A Court of Three Stars

32: Fear Itself

House of Song, Velaris, Prythian

Leur

A particularly loud crack of thunder outside almost made me jump, my body steeling against the weight of the rain from a summer thunderstorm pelting against the windows.

Even after all this time, even after being able to summon it myself, I still despised thunderstorms.

I pulled strength from Azriel's hand on my thigh, the soft glow of those blue siphons, power and shadow buzzing against my skin. He said nothing about my fear, knew that I didn't particularly want him to, knew that the matters at hand were too important to disrupt. Entrenched in a conversation about Amaris with Rhys, listening to input from the rest of the family about his truths.

But on my other side, Cassian had taken notice.

"Liyana and Amaris are like an existential guessing game with no prizes," Azriel muttered, his thumb tracing soothing circles over my leathers, "They speak only in prophecies and riddles."

"I'm still having a hard time believing that these people? Fae? Gods? Whatever the hell they are- that they're real." Rhys sighed.

"They came for Nyx's birth." Nesta added, "They were behind me when I plucked the Harp's strings."

Cassian, my ever doting big brother, moved away from his mate. He pulled my chair over against his, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. He said nothing about why he was doing it, about the thunderstorm raging outside, only held me in the same massive arms that had comforted me as a child.

Azriel's head snapped toward us at my sudden absence, his scowl dark enough to rival the storm. "What are you doing?"

Cassian smirked. "Holding my sister. You got a problem?"

"She's my mate." Azriel's tone dropped an octave, dangerously calm.

He'd been particularly clingy after our meeting with Helion. He hadn't said a word about it, but I knew the reminder of another male, of a time when I was not solely his, had bothered him enough that now- seeing Cassian pull me away from him- his eye was twitching.

Cassian didn't even flinch. "Yeah, and you've been glued to her since breakfast. You're on timeout."

Azriel's jaw tightened, his shadows swirling angrily. "Timeout?"

Cassian grinned wickedly. "You defiled her in front of a rooftop of priestesses this morning. That's a hard limit, shadowsinger."

Nesta, unfazed, muttered from the other side of her mate, "Will you two shut up?"

Azriel leaned forward, his calm veneer cracking. "I have no 'limit.'"

Cassian snorted, unbothered. "Oh, you do. It's exactly how long I can watch you paw at my baby sister before I punch you in the face."

I groaned, tilting my head back against Cassian's chest and propping my feet up on Az's lap, "Both of you, stop. There's enough of me to go around.

Cassian chuckled, tugging me tighter, while Azriel looked like he was debating murder—or perhaps just stealing me back.

"When Flynn, Dec, and I were little, we used to fight over who got to sit with Leur," Ruhn said, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes.

I groaned, burying my face in Cassian's shoulder. "Don't remind me. You three were insufferable. Little fists balled up, screaming matches—every damn time we sat down anywhere."

Ruhn's chuckle was warm, full of fondness. "Dec gave me a black eye once over it."

I perked up, looking over at Rhys with an exaggerated grimace. "Remember that absurdly complicated seating chart Mom had to come up with? I had to implement a full-blown system just to stop the daily brawls."