A Court of Rising Starlight

Chapter VII

"So, how did you find out? What grand mistake of my brother's brought the bond to surface for you?" Nicole asks me the next day.

"Not something you want to ask me. It would just be weird." I take a sip of my drink. "I'm serious."

"My brother may be an idiot, but he is smart." I raise an eyebrow. "Look-"

"Nicole, mind your own business," Derek growls out.

"Can't someone have a little curiosity? It can't be that ba-Oh," she says, finally connecting the dots. "Well then. I didn't think it would be something like that." She glares at him. "How stupid are you?!"

"Or was I just too much too resist?" I tease him, wanting to see how he would react the question.

"Maybe." I flush. "You asked."

"It was a rhetorical question, genius."

I brush my hair around to one side of my neck. He continues to watch me. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You didn't answer my question. Last night. You didn't give me an answer." Nicole makes a false excuse to slip out of the room quite awkwardly. "So?"

"I would like to just forget that happened, honestly."

He huffs. "Look. I am not trying to force anything on you, but you are going to be living with us. How awkward is it going to be with my family knowing about the fact we are mates if we aren't together?"

I turn around, not wanting to have to look at him anymore. "One chance, Derek. Prove that all the hate has been a lie and never tell me another."

I face him again. He walks up to me, gripping my hips roughly. His lips brush over mine. "I will."

Before we can go any further, the stairs creak, making Derek pull away. "Sorry if I was interrupting," Nicole says. "Could you not make out in the kitchen?"

"Whatever," he grumbles. "I need to go see Logan anyways."

My phone rings. I look down at it. It was my mother. Shit. They were coming home today. Hesitantly, I swipe the screen to answer. "Hey. What's up?"

"Where are you and Natalie? You said you were going to stay home while we were gone. Your car is here and you aren't. Why?"

I step outside. "There was a bit of a complication. You remember the name Kier? He attacked the court?"

"That's why we took you in."

"He is alive and came to the house while you were away. I've been staying with...a friend."

"Natalie?"

"Have I ever left her alone? She is safe with me." Nicole glares at me for the lie. "But, I can't come home and she really misses you. Do you think that I could just drop her off and come back here?"

"Acacia..." I could tell she was uneasy about the situation. "Do we know who you're staying with?"

I look to Nicole and she nods. "Tell her it's Azriel and Morrigan. They will know who they are."

I repeat the information to her. The line was silent, worrying me. "Bring Natalie home. You'll be safe with them."

"I know." I smile at Nicole. "They're my family."

-----

Derek POV:

I got home about two hours after I left the house. The moment I unlocked the door I knew Acacia was gone. My sister must have seen the panic in my expression because she was quick to start explaining her absence.

"Calm down. He hasn't been anywhere near the house. Acacia got a call from her adoptive mother and left to take Natalie home about ten minutes ago."

I nod stiffly. "It's better to keep her out of this."

Thirty minutes later Acacia walks back into the house calmly. I look over, seeing tear streaks on her face. She walks straight upstairs, ignoring my sister and me. I look to Nicole and she jerks her head towards the stairs. I walk up, knocking on the door to Acacia's room.

"Can I come in?"

She opens the door, eyes now dry. I step in before closing the door. "I feel like something bad is gonna happen. That I won't get to see her again. I hate that feeling."

"You worry too much. You need to calm down. Stop stressing yourself like this." I brush her dark hair back, forcing her chin up so she would meet my eyes. "I hate seeing you upset. You know that? I hated being the one who upset you all the time. I love seeing you smile. I wished I could make you do it more often."

She steps even closer, wrapping her arms around my torso. Her head only came to my shoulder. For some reason the height difference was amusing to me. I lean down, kissing her hair as she buries her face in my chest. I push her back towards the bed and sit down, pulling her over to sit in my lap. I gently kiss her, feeling her arms snake around my neck.

I hold her hips lightly. She pulls away. "Will we always end up here when I get upset about something? That's what it's starting to look like."

I chuckle. "Maybe you're just too hard to resist," I say, mocking her earlier comment.

"You're hilarious, you know that?"

-----

Acacia POV:

I wake that night startled. The nightmares of the court attack had never fully vanished. I still had them a couple times a week. It was better than the every night occurance they used to be. Seeing Kieran and the unnamed followers there to kill everyone over and over was torturous as a child. At least I didnt wake up screaming anymore.

I slide out of my pajamas and into yoga pants and a shirt accommadable for flying, tying my running shoes quickly. I silently open the bedroom window, my Illyrian wings coming out from behind me. I tuck them in close to allow myself room to squeeze through the opening. I jump, barely making descent before my wings snap out, catching harsh wind that lifts me high over the house. I smile as I soar upwards, then further up.

The sky had always been a better place than the ground for me. I could have a clear mind while I was flying. Burdens were lifted. Cast away if only for a few hours. The wind around me calms, now only a breeze. A few hours of flight relieves me. So a few hours later I slip back into the house, as silent as a shadow itself.