A Court of Smoke and Shadows (An ACOTAR sequel fanfic)

Chapter 1 - Fight or Flight

She fell down, down, down.

A growl ripped from her throat as the warm air buffeted her slender body. Her violet eyes glimmering with rage as she glared at the retreating figure on the roof. Onyx hair whipped by the swirling wind of her descent sliced across her tanned face as she twisted, the muscles in her back straining as she tried and tried again to fan out those wings.

Frustration rippled through Rhiannon as she tumbled from the roof of the House of Wind, her Illyrian wings struggling to break her fall. Gnashing her sharp teeth, she tried again, all the while swearing at her cursed older brother.

A loud snap and her black membranous wings finally opened, catching the warm air that rose from the city of Velaris with a force so hard it knocked the breath from her lungs. Rhiannon was lucky it worked for she was 4 storeys away from becoming no more than a splatter on the pavement. What an end that would be for the second offspring of the Lord and Lady of Night.

With sweat streaming steadily from her brow, Rhiannon grunted as she willed her wings to flap and carry her back up to the House so that her brother could experience being thrown from the side of the towering structure. She willed all of her anger into powering her cumbersome wings. Cassian would be proud she was still airborne. This was the longest by far, so maybe her brother had done her a favour. She would pay tomorrow morning though when the spasms would seize up her back and legs from overdoing it.

Gradually, the roof of the house came into view and there, lounging on a chaise with his own wings spread wide under the afternoon sun was her arrogant brother Gabriel.

Rhiannon threw out her arms even though she knew it would do little to stabilise her as she began her wobbling descent. The ground was coming up too fast and she panicked, arms and legs flailing.

"Backflap." Gabriel warned, as she hit the ground running and promptly slammed into a wall.

She swore, stars bursting in her eyes as she tucked in her wings. Her fingers twitched with the desire to yank the small blade she always carried at her thigh to jam it into his arrogantly displayed wings.

"Practice makes perfect." Gabriel intoned from his seat, his gaze nothing more than slits as he cast a cursory glance at his younger sibling.

"I doubt Cassian deems throwing me off the roof practice." Rhiannon hissed as she stomped over to him, shoulder rolling as she retracted her wings until she looked like any other High Fae. She was more likely to trip over them than fly with them if she kept them out.

Gabriel only smirked, "Sometimes you just need a little extra push." and received a vulgar gesture in reply.

"Mother help whoever is your mate." he mocked. Rhiannon rolled her eyes as she retreated to the cool interior of the house to escape his teasing. He was insufferable sometimes.

Plush carpet sank beneath her booted feet as she made her way to a changing room, in desperate need of a wash and change of clothes. She always kept spares up here. The Illyrian leathers despite being soft were starting to chafe, uncomfortable after hours of combat training this morning prior to her being thrown from the roof.

Rhiannon sighed as she ran her slender fingers through the tangled strands of her dark hair. Although she had managed to stop her plummet and fly back to the house, she was nowhere close in ability to her brother who had mastered flying as swiftly as a bird taking to the sky. In all fairness, Gabriel's wings had manifested almost as soon as he was born whereas Rhiannon had to grow them each time she wanted to use them. The power of transformation her mother had passed on was handy, but it drained a substantial amount of energy from her and still required intense concentration to maintain.

Rhiannon clucked at herself to stop her running thoughts. Flight would happen soon enough with more practice. At least she had her innate talent for swordmastery to brag over Gabriel. He had yet to beat her in their frequent duels. There was no describing that feeling of rightness that sang in her veins when she held her two blades at her sides.

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Thank you for reading!
What do you think? Are the son and daughter of Feysand all you hoped they would be?
If you like this chapter please vote and keep on reading to find out just how well Gabriel flies and Rhiannon's knife skills :D
We may also see some of our beloved ACOTAR characters coming up!
I would also love to hear what you guys think so please comment!
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