A Court Of Dreams And Weapons

Chapter 1

'Rhys? Rhys! Where did you fucking' - Oh shit. The room she just walked into was full of people. People she didn't know. 'Uh hello, have any of you seen Rhysand?' Everybody stared at her. 'How did you enter this house?' an overgrown bat asked. Another one growled. 'Through the door, why?', Asteria smiled. Nobody smiled back.
How surprising. 'Rhys is doing something important.', one of the two Illyrians said. 'I'm Azriel.'
'Nice to meet you. I'm Asteria, Rhys' sister.' The other Illyrian gaped at her. 'Rhys has a sister?', Azriel whispered. 'I didn't know that.' I raised my eyebrows at that. Well, apparently Rhys didn't care much about me.

Azriel nudged the other with his elbow. 'I'm Cassian.' Eria looked at him. Cassian was handsome, they both were. Their wings added to their beauty, but what was beneath it? 'Could you call Rhys, please? I need to talk to him. He stole my plushie.' She rolled her eyes. Typically Rhys, of course. 'Uh. Sure.' Azriel winnowed away. Well, it wasn't really winnowing, but it came close. Now she and Cassian were with two. 'So, how do you know him?', she was too curious not to ask. 'I'm his general.', the words were spoken friendly. 'Come on, there must be more of a story!' Cassian had opened his mouth, ready to speak, when Rhys winnowed in.

'Rhys! Omg. Where did you fucking-'
'Asteria?', his soft voice made her stop. He sounded so, so insecure. 'I thought you were dead.' His eyes watered. 'Well, I'm still here', she gave him a big hug. 'You can't get rid of me that easily. And you would feel it. Through our siblingbound.' A weird look from Rhys. 'What are you talking about?'
'Well, when you died -never do that again- I felt it. Like a piece of me disappeared.' Azriel and Cassian slowly went away. 'Stay, please.' I sounded kind.
Rhys suddenly let me go. Ah, he had forgotten that the other two were here.
'Cassian, Azriel, this is my sister Asteria.' Formal words. 'How did we not know of her existence?', Azriel asked. 'I wanted to keep her safe at first, and afterwards I thought she had died and didn't want to bring the trauma back up.' Asteria looked at him. 'I'm here now. When can I meet your other friends? Oh, don't forget my allowance, brother. You owe me quite a bit.' Rhys laughed deep and booming. 'I missed you.' I gave him a big smile. 'I missed you too.'

- - -

'Hey!' I smiled broadly. My green blueish dress matched my eyes perfectly. My golden hair shimmered in the last sunlight. 'I'm Asteria, Rhysand's sister.' There were five other people at the table. Rhys, Amren, surprisingly, the Illyrians and Mor. 'You know Mor already, but these are Amren, Azriel and Cassian.' Amren looked at her thoroughly. 'You look better.' Everyone looks at us surprised. 'Thank you! Long time no see, huh?'
Rhys eyes bulged. 'You know Amren?'
She gave him a look. 'Ofcourse. She was my only friend when I was 14, remember?' I got met by a blank face. 'Ammie, the one I always talked about!'
'Ammie? You described her as lovely and kind!' Rhys mind really couldn't handle this. 'Yeah.' She took a seat. Next to Azriel and Rhys, opposite of Cassian. 'I don't like the name Ammie very much.', Amren said threatening. With a smile Asteria replied: 'That's why I called you that. To tease you.' Amren grinned at her. She remembered the teasing. It always turned into a fight.
'No fighting, ladies. Not today.', Rhys sweetly interrupted. He knew us both so well.

Dinner was fun. I laughed my head off with Cassian and Mor. Azriel didn't say much, but when he did, everyone listened. Rhys just enjoyed and Amren was Amren.
'Are you staying in Velaris?', Cassian asked, somewhat hopefully. I nodded. I just needed a place to stay. 'Can I stay at yours, Rhys?' He nodded, just like I did. 'You can stay with all of us, if you don't mind. The solstice is coming up.' I totally forgot about that. Cassian chuckled at my big eyes. I still need to buy gifts! 'Amazing idea! Well, I'm gonna buy some gifts then.'
'We don't give gifts for the summer solstice, don't worry.' Rhys tried to comfort me. I also forgot about that part. I rolled my eyes. 'Ofcourse you don't.' Azriel arched one eyebrow, almost saying as I wasn't one of them. Cassian just stared at us.
His hazel eyes bore into mine. They were beautiful. He looked a bit excited and maybe overwhelmed? I also sensed love for his family. I gave him a generous smile. And he smiled back just as generously, with a twinkle in his eyes.
Eyes I was already fond of.
'Shall I fly you home?', Cassian asked, utterly formal. I had a better idea. 'I'll bring us to the house. Hold on.', a grin appeared on my face. The moment he touched my hand, we were surrounded by water. The next, we were standing completely dry and safe in the house.
Cassian looked at me in slight terror. 'What did you just do?', he asked urgently. How do I explain? 'It's like winnowing, but through water. I prefer it over winnowing self. Normally, you can only do that if there's water, but I can create water out of nothing. You know?'
Cassian nodded slightly. He was probably a bit overwhelmed. You're body becomes one with the water.
'I'll fly us home next time', Cassian winked.

- - -

First thing Asteria did was taking a long, hot shower. The bathroom was covered in steam. She wondered what she could do to make herself useful. While drying her hair, she noticed how pale she got. She really needed to go out more. Under Rhys supervision that would be better. At least, she hoped so. That it would be like before.

Ah. When she entered the dining room to have lunch, she saw Cassian and Azriel sitting ready. There went her lunch alone. She nodded at the men as a form of greeting. Not really in the mood to talk. Cassian suddenly twisted a lock of hair around his finger. I stiffened a bit. 'You're hair is wet.' It was actually damp, not that he would now. She gently pushed his hand away. He seemed to shiver under her contact. 'I'm not in the mood to talk right now.' A slight nod from both of them. She sat on the head of the table, while Azriel and Cassian sat next to her. They ate in silence.
'Does any of you want to show me Velaris? It's been a long time for me.' She barely recognized some things. The girl missed her city.

They showed me around. Asteria remembered more than she thought she would. The city was as beautiful as always. She and Cassian were chatting, while Azriel walked on the side. It seemed like he didn't fully trust me.
I'll talk to him later. Maybe we'll get along. Maybe not. She didn't really mind about that.
Something she did mind about was going to the Rainbow. In front of a cozy house covered in vines she stopped. 'Guys? I'll leave you here. I'm heading towards the Rainbow.' Cassian immediately offered to come with me. Azriel just nodded and left.
I accepted Cassian's arm. We walked towards the Rainbow, chatting about our past, mostly our past with Rhys. He told me some really funny stories, some I could tease the High Lord with. The Illyrian mentioned something about their past and I just couldn't stop laughing. Oh boy, Cassian was hilarious!
I told him that I wanted to start drawing again. It was therapeutic for me, but I didn't do it often. Cassian posed instantly and casually offered to be my model.
I laughingly refused and told him I don't draw people.
'Too bad. I would've been amazing.' He actually would've been. He's gorgeous and it would be an honor to draw him, but she didn't want to emotionally attach to people, which she always did if she drew them. After a few hours browsing and talking, Cassian flew us back.

She had forgotten how magical it felt. She put her arms around his neck and helt tight. When they were young, Rhys once let her fell as a joke. Since then, she's a bit afraid of heights, specifically of falling. She inhaled his scent. Crackling embers and sandalwood. It calmed her.
Cassian landed safely. Asteria gave him a hug as a thank you note and wanted to leave, but Cassian grabbed her wrist.
'Tonight, the family is going to eat in the house of wind, if you want to come?' She would like that. 'I'll be there.' she answered.