Golden Lights in a Dark Sky ✔

1. When I Saw Her

To say that she was pretty was insulting. She was drop-dead gorgeous. That dark gold hair, those deep evergreen eyes, the tiny sunshine freckles, and just everything about her made my heart race and my head spin.

Even when she was covered in blood, sweat, and tears, I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Now, I don't believe in love at first sight. There's no such thing. It's simply attractiveness or personality that draws you to a person. You can't tell when someone else is in love with you. It happens over time.

But damn, when I first saw her, my heart may have skipped a beat. Even with her broken arm, pale face, and limp body, she was beautiful.

When Orion, Leo, and Capricorn brought her to the riverside manor I was absolutely horrified and smitten when I first saw her. Orion had dried tears on his face and Leo and Cap wouldn't shut up about how he had knocked her out of the sky. I took charge, guiding them to bring her to a room. I called a healer immediately and took out one of the small vials of blood Mom kept in case of emergencies. The healer and I tended to her and I sat by her side for hours as she rested. Even when I eventually had to leave she was present in the back of my mind.

After that, I couldn't help fall slowly in love with her day after day. Watching her stare at me and blush when I noticed. I noticed she twirled her hair through her fingers when she was nervous. She always walked with a bounce in her step, her dancer body walking with such grace. Her fluid-like motions made her look as if she was floating, like the world around her couldn't touch her. A lethal grace, after we discovered she could fight like no one else.

She felt perfect for me, and I for her. Sure we weren't mates, but right now we seemed right. I've been in other relationships, none of which lasted long. But somehow I could tell that years from now you could find the two of us wandering through the Rainbow, curled up on a couch, exchanging kisses under the starlight.

So when she had to leave, without me no less, I couldn't say that it didn't hurt. Cause it did. Even though what she said made sense I wanted to be at her side. To protect her after having to leave her before. But it was for the best. Even if deep down inside I knew she would come back something still felt off.

✧ ✧ ✧

"It's been too long."

I was sitting in the parlor with my brothers. Cap and Leo sat on the floor playing cards. Orion was reading, and Kai was sitting in the window seat looking out at the river. I was sitting back on the couch, tapping my fingers on my knees nervously. Our parents and the Inner Court were out warning the other courts of this new threat. I heard that they were already preparing for a High Lord meeting. They were hoping that Ash could be there but she wasn't back yet.

Orion looked up from his book to meet my worried eyes.

"It's only been an hour," he said. "She could have been preoccupied with something. Didn't she say she had a lot of family? Maybe they crossed paths and she has to stay for a little bit."

"But she just needed to grab some books," I argued. "How could that take that long?"

"Maybe she needs to grab a lot of books," Leo suggested.

"Or her parents are giving her more tools to help defeat these Valg creatures," Cap said, backing up his twin.

"But-," I said but Kai interrupted me.

"Rae, Ash will be fine," he said. "We have other things to worry about. And from what we saw Ash is more than capable of taking care of herself."

I sighed and sunk back into the couch. Sulking was so unlike me but I was restless and worried. I glanced outside watching the last of the sun rays disappear behind the mountains. That's when I felt it.

A huge magic surge. It made me shiver and the balance of the world seemed to shift before settling again. My brothers felt it too. Cap and Leo looked up from their cards and Orion looked worriedly towards Kai. Kai was still looking out the window. But he was more silent, more disturbed than before.

"What was that?!" Orion asked.

"I don't think that's a question we can answer," Kai said. He sat up and walked towards the doors of the parlor. "I'm going to look for Mom and Dad, or Azriel. They might have answers."

Kai's wings unfurled as he opened the doors and let himself out. We remained silent as we listened to his footsteps fade away. We were all restless with worry. This new problem didn't help anyone.

The twins threw down their cards and Orion set his book down. I watched them stand up and leave the room.

"Where are you going!?" I called after them.

"Flying," the twins said. Orion shrugged.

"I just can't sit around," he said. "It's driving me insane." Then he went after the twins, leaving me behind.

"You think that this silence and restlessness isn't driving me insane," I mumbled. I stood and walked to the window. Stars were beginning to show up around the sky. The sunset was nearly over and the sky was growing darker and darker. Usually, this was my favorite time of day, watching the world transition into night. But today it felt ominous, like a bad omen. I rubbed at my eyes and stormed out of the room. Maybe I just needed a good night's sleep. Ash would be back in the morning and together we would work together to defeat this new evil. Then we could go back to normal.

Whatever normal will be after this.

A/N

I'm back! Updates will be slow at first and these first few chapters for Part 2 will be shorter. Golden Lights is definitely not finished and I still have some stuff to work out as we transition into the bigger part of the plot.

Updates for this story will probably be on Thursdays. I write more over the week instead of the weekend. This may be up to change and I might post updates on Saturday instead. I'm going to keep to this schedule for a month or so before I change anything.

Notes aside I hoped you enjoyed the update, and there will be more to come, even if they are slow at first. Glad to be back. I hope you all are staying sane in these uncertain times.

- Indigo Crescent