice to ask.

    She risked a glance at Micah, who appeared just as uncomfortable as she was. She knew his discomfort stemmed more from the fact that someone was touching him, and less from the fact that they were hundreds of feet in the air.

    To distract herself from that small detail, she pondered over Mina's decision. It had surprised her that her sister wished to stay at the House of Wind, and that she'd actually asked to join in Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie's training. She hadn't thought that was something her sister would be interested in at all, and certainly not with people she didn't even know.

    At last, Lysander banked towards the ground. Mitsi held onto him tightly and didn't bother to feel embarrassed until her feet touched solid earth. She managed to hold herself upright despite her shaking legs and gazed about her surroundings. They had landed on the outskirts of the settlement she'd seen. All around her, gray dilapidated buildings blended into the rough, mountainous terrain.

    Winged Fae with rounded ears paused to stare at them before continuing on their way. Most of them were headed to a large expanse of training rings set up around the edges of the camp. Mitsi spied several warriors already sparring within them.

    Novices participated in drills outside of the rings, while children ran wild, playing with one another. And besides the Illyrians, there were Peregryns. Mitsi gazed at one's beautiful feathered wings as they walked past. She heard Corbin talking, but barely listened. Her senses were wholly occupied by the scenes around her.

    Finally, she managed to shift her focus to Corbin, and found him explaining the many different Illyrian warcamps. "This camp is run by the Warlord Devlon, and his mate Jorah. Each camp has a different Warlord of course, but you only need to worry about them, since you probably won't see any other warcamp besides Windhaven."

    "Why are there Peregryns here?" Micah asked. The same question had been on Mitsi's mind and she waited eagerly for the answer.

    "Rhys and Thesan decided several years ago that it would be good for Peregryns and Illyrians to learn to work together, in case there's ever another great war," Lysander explained.

    "Training together and sharing knowledge will help the Peregryns and Illyrians fight together efficiently. They planned out this Exchange program and it's been running ever since. Corbin and I oversee the Peregryns and Illyrians here, while Thesan's son Mikael, and one of the Peregryn Captains, Calden, take care of the Peregryns and Illyrians in the Dawn Court."

    "Those bastards have it easy," Corbin chuckled. "They don't have to juggle several different warcamps like we do. We always have to keep track of who has or hasn't gone to the Dawn Court and how long its been since someone was last exchanged, for every single camp, besides keeping up with the training here and looking after the visiting Peregryns."

    "That sounds confusing," Mitsi replied.

    "It is. And now we'll have to keep an eye on you three as well."

    "Not that we mind," Lysander quickly added.

    "Right," Corbin agreed. "So, do either of you want to learn how to fight?"

    Micah sighed. "If that's all there is to do around here, I suppose so." Corbin grinned and beckoned for him to follow.

    Lysander turned to Mitsi. "Are you going to join them?"