A Court of Thunder and Mighty

Chapter 12

Zayn Archeron

"PARA BAILAR LA BAMBA. PARA BAILAR LA BAMBA SE NECESITA UNA POCA DE GRACIA" Cassian yelled, singing loudly. He had his arm around Azriel, making the whole car move, since Azriel was still driving.

"Please, god help me" Az said quietly. Miles and I were crying with the sound of despair from my uncle. It was very funny. Very. Funny.

"Oh come on Azriel, you like to sing. You should be singing with me. Right boys?" He turned to us with a huge smile.

"Yes, please uncle. Sing for us!" I said ironically, laughing.

"No," He said, looking at the road with a smile.

"Dad" Miles was begging at this point. "Please"

There was a moment where no one sang, and then.

"Una poca de gracia pa mí, pa ti, arriba y arriba."  Azriel sang better than my father, and my dad screamed.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Azriel said, slowing down the car.

"YOU SANG" Cassian's mouth dropped. "Az, you know the word to this song. You pay attention to me" He was jumping in his seat.

"Cassian, you literally played this song eight times on this trip. How am I supposed to not know this song?" Az said and Miles yelled laughing. I could see that he was crying, ANd honestly it was really funny seeing my dad's sad expression. It was like his favorite toy was crushed by trolls.

"Oh Az... you break my heart talking to me like this" My dad said.

"Oh shut up for the love of God, Cassian" Uncle Az said begging.

I looked outside and all I could see was the houses that were near the beach. Birds were flying high, and there were animals that I've never seen before. We were finally at the Summer Court.

"Finally" Miles said, laughing while looking out the window. It was so strange, me and my cousins stayed so long in the Ilirian Mountains, that summer was something very distant from our minds. It was not like the night court, the mountains were smaller, but the view still was amazing.

"Boys, if I'm not mistaken we should be there in five minutes, so start packing up our things that are in the car. Don't forget to take your jackets with you, I know we are in the summer court, but you never know" Azriel said. He was being a dad, it was obvious that we would never need these jackets, but I just got mine and stuffed it inside my backpack.

The last minutes of the car ride were chaotic, my dad was screaming to some song I've never heard in my life, uncle Az was trying to turn off the radio, Miles was desperate because he couldn't find his wallet, and me... well I was laughing.

Azriel parked the car in front of the school and I was the first one to get out of the car. My ass was hurting me like hell.

I looked at the school amazed. It was huge. I've never expected to be this big. It was like the medieval museum we had in the Night Court. White the white walls are so important that would make Keir, Lord and commandant of the Hewn City scream like a defenseless bunny.

I could see through the windows the biggest library that I've ever seen. Way bigger than the library of the night court.

But the library was not the thing I cared about. Holding the big building, there were eight columns. They were shaped to represent the leaders that ruled the world. The first one stood tall and had fiery hair embodying the warmth and radiance of his court. The men right next to him had an ethereal beauty and an aura of serenity with his hair flowing in the wind calmly.

The third column, the man was ruthless. He had short hair and a cold, calculating demeanor. Looking at him was like falling in ice. Next to them there was a man with shoulder-length hair, that gave me chills in my whole spine.

There was a big gap between the last men and the four men on the other side, since it was the main entrance to the school. The fifth and sixth columns I knew damn too well.

It was a woman with long hair wearing a glorious armor with a bow in her hand. Her eyes were sculpted so well that I could feel what she was feeling. Anger. Hatred. Next to her there was a man with wings and a commanding look that I have seen only one time. He wore festive clothes, ones that I have never seen before. But it wasn't to make him look weak. No. For some reason it made him look like a demon, grinning down at the Faes that walked underneath him.

The seventh column was depicted as pale and icily handsome, reflecting the frosty nature of his realm. And the last one, well, he was the opponent, but when the others had ice in their poses, he had light. Through the sculpture of the Fae I could feel his radiant presence, picturing the  brilliance and strength of his court.

They were the High Lord of Prythian. Each one of them had their column representing their people, their lands. Day. Dawn. Autumn. Spring. Night. Winter. Summer. They all looked beyond my reach to the world that was destroyed long before I was born. Before any of my classmates were born. I looked at my uncle and the only thing I saw was Nyx, standing next to him. As graceful as Rhysand looked like in that sculptor.

I looked at my family to see if any of them were talking to me. But none of them dared to say a word. They were looking at the same place as I was before. At Rhysand and Feyre, we all looked so small near them.

"I've never thought Rhys would be recognized" My dad spoke after a little while. "Even when we were kids, I never imagined... we would be able to see it happening while we were still alive. After all that happened, all the names people called him, the slurs. All of the cruelty, hatred. I thought... well I thought..."

"I know," My uncle Azriel said quietly. "During those 50 years I kept wondering if history would remember his name. I would kept screaming his name to every man, woman and children that entered in my path till the moment I died"

Miles looked at me and when both exchanged looks. We/ve never seen our parents like that, so fragile. I guess looking at the sculptor of my uncle they finally understood that people knew what they did for them.

I guess they saw themselves in Rhysand. The kids that had to grow out so damn fast. I had nothing to say.

My dad was so lost in his thoughts that when I hugged him we got scared.

"Zayn, I will promise to tell you every single thing that happened one day. And when day comes there will be nothing I will hide from you. Nothing." My dad said.

The Archeron family tried not to talk about what happened during the war with Hybern, obviously we knew what happened, but our parents never wanted to tell us what they suffered in that war. I think I've only heard stories of the people who fought with our family. They kept saying that they were going to tell us when we were old enough, but they never did.

Perhaps they thought that time would heal their deepest wounds. But it didn't. It only covered them for a while.

They seemed to snap back when they saw Rhysand and his family walking to us with their logged in hands. They all looked at the columns. They say what people thought about the night court, and Rhysand smiled. Strangely Stella was not with them.

"Where is Stella?" I asked worried looking for her,

"She had a nightmare, it was very bad, I left her in her room, I need to go put her things with her" Feyre said sad looking at me. As if she wanted to say something more.

"So, are you guys ready to see your rooms?" He said looking at his mate with love. Aunt Feyre was not paying attention to what was happening in her surroundings. She was looking at herself, and Rhysand.

"Did you know?" Feyre asked "Did you know they built that?"

"No" He said and his smile faded away. Rhysand looked at his brothers and they exchanged looks. "It finally happened"

"Yes" My aunt replied, smiling a little, my dad and uncle Az following her.

What finally happened?

I was going to ask my uncle, but then I saw my dads face, his smile and I held my tongue. My curiosity could wait a little longer.