Hi guys, this is an excerpt from the first chapter of the prequel which is now posted on my profile. :)
Chapter 1
Rhysand heard the wooden thud before he opened his eyes. When he did peel them apart, he was met with shadows. One shadow, in particular, moved. He smiled despite the grogginess of being awoken in the middle of the night after a long day and watched as a small, stocky body wobbled along the floor of his bedroom. His eyes adjusted just in time to watch the tiny, chubby fingers grip the side of his mattress and the mischievous violet eyes peek over between them a moment later, directly in front of his face.
"You're supposed to be asleep," he croaked. Her cot, a small wooden thing that sat only as tall as his knee, was on the other side of the room. Easy to climb out of, but being an adventurous creature, their mother deemed it safer rather than risking his sister attempt to climb out of a taller one.
His sister gave a toothy smile, the small white teeth barely the size of his smallest nail. "Food," she said, the word coming out choppy. Arwen bounced slightly and he heard the small little taps of excited feet against the floor.
"It's nighttime. Sleep time."
"Food," she said, dragging the word out as if testing every syllableâperhaps thinking he didn't understand what she wanted. Arwen pushed higher on her toes and a short arm clawed toward him before her finger pushed against his lips, smashing them against his teeth. "Food, Rhysie." She missed the 'hy' development of his name, making it sound more like Reesee.
He could continue lying there and argue, he contemplated, or get the midnight snack that he was now thinking about and hope it would settle her enough to go back to bed. "Food in the morning?" he suggested. The glare he received from the two-year-old was utterly humorous. Determined, for certain, but he wasn't sure she'd ever be a force of terror.
Swinging his legs out from underneath the covers in defeat, he left Arwen to follow him out and down the short hall of the Windhaven cabin. More light thuds trailed in his wake. Carrying babesâcoddling themâwas believed to stunt development. Rhysand didn't care for it, but Arwen too often squirmed for freedom anyway.
"Quiet, alright. Ma is sleeping," he told her. Arwen grinned and put a finger to her lips.
Brain still fogged with drowsiness, he set a few spoonfuls of pureed apple into a bowl, not bothering to try and figure out what else she would be able to eat before grabbing a small bag of honeyed nuts for himself. Sinking to the cold kitchen floor, the room left in darkness, he leant against a counter and spread his legs out before him.
Arwen clambered over his feet, eyes set on her target. She snatched the bow, the spoon rattling against it and squatted to carefully place it down between his legs. She turned back to him, tipping in the narrow space she had but keeping herself upright. Gripping his nightshirt, she climbed onto the length of his thigh, tilting even more.
Rhysand smiled as his sister laid a sloppy, tongue-poking kiss on his cheek. He resisted wiping away the leftover saliva as she crawled her way back down. Meticulously, Arwen lined herself up and sat down just above his knee, wriggling until she was comfortable, and picked up her bowl. Like he was her damn throne.
He snorted at the thought and nibbled on the honeyed nuts. Her hairhad grown faster than normal in the past months, the raven strands hanging just below her shoulders. The small wings on her back were still stiff, as they would be until she grew older.
Rhysand's head tipped back against the counter and the bag of nuts loose in his hand.
"Done."
Jerking awake, he blinked again and rubbed at his eyes. Arwen stood before him, holding her emptied bowl in both hands like an offering. Too tired to do anything with it, he waved his hand and sent to bowl to an oblivion. "Bed now?"
She nodded contently. With a grunt, he swiped her up under his arm so he wouldn't have to wait for her to crawl after him. Back in his room, he put her down in the cot before falling to his knees and resting his arms along the wooden railing. Perching his chin on his forearms, he said, "You don't tell Ma about this or else I get in trouble." Arwen made no response but he couldn't be bothered to figure out if she didn't understand or if the cheeky look was brighter than usual. Placing his palm against the back of her head, he pushed her down to the thin mattress. "Sleep." As soon as he removed the pressure of his hand, she pushed onto her elbows. "Sleep," he repeated, pushing her head back down, touching her mind with his own to urge that desire for rest to strengthen.
Arwen tried to laugh, but weariness had taken its hold. Satisfied that he wouldn't be unduly awoken, Rhysand crawled back to his own bed.
~
Rhysand fiddled with the strap of one of his leathers that weren't quite fitting right. His list of duties for the day was longer than the day before and he didn't look forward to not coming back home until dark.
A female that looked no older than thirty sat at the small table. Black hair hung in a dead straightness down her back, the ends dancing around her waist. The skin of her extended arm holding a scratched silver spoon was far more tanned than the other two occupants. "I don't understand why you're so fussy this morning," she muttered, dropping the spoon back into the bowl of porridge. Rhysand's mother glanced worryingly at him as he bit into a strawberry. "Was she sleeping alright last night? She doesn't want to eat anything."
He paused and looked at his sister who was entirely disinterested in her breakfast, beginning to climb down the chair whilst their mother was occupied. "Fine," he blurted out. "Didn't wake once."
Their mother sighed and picked Arwen back up as soon as her small feet touched the ground. "I don't have time to stop and feed you until lunch," she said sternly. "You eat now or not for hours."
Rhysand hid his smile. "Just leave some strawberries out, Ma. I'll cut some up before I leave. She'll munch on them if she gets hungry." Which he set to straight away knowing he'd forget otherwise. The sun hadn't yet fully peaked over Windhaven but he'd be expected to be on duty as soon as it was.
"She didn't eat a lot of dinner last night either. I'm worried she's ill."
"Does she look ill?" Rhysand pointed out. "She's fine."
His mother's chair scraped against the ground as she stood and placed the untouched bowl of porridge on the bench. "You weren't much better," his mother said. "Only it was clothes. Wouldn't let me put you in anything you didn't want to wear. Some days I just left you naked."
He spluttered a bit. "I don't need to hear it."
His mother only smiled. She had a kind face that had turned stern in the years spent in the camps. "I have to keep you humble. Cauldron knows you'll be the most arrogant High Lord Prythian has ever seen otherwise."
Rhysand played a small smirk. "I think arrogance suits me." He earned a light scuff up the back of his head. "I have to go. I'll try and be home before dark but I can't make the promise." It was his intention every day to arrive home early when he could. Taking care of this home while attending to her other duties around the camp with Arwen at her age wore his mother down.
"It is not your duty to care for her," his mother said, reading his thoughts and laying an affection hand on his cheek in stark contrast to the smack he just received. "I am her mother. You are the son of a High Lord with duties beyond us."
He tilted his hand into her palm. "And I am your son and Arwen's brother. I do not forget those duties."
Her smile was visibly weak, but he could read the unfiltered appreciation in it. "That is how I know you are my son and I have raised you right." His mother never spoke aloud of her fearâthat he would turn out like their father, cold and distanced from everything but his duties as High Lord of the Night Court, but Rhysand couldn't help but hear it in her mind sometimes. Dropping her hand, she set her chin higher. "Off you go."
Rhysand pushed the cut strawberries to one side of the chopping board so his mother could do with them what she pleased. Kissing her on the cheek, he crossed the room to where Arwen was adventurously wandering near the hall. Squatting, he placed her feet on either of his knees, holding her hands to keep her upright. "You behave for Ma," he said. "And keep our little secret."
Hair that had been recently brushed bounced around her face as she nodded, though Arwen seemed more entertained by attempting to balance than what he had to say. He brought her to his chest, kissing her cheek before letting her back down to the floor. Arwen's head turned back to the hall and she waddled away without another glance back. So much for missing me, he thought with great amusement.