A Court of Fire and Night

Chapter 1

Lyria

"Who the fu-"

"Language Lyria!" shouted Aunt Elide.

"Sorry. Whom the fuck ate the rest of my chocolate!?"

Aunt E scowled and belatedly covered her 10-year-old daughter's ears. I laughed. "You do know that that isn't going to do a thing. Everyone here cusses, whether you like it or not."

She sighed. "I know. I just wish you'd try to spare her some of the worse profanities until she's a teenager."

Marella batted away her mom's hands. "Mooom," she wined, "Stop it. I'm trying to read."

"Sorry, sweetie. Your cousin was saying some inappropriate words."

Mare rolled her eyes and went back to reading. I snorted. "No, seriously, I need to know." 

"Why?" asked Aunt E.

"Cause. I need to go skin them alive." Just then, my mom walked in. She was licking what looked suspiciously like chocolate off her fingers. 

"There you are Lee," she said. Her turquoise and gold eyes, the ones I shared with her, glittered with amusement."I've been trying to find you. I wanted to thank you for letting me eat the rest of your chocolate." 

My mouth dropped open. "Mom! That was mine!"

"You need to learn to hide it better. It was sitting out in the open, waiting for someone to eat it."

I stalked out of the room, my silver hair swaying behind me. My younger brother Sam was running down the hallway. Theron, who was Chaol and Yrene's 20-year-old son chased him. When he saw my glare, he quickly picked Sam up and walked back the way they had come. 

I wanted to go fly. Let my wings out and forget my life for just a few minutes. I was 4 when I first found out about them. They appeared when I fell out of a tree me and Theron were climbing. Feathered and ebony black, they were twice the size of my arms stretched out. My mom thought it was a mix between the hawk form my dad could take and the human form my mom used to be able to shift into. I sighed and headed down to the training area. 

Asterin was there already. She was Dorian and Manon's daughter, a witch and a princess. The heir to Adarlan and the Witches. Her black hair was tied up and her golden eyes sized me up as I walked up to her.

"What happened to you Lee?" she asked. "It looks like someone at all your chocolate."

"That's cause someone did!"

Her mouth popped open. "Who's dumb enough to do that?"

"It was my mom."

"Oh. Well, you can't kill your own mother. Need someone to train with?"

"That's why I came down here." 

She tossed me a sword and we started sparring. "How's Lorelai?" I asked. 

"She's good. Her brother is getting married this weekend. She invited me."

"Are you going?"

"Maybe. Mom and dad already said I could go. I just don't know what to wear."

"We can head into town and look! Shopping is just as therapeutic as fighting. Let's go now!"

She sighed. "Fine." We put away our swords and headed inside. Her room was right across from mine. We both took really fast baths and met up 30 minutes later. She was wearing loose pants and a shirt. I on the other hand was wearing my assassin suit. When she saw it she rolled her eyes.

"You are obsessed with that thing. Every time we go out, you wear it."

"Of course! It's awesome!" Asterin was right. I was slightly obsessed with it. Ever since I got it for my 17th birthday 2 months ago, I wanted to wear it everywhere. "It's good to be prepared," I told her.

She shook her head. We went outside and walked down the path that led to the street. The sun was warm, but it was still a crisp spring day. I pulled my cloak around me tighter. "Come on. This is a shortcut to the really nice dress shops." I turned left. 

There were a lot of restaurants and nice taverns on this street. I came here a lot. I don't really know why. I guess I just liked seeing others happy. I wouldn't tell anyone, but I wanted someone who would make me happy. Who didn't view me just for power. 

Asterin's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Let's go into that shop. There are some pretty dresses in there." We walked in. It was a shop I frequently visited. The owner came out and kissed my cheeks. 

"Lyria! How lovely to see you again darling." Mrs. Perry was a plump older woman. She had a lot of kids and grandchildren. She was also one of the best seamstresses in Terrasen.

"Hey, Mrs. Perry. My friend here is looking for a dress. She's going to a wedding this weekend."

She turned to look at Asterin. "Hmmm. Nice figure, tall, gold to bring out your eyes." She led her to a rack of gold dresses and looked through them. "Try this on dear."

Asterin took it and went to change. A second later, she came out. The gold really did bring out her eyes. The sleeves were long and flowy and sheer. They cinched at her wrists. The bodice of the dress clung to her curves. The skirt flared out and came down to just past her knees. 

"Come here, dear." Mrs. Perry led her to a raised platform. She got out a bunch of pins and a measuring tape. 

"I'll be back," I said. "I'm just gonna go grab some food." I walked out and headed down to a tavern a few buildings down. I had almost reached the door when I heard it. It sounded like a voice, light and sweet. Comeeee hereeee. Fiiiind meeee.

I looked around. No one seemed to hear it. I stepped towards it. It laughed. Comeee hereeee. 

I started walking. Not really knowing where I was going. I just followed the voice. I eventually left the city walls. It was almost as if I was invisible. The guards didn't stop me. I opened my wings and took off. The voice led me towards the forest. I flew over the trees, my shadow dark against the treetops. I landed at the entrance to a cave against a cliff wall. The voice had stopped.

Stepping inside, I drew 2 blades. "Hello?" No response. I walked all the way in. The darkness closed around me. I quickly lit a flame in my hand. I ran my other hand along the wall. There was nothing here. Maybe I was hallucinating? Hearing things? I heard something hit the ground behind me. I turned, blades ready as I backed up against the end of the cave. 

To my surprise, I didn't hit a wall. I was too stunned to shout out as I fell backward. I landed on my back and looked up into a pair of violet eyes.

I decided to start another story. It's also a crossover of ACOTAR and TOG. Except it's their kids. My reading list is mostly made up of stories like this. I wanted to write one. Anyone else ever makes fanfics in their heads? I do. This is kind of like one I've thought up. I have more ideas for this than I do for my other story, so I might update this one quicker. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Be sure to vote and comment.

P.S. Here's Asterin's dress