Winds of Fire [ACOTAR]

CHAPTER FIFTY TWO

After curling up on the sofa, Primrose awoke to Nova sat before her, her palm cupping her cheek and tapping gently. The sound of Azriel and Elain in their room drew her out from her sleep, the day in full swing as Orion remained asleep against her breast. Her hand stroked his hair as Leo's cries drifted through the hall and into the sitting room as Prim turned to Nova.

"Hi sweetheart," she whispered, head aching slightly with the lack of sleep and exhaustion from the night before. She wondered if it had all been a dream, but apart from the fact they'd changed location, the armour they wore and the stench of smoke lingering upon them confirmed her suspicions. That, and the smile curling Nova's cheeks.

"Is it true?" she smiled, "Did Lucien really kill Beron? Did we really win?"

Prim nodded, hating how her eyes stung with unshed tears for the first time since last night, "Yeah, we did baby girl. Lucien is the new High Lord of the Autumn Court now, did Aunt Elain tell you that?"

Nova's cheeks blushed red, "No, I may have been eavesdropping when I heard the front door close. She told Uncle Az what happened."

She let out a chuckle, stretching forward to press a kiss to Nova's forehead, "You really are an Archeron."

The shift of her movement and Nova's giggle had Orion's eyes fluttering. He stretched, sitting up and smiling at the two females before him. Nova was on the sofa immediately, arms wrapping around Orion and resting her head against his shoulder. A grin curled his lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist, peppering kisses atop her head, "I love you so much, Nova."

"I was so worried about you," she cried, "I woke up from the noise of an explosion but Aunt Elain just told me to go back to sleep."

"Aunt Elain was right, sweetheart. There was nothing you could do and you were safe here in the cabin," Orion explained, eyes lifting as Elain and Azriel entered the room, Leo a bundle in Az's arms.

"Nova," Elain called, the grey bags under her eyes prominent. "Why don't you go get changed for Lunch?"

Lunch. Rhys must have told Azriel about the meet up for lunch. Prim wondered what the time was, they likely didn't have long until they were due at the house. Nova began to protest, sitting in Orion's lap. "It's okay, sweetie. Go get changed, okay? I bet you can't wait to see your Mommy and Daddy, right?" Primrose prompted, squeezing her hand and watching her eyes light up with the mention of her parents.

She nodded, climbing down and ducking past Azriel's wings and into her room. Az moved to the armchair, Leo content in the crook of his arms as they settled. Prim sat up, creating more space on the sofa for Elain who slid in at the end beside Orion. Primrose couldn't help but feel sticky and sweaty in her gear, the leather like a second skin. 

"Didn't feel like going back to the house?" she asked, arms resting on her thighs. Elain was always dressed elegantly, usually in shades of pink. Today, her dress was black, painted with pink flowers, but dark nonetheless. It made her cream skin look milky, made the hazel colouring of her eyes turn to shadows and the flush of her cheeks redden. She looked ethereal in black.

"The cabin has always been my home," Orion smiled, taking Prim's hand and rubbing his thumb over her ring. "Plus, I wanted to see Nova, check she was okay."

"She was in good hands," Azriel breathed, a smirk curling the corner of his cheek as he rocked Leo, the Illyrian babe asleep against his father. 

Orion turned to his uncle and Prim saw the slight narrow of his eyes. She squeezed her mate's hand, already feeling the tense crawling of her spine. "You must be proud of her," he started, eyes watching Azriel curiously, "Of Aunt Elain, I mean. She saved Lucien, saved us all. Without her, without what she did, we'd still be fighting, or worse—we would have lost."

Prim couldn't help but notice the smirk that Elain tried to hide behind her hand. Azriel's shoulders shifted with breath, shadows swimming around him, "She knows how I feel about what she did, but that doesn't mean I'm not glad this is over."

Orion's eyes widened ever-so-slightly at the beginning of his sentence. Though, by the end, he was nodding in agreement, "It will be nice that Leo can live in the world without mass destruction."

Az only smiled, turning his attention to his son whose little wings were fluttering in sleep. Breaking the silence with her magnificence, Nova reentered the room, a glittering purple dress upon her frame. Puffed sleeves ran along her arms, wide skirts flowing around her with lace hemming. Primrose could see it; Nova Archeron, High Lady of the Night Court. She fell into the position more and more every day, even at such a small age.

Orion blinked as he turned to her, "Well, hello there princess."

"The cabin left it on the bed for me," she giggled, twirling the dress as she spun. "Isn't it pretty?"

"So pretty," said Prim, standing from the sofa and stretching out her hands to take Nova's, "Is it okay if I use that room to bathe? I know your things are in there so—"

"We're sisters now, Prim! We're allowed to share!" she grinned, eyes sparkling like the galaxy. She would have burst into tears if it weren't for the audience. Instead, she muttered a quick thanks, telling the room she was going to change before disappearing through the hall.

The bath was bubbling by the time she reached the chambers, her body bare and feet slipping into the warmth. All the burns, the aches, the cuts, every bit of pain disappeared as she sunk under its weight. She could have cried then, chest heaving and shaking with relief. They had done it. Her father was alive, her mate and his sister, their parents. She, the girl who spoke the language of flowers and had not touched a blade in all her eighteen years, had fought, and had won.

When she was ready, she stood from the bath, cleansed and renewed. She was ready for the change to come, ready to take on whatever was left, and put together the remaining pieces of the puzzle. But first, lunch.