A Court of Lost Stars

That night, in the townhouse, Nova was snuggled on the couch with her fox fast asleep. Rhys, Feyre, Cas, Az, Mor, and Amren, sat around the table playing a card game. 

Feyre glanced over from her hand and smiled, watching Nova breathe before looking back at the cards. Fat rain droplets pelted the roof and windows, making the night sky even darker.

"Feels like a big storm rolling through." Rhys nodded, glancing up at the roof. "Might need some cleanup tomorrow morning."

A flash lit the distant sky, soon followed by a rumble of thunder, and Feyre instinctively looked over at Nova again- who still slept soundly. 

"Your worry is showing, Feyre," Cassian smirked.

Sighing softly, she ran her fingers through her hair, returning her attention to the table. "I know she's safe, I know that. I can't stop thinking about her- like something terrible is going to happen at any moment, and I'm going to look over, and she'll be gone."

Rhys squeezed her hand lightly. "I think that's called being a parent."

Leaning against Rhys, Feyre played the game, forcing herself to stop looking over at Nova. The thunder gradually grew closer, and the flashes of lightning became a bit brighter every few minutes.

The lights above suddenly flickered.

"It's just the electricity of the storm interfering with the field of magic. It's been a long while since we've had a storm like this." Rhys said, just as the lights went out, but the brightest flash of lightning lit the interior, followed by the loudest crash Feyre was confident she'd ever heard.

The house itself rattled from that particular strike. Had it hit the house?

Feyre couldn't stop herself from looking over at the couch. Staring through the gloom, she stared at the vacant spot on the couch.

"Where's Nova?" The panic in her voice sent everyone to their feet.

It was as though Feyre could only hear her heartbeat, her limbs cold and numb as if she'd been detached body and soul.

Another flash of lightning lit the windows, showcasing the unforgiving waves of the ocean that were overtaking the beach. Rhys quickly checked beneath the couch and stood to his feet before following Feyre's gaze.

"She wouldn't have gone there. We would have known." Rhys said, his voice calm though his violet eyes were wide and wild.

Feyre squeezed his arm. "We didn't know she was in the forest for days, Rhys. Days. I don't know how she uses her powers without training, but she can, and she does, and what if her instincts during a storm like this were to run?"

Cassian moved toward the door. "Az and I will fly down to the beach; if she's there, we'll find her. Alright?"

Without another word, Cas and Az jogged through the door and took off at top speed, flying through the pelting rain while the rest of them began searching the house.

"Nova?" Feyre called, first jogging to her room. It was empty, but she quickly checked under the bed and shuddered sigh. 

Nothing.

Dashing through the halls, everyone went this way and that, meeting again in the sitting room just as Cas and Az flew, dripping all over the floor. 

"Did you find her?" Cas asked, looking half-drowned.

"No," Rhys shook his head, "if she's hiding from the storm, she must be cloaking. We need to look everywhere she can hide under or inside of."

They dispersed, moving through every part of the house. As Feyre searched, she waited fervently for someone to shout out that they'd found her. In desperation, she entered her bedroom again and looked around. Rechecked the bed, the wardrobe, and the bathroom.

"Nova, please…" Feyre let out a soft cry, tears in her eyes as the ache in her heart and twist in her gut flushed her face. The sound of searching echoed through the house- someone was in the kitchen looking through the cupboards, someone else was searching the couch cushions, and she was certain someone was on the ceiling.

Then, through all the rustling, a tiny creeaaakkkk came from somewhere in the room. Feyre froze and looked around her.

"Quiet!" She called out, and all the rustling around the house stopped abruptly. Aside from the drizzle of rain outside, pure silence filled the house.

"Nova?" Feyre whispered.

Creeaaakkkk.

Feyre whipped her head to the windows and waited, hearing slow and careful steps on the stairs. Tip-toeing to the window, Feyre looked around the cushioned seat before kneeling down and carefully placing her fingertips along the underside edge of the cushion. She pulled up and it gave way freely, opening with the same soft creak she'd heard before.

Inside the hollowed-out box beneath the window seat lay Nova. Scrunched into the confines of the little storage space that Feyre had no idea existed. 

"Hey," Feyre murmured.

Nova looked up, her hands over her ears and her fox tucked against her chest. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her entire body trembled as if she were coming out of a frozen lake.

Feyre swallowed back the tears she felt brimming and carefully reached inside the box, stroking Nova's hair.

"It's okay," she whispered, "you're safe. The storm is almost over. It's okay."

Rhys lowered himself beside Feyre and offered Nova the gentlest smile she'd ever seen him wear. 

"Is she okay?" Azriel's soft voice came from the doorway.

"She's scared, but she doesn't seem hurt," Rhys answered and smiled softly. "I think we found where all of our stuff has been disappearing to. Within Nova's little cubby space was an array of stuff.

From scattered chess pieces to metal forks…where did she get marbles? 

"Oh, Nova," Feyre smiled softly, tears still stinging her eyes, "where did you get all the acorns? I think you might be part squirrel."

Nova tilted her head and slowly unplugged her ears. 

"Mine?"

Feyre smiled softly and nodded. "Yes, you can keep them. Come on," she offered her arm, "we'll show you that you are always safe with us, okay?"

Nova stared at her, the words not registering, but slowly climbed out of the window seat. Her eyes were squeezed closed like she didn't want to look anywhere.

Trying to figure out what she was thinking was the worst part.

"Would it be so wrong to try and enter her mind?" Feyre murmured. "Just to know how to help her?" She glanced over at Rhys.

Rhys pursed his lips. "I've debated it myself, but I hesitate."

Nova slowly opened her eyes and risked a glance outside, looked at her fox, then outside again.

"It's just so difficult not knowing why she's so upset. You'd have thought she would have come out when the thunder stopped, but she didn't." Feyre frowned.

"Fox?" Nova asked and looked at them.

Her second word.

Feyre tried to keep the excitement from her voice but nodded. "What about your fox?"

Nova looked out the window, staring at something. Rhys moved forward and followed her gaze.

"She's staring at the city," he furrowed his brow, glanced at Nova, then over his shoulder, and sighed softly.

"I don't know why." 

It was frustrating for everyone. Wanting to understand… wishing to help, but being completely incapable.

"Fox?" Nova asked, still staring down at the city.

Mor slowly stepped into the room. "I don't think she's talking about her fox, at least not directly. Nova?" Mor asked, waiting for her to look at her. "What happened to fox?"

Silence filled the space as Nova seemed to try to understand what Mor was asking. After a long minute, Feyre pursed her lips. They might never know.

"Why are you afraid, Nova?" Mor tried again, and Nova looked out the window, watching the rain hit the glass.

"Fox…" Her voice came as a broken whisper. Then, when they expected nothing else from her, Nova walked with purpose to the bathing room.

Feyre assumed she had to use it at first, but then the tub faucet came on, and she exchanged a quick glance with Rhys before following after her. It was true; Nova was filling the tub.

"Nova?" Feyre asked. Was she trying to tell them something she couldn't express? If so, then what?

The bathroom became crowded as everyone tried to watch what she was doing with curious expressions. Nova opened the box by the tub filled with the toys Feyre had purchased before she was born. Particular in her selection, she took out only the toys that were animals. She put them in, letting them sink to the bottom, then picked up a boat and set it on top of the water to float. Inside the boat, she placed her stuffed fox and a doll. 

"Fox?" Nova asked, looking at them, but no one responded. They only watched her. 

Had she been in a boat on a lake at some point? Maybe with her fox?

Nova sighed…she actually sighed. She almost sounded frustrated. Turning to the tub again, she dipped her hand into the water and began swirling her arm, disrupting the water and turning it into a whirlpool. The boat titled and went under the surface, sending the girl and the fox overboard.

A soft sound escaped Mor, and Feyre quickly looked over her shoulder.

"Mother above," Mor murmured, "I think I understand…"

Nova pulled the fox from the water. He was sopping wet, tears running down her cheeks as she offered him to Feyre. While soaked, the toy was heavy and limp. Replicating a…

"What happened?" Rhys asked Mor, not taking his eyes off Nova. He leaned down and gently wiped her tears as Feyre took a towel to dry Fox off.

"While in the tavern, I went around the place. I asked the locals some questions. Many mentioned the same event. A few years back, maybe seven or eight. It rained for days, so much rain that it flooded the lake and took over the forest. Crops and livestock were lost. I had been waiting to bring it up before we found Nova, or rather, she found us. I didn't know if it would have affected her, and I didn't want to add another fear after seeing the gravestones."

Cas frowned. "Animals in the forest that couldn't climb high enough would have drowned."

Taking a deep breath, Feyre nodded. "Fox died?" She asked Nova, but she just stared at her. Suddenly, she crawled through their legs and dashed toward the window again, staring at Velaris. She whined, a sound of worry.

"She's afraid the same will happen to the city…" Azriel finally said. "She's afraid the rain is going to drown them."

The pieces of the puzzle clicked in place.

Feyre shook her head, "If she'd had a pet fox, seeing Fox in the store must have brought back all the memories of what she lost. She would have been seven years old. A seven-year-old trying to keep her head above water in her own home, losing everything she cares about, and now she's afraid it will happen again."

Nova never slept, even with Fox damp in her arms, wrapped in a towel. She cradled him and watched over the city.

Smiling softly, Rhys watched her while leaning against the window seat. "I know this is a terrible way to find this out, but…" His violet eyes flashed to the Inner Circle before continuing, "but she's proved tonight that she naturally has a caring heart. She's visited the city once, and now that she knows its existence, she watches over it. Just as we do."

Rhys glanced up, watching Nova watch Velaris.

"I worried that all the time she'd spent alone in those woods would make her hard-hearted. More animal than a person, but she's proved my fears wrong."