Nova had taken one bite of the chocolate from her fingers, wrinkled her nose, and Feyre abruptly cleaned off her hand before she could wipe it all over the table. Now, she was fast asleep on the couch in the sitting room. Curled up in a ball, cuddling the blanket Elain had offered her.
"I hate to wake her," Feyre murmured, watching her sleep from her place at the table.
Cassian shrugged, "So don't. We'll be here, and then when she's awake, we'll walk her over."
Pursing her lips, she glanced over at Rhys. "I don't know…"
"She was fine the first time," Rhys murmured. I imagine she'll be just fine, but we could always stay if you'd prefer."
Chewing her lip, she nodded. "I'd rather be here." The idea of Nova waking up to Nesta as company was a little much. Luckily, she'd already gone to bed.
Cleaning up the space and getting ready for bed took only a little time. Soon, the others went to bed, and she and Rhys sat on the couch diagonal to Nova, who still slept soundly.
Feyre snuggled against Rhys, smiling as his arms and wings enveloped her in a tight cocoon. Her fingers lightly tickled along the inside of his wing, smiling as he shuddered.
"Feyre…" He warned, but she pressed a soft kiss against his lips, silencing him.
Feyre nearly rolled off the couch, caught at the last moment by Rhys. His eyes were still blurred with sleep.
Groaning, she glanced over as the sun slowly rose above the distant mountains. Nesta sat at the table, sipping from a steaming mug.
Feyre quickly blinked the sleep from her eyes and sat up. She looked at the couch where Nova had been…had been.
"Where's Nova?" She asked, frantic as she scrambled out of the blanket.
Rhys frowned, suddenly alert as he stood to his feet.
With a roll of her eyes, Nesta sighed. "Calm down. She kept trying to leave the house, so Azriel and Lucien took her down to the beach."
Feyre sucked in a relieved sigh and nodded. She combed her fingers loosely through her hair and without saying a word to each other, she and Rhys winnowed to the beach.
The sunrise made the froth and cresting waves glitter like gems.
As Nesta had said, Lucien and Az sat on the beach. A decent distance between the two of them, and Nova crawled across the wet sand. She didn't seem to care as salty waves crashed into her- far too focused with her task. Whatever it was.
Feyre smiled and lowered herself, sitting down on the sand.
"I suppose she's never seen the ocean before."
Nova looked over at the sound of Feyre's voice and grinned before sprinting toward them. She was fast, faster than Feyre would have thought possible.
She slid to a stop in front of them and held her hands out.
Rhys smiled and leaned forward, "What do you have, Nova?" He asked gently, picking each piece up, he gave it a name. "A shell…a shark tooth…a shell…" He put each piece gingerly back into her waiting hands and smiled.
Nova couldn't seem to stop smiling as she set her treasured finds on the sand before them. Trusting them to keep them safe before dashing back out to the water and combing through the sand again.
For a long time, they watched her, and every time she brought them things she found, they'd name the items, and the process would repeat.
"I have a feeling we'll be frequenting the beach more." Rhys chuckled, then his jaw dropped, and Feyre quickly followed his gaze.
Feyre felt her breath leave her lungs as she watched Nova part the sea. She walked out further into the current, but the water didn't knock her over. Rather, it created an all-encompassing wall around her, allowing her to move to different areas and retrieve more treasures.
Lucien blinked in surprise, "Does she realize she's doing it?"
"I think so," Rhys murmured, "but I don't think it's something she's consciously thinking about doing. She just…naturally manipulates it."
To control something as powerful as the ocean, even on a calm day, was a feat. Yet, Nova did it with effortless ease. A part of Feyre was proud, even relieved, to know Nova could wield a power like that. She could protect herself with these gifts.
Then, a part of her dreaded knowing how quickly her power could turn into a problem rather than a gift. Madja was right; a temper tantrum could rock Velaris.
What if Nesta, indeed, had been playing with fire last night?
Nova kneeled in front of them again, holding the biggest conch shell Feyre had ever seen, but she didn't set it in her collection pile.
Instead, she held it out to Feyre.
Feyre smiled as she took it. "It's a conch shell." She offered it back, but Nova, insistent, held it to her again.
"She's giving it to you, Feyre, darling." Rhys smiled, his eyes glittering.
Heat built behind her eyes as she took the shell. "Mine?" Feyre asked Nova, testing the new word she'd learned, and Nova nodded immediately.
"Thank you…" Feyre smiled and took the shell. "It's beautiful. Just as you are."
Nova's grin widened and quickly returned to the water.
They spent almost the entire morning on the beach, only leaving when Nova discovered that crabs are not friendly to curious, wiggling toes.
Rhys chuckled, "Good thing Madja is visiting today."