They'd arrived in Velaris just as Nova and her friends were racing from the woods. At first, Finch was ahead of her, but the moment her eyes landed on Feyre and Rhys, she ran faster than they'd yet seen. She collided with them, and they wrapped their arms around her. Embracing her tightly, they struggled to suppress the overwhelming fear that threatened to engulf them.
Now, they sat in the sitting area of the townhouse, drinking warm tea and watching Nova pull things from her pockets that she'd gathered through the day. Some acorns, a few leaves, and something else that bulged in the pocket of Rhys' jacket she didn't remove.
"They're both fifteen," Feyre frowned, "How can any of them think it would be okay? Surely Thesan wouldn't agree."
Rhys was silent as he watched Nova set out her items in a line and touch each one, making sure they were all there.
"They should agree," Nesta said, swallowing down a mouthful of wine. "You should, too."
Feyre flashed a glare at Nesta, "Now is not that time."
"Not the time for what?" She retorted. "The truth?"
Shaking her head, Feyre stood to her feet and paced. "They are children."
"Children who are part of a prophecy in which all the Courts and all its people are tied," Feyre scowled at Nesta as she paced, "You cannot be serious if you think your daughter is more important than the Fall of all the Courts. If you do, you're being stupid and stubborn."
"She is!"
"To you!" Nesta stared her down. "What about the other daughters? Do they deserve to die so yours can make her own choices?"
Feyre clenched her jaw as heat built behind her eyes, looking at Rhys who sat with his head in his hands. "Rhys?" Feyre asked, her voice cracking.
It took a moment for him to speak. "We don't know if the prophecy is true." It was not an answer to either of them, but rather a simple statement of fact.
Nova stared at them, particularly her mother. Feyre rarely raised her voice and was usually an expert at hiding her tears from her daughter, but now they flowed freely.
"Sad?" Nova asked, staring at her with concern.
Taking in a shaky breath, Feyre sat down on the carpet with her and nodded. "Yes, I'm very sad." She murmured, forcing a smile as the tears glittered.
"Why?"
"Because I just love you so much." She stroked a bit of her dark hair that swept across her forehead. "What did you have fun today?"
"Fun!" Nova grinned, followed by a soft squeak. Lucien looked around and then under his legs while others looked up at the ceiling.
"Did a bird get in?" Cassian asked with a raised brow.
Another squeak came and everyone's eyes landed on Nova, who happily patted her pocket.
"Nova?" Rhys asked. His sly smile was back in place. Being in a sour mood while Nova was around was nearly impossible. "What is in your pocket?"
With everyone watching her, a mischievous smile curved her lips as she slowly reached into her jacket pocket but didn't pull back out.
"Nova," Rhys warned playfully.
Nova let out a sigh and carefully pulled from her pocket a small squirrel. It wasn't a newborn, but it wasn't an adult either. She held the little creature to her mouth and gave it a little kiss on the top of its head before it curled up against her neck, hiding in her curtain of hair.
"Oh, Nova." Feyre sighed fondly.
"So," Cassian grinned as he took a long drink of his liquor, "Who gets the job of making her take it back?"
The Winter Court was always beautiful with its glistening snow, especially close to the Solstice, but Feyre and Rhys did not smile as they crossed the threshold. Kallias and Viviane stood, waiting for them. Hollis stood in front of his mother, her hands resting on his shoulders
Feyre directed a soft smile at Hollis, he was being tossed into this, too. No matter how much she disliked the situation, in no way did she want him to feel as though it was his fault. He didn't deserve this weight- at least Nova didn't understand it.
Nova didn't feel the pressure from everyone; she didn't feel the fear Hollis must have.
"Welcome," Kallias said, "Hollis will be joining us. A decision he made."
Rhysand nodded, smiling gently in response. "We respect your courage to have a conversation as taxing as this," he flashed his eyes up to Kallias, "Our daughter will not be joining us tonight."
"We understand, " Vivane said, her voice warm and inviting. "We have dinner set if you're hungry. I understand if it doesn't sound appealing." She'd been having difficulty eating herself.
Kallias placed a comforting hand on his mate's small back and guided them all to the dining room. It was a good thing they didn't bring Nova; the amount of shiny and reflective items in here would have quickly fallen into her hands. Feyre could imagine her now, trying to shove one of the crystal bowls in her pocket.
She'd use the bowl to collect everything else, Rhys' chuckle curled against her mind.
Sitting at the table, Hollis quietly observed the High Lady and High Lord of the Night Court. He knew better than to take what the High Lords of the Spring and Autumn court had to say about them. He believed the truths from his parents and that Feyre and Rhysand were to be trusted.
Neither Feyre nor Rhysand had eaten all day. From the nerves of the morning dropping Nova off with her friends to the catastrophe at the Spring Court and returning home to find Nova had adopted a squirrel, eating had slipped their minds. They did now, though. Feeling a little more at ease knowing Cas, Az, and Mor were home with Nova.
The silence wasn't entirely uncomfortable, but it did make it difficult to know when to start- where to start.
Rhysand swallowed his bite of food and finally spoke, "We are not willing to give into what the other Courts want of us simply due to their fear of the unknown."
Nodding, Kallias said, "We agree. " He spared a glance at Hollis before returning his gaze. "I will not say I'm completely against the idea of destiny. Fate brought us to where we are today," he squeezed Viviane's hand, "But we have no interest in forcing our son's hand into something he's not ready for. Nor would we wish the same for your daughter."
"Do they have proof of the prophecy's authenticity?" Feyre asked.
"Not that they've presented," Kallias said, shaking his head. If it is true—if these things are meant to come to pass—there is no guarantee it would begin within the next year or even the next hundred. There could be time for…fate to move in its own way."
"If there isn't?" Hollis asked in a soft, quiet voice. All eyes turned to him, and though he wore the fear in his eyes, he spoke with a calm reserve. "I don't want everyone to die. Least of all because of me."
"You are not the cause of this," Viviane said firmly, her voice warm with concern. "And neither is…" She trailed off, glancing over at Feyre and Rhysand.
"Nova," Feyre answered softly, "Her name is Nova." Rhys squeezed her knee under the table.
No one spoke for a long, weighted moment before Kallias finally said, "They are going to try to push them together. Force them to live the same life so that eventually, when they're of age, they'll have no choice but to join as one. I won't look fate in the face and laugh, but I want them to have a choice."
"Then the problem is to make them see the importance of not forcing the connection." Feyre took a deep, shaking breath. "Say we tell them this. We tell them we don't want to force them to get along. If they disagree…"
Viviane murmured, "They could decide to take the responsibility into their own hands."
Unable to speak, Feyre picked up her glass of water and took a tiny sip. Fear clutched her throat. If the rest of the Courts came to a consensus to push the prophecy forward, they might lose both Nova and Hollis. She and Rhys may wield great power but against all the other Courts?
They wouldn't stand a chance.
Viviane settled another kind gaze on them, "I'm sorry you were forced to be away from her for so long."
Swallowing, Rhysand forced a smile and nodded. "We did what we thought best for her." What we thought. Kallias and Viviane held questions in their eyes, but they didn't speak them.
Feyre brushed against Rhys' mind. She will no longer be our secret to keep…they should know. Not everything, but some of her story.
Clearing his throat, Rhysand adjusted in his seat. "We tell you this now because we're putting our trust in you as allies," Rhys jaw clenched, "We trust you won't exploit the knowledge you gain."
They nodded, not dropping their eyes. "What is said here does not leave." Kallias agreed.
"Nova has lived without contact with people since she was two…three years old." Viviane's brows rose but stayed silent as Rhys continued. "How she survived those years, we don't know. She lived in the forest, taking after the environment around her. When we found her, she didn't know any language at all. She's been speaking more recently, but her understanding of the world around her is similar to that of a toddler, at best, a three-year-old. She is not able to make decisions for herself. Not decisions as in-depth as this."
Feyre swallowed, "She learns and grows every day. She's incredibly intelligent, but her mindset is something others could take advantage of."
It was a lot to take in, but Kallias slowly nodded in understanding. "The Winter Court will do everything within its power to see that Nova of the Night Court is not abused or preyed upon by any other. You have our word and our trust with this information."
Returning their smile, Rhys nodded. "We promise the same for Hollis."
"I have a question," Hollis said a little timidly.
Rhys smiled patiently and nodded, giving him his attention.
"How do you prove if something is true or not?"
"I might have an idea." Feyre said, looking at Rhys, who quirked a brow.
The gloomy air whipped hair at Feyre's face as she looked up at The Prison. Though they'd tried, they couldn't gain any information from Elain. Dreams of the future didn't stalk her sleep, so Feyre and Rhysand resigned to their last form of defense.
The Bone Carver.
Taking a deep breath, Feyre followed Rhys in and let her expression become impenetrable ice. There had to be something they could gain from this visit- anything. Their last chance was to disprove the prophecy before the other High Lords could set another meeting.
A gathering, they feared, would fall out of their favor.
Grasping the bones she held against her pocket, they forged forward and ignored the chill that settled under her skin. Stepping into the Bone Carver cell, she decided an unwavering gaze on his twisted grin.
"How lovely to have visitors." To Feyre, she saw Beron's vicious grin, while Rhys…Rhys saw Kallias, no.
He saw Hollis as an adult.
"Is it true?" Rhysand asked, keep his tone level.
Hollis smirked, tilting his head to the side as he assessed him. "I take it you found your star?"
Feyre curled her lip in slight irritation. "Is the prophecy true?" However, the question sounded more like a demand. She tossed the skull to him, which he easily caught and examined thoroughly.
They waited as patiently as possible, but when he glanced up with a wicked smirk, he said, "Painter's palette of fading light."
Feyre narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. "I don't want to know my future. I want to know my daughter's fate."
Grinning wider, Beron tilted his head but said nothing.
"We're done here," Rhysand growled and irritated, took Feyre's hand. Turning, he left as Hollis' laugh echoed after him.
All Feyre wanted to do when they got home was to sit with Nova and talk to her. Read to her. Even if she didn't understand a word that came out of her mouth, she just wanted to be with her.
While she still could.
Nova looked up from the table with a wide grin. She had re-painted her arms in their absence. In front of her, she used paint and paper, using her fingers as tools to create swirls. The squirrel she'd taken was nestled comfortably against her arm as he nibbled on a peanut.
"Cassian." Feyre looked at him with a sigh.
Azriel pursed his lips thinly as Cassian cringed. "We started to," he swallowed, "I will follow you into battle. Take a dagger to the heart for you, but don't make me take it away from her. Please."
Nova pressed another kiss to the top of the squirrel's head as it continued to chew, completely unbothered.
Taking a deep breath, Rhys smiled and kissed the shell of Feyre's ear. "I'll take care of our new guest tomorrow morning. It'll be a…learning experience."
Feyre smiled softly and nodded just as another letter appeared on the table. She snatched it just before Nova could slam her purple-painted palm on top. She ripped it open and read, the color draining from her face.
"The rest of the Courts have decided it would be best to…" She swallowed harshly as a wave of dizziness nearly rocked her, "Heed Tamlin's warning and prepare to proceed with the prophecy."
Rhys took the letter from Feyre's numb fingers and softly cursed. "Almost everyone has signed. Aside from Kallias and Tarquin. Everyone else agrees to meet at the Spring Court a week from today to discuss the proceedings. The Star and The Snowflake will be required to attend."
"Is purple!" Nova held her hands up and grinned.
They could only stare at her, a cold dread washing over them.