Of Light and Echoes

1

DAWN COURT

SHE GREW UP behind closed doors and angry, stone walls that would not give away, no matter how hard Noor tried. A daughter born with wings that were bound by a father's strict tunnel vision. No longer was her home a wonderland; it had become a prison.

Thesan strangled Noor with his protection. With Callister still captured within the confines of Autumn Court, his left wing forever injured, her father would not let her out of his sight. Noor's happiness was no longer his priority.

Years went by as a young girl where Noor would not see her father for days; all she would see were the unending walls of the castle. Time after time, Noor would try to fly, full force, through the wards her father had set outside of the castle, but never could.

Noor found it humorous that everywhere else, wards were used to keep dangers out. Here, they were used to keep someone who desperately wanted to be free, in.

For the rest of her childhood after that night in Autumn Court, her father tried to battle his way towards his mate, his love. The other solar courts, Day and Night, allied themselves with Thesan, wanting to put Eris in his place. However, with the other seasonal courts aiding Autumn out of fear, Callister was still in enemy hands.

Thesan had not given up, but his spirit was beginning to. The dawn that used to be encased within his brown eyes had dimmed to nothing...when he looked at Noor, all she could see was his disdain.

It should have been you.

Every time he glanced at her, broken and worn, he might as well have been saying that. Noor had never really been Thesan's daughter; with Kerensa as a surrogate and Callister as her sire, she had none of Thesan's blood within her. Still, though, their hearts were connected, and every time he looked down upon her, it was like a slap in the face, stretching that bond between them until it became worn and strained.

The day Noor lost Callister, she lost both of her parents, and all she could do was watch her family crumble, imprisoned and helpless.

And yet, she never felt anger towards him. She was devastated that she was locked in, possibly for as long as her father could help it, but she did not blame him. She understood the power of love, and what it caused people to do or become. Her father was something else because of his lost love, and instead of Noor being filled with fury, she felt an understanding. When he wept, she wept, too.

Today was the day of the first Peregryn flight with its trainees, marking their transition from apprentice to warrior. She was supposed to have trained her whole life for this moment, a moment Callister and Noor had both equally wanted and eagerly awaited.

As the sun peaked over the hills as early morning struck, Noor was awakened by the cheers of the other trainees, the flapping of wings, the music filling the streets. In spite of herself, she rushed to her window of her room and peered out to the world she could not remember being a part of.

The newest members of the legion beamed at one another as they soared higher and higher into the sky, the rest of the legion following close behind. Noor could have sworn some of them looked longingly toward my castle as they ascended higher over our mountain and toward the sun. Anselm, the Peregryn who had taken over Callister's duties, hovered in midair for a moment, watching her window, knowing how much today would have meant to her and Callister. She touched the window tentatively as he flew away, putting one hand over her mouth to keep her sobs from escaping.