A Court of Sunlight and Shadows

This is me trying

"Hey," she said, entering.

"I was here to meet up with Rhys. I'm leaving now," he continued, squaring her with a seemingly worried air.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Cassian took a step back, frowning, as if surprised that she had read the concern on his face. He smiled, but in such a fake way that it only aggravated the situation.  "Nothing to worry about".

Elain pretended to believe him, heading towards the kitchen from which Feyre's commotion and despair seemed to emanate.

"I'll see you," Cassian said behind her as he stepped out and closed the door without much delicacy.

She found Feyre with Nyx in her arms, a spoon in her hands and what looked like baby food in her hair.

"Let me help you," she said, reaching over and taking the little one, his wings rubbing against her arms.

Feyre sighed with relief, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Thank you."

She began pacing back and forth across the kitchen, slowly cradling her nephew. The movement, she had discovered, calmed him. It calmed all children apparently, human or otherwise.

"He adores you," her sister said, watching her. Then she let go, slumping against the backrest. "You're always welcome here, Elain. You might even move in."

She laughed. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"About what?"

"I was thinking of getting a place of my own," she explained, not looking at her sister's face.

"Are you not getting on well in the house?"

"No. It's not that," she hastened to answer. "On the contrary. I love my room, and the garden, and Nuala and Cerridwen, but... I think I would like a place of my own. I would still visit the house and tend the garden, the kitchen and everything else, of course."

"You don't have to do that".

"I know, but I want to. I just think I should have my own place to sleep."

"Alright," her sister nodded. "Yes, you're right. I can talk to Rhys about it, I'm sure he'll find a place to buy."

"Use the money in my account," she hastened to say. "Or, I mean, just advise me who to talk to. I will find a place with the money I have. Rhys pours in my account more than I could ever spend just to tend the garden."

"You do a good job" Feyre merely replied, but from the look in her eyes she knew they had the same problem, the same difficulty in getting used to having all that money at their disposal after a lifetime of begging for every penny.

She spent the rest of the morning at her sister's, continuing to cradle a sleepy Nyx in her arms until he woke up. Heaven only knew how much Rhys and Feyre needed a break.

When Nesta joined them in the afternoon, the two sisters took the little one into the garden until sunset, giving Rhys and Feyre some time alone.

The orange light of the sun setting behind the mountains had just begun to illuminate the horizon when four pairs of wings flew over the property and landed a few meters from them. She suddenly stiffened, earning an intrigued look from her sister. An eyebrow raised questioningly on her white face.

After only that brief moment of hesitation, however, Nesta put aside her curiosity, sprinting to her feet and heading towards Cassian.

She remained there, with Nyx in her arms playing with her hair. Azriel did not approach, merely observing from behind Cassian's back. The only greeting he gave her was a small nod of his head.