A Court of Wings and Fate

14. Forcing Circumstances

    "All right."

    Mikael fell in step with Nyx as they headed towards the hut. Devlon tipped his head to them when they passed. They both returned the gesture. Mikael kept his gaze lowered though, recalling the stories he'd heard about this Warlord. One day, he would look Devlon in the eye, but not now.

    They reached a hut and Nyx nudged the door open. Mikael took in the dreary scene, masking his dismay. The hut was small and bare. There was one fireplace surrounded by a few rickety chairs. More chairs and stools sat beside an uneven table. There was a sliver of something that might be considered a kitchen.

    Nyx continued down the hallway. There were three bedrooms with two beds in each. At the end of the hall was a tiny bathroom. Mikael tilted his head, eyeing the contraption along one wall. There was a small crater in the floor lined with tiles, and a drain in the center of it. A nozzle jutted out from the wall, along with two knobs for hot and cold water. Mikael arched an eyebrow.

    "Never seen a shower before?" Nyx chuckled. He patted the doorframe as he returned to the hallway. "Be sure to knock. There's no curtain for the shower."

    "Who all is staying here?" Mikael asked.

    "Celeste, Sienna, Calden, you, myself, and Estelle."

    "Not Lysander or Corbin?"

    Nyx shook his head. "They'll stay elsewhere, and I won't be here every time you come to Windhaven."

    "And...have rooms already been chosen?"

    Nyx grinned, giving Mikael a look that was both amused and sympathetic. "Yes. Celeste and Sienna will share. I'll share with Calden."

    "Which means...I'm sharing with Estelle."

    "That was my mom's idea. She thought that being forced to spend more time around each other would help you guys learn to get along. It worked for Cassian and Nesta, Devlon and Jorah, and many more."

    Mikael loosed an exasperated sigh and scrubbed at his face. "I'm less worried about getting along and more worried about winding up dead."

    "Estelle won't kill you in your sleep, if you're worried about that. She likes to kill someone face to face." Nyx pushed one of the bedroom doors open and jerked his head towards it.

    "Has she killed someone before?" Mikael asked, his eyes widening. He hadn't even claimed a life yet. Estelle was only a few days younger than him, he knew. He entered the room.

    "Yes," Nyx replied. "Five. One with her dagger. One with her sword. One with the shadows. One with magic. One with her bare hands."

    "Who were they and why did she kill them?"

    Nyx hesitated, then said, "Ask her yourself sometime. She doesn't like us talking about it." Mikael nodded and Nyx left him alone in the room.

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    Estelle led Celeste and Sienna around the camp, letting them get a feel for their new surroundings. She'd seen Nyx and Mikael enter a hut. Shortly thereafter, Lysander led Calden to the same one.

    "What do you think?" Estelle asked as they reached the training rings.

    "It's just like I thought it'd be," Sienna replied.

    "I haven't seen anything unusually interes..." Celeste began.

    She halted abruptly, her gaze fixing on two males sparring in a training ring. Both had tanned skin and dark hair. They were shirtless, flaunting the tattoos that surrounded their wings and trailed across their shoulders. There were a variety of scars marking their skin.