𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 ━━━ ✧ ⋆ （ acotar ）

✧ ˚ 𝐱𝐱𝐢𝐯. 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝

✧ ˚ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋-𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆. A residual sense of bittersweetness stung the air, for the freedom that had been gained, and all that was lost. Where there should have been happiness, hope, and liveliness, there was only that ever-building feeling of dread deep within, growing more potent with every moment that passed since Asteria's eyes opened anew, starlight rippling from the seams of her being.

And as she gazed at the body laying next to her, clutching her close as if afraid that letting go meant losing her forever, all she could feel was sadness and hurt for the innocent girl that had been taken from her, drawn so deep within that even if she did resurface, she would never be the same again.

Asteria's heart bled for her sister. Whatever innocence was left in her soul had been snuffed out by Amarantha's wicked, greedy claws. The Red Queen was a parasite that took, and took, and took until there was nothing left to be taken. In any afterlife there may be for Fae, she hoped Amarantha was suffering.

In her sleep, Feyre cried. Flooded apologies, uttered so devastatingly broken, fell from her lips in a stream of constant dreamingㅡapologies for the innocent faeries she had killed before, and for, Asteria knew, herself. It was a sacrifice, yes, but one she never should have had to make. Killing someone left one's soul shattered. Feyre had killed twoㅡand then her own sister, the very one she swore to always protect.

Asteria's eyes wavered shut, and she pulled her sister closer, fearing that if she let go, Feyre may shatter completely, and she wouldn't be able to save her from that darkness.

She hadn't seen Rhys since the moment in the throne room that she and Feyre had awakened as immortal, but the dull singing in her soul, a hearty thrum to that strange, golden thread that connected them in the Celestial Realm, told her he was still in the Mountain. Near, and yet distant all the same. The mental bond between them, grown oh-so familiar, had gone startlingly silent.

There was a low thud just outside the door, as if someone had knocked their head against the stone, capturing her attention with a glance of suspicion. Hesitantly, Asteria looked back at Feyre's sleeping face. There was no peace, as there should be for someone in slumber, only deep-set brows and trembling lips.

Her ears twitched as their newly enhanced hearing picked up on the softest of sighs, and it was only then that she slowly slipped out of Feyre's arms and crossed the room.

The last time Asteria had chosen to explore the stone passageways of the Mountain had ended in disaster, but there was an unfamiliar confidence to her gait as she glided towards the door with supernatural ease. While she may not yet have a controlled grasp on the new abilities gained as Polaria's soulbound, for her lack of a better term at present, she at least had a decent idea on how to conjure starlight at will, untamed as the blast may be. At the very least, she knew now that frenzied, panicked emotions had powerful effect on the creation of her light.