Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 59: The Time Stolen

Estelle woke knowing deep in her bones that something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. And it wasn't just that she couldn't move. 

With tremendous effort, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a familiar, if strange sight. 

"Oh, good," Danica told her, her luminous gold eyes unnaturally close to Estelle's. "You're awake. We were getting worried." 

"Worried is an understatement, actually," Estelle turned her head to see a woman sitting beside her. She looked vaguely familiar, but Estelle couldn't place where she knew her from. Suddenly, it all came rushing back. Nyx. Marzanna. Aelin--

"Nyx!?" Estelle forced out, struggling to sit up despite the pounding in her head. "He--" 

"He's fine, dear," The woman reassured her. She reached out a hand and pushed Danica back, then placed that hand on Estelle's shoulder. "He's safe." 

"No, but Marzanna--" Estelle tried again. The woman's lips pulled up in a slight, sad smile. 

"I don't know how else to tell you this, Estelle, but that wasn't Nyx. That was Lady Lysandra Ennar Ashryver." 

"It was insane, Stelly!" Danica burst out, bouncing on her heels slightly. "I've seen Lysandra shape-shift before, but watching her do it with Nyx right in front of her was a very surreal experience." 

Estelle blinked, trying to process everything. She put out a hand to steady herself and nearly jumped at feeling soft sheets. She glanced down, realizing she was on a cot. Looking up, she could see she was in the castle healing room. "What--?" 

The woman's storm-blue eyes crinkled, and she leaned forward to place a hand on Estelle's forehead. Estelle felt a warm sensation cover her skin. Magic. "Whatever spell Marzanna cast must have really done a number on you. You're quite pale. Do you feel alright?" 

"I'm fine," Estelle snapped, batting her away. "I don't need help, I need answers! What happened? Where's Nyx? Is Lysandra okay? Where--" 

"Alright, slow down, Stelly," Danica said, lifting placating hands. "First off, Nyx is fine. I promise. He just left with your father to take your mother to Yrene." 

"My mother--?!"

"Oh, yes, Aelin's back. She's a bit banged up, but alright." 

"She what?!" 

"ALRIGHT, DANICA," The woman said loudly, standing abruptly and grabbing Danica by the arm. "I'll handle this. You go fetch my son." 

As the woman pushed Danica out of the room, Danica complaining all the way, her words hit Estelle more fully. My son. 

Oh. Oh. 

Now she knew why she looked familiar. 

Feyre Archeron turned back once Danica was gone, her starry blue eyes, the exact match to her son's, pinned to Estelle. She looked uncannily like the painting that hung in Aelin's room. She looked eerily like her son. 

She looked exactly how Estelle had always pictured the High Lady of Night. 

"I'm going to explain what happened," Feyre said, coming back to sit on Estelle's cot again. "And you can feel free to interrupt me, but I think it'd be easier if I got it all out in one go, alright?" 

Estelle sucked in a breath, her mind in a tailspin. She suddenly very badly wished Nyx were here. Then, thinking it over, she reconsidered. She wasn't just meeting her mother's dear friend, the way she'd always dreamed. She was meeting her... Nyx's mother. If Nyx had been there, Estelle got the feeling she'd have made the whole situation more awkward than it needed to be.