NESTA & CASSIAN

Their Souls Remained the Same

Cassian shot up in his bed. His back barked in pain, he hissed through his teeth and shook his head to get rid of the thoughts, the memories, the pain, the blood. So much blood had pooled on the floor around him. In that moment in Hybern, even though his injured wings hurt so much he was barely conscious the only thing he could think about was the blood.

He seemed to have forgotten how sticky blood was and in those moments of desperation and fear and uncertainty it was the only thing he could think about.

Well and her.

Nesta.

His blood roared at the image of her in his mind. Cassian still remembered her scent, the way her blood rushed beneath her weak human skin. He clung to those memories because lately every other memory he had seemed to bring him pain. So he clung to the memory of Nesta, the Nesta she once had been. The Nesta he bickered with at her family's dinner table. The Nesta that gave him vulgar gestures when he grinned at her the way he knew would make her see red. The Nesta he would fight for. The Nesta he would kill for.

He had promised as much, Cassian voted to defend her when war came but war had come to quickly and when his Nesta needed protection Cassian found himself lying in a pool of his own blood, his wings shattered, his friend stabbed, his Lord and High Lady undefended.
Then Nesta was pushed into the Cauldron and when she came out-
Cassian cursed. He cursed at Hybern, at the King, at Tamlin. His curses in the dead of night were promises of blood and death for those who hurt her. Hurt his family.

Another curse was ready to leave his mouth when he heard the crash. Cassian's head whipped to were the sound of the loud crash came from.
What in the hell is that, he thought as he sat up. His back and his wings barked in protest at his movement and he had to grip the sheets on his bed to keep himself from groaning in pain.

Pathetic. He was pathetic.

Cassian was about to lay back in bed but the sound that reached his ears this time made him pause. Soft whimpers he realised-

Sobs.

Cassian's spine stiffened. Was someone sobbing in the hall way?

The sobs were small, surpressed as if the person who was sobbing had pursed their lips in an attempt to hold the sobs in. That person wanted to bury them deep inside their soul. His eyes widened at the thought. What if Nesta-

He shook his head. Nesta would not be sobbing in the hallway in the middle of the night.

Cassian doubted Nesta cried at all.

But then Cassian thought about the fact that Nesta shared a room with her sister, Elain. And Cassian also thought about the fact that Nesta was somewhat Elain's rock and the last thing Nesta would want is for her sister to see her cry. For anyone to see her cry. That is why she was in the hall in the middle of the night. Because no one could see her cry.

Only that Nesta didn't know, couldn't have known that Cassian would be awake at this hour because of one of his nightmares. Nesta couldn't have known that Cassian would hear her sob or would hear the loud crash.

What was that crash anyway?

Before Cassian could think of any logical explanation for the crash he found himself out of bed and walking down the hall. He gritted his teeth against the pain that exploded in his entire body with every step he took and followed the sound of the sobs.

He prepared himself for the best case scenario. The sobs weren't Nesta's which in this case Cassian would help whoever was crying in the hall.

Worst case scenario. The sobs were Nesta's in which case he would pray to the Mother to save him because he was not prepared for Nesta's sharp-knife-like words. Not with his wings still healing. If she'd say anything about his useless wings he would throttle her.