A Court of Heritance and Destiny

Chapter 3 Amaya

"How did you two meet?" Amaya asked, holding her back straight as the food was passed around between them all. "If you don't mind me asking." She gave her brother and his boyfriend a large smile as she talked.

"Well." Nyx started, turning towards Nico. "I walked by and-"

"I was almost crushed by a rouge barrel with spices because Nyx here leaned on one trying to stay hidden." Nico cut off, giving Nyx a clear side eye as he talked.

"I slipped."

"No better." Amaya just smiled as the two talked, and she saw it, the same look she had seen between Etera and Ikarads earlier that morning in training. "Anyway, that barrel was heading towards me, and Nyx winnowed to get me out of there."

"Heroically I might add."

"We landed in the water." To that Ikarad burst out laughing.

"Truly a spectacular first meeting!" He said, laughing even harder as Nyx ears became red.

"What were you doing there hiding anyway?" Amaya asked instead, "Standing behind spice barrels is not a normal day task in this court, what I know of?" She lifted a brow as everyone around the table turned to her brother.

"I was..." Nyx started looking around in a mild panic. "Inspecting..."

"Someone has been around the docks for months at that point." Nico said, "but we can go with inspecting."

"So what do you do in the harbour?" Amaya turned her head towards her mother who now spoke, somehow looking unfazed by the chaotic story. "I can guess that you don't secure cargo?"

"No, I am mostly handling the numbers part." Nico answers, and to that Nyx's eyes sparked to life.

"Nico here knows his numbers!" He said, and the admiration was clear as day, "Figuring out tax payments, prices, shares to the workers."

"Now we are over selling it." Now it was Nico whose cheeks started to turn darker. "But yes, I am good with numbers." Amaya nodded, leaning back in her chair.

"So you decided to continue seeing someone who almost got you killed and then winnowed you into the water?" Gwyn asked, "That is..."

"Not so uncommon in this house." Feyre added, earning a new round of laughter. But not as warm as before. Amaya looked between the couples around the table. All mates, all had found one another in crisis. Maybe Nyx and Nicos story was one of the least painful ones among them?

"So I have heard." Nico responded, and for a moment all conversation died down as everyone started to eat their food.

Amaya could not help herself when she looked around, seeing what everyone was doing. Most had a bit of an awkward and stiff smile on after being reminded of memories from so long ago. Maybe the earlier remarks about not being able to talk about things outside of work were true? That anything vaguely considered normal was so far away from what everyone here experienced.

"How long ago was it?" It was Emerie who broke the silence, "The first time you meet?"

"Oh..." Nico frowned for a moment, looking over to Nyx. "Seventy years ago?"

"Sixty seven, five months, tre weeks and five days." Nyx responded, "But most of that..." He stopped himself from saying anything else.

"My family threw me out the day I came out to them." Nico filled in, "I could wait, no one should be forced or pressured to do something they are not ready for." Amaya looked on as Nico took Nyx's hand. "It was fun to have a secret at times." Etera stirred in her seat, looking over, the green eyes and vertical pupils almost uncannily alert.