A Court of Bastards [ACOTAR]

Chapter 5

The lords and ladies went back and forth for hours. There were plans to instill Morrigan in the Spring Court, and of course, Eris' own agenda - which seemed less absurd the more opportunity he had to spin it with his silver tongue. Most of the lords and ladies seemed to agree that Morrigan would be a good replacement for Tamlin. The issue was that no one could give an estimate of how long it might take for her to inherit Spring's powers. Plus, she was born in the Night Court, and even Helion didn't know how that would affect the succession.

Fiona tried her best to keep up as a million strategies and counter-caveats were introduced, but sometime after lunch she grew tired of their bickering. It became apparent that while the summit lasted, the court attendants would be little more than a noise machine, reluctantly groaning or grumbling their agreement with every new proposal. Perhaps this would not be the adventure she had hoped for.

So when Nyx declared that they were done for the day, Fiona gathered her skirts and made for the Eastern corridor and her lodgings, deciding that she'd rather have an early night than suffer her cousins attempts to flirt their way through Prythian. 

She'd barely made it three steps before someone grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. Fiona was spun around with a squeak as Riordan's beaming face appeared before her.

"Where are you off to?" he asked.

Fiona laughed, a little relieved to see him off his best behaviour now that the summit was paused. "You appeared before Prythian today as a High Lord's son." She shook off his grip, placing a hand on her hips. "Wouldn't now be a good time to start acting like one?"

"Where are you off too?" he repeated, pouting like a child.

"Bed." she told him, her tone final.

"Your first night out of Autumn and you want to go to bed?" Riordan's stare was incredulous. "I won't have it. Come on." He placed his hand in hers and held on tight. "There are some people I want you to meet."

"Dan, wait-" Fiona tried to wriggle out of his grip, but before she could make a scene of herself they came to an abrupt stop in front of a group of winged warriors dressed in combat leathers. Her eyes widened and she started to protest, but Riordan only squeezed her wrist tighter. 

"Belladonna?"

A tall, slender female with dark hair turned at the sound of her name. Her wings loomed menacingly, like shadows at her back as she stepped away from the warriors to greet Riordan with a cool smile. "The Prince of Daybreak," she chuckled. Grey eyes sparkled like stars against her dark, braided hair. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I just wanted to come over and extend the greetings of the Day Court." Dan's smile widened and he pulled Fiona in, placing a hand on the small of her back as she trembled slightly. "And to introduce you to my cousin, Fiona."

Belladonna's steady gaze fell to the younger fae, who did her best impression of a casual smile, trying not to look at the claws on the tips of her wings. The warrior raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. But she dipped her head in polite acknowledgement nonetheless.

"I'm glad to meet you, Fiona. Have you never met an Illyrian before?" Though Belladonna seemed amused, her tone was not mocking, even as a blush crept into Fiona's cheeks.

She shook her head. "Where I come from, Illyrians are a warning used to scare children into obedience." she admitted. Seeing Belladonna's smile widen, she hastened to add, "I'm just a bit in awe."

"Well in that case, stare away," she replied. "I've trained my whole life to the be the face of children's nightmares." Her teeth glinted in the light of the setting sun behind them. Fiona wasn't sure whether to laugh or run.