A Court of Tears and Starlight

You set fire to my bed

FEYRE

Ugh. I hurt everywhere and I felt exhausted. I flushed remembering what Rhysand had done to me before he left and scowled knowing he was right. I wasn't fit for anything at this present moment. Yet I felt a thousand times better than I had when I awoke yesterday. I had a feeling that my body was recovering more quickly than he was willing to give it credit for. I forced myself to get up out of the ridiculously comfortable bed and to deliberately stretch my legs and do laps around the room. I ran through a series of stretches that Lucien had taught me in preparation for throwing daggers.

My body screamed in protest with each move, but eventually the pain eased with the movement and with the increased blood flow to my muscles. I tentatively lowered myself onto the floor in a cross legged position and took a few slow calm breaths. I let myself drift into the trance like state of a hunter and focused on the steady in and out of my breathing. In this position I was finally prepared to remember.

I closed my eyes and went back through the disjointed memories from the past few days.

The amulet. It was gone. Gone when I woke up and I had not remembered to ask Rhysand about it.

I knew now that it was the amulet that had called me forth to that sacred place of light and crystal. Some how a part of that place was still within me. I couldn't explain it, but it felt as though there was a deep well of dormant power that now lay within me.

I frowned as I reached curiously within myself and drew forth that well.

Heat and energy surged through me. I let it, knowing that it was a part of me and that if I fought it I would tear myself apart. I felt as though I was full to the brim and about to burst at my seams. And then I did. I felt the fire and the agony as a burst of blinding light shot forth and I ... shifted.

I looked down in shock at the shimmering rose gold gloves that lined my arms. I felt the powerful wings, cramped behind my back and stretched them out of instinct. I could feel the strength and precision in them. I grinned at this powerful body that was now mine to wield. The heightened senses of hearing and vision and smell were incredible. I took in a deep whiff of the air and was staggered by the complexity of the smells and flavours in this room. As I drew in again I was overcome by the sudden ticklish sensation in my nose. I tried hard to suppress the urge but it built within me until it burst forth.

"Ahh-Choo!"

A dense ball of blue flame shot forth from my mouth and set Rhysand's bed on fire.

No no no no no... I began to panic as I looked around for something to douse the flames. As my panic spread, my wings began to flap, causing a wind that fanned the flames.

Shit.

Cauldron be damned. The whole bed was now in flames and the room was filling up with smoke.

Of course Rhysand decided to come back at that very moment. He burst through the doors and looked wide eyed with shock at his burning bed. I felt him do something with his magic and the flames were instantly out. He stormed over to the windows and pushed them open, letting in the fresh air and clearing out the smoke.

Then he turned and looked at me. He looked so mad that I thought he was going to strangle me.

His face contorted with a mixture of horror and anger and then finally he burst into shocked laughter.

"What the hell happened here?"

I didn't answer and then he seemed to notice that I was shaking violently. I fell to my knees and shifted back to my fae form, no longer able to hold the other.