chapter four

─── friends

          𝔗he townhouse in Velaris was nothing how I expected to be. I had thought that it would be wreathed in darkness, made of the same obsidian stone that the palace was made of but it wasn't.

The foyer was covered with a plush red carpet, surrounded by warm wood-panelled walls that were covered with artwork. A staircase lead upwards and further into the house, as I looked around in awe.

"This is-" Rhysand chuckled as I became speechless, watching me with a warm grin. 

"It's not all doom and gloom." He muttered, holding out an arm so that he could show me around. "This is the family townhouse though only Maiya and I use it. But she's banished to Hewn, so it's only me now."

He opened the door to my left, showing a large sitting room with worn furniture and bookshelves all over the walls. My eyes widened at the thought of how much I could read whilst I was here. The door to our right led to a dining room with a long, Cherrywood table that could easily fit ten people. The slender hallway stretched on ahead as Rhysand pointed out rooms; a kitchen, a larger sitting room just off of the dining room and a room filled with training equipment.

"It's beautiful, Rhysand, what is this place?" I turned to him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Velaris. The City of Starlight." Rhysand smiled, looking the epitome of calm but I could feel his excitement down the bond. He wanted to show me this.

"You're excited."

"You're getting better at reading the bond." Rhysand quipped back, before nodding his head. "I want to show you around before I could back to the Southern war camps, so that you feel comfortable."

"I'd like that."

"Well, then come on. You are lucky to have the best tour guide of Velaris, not to mention the most handsome." I laughed at his words, shaking my head. "You do not think I am handsome?"

"I have yet to meet anyone else, so I can not make a judgement."

"Maybe that is why I haven't let you meet anyone else." He grinned, looking more and more his age as time went on. The Rhysand that I first met when discussing the arranged marriage was completely different from this one now in front of me. He was full of life. "However, I do wish for you to meet some friends of mine."

"You have friends?" I joked, before wincing. That was a joke that I would have made at my own brother, and I did not know if I had offended him.

Instead, I was met with a booming laughter as Rhysand tilted his head back at my quip. I froze, before my smile returned. He tried to quieten his laughter, opening the door for me as he did.

"Sorry."

"Don't be, that was good." Rhysand grinned, as I stepped out into the warm summer sun. The front lawn was neat, filled with flowers of all different varieties, and a high wrought iron fence bordered it all. Fae meandered along the cobbled street, the sound mixing together in a cacophony of laughter and happiness.

"It's beautiful here, Rhysand." I told him, as Rhysand held the gate open for me so that I could step into the street. "It's like the Day Court, in a sense."

Rhysand smiled at that, before letting me hook my arm through his as well as my eyes grew at the sight of the sea. It sparkled, like a deep sapphire, and coming up from it was a long river, that winded through the buildings and mountains beyond it.

"The middle peak is our other home in the city. The House of Wind." He pointed at one of the large Redstone mountains, that I could just about see had windows built into the side. I wondered how you got up there. "Fly."

"You have to teach me how to make mental shields."

"I know, I know." Rhysand grinned again. "We're going to dine at the House of Wind tonight. I want you to meet some of my friends."

"Then I can decide if you are truly the most handsome." I teased.

"You are so mean to your poor husband."

"I think you will survive."

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"Are you holding on?" Rhysand asked again, as I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms tighter around his shoulders. 

"Yes, we are going to be late if you do not move."

"We will not be late." He did the button of his jacket up, before unfurling his wings. I watched them in awe, having never seen them before. I was almost tempted to reach out and run my fingers along them, but I stopped myself. He probably would not like that. "Swear that you are holding on?"

"For the third, and final time, Rhysand, I am. Now come on, we're going to be late." I patted his shoulder gently, before letting out a squeak as we shot into the air. His chest vibrated with the hint of a chuckle as we continued upwards.

"Look at the view." At my husband's command, I pulled my head free of the crook of his neck and looked down upon the Velaris. I could see now why Rhysand had called it the city of stars, for in the night sky, it looked like a thousand gems glimmered both below and above us. I laughed, a smile on my face.

I had never thought, when I first came to the Night Court, that I would ever be able to experience something that would rival the beauty of the Day Court but Rhysand had proved me wrong. Velaris at night was breath-taking.

He seemed to puff his chest out at my thought, his arms still holding under the back of my leg and around my back as we soared through the chilly air.

We approached the lights in the mountain, that looked like some form of crown, swerving around an updraft, before landing on a balcony. Two golden lanterns gifted us light enough to make out the pathway to the glass doors. Beyond that, was a large dining room carved from the stone around it, chairs fashioned to accommodate wings.

I smoothed my deep blue dress out, making sure that my skirts and hair were still in place before taking a deep breath and turning to Rhysand.

"So, who am I meeting tonight?" I asked, before the doors were flung open and my eyes were drawn to two large figures with wings tucked in behind them.

"I trained with these two fools." Rhysand muttered to me, shaking his head as one of them came bounding towards us. They were both taller than Rhysand, if only by a few inches, though the trio looked rather different.

The slightly taller one had messy hair that reached his shoulder, half pulled back into a bun, with bronzed skin that looked like he'd spent all of his life under the sun. He was only dressed in a light tunic, slightly plainer than my husband's, and breeches. The marginally smaller of the two looked like one of the classic paintings at the Day Court, with fluffy dark hair and paler skin, but there was a darkness to him that I wasn't all that sure what to make about. He was dressed in leather armour, a hunting knife strapped to the side of his thigh.

"The large one is Cassian, who has been told not to flirt with you tonight and will be keeping to that promise." Cassian made a noncommittal face, causing me to stifle my laughter. He seemed like fun. "He's a foot soldier in the Illyrian armies."

"Come, brother, you never know. She might enjoy my flirting." Rhysand rolled his eyes as Cassian shot a wink my way. I chuckled again. He reminded me of my brother for some reason.

"The silent one is Azriel. He works as my father's spymaster."  That, for some reason, did not surprise me.

"Welcome." Azriel spoke softly, raising a horrifically scarred hand towards me. My eyebrows knitted together as I shook it, wondering what had happened and what the healer had done to help. His armour covered the back of his hand, connected by a loop around his middle finger to hold the blue stone on the back of his palm.

"Your brothers? I thought you only had a sister."

"Brothers of a sort." Cassian replied, tucking his wings tighter. "And I see you've met Maiya."

"Yes, for a brief period of time." Azriel cocked an eyebrow at my words, shadows curling around his figure. "She was with us for a week, before being sent back to the Hewn City?"

"Yes, father is still displeased with her." Rhysand sighed, shaking his head. "Why are you in leathers, Azriel? It is dinner, not a battle."

"Well, technically I am still working." Azriel muttered as the doors opened in front of us and I followed the three, hulking men inside. "Your father still needs information consistently and expects me to be at his beck and call."

Rhysand's face went dark at that. But he merely shook his head and pulled a chair out for me to sit.

"Are we expecting anyone else?"

"Mor is healing still." Azriel shrugged his shoulders, sitting next to me and explaining softly. "Rhysand's cousin."

"If she needs a healer, I can help." I offered, watching as Cassian sat in the chair to my left before my husband could and smirking widely. Rhysand scowled. "Day Court healers are well renowned."

"You're a healer?" Rhysand questioned as I nodded. "Like your brother."

"Better than him." I smirked. "I paid attention in my studies, Helion just tried to sleep with the teacher."

Cassian choked on his water as I grinned innocently.

"I like her." He managed to find his voice as the food appeared in front of us. "She's fun."

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Hiya,

Just a little chapter so that Cara, Az and Cassian could get acquainted as well as having a little more of Rhysand and Cara being sweethearts. They're still a little awkward, but they're growing to become friendly, which we love to see.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx