A Court of Lost Stars

It rained a lot.

Far more frequently than Feyre was used to, she couldn't help but wonder if the weather was why Nova stayed here for so long. It at least flourished with life, letting her live off the land.

A few days had passed since Azriel had taken the two men away from the area to…deal with. When he returned, he didn't say a word. No one asked, but everyone knew.

Nova knew.

Later that night, she slowly crawled down her tree. She stayed a safe distance away, but rather than hiding in shadow, she'd leaned against the trunk and silently observed them.

Occasionally, she'd disappear, and there would be no sign of her for an hour or two. Then, she'd suddenly be there again. 

How much of their conversations could she understand?

Currently, they all sat around the fire, bracing the rain. It hadn't stopped since earlier that morning, making it nearly impossible to keep the fire going without some persuasion from Feyre's gifts. She kept the flames from dying as Rhys lifted his wings to cover their heads.

Az used his to cover Mor's, and Cas covered his own. 

Glancing over at Nova, she sat under the tree's sparse coverage. While the moss did help soak the rain that fell around her, the branches above didn't seem to hold well as water trickled down onto her head. She looked half drowned yet seemed utterly unbothered.

Occasionally, she'd tilt her head back and let the water run down her face.

Cas chuckled and mused. "I wish I could be as at peace in cold rain as she is."

Feyre and Rhys couldn't help but exchange a smile.

The next night. 

Nova sat two feet closer.

And the night after that…three feet.

Each day and night that passed, Nova's spot to watch them was closer. Foot by foot, inch by inch, until finally, on the eighth night since they'd first seen her in the tree, she sat right next to the log Feyre sat on.

Feyre slowly looked over as Nova took her seat. Her eyes swam, and she smiled at her curious, intense expression.

"Hello, Nova."

Everyone held their breath, eyes on Nova as she stared at Feyre and slowly tilted her head before her gaze settled on Rhys.

He smiled, too, but said nothing.

Nova's gaze drifted up to his wings tucked neatly behind his back. She stared at them for a long time before looking to her left at Az, Cas, and Mor.

She stared longest at Azriel.

"I think she remembers you," Feyre whispered.

If Nova hadn't looked so much like her father, she and Az would have been twins in the way they stared at each other.

The corner of Az's lip turned up just a little. "Hm, I don't think that's possible, Feyre." He murmured.

"Who's to say what's possible?" Mor smiled softly, watching Nova. "She's alive. After all these years, against all odds…she's alive."

Nova's attention was drawn to the fire, but when she started to reach for it, Feyre jolted.

"It's hot!" 

The expression was instinctual, but it was all it had taken to undo the bit of progress they'd made. 

Nova's eyes widened as she scrambled backward. Within seconds, she disappeared into her tree hole.

Feyre put her hands over her mouth, eyes wide as hot tears streamed down.

What had she just done?! How stupid could she have been?!

Now, she'll never come back out.

"Hey, easy," Rhys took her face in her hands, "it's okay-"

Feyre cut him off with a soft gasp. "It's not okay," she groaned as nausea rolled through her stomach, threatening to bring up her dinner, "it took days to get her this close. DAYS, RHYS! What was I thinking?!"

He shook his head. "You weren't thinking; that's the point. You instinctually protected our daughter. If you hadn't, she'd have been burned."

With Rhys rubbing gentle circles against her back, it took a moment to calm down enough for Mor to speak.

"Think of it this way, Feyre. If she'd gotten hurt by something we wielded, she might think we intentionally hurt her. It's better for her to be startled by our voice than think we set something to burn her."

The logic made sense, but the guilt and agonizing weight of seeing that look on her face couldn't settle her stomach.

Feyre still felt queasy even an hour later when a snarling scream ripped through the night.