A Court of Lost Stars

Two weeks passed, and Nova turned from curious to feral. Okay, maybe not feral, Feyre thought to herself as she walked into the living room, but very high energy. 

For the last few days, she, Rhys, and Nova stayed in the townhouse while everyone else worked on rebuilding Velaris. She and Rhys would occasionally take turns visiting the city, but they never left Nova alone.

For obvious reasons.

Yesterday, Rhys found Nova in the kitchen. She'd dumped entire bags of flour and sugar on the floor and eaten raw eggs while sitting in the mixture. 

The day before that, Feyre had caught her red-handed, literally, in her art room. She'd emptied every jar and tube of paint. Luckily, she hadn't yet smeared it all over the canvases she'd already finished before their capture.

In ways, Nova was very much like a toddler. She did things to see what would happen when she did it. As Rhys had said, she was learning from her new environment.

Feyre would admit, however, that she did learn from her mistakes. After Feyre left her art room with red eyes, Nova followed her. She'd tracked paint across the floor with her bare feet, offering the crushed tubes with remorseful eyes. Then, together, they'd cleaned the art room and admired the paintings on the walls. 

Nova had particularly been drawn to a painting of a fox in a winter setting of snow and ice. Feyre would often find Nova sitting on the floor in the art room, staring at the painting.

Today, Rhys, Mor, Cas, and Az sat in the living room, staring at the ceiling. Feyre followed their gaze, and her eyes widened, gasping softly. Nova, who she thought was in her room, hung upside down from the ceiling rafters.

"How did she…"

"I have no idea." Rhys grinned as Cas tossed something up to her, which she caught in her mouth and chewed with ease.

Feyre looked down at the bowl in his lap- blackberries. She'd expanded her palate over the past few days and had begun eating more bread and cheese. Berries, though, were her favorite.

Without fear, Nova pulled herself up, rotated on the beam, and swung back down just in time to catch another blackberry.

Cas chuckled. "Well, we won't have to work on core strength."

Smiling, Feyre sat down and pulled Rhys' arm over her shoulder, snuggling against his side.

"I know she's used her powers before, but do you think she's ever done anything else?"

"Like…fly?" Rhys asked, and Feyre nodded.

"If she hasn't shown us she can yet, she probably hasn't discovered it. Though she is a risk taker, teaching her wouldn't take much."

Mor frowned. "You know what Madja said. No fighting, no flying."

"I understand that," Rhys' jaw clicked, "but what if there comes a time very soon that she needs those skills? We trained Feyre quickly for the same reasons. We can't leave her defenseless."

Everyone was quiet, the only sound coming from Nova above, who seemed to be humming. It sounded more like a dove cooing or an owl.

"Madja said to wait until she's had time to adjust and starts understanding what we say," Feyre nodded slowly, "so if we work on her language, maybe we can teach her those skills sooner? She's already learned what her name is…and I think she understands no and stop," Feyre cringed; they've had to say those words often, "there has to be something else we can do to help her learn."

"Yes, but it only really works if she's willing to try," Rhys smirked, "you learned to read so quickly because you wanted to practice. I don't think Nova has any interest in conversation yet."

Nodding, Feyre leaned her head back and sighed. Maybe it would have to be a waiting game.

A waiting game riddled with anxiety.

Yes, they had new protections, but it would only be a matter of time before the outside world knew the truth. They'd escaped Hybern, and it was a miracle they hadn't come for them yet.

Something was brewing, and Nova would be caught in the middle.

When Cassian ran out of blackberries, Nova huffed in disappointment before she grabbed the beam and unhooked her knees. Everyone stiffened, ready to rush to help her, but she dropped from the high ceiling, landing with effortless ease.

Feyre released her breath and smiled.

"By the way," Rhys started as Nova took her seat on the carpet in front of the fire, "I'm taking Feyre away to the cabin this evening…"

"Oh, are you?" Feyre raised a brow.

"Mmhm…" Rhys smirked. "We'll need at least one person to be here so Nova isn't alone."

Cassian grinned. "Say no more. I'll keep an eye on her."

"No training," Feyre warned before looking over at Az, who nodded with a smile, signaling he would be here too and make sure Nova wasn't taught how to slice down the enemy with a single slice of a sword.

Not yet.

She'll be fine. Rhys' voice caressed her mind.

Feyre smiled softly.

I know, I'll worry no matter what.

I've not fucked you properly for fifteen years. I plan to change that tonight.

Feyre swallowed hard and knew all too well that she needed to get out of the room before someone could comment on the sudden flood of arousal she felt.

Merely smirking, Rhys slid his arm around her waist, and they disappeared from the couch.

Cas chuckled, looking over the spot they'd once been and then at Nova, who was, for some reason, separating lentils into little piles on the carpet.

"Looks like it's just the four of us kid."

"Actually," Mor stood, "I have a date, but I'm sure you'll both be fine."

Cas and Az exchanged a look and nodded. 

"Of course, we'll be fine; she can't be that much trouble."

Mor gave him an incredulous look. "She's Feyre and Rhysand's offspring. Think about that before deciding if you should let your guard down."

As she closed the door on her way out, Nova looked up from her piles and frowned. It seemed she'd just noticed Feyre and Rhys were gone. She whipped her head around.

"I think she's looking for them…" Azriel pursed his lips.

Cas frowned and nodded. "Well, we'll just need to entertain her so she doesn't have time to miss them."

With a smooth movement, Cas crossed the room and picked up the chessboard. He returned it to the carpet and set it in front of Nova. He sat cross-legged on the ground across from her.

Cas smiled at Azriel's expression.

"Oh, come on. They said no fighting, no flying. This is neither. We can still teach her skills without resulting in harm. Are you going to help her critical thinking skills or not?" 

Nova picked up one of the Knights.

"That goes right here," Cassian pointed to the board, then reached for the Knight when she didn't put it in the spot but quickly pulled it out of his reach. "Nova," he frowned, "look, it's Chess. It's a game. Watch." 

He moved one of the pawns. "See?"

Nova took the pawn he had moved and hugged it.

"No, that's…" 

She pulled the pieces from his reach again and scowled.

Az smirked as he leaned back into the couch. "Good luck with that."