Chapter Text
Saria and Nyx laid together in the field, staring at the blue sky through the trees.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she responded, finally catching her breath from the laughing.
“Is that real starlight?”
“Apparently. My father claimed it to be a portal, though I’m not sure where to.” Saria leaned on her elbows, looking at the male next to her. His clipped black hair bristled in the wind. She found herself fighting the urge to reach over and brush it away from his forehead.
“You never wondered where it goes?” He asked, blue quizzical eyes finding her own.
Saria looked at the pool. She loved it, swimming in it had always been a comfort for her. When lessons grew difficult, she often found herself in the pool; the warm waters caressing her in an embrace. But she never wondered where it could lead her. Had not wanted to go anywhere else, truthfully. And knew she would rather go to Summer before anywhere else.
She shook her head at Nyx. “No,” she simply said.
Nyx nodded, but his expression seemed distant. Like he was thinking of something that weighed heavily on him.
Saria stood, her dress now almost completely dry. “Come on. I want to show you something.” She reached her hand out, and Nyx took it.
———
Saria led Nyx to another clearing, this one surrounded by rose bushes. Petals of reds, pinks, yellows, whites and oranges speckled around them. In the middle of the field laid a fluffy white blanket and a woven basket.
She observed Nyx as he took in his surroundings, his mouth agape. She wondered how the Night Court was if this scenery had him mesmerized. She hoped it was not how the book described it to be. A place so awful it created nightmares.
Saria cleared her throat, “My father planted these for my mother. A bush for each year they’ve been together. Twenty, currently.”
“That’s…” His voice trailed off. “That’s amazing.”
“I think so.”
She grinned at him before walking towards the blanket and sitting, Nyx followed suit.
“I heard your mother is a human, is that true?” Nyx quipped, playing with the fuzz of the blanket.
Saria nodded, rummaging through the basket—scents of the sweets within reached her nostrils and she almost moaned at the smell. She spent all night and morning nervously baking, too excited to sleep. Small pastries filled with various jams, vanilla cookies, loaves of bread and plump spring fruits filled the basket.
“I also heard that she’s a witch.”
“Both can be true.” she pulled out a container of treats and set it between them. She glanced at his face, his brows furrowed. “Witches are made, Nyx. Not born.”
He hummed lowly at that, “My mother was Made.”
“Yes. Feyre Cursebreaker. I’ve learned about her in my studies. We would not be here without her.” Saria stared out at the roses before continuing, “My mother is not Made like that. She is not fae.”
“Will she live a human’s life?” She knew what he meant. A short life. Humans barely made it past a hundred years, most were lucky enough to reach eighty, if ailments from the environment did not effect them.
“She has spells that prolong her life. But her body has already built tolerances against it. Eventually, it will not work,” She said quietly, blinking her eyes fast to ward off the tears. Her lashes brushed against her flushed cheeks. “It is the way the Mother has chosen. I am eternally grateful to even have her now.”
Her mother’s shortened life had never been a secret kept from her. It was something she always knew, and her father had made sure to instill the Mother’s grandiosity into Saria’s mind since she was a small child. It truly was remarkable to have even a sliver of time with one’s mate, and even more so with a mother.
Nyx rested his palm on her shoulder, rubbing tentatively. “Will your father follow her?”
Saria chuckled softly, “My father would follow her straight into the sun. They travel so much because it’s what she loves. She wants to see it all. My father would be more than content to stay here forever, but she’s always looking for an adventure.” She shook her head lightly, amused at the woman who birthed her. “I am to believe he would not be far behind her in that land of milk and honey. They are mates, after all.”
“What about you? Are you more fae or human? Or witch?”
She thought about it for a moment before answering. What was she, exactly? Honestly, she had never truly thought about it. No one had ever questioned her about it. She had magic from her father, studied the way of the world like her mother. She just…was.
“I am all. Equally. I cannot be one without the other,” She replied, opening the container and placing the lid back in the basket. “But I think my lifespan will be similar to my father’s. Either way, the Mother has already wield it to be.”
They sat in silence for a while, she had a feeling he was contemplating everything she’d just revealed to him. His parents probably did not have the problem of time running out, as they were both High Fae now. The idea would be a shock to most fae, especially ones regarded so highly. Nyx’s hand still rested on her shoulder, drawing light circles on the small of her back. Her body had gone wholly warm.
“I made these for you,” Saria said, clearing her throat and holding up the sweets. “But if you don’t like them, then it was my mother.”
Nyx shook his head, chuckling. He picked up a cookie and took a bite. He tapped his chin, as if in deep thought and Saria slapped his shoulder lightly. “Be serious.”
“It’s amazing.” He looked into her eyes, the blue twinkling in the light. “You’re amazing.”
Saria blushed but did not look away. She could not look away. Something in his gaze drew her closer to him. Like a rope was pulling them closer. Their foreheads brushed lightly, Nyx’s hand landed near her thigh, holding himself upright. Saria swallowed hard.
“Can I kiss you?” Nyx’s voice was barely a whisper. She’d wanted to kiss him since that very first night on the beach but had contained herself. Well, as much as she could with the alcohol running through her veins. And then he had been drunk and it did not feel right.
Saria nodded quickly against him. His eyes flicked from her own down to her lips and then his mouth found hers. She found his jaw with her hand and gripped the sharpness of it. Nyx’s tongue slipped into her mouth, his hand on the back of her head. Guiding her to the ground—the container of treats discarded to the side—Saria tasted the sweetness of the cookie on his tongue.
They laid like that for a while. On their sides, legs entangled and hands interwoven in strands of hair. The taste of sweet innocence still on Saria’s mouth as she broke from his lips.
She stared into his eyes, hands gripping his cheeks. They were both breathless as she giggled against his mouth, eyes crinkling. “I think I have been waiting for you my whole life, Nyx.”
Nyx’s dimples showed as he grinned and brought her into another kiss.
———
Over the next couple of months, Nyx would visit her in Spring. They’d meet once a week and kiss in the flower fields. Or in her bed. It did not go far, and they often found something to talk about before clothes came off. She wanted to savor it, didn’t feel the need to rush things along and she knew he felt the same. Or at least she believed that to be true, as he never pushed her further.
On one afternoon, Saria practically radiating with excitement, told Nyx to turn around when he met her by the lake. It wasn’t the starlight pool, this water was pure and clear.
“Is this where you stab me in the back?” Nyx joked, looking at her with a perplexed expression.
“Just do it,” She whined, waving her hand at him. He put his hands up in mock surrender and turned, clothes blowing in the wind. His dark wings tucked in tight against his white button up shirt.
Saria took in a shaky breath. She’d been practicing in her free time nonstop for the last few months. The lessons with her father left her absolutely exhausted but had been so beneficial. In the weeks since that feather sprouted, she’d been able to sprout a whole set of wings. All kinds of them, actually.
Her father fell to his knees the first time she did it. The setting sun shone through the large wings of white feathers attached to her back. Hers… but not. She’d gotten inspiration from a book she was reading. Malakim, they were called. She liked the way they felt, how the wind moved through them.
She couldn’t fly, of course. That was a lesson of its own, one she was not sure her father could teach her. She could watch birds fly but would need lessons from a real malakim. And since she didn’t know any—or if they even still existed—she could not fly. Not yet.
Saria closed her eyes, taking in another breath. She willed her mind to focus. Willed the power in her veins to flow freely. Slowly releasing her breath, Saria opened her eyes.
———
Nyx stared at the water; Saria had gone completely silent behind him. He was not sure what was happening, only that she had a surprise for him.
He watched the stream of the water, the lilly pads lightly moving with it. The sun’s reflection rippling. And then a flash of bright light. The fish near the surface bolted, seeking coverage in the deep end.
“Look,” Saria said, voice barely above a whisper.
Nyx turned and froze at what he saw.
Saria stood there, light pink dress billowing in the wind. Her golden-blonde hair flowing like a spool of dripping honey around her.
Her brown eyes shining bright as she beheld his face. But his focus was on her wings. Wings. She’d fucking grown wings.
Nyx took a step closer to her, to those pink shining wings. They were like butterfly wings. He stepper closer, until he was just a breath’s away from her. He analyzed the wings further and…
No, they weren’t butterfly wings at all. They were dragonfly wings.
The female before him had somehow grown dragonfly wings.
“I—,” He didn’t even know what to think. What to ask. Where to start. He was at a lost for words. He walked behind her so he could get a better look. “How?”
“Practice,” She quietly breathed. “I have shifting powers from my father. I can…grow…things.”
He’d heard about Tamlin’s powers but had not thought much about it. But this, this was something else entirely. She did not take form as his usual beast. Instead, she became something beautiful.
“Can I touch them?” He asked.
She nodded and Nyx grazed the wings with his fingertips. She twitched lightly but did not move away from his touch. “This is absolutely amazing, Saria.”
He racked his brain to convey the feeling of the wing but came up empty. They were soft but hard and resilient, something he’d never felt before. The sun shined through them, the pink of the wings casting an iridescent kaleidoscope of light onto the grass.
“I learned how to grow them last night.” Saria turned towards him, their chests almost pressing against the other. “I wanted you to be the first to see.”
Nyx cupped her face, bringing her closer to him. He kissed her forehead, then the tops of each cheek. “You are such a marvelous, breathtakingly beautiful female.” His mouth found hers.
Saria leaned into his touch, her back arching and wings spread wide.
They watched the sun set and the moon rise. The stars twinkled in the distance. He wished he could pluck one straight from the sky and gift it to her. She was worthy of the stars, of the moon. Of the whole damn sun.
Nyx had been fully enthralled by her since that first night in the Summer Court. Could not stop thinking about her after. But now…
Something else entirely had blossomed. His chest glowed around her; his worries seemed to dissipate. He felt like he could take on anything and everything with her by his side. It felt like his very soul was tied to hers. So, without a second thought, he declared a thought that had been sitting in his mind for weeks now.
“I want to take you to the City of Starlight.”