The city of Feloix Felaii didn't seem to want to sleep, even when the sky darkened into an inky black and the moon peeked out from behind thin clouds. If the city had been a mass of lights in daylight, it was a super nova in the night time; the lights only seemed brighter in the dark, and if possible everything seemed to speed up. I didn't think I'd ever get tired of looking out over the city - the place still felt like a dream.
I sat on a crystal balcony just outside the doors of the chamber, my legs dangling off the edge between the cool bars. Several other people meandered outside the huge doors, obviously waiting for the results of the conversation. Apollo had encouraged me to go exploring before he'd ducked inside, but I stayed rooted to the spot. The concept of me exploring the place on my own was terrifying.
Although night had fallen it was curiously warm; I knew it was a spell though, because Feloix Felaii was situated in the largest forest in Russia. Thinking about Russia made me think of Jannosh and Myrnah, and I realized that I missed them.
"Lovely view, isn't it?"
I looked up, startled. A slender, beautiful boy stood just behind me, his hands stuck deep into the pockets of shimmery pants the colour of champagne. His shirt was made of the same material, and it seemed to float around him. He looked strikingly similar to the girl in the chamber Astera had called a solstae; his skin was glowing warmly like sunlight, and his large eyes were a bottomless deep , dark blue.
"Yeah." I said, impressed with my social skills.
He smiled, flashing blindingly white teeth. "I never get tired of visiting this city - I could watch it forever."
"Weird." I replied. "I was just thinking that."
The solstae laughed; the sound was like rippling water on the beach on a summer day. "Great minds think alike! Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Not at all." I turned to look back over the city. The solstae sat beside me with barely any sound - he smelled like sunlight too.
"My name is Helios, and yours is Lilah?" I could feel his eyes on my face.
I nodded. I don't know what it was about him, but I couldn't find the words to speak. It wasn't a nervous silence, it was more reverent; Helios was a creature I couldn't have dreamed up.
"If you're wondering, I'm a part of the group who call themselves the solstae." He said conversationally. "Has Apollo told you about us?"
"Not really."
"Well, we live in the sky." He said nonchalantly, as if it was normal. I guess for him it was.
"In the sky...?"
"Well, in the clouds, to be more accurate. We can only survive this low in altitude for a couple weeks; our infants can't come here at all."
"That's cool." I said in awe, forgetting my silence around him. That sounded amazing!
He shrugged delicately beside me. The material of his clothes shifted like water over his glowing skin, and I couldn't help but sneak side long glances. "I suppose it would be for you. However, I spend most of my days wishing I was down here like everyone else."
"Why?" I turned my head to face him in curiosity. His indigo eyes met mine, and they looked amused and bitter at the same time; it was a strange combination.
"Well just put yourself in my shoes for a minute. We solstae live among clouds and sunlight all the time; there is no night or darkness for us, and our 'landscape' is always the same. However, when you look down at the earth, it's like looking at a mirage - you look in one place and see sparkling water, and you look at another and you see expansive desert." Helios flashed a dazzling smile at me. "Lilah, you live on a gigantic canvas that someone extremely talented took to with a brush; you live in something more beautiful than the sun."
I was quiet as I took this in. Helios had a unique perspective; I'd never thought of that before. "I suppose you're right."
He laughed. "I usually am."
I opened my mouth to reply, but there was suddenly a crash from behind us and muffled shouting. We both got up immediately and looked behind us just as the doors burst open; a group of people were struggling around something. As I peered closer I realized it was Neroii - the male faerie's beautiful wings were beating furiously as he tried to free himself from the strong grip the group of men around him. He was yelling something at the top of his lungs in a language I couldn't understand. Avaia trailed anxiously behind the group as the struggled down the staircase, her delicate hands twisting delicately. The movement reminded me sharply of Myrnah in her distress.
Everyone stared after the group as they disappeared, Neroii's shouts slowly fading as the distance increased. I looked back at the doors of the chamber to realize that everyone inside was now trailing out, muttering amongst themselves irritably. I peered over the variety of heads till I found Apollo's dark haired one; it was bent low as he talked seriously with Ildor.
"I wonder what happened there." Helios said thoughtfully beside me. I jumped; I'd completely forgotten my glowing companion.
"What a gong show." I turned to find Astera striding toward me, her bright eyes rolling heavenward in annoyance. I glanced enviously at how snugly her dress hugged her curves; if I'd ever wished to look like somebody, it was Astera.
"What happened in there, if you don't mind me asking?" Helios said before I could reply.
Astera stopped gracefully in front of us and glanced at Helios indifferently. "I'm afraid I don't know you, solstae."
In any other circumstance, her brashness would have been considered rude, but Helios simply smiled in amusement. I guess Astera was infamous for her lack of courtesy.
"I'm Helios, son of Raea." He said, bowing his head in a small movement. He made up for Astera's lack of manners immensely.
"Oh, I've heard of you." Astera looked barely impressed. "Lilah, if you didn't know, you're in the presence of the Prince of solstae."
I looked at Helios in surprise, and he smiled apologetically back.
"Anyways, proceedings are post-poned until tomorrow." Astera flicked her hair back with a familiar twist of her wrist. "Neroii got anxious at our discussion and decided to start moaning about how his darlings deserve justice."
"You feel no empathy for his situation?" Helios frowned at her.
She rolled her eyes again. "Don't turn me into a monster, Prince. I'm very sorry for his tragedy, but he's playing it up in my opinion. Faeries are such drama queens."
"You're talking a tad too loud, sister." Apollo had walked up behind her, and I felt a smile growing on my face at his proximity. I wondered if I would ever get tired of him.
He smiled gently back at me before leaning in to whisper something in Astera's ear. I watched as her face concentrated on what he was saying, and after a minute, she nodded.
"Excuse me, Prince Helios." She smiled sweetly at him. "It seems we have some business to attend to. It was so nice to have met you."
"You as well." He beamed back, seemingly oblivious to Astera's sudden formality with him. He smiled at me and bowed slightly to Apollo before moving away. It wasn't really like walking, although that was what he was doing; his feet seemed to glide over the floor as if he wasn't there.
"Fascinating creatures, solstae." Apollo's hand found mine as he followed my gaze after the glowing boy. "Helios is a shining example of that."
"We're wasting time, Apollo." Astera hissed at her brother.
"You're very right." Apollo pulled me along as he and Astera strode toward the stairs.
"Where are we going?"
"Just to visit Neroii." Apollo told me seriously. "Ildor has it in his mind that the poor faerie is in a very unstable condition; he could do something very rash. I happen to agree with him."
"Oh."
We swept down the expansive staircase Neroii had disappeared down earlier and turned right into a wide crystal corridor; the floating lights here were glowing a uniform red on the empty hall. I assumed this was normal, but both Apollo and Astera stopped dead.
"Oh dear." Apollo said softly.
"Shit." Astera hissed; she hiked up the long skirt of her dress and took off running down the corridor.
Apollo jerked me along after her, and I stumbled in confusion.
"Apollo?"
"Something's wrong." His voice were tense. "The lights are designed to reflect the mood or temperature of the room, so to say. Red mean's violence."
Astera jerked open the door at the very end of the hall. Her small frame was only still for a moment before springing into action again.
"Neroii!"She bellowed before disappearing from sight. Apollo's grip on my hand was painful as he dragged me to the door; the momentum had me running into him as he froze just inside the room.
The first thing I took in was that the room was very large and beautiful; it seemed to be the front room of some kind of suite, with large, inviting white sofas and a glass table in the middle with an assortment of delicacies on them. Two doors on my left and right obviously led to different bedrooms, and directly across from us the entire wall was crystal, and it looked out on a magnificent view of Feloix Felaii.
The second thing I took in was Astera standing before a gaping hole in the crystal; shards of it littered the floor around her feet, and a slight breeze moved her black curls delicately across her pale shoulders. Something was drifting away in the distance, growing steadily smaller as it flew.
The third thing was Avaia, lying on the floor. Her wings were crumpled beneath her and her golden hair fanned out across the white floor. Her light eyes were glassy as they roamed around the tall ceiling as if looking for answers, and a silvery sort of liquid was pooling around the large shard of crystal shoved into her shuddering chest.
I took these things in the space of couple seconds, but Apollo was faster than me. His grip on my hand was suddenly gone, and he was beside the fallen faerie without my eyes ever seeing him moving. He was holding Avaia's hand when I ran over; the beautiful girl's glassy eyes locked on mine.
"Avaia." Apollo's voice was soothing. "Help is coming. Don't strain yourself, friend."
"There's no time." Her lilting voice was gurgled, and a bit of the same silvery stuff coming from her chest wound spilled from the corner of her lush pink lips. For the first time, I realized it was her blood. "Neroii is flying back to the wren to tell the others that the council decided to do nothing - he is going to blatantly lie, Apollo, and the rest of the faeries have no choice but to follow when the wren declares war. I tried to stop him, I really did - "
"Shh now, Avaia." Apollo told her gently but firmly.
Her eyes twitched back to mine. "There will be blood." Her voice was a scratchy whisper. "No one will survive, not even the humans. You are all doomed."
"Shh now." Apollo's voice was anguished.
But with a shuddering sigh, Avaia was gone. Her eyes were still on mine when the light went out of them, and her fingers relaxed their hold on Apollo's. Her silvery blood continued to pool though; the liquid was slowly being absorbed by the material of Apollo's jeans.
Apollo looked up at me, and we were quiet.
"He's definitely headed in the direction of his wren." Astera's voice cut like a knife through the stillness. She was still looking out after him; her sharp eyes could probably still find him in his flight, although my eyes picked up nothing in the night sky. "This is bad, Apollo. Extremely bad."
"What happened here?" Ildor was suddenly behind us, and from the shuffles of feet and exclamations of dismay, a lot of other people were there with him.
Apollo and Astera didn't even notice him though; their eyes were locked on each other's with a ferocious intensity. After a moment, Astera nodded at her twin.
"I will help you." She said quietly.
The words were barely out of her mouth before Apollo was up and dragging me away again; he ignored the protests of the people gathered around the door, he even pushed a solstae roughly out of the way. We made our way back down the corridor, the lights now a pulsating, sick shade of green, ignoring Ildor as he yelled after us.
"Apollo!" He shouted. "What on earth are you doing!"
"Trying to save you." Apollo muttered. His beautiful face was stony in its distress. He squeezed my hand "We're going to stop a war, Lilah."
I didn't make a reply, only hurrying my steps to keep up with him. As we blew around the corner, my eyes found a glowing figure on the huge staircase; Helios' face was solemn as he looked down at us. I looked back at him as Apollo pulled me along - there was something about the royal solstae's face that nagged at my conscious.
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I'm so excited for this story! :'D btw, that's Helios to the side. That smile!!! What a charmer (: