𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚎(𝙰𝙲𝙾𝚃𝙰𝚁)

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞-𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

song of the chapter: snow on the beach by taylor swift

"one night, a few moons ago i saw flecks of what could've been lights. but it might just have been you."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

      When we arrived at the House of Wind, we found the halls empty. My brother hugged me once more.

"We're meeting here for dinner tonight. But I suggest you stay in the town house so you don't bother the sisters," Azriel warned.

"The sisters?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. Azriel sighed, glancing around.

"Elain and Nesta--"

"What happened to Nesta?"

"They were Made by the Cauldron," he explained to me. My eyes widened. "Right after he took you."

"Are they okay?" I demanded, terror fighting against me.

"They are fine," he replied. "Well, Nesta is. Elain . . . rarely leaves her room."

"Those poor girls," I sighed. I thought it over, coming to a decision. "I will stay here." His eyes darkened.

"If this is about Nesta--"

"What makes you think that?" I demanded, becoming defensive as I crossed my arms.

"I've seen the way you look at her," he replied.

       I bit back a remark regarding the way he'd relentlessly sulked over Eve when she had been married in Autumn. He seemed to know what I was thinking, though, since he gave me an obscene gesture.

"You need to see a healer," Az decided, studying the cuts and bruises that I was covered in. "You've been through hell this month."

      Before I could reply, I heard a loud squeal followed by pattering footsteps. Mor nearly tackled me, and Azriel had to grab her so she didn't injure me further.

"I was so worried about you," she was sobbing as she clutched onto me. Cassian approached, pulling her off of me and patting her on the head.

"I'm okay," I said, faking a reassuring smile as she continued to cry.

     Cassian pulled me to him, and I squeezed him back until we pulled away. His eyes fell upon my wings, and he tensed.

"I'll kill him," he said softly.

"I believe she already took care of that."

     The voice from behind me had me spinning on my heel. I threw myself into Rhys's arms and he laughed, welcoming the embrace.

"Azzy, you said you'd tell me when she got back!" Eve's voice shrilled out from across the hallway as she approached us.

"We arrived less than a minute ago," Az assured, kissing his wife's forehead.

    Eve came up to me with tears in her eyes. She embraced me so tightly, and I held her back. It brought me back to when she was seventeen, the night before she was sent off to Autumn. I'd held her all night.

"If I had been in Hybern, I never would've let him take you," she said into my head.

"If I hadn't gone, Az would've died," I replied.

     While I rarely permitted it, I allowed the five of them to fuss over me and comfort me. Amren would be joining us for dinner, I was told.

"You're covered in blood," Rhys observed. "You look and smell like shit. Go shower and then go to Madja."

I glared, flipping him off. But we wasn't wrong.

    I walked down the familiar path to the bedroom that Rhys let me stay in when I was here. Someone turned the corner and smacked into me.

      The girl began to hiss an unkind remark, but she trailed off when our eyes met. I trailed off too. I had not yet seen her as a High Fae.

       She was breathtakingly beautiful. I'd never seen anybody that exquisite. I'd thought she was the prettiest female I'd ever seen when she was human. But now . . .

"Stop staring at me."

      I obliged, breaking the gaze as my face went slightly pink. I'd been thinking of her, even in my captivity. Her face changed when she studied my features.

"You look awful," she observed.

"I know," I admitted.

"What are you wearing?" the question was judging, her lip curling. I glanced down, realizing I was still in the revealing dress I was expected to wear.

"He made me wear it," I explained. "I'm going to change."

"What happened to your wings?" she did not sound concerned or curious. It was simply a question.

"He clipped them," I said the words very quietly. I had yet to say them out loud.

"Does that mean you can no longer fly?" she wondered. Again, a monotone question. I could not decipher her motive for asking.

"No, I can no longer fly," I replied, staring at the floor. I finally looked back up. "Are you doing well?" She scoffed, glancing up.

"Am I doing well?" she demanded. "After being forced into the Cauldron and turned into this thing? Having to watch my sister suffer with her heartbreak?" She was right. It was a stupid question.

"I'm very sorry," I said.

       With that, I continued walking and did not look back. I cursed myself. The conversation had nearly been civil. If I hadn't asked that stupid question.