All Things Wild and Beautiful

36. Storm Gods

    Nascha joined Aelin and Lysandra, as Fenrys had said. She didn't miss the look of surprise on Darrow's face. Ren and Vaughan seemed amused. Rowan, Lorcan, and Aedion all wore looks of suspicion. Lysandra and Evangeline smiled as Nascha sat down. Elide smiled too, sitting across from her.

    Servants entered and began to fill their plates with food. Voices and the clatter of silverware soon filled the air. "I told Aelin you weren't that much taller than her," Lysandra said, gesturing to Nascha's outfit. "But she swore her clothes wouldn't fit you."

    "I was wrong," Aelin answered, rolling her eyes.

    "They fit well enough," Nascha said. "Thank you for letting me borrow them." Before Aelin could reply, she turned to Lysandra's ward. "How are you, Evangeline?"

    "I'm fine," the young girl answered. "Darrow is teaching me how to ride a horse by myself."

    "Maybe when you've mastered it, you can teach me."

    Evangeline's citrine eyes widened. "You don't know how to ride? But you're so old!"

    Fenrys snorted and a small smile crossed Vaughan's lips. Nascha narrowed her eyes, studying the male. "Now look who's old," he teased, holding her gaze.

    She rolled her eyes and brought her attention back to Evangeline. "I'm only twenty-five, but no, I never learned to ride. Fenrys tried to show me, but he wasn't a very good teacher."

    "You're not a good listener," Fenrys retorted.

    Rowan, Lorcan, and Vaughan gave rough laughs. "You never could listen yourself," Vaughan pointed out.

    "I didn't listen on purpose."

    "Nascha is probably purposefully not listening to you," Aedion chuckled.

    Fenrys caught her eye. "She's picky about when she wants to listen to me. I think she suffers from selective hearing."

    "I think that must be what you're suffering from too, Fireheart." Rowan smirked at Aelin. She grunted in disgust, flinging a forkful of mashed potatoes at him. A gust of wind hurled the food into Lorcan's lap.

    "Very funny," he muttered. Elide attempted to hide her laugh, to no avail.

    Nascha smiled to herself. It had been a long time since she'd been around a group who acted this way. The Court hadn't been this at ease since she arrived. It was nice. Nascha sipped her wine and glanced out the window. Rain still poured from the sky and there were a few flashes of lightning, followed by claps of thunder.

    "Do you like storms?" Aelin asked, noticing her gaze.

    "Yes," Nascha replied, not looking at her. "I love the energy that surrounds them. You can tell if a storm will be violent or gentle just by the feel of the air. The air feels more electric when a storm is going to be bad, and staticky when the storm will be gentle."

    "Were there a lot of storms in Arcelia?"

    "During late spring and almost all summer." A smile tugged at her lips. "Van used to tell me that thunder was just the twang of Deanna's bowstring as she hunted."

    "Deanna was a bitch," Aelin said plainly. "She possessed me once. She was going to use my power to destroy Skull's Bay and Rolfe's fleet. He's the..."

    "Pirate Lord. I've heard the stories," Nascha interrupted. "But you said 'was'. Deanna was a bitch. What do you mean was?"

Aelin blinked in momentary confusion. "I suppose that part of the story never did make it beyond the ears of my Court and our allies." She dug her fork into a chunk of meat. "The gods are dead." Nascha tilted her head, waiting for the Queen to continue.