A Court of Bastards [ACOTAR]

Chapter 10

Over the next week, Fiona found herself living something of a double life. Some nights she visited Velaris, flying under the stars beside Riordan, Bella, Gabriel and Xander. They would dance, and drink and Fiona learned to laugh - though she never stayed at the townhouse overnight for fear of her absence being noticed.

Other nights, she felt the watching eyes of her cousins and did not dare sneak off to the city of starlight. Those evenings she spent beside Baird, talking tentatively about life in their respective courts. Though she had grown to enjoy his company, and loved to hear him talk so passionately about the snow-capped mountains of home, Fiona's heart never stopped yearning for Velaris. She often caught herself daydreaming while he spoke, her thoughts wandering to the sea breeze, the feeling of liberty that came from walking beneath the open night sky. Every night that Bella, Dan and Xander strode smugly into a little corridor without Fiona, a part of her felt absent until their return.

The time she spent at the palace did, however, allow her time to attend the summit – which seemed to finally be achieving something. As an attendant, Fiona despised Eris for acting as the last remaining thorn in Morrigan's side, constantly dismissing and rejecting every attempt to install her as High Lady. As a member of his court, however, a small part of her was grateful – the longer the council deliberated, the more time she had to enjoy away from the Forest House.

One afternoon, Eris was doing a particularly spectacular job of playing the contrarian when Fiona entered the council hall, expecting the summit to have ended for the day. She spotted Riordan standing beside Bella near the Peregryn party, and weaved through the crowd to join them.

"What are you doing amongst the plebeians today, Dan?" She offered him a smirk that he didn't return.

"My father gave me leave," Riordan answered, his eyes on Eris. "But I just had to stay."

Bella was scowling. "Your uncle is putting on quite the performance."

The words had hardly left her lips when Eris stood from his throne rather abruptly, his chair scraping against the marble tiles. The hall fell silent.

"I have made my position on this matter very, very clear."

Eris' voice trembled with a quiet rage that Fiona had not heard before. "You may not like my agenda, but surely none of you are so stupid as to be blind to hers." He directed his fury at the Morrigan as he spoke again. "She is not fit to be High Lady. She will be a permanent ally to the Night Court. You reject my proposal of absorbing the Spring Court, but in appointing her you will be dissolving it all the same."

"She is independent from her friends," Morrigan snarled. "And everyone here seems willing to vouch for my loyalty to the Spring Court, Eris." She practically spat his name, a pretty fist forming over the arm of her throne.

Eris shot a hopeful look at Kallias, High Lord of Winter, who met him with an icy stare. "We have considered every possible alternative." Kallias said sternly. "Lord Helion has explained that the role is most likely to fall to Morrigan anyway – so why not appoint her officially?"

Helion nodded with heavy-lidded eyes. Fiona almost laughed at the boredom etched clearly on his face - he looked as though he'd rather be a hundred places other than the Mountain Palace, deciding the fate of Prythian for centuries to come.

But Eris was not satisfied. "Even wondrous Lord Helion has admitted that he has no idea how Morrigan's birthright may affect the succession!" he barked, genuinely incredulous. "It's been hardly a millennia since her family ruled the Night Court themselves!"

Though the others shared an exasperated look, Fiona - for once - found herself inclined to agree with her uncle. Of course, she'd heard the legends about the Morrigan; her gift was truth, and surely no other power qualified her quite as much to take up the mantle of High Lady. But she was aligned to the Night Court. No matter what she said - a decade at Spring didn't erase a lifetime in Velaris. And as someone who's heart was torn between two courts, Fiona knew which she would have chosen.