A Court of Light and Fire (ACOTAR)

Chapter Eight

The door's to the House of Wind's private library opened of their own volition, a semblance of the House's sentient spirit on display. Celeste had come to learn of the House's much-adored ability to welcome any guest - add a few extra cushions to the couch when she came for tea, heat the room just to her liking.

Nesta sat on one of the lounges, book in hand and teapot on the table by her feet. The fireplace remained off, the room warm enough to avoid the chilly air of the outside realm without it. Celeste realised she may never have seen the fireplace on, save for the time she had urged her sister to help her set the fire alight. Nesta had instead found three extra blankets to keep the girl warm. The fire remained lifeless.

As with every other visit from Celeste, Elain sat by the window, cheeks hollow and eyes blank as she watched the City of Starlight blazing with the vigour of a night's whim.

'Hi, Nesta,' she smiled to her older sister, who placed her book on the table and shifted her torso to face Celeste. 'What're you reading?'

'Just something I found while wandering the shelves.' Nesta not-so-discreetly turned the novel upside down as she rose. Celeste suppressed the rising laughter at the movement - she knew very well what types of books Nesta enjoyed. Unbeknownst to her sister, she found she quite enjoyed them, too. Her gaze flickered to the window. 'Elain had some tea earlier.'

'That's great,' Celeste pulled up a chair to sit to Elain's left, smiling at her sister. She hoped the warmth of it would simmer out the cold crack in her ribs at the slow, empty gaze that drifted to meet her own. 'Have you seen the garden's they have, Elain?' Celeste looked out the window, crouching to point at one she had seen nearby. 'They're full of colour - reds and yellows and greens, even shades of purple I have never seen before.' She knew she was babbling, glancing at Elain every few moments to catch some inkling of life in the portrait of her sister. 'Even fruits and vegetables I have never seen before in our lands.'

Elain took a deeper breath than usual, her eyes clearing and lips parting as though she were about to speak, but-

'I want to go home.'

There it was. Celeste's eyes met Nesta's, and she knew her own gaze reflected what she saw there. it was a heartbreak unlike any other - deeper than the loss of their body and life, deeper than any crumbled hope for what their futures might hold. It was the loss of a sister they knew remained here physically, but would never be the same again.

They supposed they had become a shell of sorts, too, but at least Nesta hadn't fully succumbed to grief's lure. She ate as much as they had back home, wit sharp as ever and tongue even faster. Celeste saw how she shivered at the slosh of a pan's water, flinched at the crackle of log in a fire and stood between Elain and anyone who dared enter the room. But Celeste could not fault her sister for that - she found her own instincts reacted in the same way.

As guilty as she felt for it, Celeste had needed to avoid her sisters to an extent. She knew with one disappointed look or too-blunt word from Nesta, she would be sent crumbling back into the comfort of her bedroom sheets, sinking deeper into herself for what their family had endured, had become. If she hadn't had time to separate herself from the reality of their situation, to settle into her own skin and out of the small pocket in the House, she wouldn't be able to recognise, seek to aid those small hints of suffering in her sisters.

Wouldn't be able to take the step she was about to, to help Nesta and Elain and herself in any way she could.

Celeste placed a soft hand on Elain's shoulder, squeezing lightly before she turned her body to face Nesta. The eldest Archeron had still feigned to pull up a chair beside them.

'They have offered to train me,' she told her sister. She didn't mention that Cassian would be the one running the bulk of their sessions - that was a sliver of knowledge her sister could live without for now. Before Nesta's parted lips could object, the girl swiftly continued. 'I told him them I would like to join them - just enough basic movement to build muscle, learn the correct technique to defend myself if necessary.'

'We can do that here,' Nesta said. Her voice had turned cold, final, but her tilted brows and soft downturn of her lips reflected a sorrow of sorts the female only reserved for her sisters.

Celeste glanced out into the sparkling city beneath them. Her voice softened as she spoke. 'We both know that it would be different.' Her eyes locked with Nesta's again. 'I am going to accept the offer,' Nesta bristled where she stood, but didn't interrupt her, 'And was wondering if I could extend it to you both, also?' For Celeste knew Nesta craved the rhythm of movement that she had once found in music as a child, and Elain could do with a wander out of the room into the fresh air.

'I don't want him to train me,' Nesta sighed, nudging Celeste to make room on the small chair to sidle up next to her. She didn't ask for clarification on who he was - or why he seemed to so easily get under her skin. 'And you know Elain needs us watching over her.'

'The fresh air would do us all some good.' Celeste leaned her head on Nesta's shoulder, brushing the long golden-brown hair that fell over her eyes behind her pointed ear. 'I need to do something with myself if I'm going to make it through this, Nesta.'

Nesta's hand reached up to stroke Celeste's wavy locks, a gentle finger reaching to grasp the delicate tip of her new fae ears. Celeste had always been like that - she needed to move, to work, to do anything but sit with that stillness that allowed her mind to wander. The moment she sat with her thoughts, the moment they became real. The moment she needed to address them, and feel them, and realise what all of this really meant to them now.

'I will think on it, Sunshine,' Nesta spoke finally. Her sister's other arm looped behind her shoulders, tucking the girl in tightly to her side. 'But you need to rest your mind from all of this for now.' She let out a loose chuckle, tapping Celeste's temple delicately. 'You've done enough thinking for the three of us all this while.'

For the first time since arriving in Velaris, Celeste wasn't afraid of what the darkness of that night would bring. With a final glance at the glowing lights beyond, Celeste closed her eyes. She allowed her thoughts to drift, to envision the life her sisters may live if they ever managed to find themselves becoming part of the long nights of the city's revelry far below them.

And she wished to any star that would listen that the vision might become more than that soon enough.

~~~~~

A/N:

I hope you all enjoyed this surprise chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to follow me here and on Instagram (charlotte_romeo_) for more writing and book-related content and updates!

As always, thank you for reading, Dreamers! Charlotte🤍💫