(Cassian, Astrid, and Elain see Nesta and the other Valkyries. Astrid and Elain observe Cassian and Nesta, who share a tense conversation.)
Cassian blew out a breath. “Alright. That’s it for the day,” he told Astrid and Elain. “Grab some water.”
He nodded over to where a water station emerged by magic. The House of Wind had been gracious to do so. Perhaps it did so for Elain, though she was also tense with Nesta. Whatever the sisters fought about, he felt that they would work it out. Even if…
“Nesta must be near,” said Elain. She was red in the face from the small amount she could muster. Over time, she would gain muscle, just as Feyre and Nesta had done.
Cassian didn’t know what to do with his hands. His legs. His voice. Not much could cause him to feel so uncertain like this. To doubt everything.
Astrid had done well. Whatever errands Keir had her run, he must have run her ragged. She was well beyond some of the Valkyries in stamina and skill. She was almost at Feyre’s level.
The two females took advantage of the House’s attentiveness. Cassian avoided it. Avoided anything given by the House. He felt it didn’t need to be in the middle of any argument.
Not when she commanded and befriended it.
Cassian avoided taking a glance at the bare spot on his finger. He and she, they…There was no exchange of mating bands.
He winced away the thoughts.
Chatter filled the area. The Valkyries must had finished their work for the day. Laughter and conversation were light on the air. Roslyn waved to Cassian. And Emerie. The others acknowledge him with smiles and waves. Two he didn’t see…
Cassian could have jumped at who stood behind him.
There she was. Beautiful. Voluptuous. Eyes of silver fire. Breasts full and…
He stopped thinking. If he kept thinking, he would have to excuse himself.
Think of Madja. Of Nesta and Rhys. Of kittens, you dumb bastard…
“I may have,” he admitted. Nesta watched him, wary of him. Gods…He had made her look at him that way. He really was a dumb bastard.
From the water station, the Valkyries exchanged greetings with Elain and Astrid. He wondered if Elain would ever join their ranks. Or if she would find herself with a certain redheaded heir. She still didn’t speak of him, after all these months. Cassian felt sorry for the male.
Nesta turned to see Elain in Illyrian leathers. If she was shocked, it didn’t show. Her beautiful face turned back around to face him. Cassian’s breath was taken away by it.
He shrugged. Kept it casual. He hoped.
“She was already in the area. I thought she might benefit from it.”
We haven’t been allowing her to do much except garden and bake, he wanted to say. But after last night and this morning, he didn’t want to make things worse.
Nesta blinked. He wished he knew what she was thinking about.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted. “I was an ass. I’ve been one a lot lately.”
Her jaw tightened as she held his gaze. But her eyes were deep with sadness. Like a silver sea. He wondered if she’d been continuing her practice of Mind-Stilling.
“Azriel left to see Rhysand,” she blurted. So much for his big apology. “He doesn’t want him to be around Elain.”
“I guess he sensed her presence in the area.”
Cassian blinked. Both his brother and his mate grew close, ever since that outsider Bryce came to Prythian. Cassian hated himself for envying his brother and the easiness he had with Nesta. Cassian had mentioned it to Rhys, but…
He guessed Rhys didn’t want Azriel to be near either sister, aside from Feyre.
And if he was being honest, Cassian didn’t feel comfortable in Az’s presence either. Something had changed in his brothers since those months ago.
He jerked back in suprise.
“So jumpy,” she teased, still wary. That was new, too. That Bryce had changed Nesta, too. She had became playful. And he didn’t know what to make of that either.
“Feel like sparring?” Despite all the hours he dedicated to getting his jitteriness out of his system, he still couldn’t shake it.
Nesta shook her head. “Gwyn and Emerie were wanting to go out and they invited me along.”
Silence settled between them.
“I wanted to let you know. And to say sorry.”
Cassian’s chest warmed. Maybe change wasn’t all bad. Perhaps there was still hope that they could make it work.
But then there was the matter of Rhys…
“Keir’s bodyguard. Astrid. Feyre pulled some strings and got him to agree to let her train.”
They both observed the female as she waved goodbye to the other females. Elain watched Cassian and Nesta from her small corner of the water station.
And Astrid… Cassian settled his sights on the female. Flexible. Dedicated. Adaptable. With her golden hair braided back and her cloud of freckles, she reminded him of Feyre and Mor.
And yet she is entirely her own person, a small voice yawned inside him.
“She’s a beast in the ring,” he admitted. “If Keir didn’t have such a strong grip on her, she’d make a formidable Valkyrie.”
He watched as Nesta assessed the other female. Knowing well that her gaze fell upon Astrid’s scar across her mouth and jaw.
She never vocalized its origin. Cassian assumed it was from one of Keir’s missions. Or from the war if she was discovered.
Maybe not from the war. Keir’s spy. Cassian wondered how the hell Rhys went along with Feyre’s idea to allowing the female to train. And if she discovered the Valkyries… What would she tell Keir?
It took him a moment to realize Nesta had been watching him. Her face a mask of stone and steel. The perfect image of a Valkyrie queen… If Rhys allowed it.
His brother kept Nesta on a tight leash. Often it became a subject of contempt between them. And often it resulted in Nesta accusing him of taking Rhys’s side, and Cassian walking away. Gods, he was stupid.
His attention went to Elain, who like Nesta, watched him with assessment. Had the sisters been fighting over who’d been right? Cassian or Nesta. Rhys or Nesta.
“I think it’s been a long day,” he said with a sigh. His attention drew back to his mate.
His mate… His beautiful, valiant, stubborn mate. Almost over a year ago, they were mated. Cassian still couldn’t believe it. Even if the ceremony had not…
“Okay.” Nesta continued to look up at him. Until finally he realized she wanted a kiss. But when he reached down to do so, she turned on her heel and walked away. Gwyn and Emerie waited until she passed by them, and then they trailed behind.
Gwyn winced as she waved at him.
He didn’t hear Astrid coming up to his side.
“It’s not my business,” she began with a start. “But I hear dates are always a cute thing females like.”
He did not expect that. Cassian said nothing. What could he say to that?
Elain shuffled over to them. Her face long and somber. “You mustn’t be cross with her, you know. Nesta has been working hard to be amicable with everyone. She’s not used to it.”
In other words, it’s not in her nature to be nice.
But it was what Astrid said that stunned Elain. “It’s not that she’s not used to it, I think. She’s so used to being seen as mean. When really, she’s just honest and blunt. She doesn’t mince words, but she doesn’t mean to be unkind, either.”
“You… You see that? In her?” Elain’s eyes were wide.
Astrid had suddenly become shy. Her little freckles shimmered under the afternoon sun. “It’s a gift.”
And Cassian couldn’t argue. A dark hound. Astrid could sense the darkness in others. What kind of darkness did she see in Elain? In Nesta? In Azriel? In…
“What do you see in me?” It had been eating at him all morning since she first mentioned her gift. And if Nesta had looked at him the way she had, there must have been something lurking within him that he couldn’t see.
Astrid steadied herself and beheld him with a bold stare. A moment passed. He noticed that her eyes did not glaze over like Elain’s when she had a vision. Instead, she held the same funny expression as Mor whenever she saw the truths buried in others.
Scarily similar. Mother above, it was as if they were sisters.
Her wings twitched. For some reason, Cassian felt his breath take at the sight of it. What would have caused such sensitive nerves to twitch about like that? He couldn’t stave off the heat in his ears at the speculation.
“You’re loyal to a fault. But you’re caught in between two dark forms. Actually, many. It’s as if you don’t see the darkness around you. And that causes you to compensate for yourself.”
He let go of a breath. Well, she was right about one thing. He had no special powers. Not like his brothers. Not like Nesta and her sisters, Cauldron-blessed. Not like Amren, though now he supposed she had none of her special powers either.
But to compensate for it?
“She’s right,” Elain chimed in. She’d observed him, too. Cassian wondered if Elain had found a friend in Astrid, a kindred spirit who shared similar abilities. “And if you’re not careful, Cassian, it will be your downfall.”
A sigh of defeat. “You both are killing me,” he teased. Even though a part of him meant it. Such honesty… He couldn’t think. He needed to spar. Now.
“You look like you wanna punch somebody.” Astrid rested her hands on her hips. Her head tilted to the side. An accusatory smirk. “Need to burn some rubber?”
“You two go ahead,” Elain chirped. “I’m in desperate need of a bath.” And promptly left, with promise of cleaning Astrid’s leathers and bring them back at a later time.
“Well? What say you? In hindsight, you can’t exactly say no.”
Cassian’s brows bounced. “Why is that?”
Astrid spun on her heel to grab a pair of boxing pads before making a face that revealed a glittering smile of mischief.
“Because you’re a general and you love a challenge.” Cassian blinked as she bent under and over the borders of the ring. “I’m the challenge.”
She’s so funny. I love my girl. And Elain finding a friend in Astrid is so cute. I had Cassian be a little more self aware and implied that he and Nesta have been working on their relationship. And his loyalty is being tested once again. Or will be. 😈
(Edit: I accidentally forgot to log into MY account and used my friend’s to post on accident. It’s been deleted and reposted onto mine. Sorry 😭😭😭)
