The Star of the North
Cassian x RhysandsLittleSister!reader
Oneshot Rhysands sister is off limits, but as we're meeting the Prince of Winter, I snap.
words 5.4k (I just can't write short stuff)
an It's finally here! Thank you for your patience and welcome to this oneshot you voted for here You vote I write. Be prepared for some character decribtions (White wings, lilac eyes etc). Let me know if you're kicking your feet, too. Happy reading <3
CASSIAN
Her smell still lingered in the air and mingled with the crackling fire — Poppies in full blossom and the sweetness of caramel. The spot on my cheek where she just kissed me good night burned like a branding. Still there, still hot. The gaping empty doorway she just exited stared back at me.
Then, Rhys' voice sliced though my enthralled thoughts. "Prythian to Cassian!" Rhys waved a hand in front of my face.
"What?"
"You're quiet tonight. How're you doing while I was gone?" Rhys swirled the wine in his glass. He and his mate were visiting the solar courts, tightening bonds with the other High Lords, shaking hands to knot down trader promises.
I suppressed the grumble that build deep inside of my throat. "I'm fine." I murmured, eyes fixated on the empty glass in my hand, wishing there was still liquor to drown my thoughts in to... to think of anything but her. But the house never refilled it as if it wanted me to bath in my silent sorrow, mutely chuckling at me.
"Are you?" He asked. "I've heard from the wraith's that you've been … distracted. Is there a female from Illyria or the city? A waitress from Rita's or a shopkeepers daughter who keeps you up late? I must say I lost track at some point."
I wanted to punch that smug smile from his perfect straight teeth. My blood roared. Every female I'd touched in more than the last decade had been a desperate, failing attempt to erase Rhys' little sister from my memory. But things had changed long before that. It was the gala of her eighteenth birthday. I was struck when the doors opened and she walked through the mass of Fae. Her pearly white wings unfurled like a blossom on the first morning of summer. Glowing and blinding with that beautiful dress she wore, so in contrast with her lilac irises. When her eyes met mine, she stopped being the annoying brat and became the only female I would truly want. Ever.
My eyes stayed glued to my hands. Calloused and rough. Dirty by the blood I shed. By the people I've killed. Never good enough to hold hers. Delicate and bright and too innocent for someone like me. "Drop it, Rhys." I snapped. "It's nothing of your business." My answer was short. Harsh. And utterly too mean for a brother that just returned after weeks of not seeing each other. I cursed myself for being so hostile.
He just raised an eyebrow and exchanged looks with Az. Like his spymaster could give him any answer. The slight blew of his huff to ease his mind caught in the loose strands of my hair. Then, he tried to change the subject. "What about YN?"
My mind ran a thousand miles and my head spun to his. Did he know that I liked his little sister more than I should? That I couldn't concentrate for a second when she was in the room?
"What about her?" I asked, a little too agitated.
His brows furrowed like it was obvious what he meant. "How was she while I was gone? Did you look after her?"
I had to control the roll of my eyes. "Of course I looked after her. She’s your sister, Rhys. I’d die before I let anything happen to her," I grunted, finally tearing my deadly stare away from him. Az met my glare and I knew what he thought of.
It was a night a long time ago. I found her while she cried over the breakup with some fuckboy she dated. That asshole betrayed her with another female. I stayed with her until she fell asleep from exhaustion. Then I found fuckboy and punched him right across the face before I flew back to the House of Wind. When I rounded the corner to the corridor of my room, Az stood there. Arms crossed and his shadows whispering something in his ear. It took him one glance to put two and two together — her dried tears on my chest and my split knuckles. All he asked was, "How long?" A simple question. How long did my heart yearn for her? How long have I been punching the douchbags she dated after they betrayed her?
Forever.
I didn't answer Az and pushed past him as he said. "I won't tell Rhys. But you should tell her."
His words never ceased echoing in my mind since then. Just as they are now. How am I supposed to tell YN that I am in love with her when I know that she's off limits. Rhys told me years ago what kind of male he wanted for his beloved sister — strong, kind and good hearted, a constant and from a good background. Proud and equable. Someone who wouldn't tarnish her in any way. In other words: Someone who isn't me. I'm hot tempered, I punch first and ask questions later. I have enough issues from my upbringing to give everyone a piece and remain the prince of bastards. The battles I fought in still gave me nightmares most nights and left me contemplating if I was the real monster in the story.
I exhaled deeply to make my heart stop racing. "She's been doing fine. She hasn't been out much. She's been sticking to training with me but liked to cook or read or soaking in her tub for hours every night, as usual."
I stood. Done with this evening.
"Wait." Rhys said as I was already across the room, my empty glass abandoned on the cushions.
Sighing, I turned around to face him, my shoulders tired of keeping it together tonight.
"I need you to do something for me." His velvet voice slithered to me with mischief.
He let the seconds tick by as if he was amused with himself. Prick.
"YN will be leaving tomorrow for Winter."
There it was again — my heart racing at the thought of her being out of my reach. Out of my protection.
"I wand you to go with her."
YN
I hated Winter.
Not because of the cold. I never minded that. I've been to Illyria more times than I could count. I embraced the glittering snow and incessant winds howling against the windows. Even their harsh tone was something I became fond of. Clear command and actions. No formal yapping and exchanging pleasantries. I've always wondered how Rhysie abode those boring things it all.
It was the Winter's friendliness… as if not the tiniest cloud could sully their sunny nature.
Urgh. I. hated. Winter.
At least Cassian was coming with me.
Cassian.
Shit, I had to get myself together. He'd spot my heart rate instantly and ask if I was okay and order me to let him handle Winter. The general never knew that it was because of him that my hands got clammy and my ears hot as hel. Thankfully, I was able to veil myself, so he wouldn't notice the scent between my legs every time I saw him.
"Ready to go?" Mor asked, leaning in the doorway, absently picking at something invisible on her fingernails.
I looked myself over in the mirror one last time. My cloak hung flawlessly from my shoulders, my hands straightening it again and again like a cat licking its fur to perfection before wandering around to frantically find a mate. The invisible crown speckled with glittering stars on my head illuminated me, like it did my mother once a long time ago. My dress was the same sheer colour as my wings, almost translucent, shining as if the diamonds of the deepest mountains were sparkling for the first time after a thousand of years in the dark. I pushed the one strand of my hair that always pointed in the wrong direction out of my face.
Before my eyes could meet my mirror ones, they connected with orbs of hazel. Green and steel and warm brown. Staring directly at me like a lighting struck. A statue of will and power, hiding a softness he showed so rarely. When did Cassian slip in unnoticed?
"Yes." I breathed. And I wasn't sure if I was talking to Mor or to him.
"The Star of the North!"
The daydream, of that one thing I could never have that occupied my mind ran out quickly like the last kernel of sand out of an hourglass.
The name that was given to me on the day of my birth rang from deep inside of me. The Star of the North. White wings, glass like skin and shining like all of the stars and the moon combined.
Vivane stretched out her arms as she walked towards me cheerily, a wide smile on her face like she was greeting a friend she hasn't seen in ages. Her bone crushing hug warm as if trying to melt the ice of the mountain caps. My eyes drifted over her shoulder — to Kallias in the background, standing proudly before his icicle Throne, stoic as ever but kindness written all over his face.
I hugged her back. Once out of her squeeze, I bowed to her and her mate. "Your majesties, the years have been but a shadow compared to the light of your presence. My heart rejoices to see you—and your court of eternal Winter."
Then, Kallias voice rang from the columns of polished ice, his frown thawing into one of his rare smiles. "The Winter Court is made all the brighter by your arrival, Princess of the Night Court." He bowed his head in greeting. "Your words are as kind as they are welcome. Peace is finally with us and it is an honor to share it with you, not only as our allies of the night court, but as friends. Your grace, YN. And General Cassian."
The walls of my veil thickened on its own. Kallias' words were kind and welcoming. But hearing him addressing Cassian as the general didn't feel enough. He was so much more. The one that flew in the center of the first lines at battle against our enemies. Who was ready to give his life for the weakest. The one who poured all his power into his siphons till exhaustion. The lord who cherished his court to shed all blood of its opponents. The one who smiled during dark times. The one who's able to make me laugh at all times, who was there when no one else was. Who checked on me and took me on long walks through Velaris. The one who surprised me with flowers from Illyria one random morning. The one who sat next to me silently while reading for hours. He was always more than just the general.
"My steward will escort you to your rooms, so that you may refresh yourselves. Rest well. We shall celebrate this evening properly at the banquet this evening." Kallias said as a thin male with pale skin bowed deeply before leading the way.
"This collar is diving me crazy!" Cassian roared angrily from the mirror on the other side of the room of our shared suite. His face was red and I've never seen the crease between his brows so deep.
"Here," I cooed. "Let me."
I stepped between his angry image and his broad form, shielding him from his disheveled doppelganger, reaching up to help him with the tie and collar. His ceremonial armor was buttoned the wrong way and the silk of the sling around his neck was inside out. My arms went numb from holding them up so long to get him sorted. His warm gaze was burning and my skin rippled with kisses of lightning as he traced my every move. Hair combed back so meticulously like he just shed out of his skin — his broad shoulders could've shield me from the light of the sun — form so strong and impressive my knees nearly gave in.
And then, there was his smell. Snow chilled winds mixed with crackling embers of a pine tree. I could've get lost right then and there. If he'd asked me to skip today and fly out of the palace to catch a basket of the necessities and watch the sunset while picnicking, I'd say yes right away and forget everything else. Forget that Rhysand wants me to marry someone of name, a male of steady discipline and someone who knows the value of a true home. Someone whose strength is matched only by his patience. Urgh. That sounded so boring. He wanted a stiff and formal courtier for me, or a noble who follows every rule. Maybe a lonely scholar or a traveling diplomat or a gentle soft-spoken lord. If I'd saw such a male I'd instantly turn by back and let Cassian carry me to wherever.
"Everything okay?" His soothing voice was laced with concern as he noticed that I halted my movements absentmindedly and stared at the space where his heart pounded in his chest.
"Y-yes." I answered, my lips thinned at the lie and I took a step back from him. I took him in, he looked spectacular in his suit. My hand plucked a single hair of mine from his chest like it had no right to be there. "Perfect." I murmured and gave him a soft smile, hoping that didn't notice that I meant him, but his dressing.
CASSIAN
Her nails left marks on my arm even through my armor. The grip of her hand on my arm felt like her hanging on a lifeline. Like she was clinging to me for dear life. Like she tried to escape this situation of a stormy sea and let me pull her into safety. Like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
I considered pulling her against my chest, spreading my wings and get her out of here. But I had to stay strong. Be her anchor. Even if her nervousness drifted through her thick shield and left goosebumps all over my body. I straightened my back and sucked my wings in neatly.
The steps felt heavier every time we set a foot forward, to the dais the new prince of Winter stood on. Athila.
This was the night the High Lord Kallias and his mate Vivane presented him to the world. They kept him a secret for centuries and decided that now, weeks after the wars was the right time to introduce him as their heir. As the new light, leading their court into a new era.
A quiet voice inside my head nagged and left me with knots in my stomach. They're putting Athila on a silver platter. For her.
Was this Rhysand's plan all along? Sending her off, presenting YN to him as a potential wife, as a prize to win, as a gift, of something he could give away like a handshake in thanks after their aid in war. To bestow her to anyone who could be of use to him in a couple of years? He wouldn't be cruel like that, would he?
I'm detecting her every move. But YN put on her facade, veiling herself with the same grace Rhysand did when he met other High Lords. Maybe I misinterpreted the signs. Maybe she was so on edge because she felt attracted to him. Her fidgety fingers on my collar and her eyes never truly meeting mine. Was it because she was excited to meet him?
Athila bowed smoothly and extended his slim hand towards her, asking her for the first dance.
No one but me noticed that the smile she wore was a nervous one as her hand reluctantly slid from my arm and into his palm. The music of Winter was like the land itself…crisp, elegant, and chillingly formal. The clank of her heels against the sheer floor were like drums that accompanied me to the scaffold. His hands on her delicate body — the sling around my neck. Him whispering something inaudible into her ears — the floor giving way. Her smiling and laughing at him — the oxygen drifting out of my lungs. The glittering of her eyes and the redness of her cheeks — my death.
The prince of Winter was everything I wasn't.
The air in my lungs caught as my blood boiled while my hackles rose, wings twitching noticeably. My shoulders tensed and I had to refrain from reaching for the hidden dagger I bore, just in case. Fury dropped in my stomach as the faintest scent of her smell drifted from sweet to something that was never there before. Dread, agitation or elation… I couldn't place it.
The second the song died with the violins of the background I stepped forward. Slow enough not to stir any compunction, fast enough to catch her from his last twirl. Viviane took over and was dancing with him now. I caught YN. She was in my arms. Mine for the moment. Her hands were cold as if the prince's cool and polite touch froze her to the core. I let my calloused hands slide around her, radiating heat through my grip to warm her up. My hear jumped as she leand in closer.
Other couples joined the dance until we drifted through a sea of skirts of tull and tunics of silk. She seemed so small against me, almost fragile, clinging to me again. We didnt speak. We just moved. My hands a heavy, grounding weight on her waist, the other crushing hers a little too tightly. Then, a soft stroke on my mind asked for permission to enter. I let her in and her divine voice slipped into my thoughts.
"I know you hate it when I do that, I'm sorry." I once told her that I hated it when her or her brother did that mind-talking thing. As if it would harm them to do it aloud. Since then, she only did it in an emergency.
"Are you okay?"
"Now, I am." She smiled at me. It was so different from the one she gave Athila.
A low growl rumbled in my chest.
“You look like you’re heading to the chopping block, not a celebration,” she said softly.
My wings flared slightly. “Hard not to, considering I just watched you dance with the 'Perfect Prince.' I assume Rhys is already picking out the celebratory wine for the engagement?”
She looked up at me, eyes wide. “You think so too? That Rhys sent me here to... to trade me for an alliance?”
My jaw tightened so hard I almost cracked a bone. “I know he's been writing letters with Kallias. Athila is high-born, powerful, and looks like he was carved out of a diamond. He’s exactly the kind of male a High Lord picks for a sister he wants to keep safe and settled.”
“I felt like a statue in his arms, Cass,” she whispered inside of my head. “He was perfectly kind, and I felt absolutely nothing but terror. If Rhysand expects me to stay here... if he expects me to be a Winter Court prize...”
The air around me seemed to drop ten degrees. Not from Winters magic, but from the suffocating siphon fueled rage.
“He won’t,” I growled back into her head. “I don’t care what Rhysand has promised or what Kallias expects. You aren’t a chess piece, and you sure as hell aren’t staying in this frozen wasteland unless you want to be here.”
“And if Rhys insists?” Her voice broke.
I pulled her an inch closer, drowning in her in my fragrance to calm her down. “Then I’ll pick you up and fly until my wings give out. I’ll start a war with the Winter Court myself before I let them lock you in a palace made of ice.”
Her breath hitched as she looked at me with raw intensity. I didn't say it with the protective instinct of a commander. It was with the desperate, burning hunger of a male who couldn't bear the thought of her belonging to someone else. Her hammering heart made me look down at her again.
“You’d really risk Rhys’ wrath for me?”
My face softened, just a speck, the fury turning into something achingly tender. I leaned down, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Sweetheart, I’d risk the wrath of the Mother herself for you. Besides,” I added with my signature smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth, “have you seen the way Athila dances? The male has the rhythm of a foal on a frozen pond. I could never let you marry him. I do have a reputation to uphold! Having a brother-in-law who trips over his own feet would be a stain on my record.”
Her tension faltered through her little laugh. Bright. Genuine. She buried her face in my shoulder to hide her grin. "He wasn't that bad."
"Right. He was catastrophic," I countered before spinning her as the tempo increased. Her skin has warmed under my hand on the small of her back, my thumb grazing over the soft fabric. “If you’re going to be bored to death by a male, it should at least be one who knows how to lead on a dance floor.”
She looked up at me with doe eyes through her lashes. "Is that so?" A tease through and through.
"Absolutely," I murmured back to her voice inside my head. My gaze dropped to her lips for a heartbeat too long to be just platonic. "I'll be at your side at all times tonight. If Athila tried to hand you a ring, we're hitting the sky before he's on his knees."
YN
Dinner felt less like a feast and more like an interrogation under a frozen magnifying glass. Athila sat directly across from me, his slicked back silver hair shimmering under the light of the countless chandeliers. Mr. too perfect. Every time he spoke, his voice sounded like wind chimes, elegant and hollow. Probably the reason his parents kept him secret all these years. I felt his gaze sliding over my skin. Heavy and expectant, like he was already mentally placing me on a pedestal in his collected gallery of beautiful things. My hands were clammy and bile rose in my throat.
Cassian was silent next to me. But under the cool exterior simmered a volcano. He didn't touch his food, just shredded bread into tiny pieces. His knuckles drained of color as he gripped his wine glass. If he wore his siphons, they'd glow in a menacing red, tainting a hue of blood over the pristine table cloth. His shoulders were tight but broader than everyone elses, even if he was dressed in solid black, so at odds with my attire — glittering and white. If he'd spread his dark wings, we'd look like the night sky speckled with a thousand stars.
"The Night Court is known for its mysteries," Athila said, uncoiling me from my daydream as he leaned forward to lock eyes with me. "Bur surely, a star as bright as you, Princess, deserves a sky that doesn't hide her in the dark. Winter would make you dazzle. The snow would reflect your light, not swallow it." His wink gave me goosebumps and my shoulders itched, wings wanting to flare in discomfort.
To Hel with those attacks wrapped in pleasantries. "I quite like the darkness, Prince Athila. It provides…privacy." I quipped back. Maybe I overstepped. I glances over the unoccupied chair across from them, it seemed his parents didn't listen to our conversation.
"Privacy is for those with things to hide," Athila countered with a sharp and playful smile. He reached across the slim table, his fingers grazing the back of my hand. It was like being peth with an icicle. "A female like you should be displayed, for everyone to see. Let me show you the gardens after this. The frost-roses are in bloom and they'd look heavenly against your hair."
My toe nails rolled and my shield slipped for a moment, just slightly. The glass in Cassian's hand creaked terrifyingly. I had to come up with something or else he'll strangle the Prince here and how. "I—I'm afraid I've caught a chill," I blurted out as I retracted my hand out of his touch. "The travel must have caught up with me." A bad lie. He probably knows that we've been winnowed in. I didn't dare to look at him one more time and I turned to the High Lord and his Lady. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need some air."
I bowed my head and didn't wait for an answer, standing up sp fast my chair nearly toppled. Cassian was on his feet before I could even take a step. His form was a towering shield between me and the Winter Prince. "I'll escort her," Cassian grunted lowly, his voice vibrating with a territorial edge.
He opened his wings just a tad behind us, putting his membrane screen between us and the banquet hall as he led me out. His hand was firm on my back as he met my pace. We didn't stop at the guest suites. We kept walking until we reached one of the secluded balconies, overlooking the frozen wastes. A biting wind whipped my hair across my face.
Cassian closed the door behind us for some concealment. "A chill?" He burst out, spinning me around to face him. "You were lying though your teeth!" His wild eyes met mine. "You hated the way he looked at you. I saw it... felt it."
"Of course I hated it!" I whined back. The frustration of the last few hours boiling over. "He was looking at me like I'm relic at an auction, knowing he'd pay every price. Like I was something Rhysand had already sold to him!"
"And what are we gonna do now, huh?" His eyes scanned my face. "Go back there and do like nothing happened? You think I can sit there any second longer while some iced-over princeling touches you?" Cassian's wings flared wide in anger. He stepped into my space, his chest heaving, nearly touching mine. "I can't do it, YN. I can't watch you go to him. I can't watch you go to anyone."
Something inside of me broke. "Then do something about it!" I cried, my voice shattering. I shoved his chest, palms hitting the warm metal of his dress armor. "Stop being the loyal general for one second and do something!" He stood his ground as I shoved him again weakly. "Do you know what it's like? Watching you walk out of Rita's with some other female and sit there like it's not torturing me? Do you know what it's like to know that the only male I've ever wanted thinks I'm just his High Lord's little sister? To soak in the tub every day for hours just to replace the warmth of your good night hug? To wash away the images of you with another female?"
Cassian froze all over. His hazel eyes searching mine. Like they were bleeding with decades of suppressed longing. "You…you want me?"
"I have always wanted you, you idiot Illyrian brute," I whispered, tears stinging my eyes as my hands slipped from his chest. "It’s always been you. Always." There it was. Raw and exposed. Everything I held in for so long poured out of a well I kept under control until now.
A low and primal growl rumbled from his deep inside his chest. Before I could breathe, his hands were in my hair, tilting my head back. "To Hel with the rules," he rasped against my lips. "To hel with Rhys."
Then his lips were on mine. Not soft. Nothing about him was. It was a collision. Tasting like the free wind and burning like liquor to a sore throat. It was fire melting ice. And for the first time in my life, the stars in my blood felt like they were finally aligned. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer, opening my mouth with the need to welcome the heat of him.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound sliced through the cold winds around us. We sprang apart. Gasping and his taste on my tongue. Standing in the shadows of the doorway was Rhysand. His violet eyes shimmering under his frowned brows as he stepped towards us.
"Rhysie!" I squeaked, my voice rough and my face turning a shade of red that would have put a sunset to shame. "I…we…it's not what it looks like! We were just-" I stammered but Cassian cut me off.
"Actually, it's exactly what it looks like," he said, stepping in front of me. His jaw was set in that lethal line I knew so well. "Rhysand, I don’t care what you planned. I don't care about Athila or the Winter Court alliance. You can strip me of my rank, you can banish me to the edge of the world, but I am not giving her up. You can't marry her off and expect me to just stand there. I won't do it."
All I could do was staring at Cassian's back as my heart soared from his words. Silence stretched and I braced for Rhysand's legendary temper. A storm brewing before the stroke hitting. I could feel his intense stare on us — his power rolling off of him in dark waves. Is he- is he going to mist Cassian?
A low chuckle escaped Rhysand's throat, building until he was leaning against the archway, laughing hysterically. I peered around Cassian's wing, watching Rhysand's shoulders begin to shake while laughing. "Is he having a breakdown?" I whispered.
Cassian's arm slung around me protectively. "I— I don't know." He frowned but never took his eyes off his High Lord.
"Finally!" Rhysand gasped, wiping a tear from his eye. "Cauldron, I thought I was going to have to actually marry you off to that boring block of ice just to get a reaction out of you, Cassian."
Cassian blinked, his aggression faltering into confusion. "What?" His grip around me loosened. Rhysand straightened his tunic, a smug, triumphant grin spreading across his face. "I've been setting you two up for years. The training sessions? The 'accidental' solo missions? Leaving Cassian as your guard whenever I was gone? Sending you to Winter together? I even told Azriel to drop hints, but he said you were both too 'stubbornly miserable' to take the bait."
My hand found Cassian's. "You... you wanted this?" I asked, breathless.
"YN, you're my sister. I want you to be happy." He said softly, his playful voice genuine. "I always wanted someone like Cass for you. The strongest male of them all to keep you safe. He has a good heart, he's compassionate, not only to our people, but foremost you. I wanted you with someone who would burn the world down for you. And I knew that person was the bastard who’s been punching your boyfriends since you were eighteen."
Cass punched my boyfriends? I never allowed myself to dream of him stepping up for me in that way. He was untamed and stubborn and…mine.
He stepped forward, clapping a hand on Cassian’s stunned shoulder. "I'm happy for you both. Truly. But Cassian? If you ever make her cry, I won't need a Winter's alliance to deal with you."
Rhysand winked at me, turned on his heel, and started whistling as he walked toward the ballroom. The empty chair in front of Kallias and Vivane was his.
"Now, hurry up and fix your hair," he called back over his shoulder to usher us with him. "We have a dinner to finish, and I believe Athila still thinks he has a chance. I’d love to see the look on his face when you walk back in there holding hands."
I looked at Cass, who was still staring down the doorway with wide eyes. A slow and wicked grin spreading across his face. Without a warning, he picked me up in his arms and kissed me again before setting me down again. "You heard our High Lord," he murmured, reaching out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. "Let's go ruin the Prince's night."
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