Starlight

2

"Poor little Celesta." She says, walking closer to me, that bloodstained silver blade in her hand. The jewels on its handle glisten in the only candle that lights the room, my mother's jewels. "No one to save her down her. Not her precious mate, not even her High Lord can find her."

She bends down to where I lay, naked and shaking as dirt cakes my skin. The flat end of the blade drags against my chin and forces me to look at her.

"That beast within her, stolen away." She says, not allowing me to look away from her eyes. She drags the tip of the knife down my cheek, searing pain ripping against my skin. That's when I see him move, likely a High Fae who had done her bidding, shift in the shadows behind her. She steps back and looks to him. "Take your time with her, use what you must to make her obey you. Break her bones, for all I care, but leave her life to me." She walks from the room as the terror begins.

...

My eyes snap open as the horror ends, Vossan lays beside me with his arms draped around my body. His chest rises and falls in even breaths, his gentle face engulfed in sleep. I take in his beauty, one I'd fought beside Rhys so hard to keep hidden as we suffered Under the Mountain. Careful not to wake him, I unwrap myself from his hold, he slightly stirs but does not wake.

I slip the nightgown back over my naked skin and make my way to the balcony, leaning against its railing. I close my eyes as the breeze blows against me, drying the cold sweat of a nightmare from my skin. With deep breaths, I remind myself that the horror is over, that she is gone, that I am home. So silent that I don't hear him, Vossan wraps his arms around me and places his hands on the balcony, I move my own to cover them as he rests a head on my shoulder and kisses my cheek.

"New, or old?" He asks, I do not open my eyes.

"New." I tell him and allow him to move past my mental shield and into my mind. I feel his grip on the balcony tighten, dust falling as his fingers dent the the stone. He finally opens his eyes and meets my pain ridden ones. A tear slips down my face as I close my eyes once more, he kisses it away before it reaches my jaw.

"In the morning I will find him and rip his throat from his body." A promise as he wraps his arms around my waist. I fall into him, allowing his warmth to consume me. "I should have been there, protecting you." I shake my head, Cassian told me of the days Vossan spent fighting against the barrier of Velaris, despite Rhysand's order to stay and govern the city in his absence. As his primal instinct, his rage took over as he tried to get back to me.

"No. She took our power, our fates would have been the same." No matter how much I remind him of this, the guilt and shame still overcomes him. Vossan gently lifts me into his arms and carries me back to the warmth of our bed, pulling me tight against him as if to never let me go again.

...

My dress of midnight blue sweeps the ground as I make my way through our home when I spot Feyre creeping out from her bed chambers. Rhysand no where to be seen, she looks around to see the house empty, until her eyes land on me. She quickly stands up straight, attempting to muster up what strength she has left.

"Hello, Feyre." I say, the same greeting from breakfast.

"Hi." She says, short and untrusting. I smile at her without taking a step forward.

"Did you eat today?" She stares back to me, no words leave her mouth for a moment.

"I was just coming to look for you." Rhys says, appearing behind her. She flinches away from him, taking a step back towards the door. I feel a hand slip around my waist as Vossan joins me in the lounge area.

"Feyre, this is my mate, Vossan." I say, place a hand atop the one on my waist.

"I've heard so much about you, my lady." Vossan says, bowing his head and outstretching a hand.

"We were planning to head home today, Rhys." I say to my brother, he nods once to me and pushes his hands into his pockets. "Mor has news to share, I believe she intends to head here after my own home."

"Tell her I'll be awaiting her arrival then." He says, gazes shifting to Feyre, then back to me.

Don't play with her too much, Rhys. She is already broken as she is, and she will never become what you suspect she is if you make her truly hate you. He nods at my silent words.

I know. I smile at Vossan and in an instant, we disappear.

...

"They attacked a temple?" I say, leaning back into my chair. Mor sits beside me, Cassian on my other side, as Vossan stands with a hand on the back of my chair. Azriel takes to leaning against the wall, his face rock hard against this new development.

"And in Cesere, bold enough to cross into our borders." Vossan says, Azriel nods in agreement as the two spymasters meet eyes.

"What could they possibly be looking for?" Cassian asks, Mor shrugs.

"I suspect it's rogue Illyrian clans." Mor says, her nail tapping against the wood of my dining table.

"Or worse." I say, she meets my eyes. "Hybern." Azriel shakes his head.

"He would not be so bold." He says, pushing himself off the wall. "But we will investigate."

"I'll meet with Rhys, see what he thinks." Mor says, I nod once and she disappears. Vossan moves toward Azriel and I hone in on their conversation.

"I need your helping locating a High Fae." Vossan says, I watch his eyes shift as he reaches into Azriel's mind. I can only assume he shows him a flash of the man's face from my dream and, from the look of rage that enters Azriel's eyes, a brief explanation. Azriel nods once and they both disappear into smoke.

...

I appear back into the mountain home, intent to only stay for a few hours, as the darkness of the night sky seeps in through the windows. Feyre sits in a chair beside one of the open windows, eyes lit by the starlight outside. She glances at me as I move to sit in the seat across from her.

"Beautiful, isn't it? There's nothing quite like the stars of the Night Court." I say, she nods in agreement. Silence falls between us as I feel the thought building within her.

"I'm sorry, about what I said at breakfast. I should not have assumed." She says, barely able to meet my eyes. That fierce girl that fought Under the Mountain is lost within her eyes. I offer her a small smile and nod.

"It's alright, Feyre." She looks at me again, curiosity lights her eyes this time.

"What's your power? You seem different from him." I smile at her.

"Perhaps next time you come to visit, I will show you."