Chapter 1 A Bright Encounter

Celeste wandered the dark path, finding comfort from the shadows cast by the trees. The light of dusk illuminating her path before the park lights turned on. She kicked at a pebble on the path, tracking it's movement as it bounced and rolled on the pavement. She let out a long sigh and stared up at the sky, the first stars winking into existence. Celeste smiled at their comforting presence. She found herself wandering at night more and more often lately. Stuck in a loveless engagement, a town she hated and a job going nowhere...it all left her restless and wanting something more. She just didn't know what that was yet.

As if reminding her of the expansiveness of life, a shooting star darted across the sky. She watched it flash across the sky and closed her eyes. I wish for more. I wish for an adventure.

She smiled to herself and continued her slow methodical walk. Something had changed though, now her feet were slowly leading her...somewhere. As if something beyond her understanding was gently tugging her along, giving her walk purpose. She unzipped her jacket a bit, the autumn air had been warm but something different blew toward her, warmer and smelling of...citrus?

The path she walked curved to show an open, green space. A small playground was to the right and some picnic tables were scattered about. Near the table closest to her she could see a bright line, about seven feet tall. It looked like a tear in a painting, with bright, shimmering light spilling out. It hummed slightly, with the faint sound of birds calling and voices shouting in the background.

She should have felt afraid. Thoughts of alien invasion did cross her mind. She didn't feel fear though, it felt right, like she was walking home.

Compelled to move forward, the closer she got, the more the light seemed to call to her,as if excited by her presence.

She reached her hand forward, and that warm wind kissed her fingertips. Her hand kept pulling forward, she didn't stop. She gasped as her hand went into the light, instead of her hand going through the other side like she thought. So she kept going through, until the light was up to her elbow and she could feel more of that warm breeze, hear those birds and voices more clearly. She stepped one foot in through the light and before she could backtrack she was falling, falling and all she could see was a bright, blue sky above her.

The panic sent in now as she plummeted down, but then something slowed her fall and she splashed into a body of water. She came up spluttering, the water salty and warm in her mouth. Getting her bearings now that death wasn't imminent, she could see a few fishing boats slowly bobbing on the water. There were people waving at her and tossing a rope into the water.

Celeste grabbed hold and let herself be pulled in, she glided effortlessly through the water and then was gently pulled over the hull.

She stifled a gasp when she saw her rescuers. At first, she had thought they were human, but these people had pointed ears, eyes brighter than a human and an ethereal glow about them.

"Are you hurt?" one of them asked in a lilting, melodious voice.

"No, no, I'm fine. Thank you." A little wary, she looked around and then asked the obvious question, "Where am I?"

A few of them exchanged glances and then the man who first spoke to her said in a confused tone, "Velaris."

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto," she murmured.

The man continued to give her a dubious look and then regarded someone in front of him.

"The High Lord is sending his third to come and sort this out."

He nodded.

"She's human," another said.

"Where did she come from? I thought Velaris was warded?"

Someone shushed them, hurriedly whispering something. She was wrapped in a blanket now, a tall, glowing woman with the same pointed ears had handed her.

"What—what are you?" she said to no one in particular.

"We are fae."

The words swam around in her head, trying to sort out the lie; trying to confirm if this was just some warped dream from exhaustion and lack of excitement in her life.

Celeste pinched the skin on the inside of her elbow and winced at the very real pain.

Not a dream then.

She was about to ask another question when a striking, tall blonde appeared in front of her. She was wrapped in a red gossamer gown that flowed around her in the breeze. She vibrated with power and grace and Celeste couldn't take her eyes off her.

The woman glanced at the fae behind her. "Tell me everything."

The male filled the woman in red with their view of things; explaining that they felt a shudder through the air and then watched as Celeste fell through the air. One of them used magic—magic, to slow down her fall and they pulled her in and here they were now.

When he was done, the woman turned to Celeste. Her eyes were not unkind, but there was something that glowed in them that told her she wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

"Now, let's hear your side of things."

So Celeste went into detail, starting at her walk through the park to the moment she was in now. The blonde didn't say anything while Celeste recounted her story and when Celeste was finished she waited for a reaction.

"I am the Morrigan. I am truth. I believe you. And you can call me Mor," she said, adding a wink at the end.

"I'm Celeste," she offered, with her own smile, because how could you not return a smile to such a gorgeous person. "So...now what," she asked cautiously.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll call a meeting and take you to the House of Wind."

Celeste was still reeling from Mor's first declaration, but nodded along all the same. Mor turned to give thanks to the fae on the boat and then reached her hand to Celeste.

"We'll winnow there."

Celeste began to ask what 'winnow' meant, but as her fingers wrapped around Mor's, she felt a tight pressure begin to wrap around every pore of her skin and darkness swirled around, blotting out her vision. And then just as suddenly as it started, it ended and she was standing on a street in front of a townhouse.

"This is...the House of Wind?" Celeste asked.

"No. This is Rhys and Feyre's house. We can't winnow to the House of Wind, but you know...pretenses." Mor flipped her hair over her shoulder and began to walk to the house. "Come on, we're just waiting for the boys and we'll get this figured out."

Celeste looked around, the feeling to run still hadn't settled into her, instead she still felt like she was where she was supposed to be. Still, she tentatively followed the female to the house's front door.

She could hear voices talking quietly as she passed through the door and into the foyer. Mor continued to lead her into a sitting room. Sitting on a couch together was a male and female, both glowed with ethereal beauty; the male with dark hair, violet eyes, and a dark suit. The female beside him rested a tattooed hand on his leg, she had light brown hair and a kind face. They stood up to greet her as Mor plopped into a cushioned chair, throwing her legs over the armrest.

"Hello," said the female. "I am Feyre, this is my mate and husband, Rhysand." She gestured to the male beside her, who gave a slight nod.

"High Lady Feyre and High Lord," Rhysand said to Celeste with a smooth voice. "My mate sometimes forgets to share her title, as important as it is."

What is a High Lord and High Lady?

"It means we rule over our land, as equals."

Did he just read my mind?

"I did. We'll need to do something about shields around your mind. But from what I've gathered, you are not from our world, are you?" He looked to his mate and she nodded her agreement. Celeste got the feeling they had both just rifled through her mind and from the saccharine smile on the males face, she was probably right.

A cool breeze rustled beside her and a tall, stoic female passed by her. She didn't say anything, but moved to the far end of the room and stationed herself looking out the window.

"Nesta," Feyre murmured and the other female said nothing.

The couple had moved back to the couch and Celeste moved to take the chair beside Mor, feeling it was weird to keep hovering in the entryway.

"Where are they?" groaned Mor, rolling her head.

"They'll be here any minute, they are coming back from the east side of the city," Rhysand replied. "Amren is still at the Summer Court."

"Probably for the best," Mor mumbled.

"So, Celeste," Feyre said. "How are you faring? I'm sure this is all very strange."

Celeste wrung her hands in her lap, unable to stop fidgeting. "It's strange, yes...but there's something about this place that just feels familiar. Like I'm supposed to be here."

Feyre nodded her head gently and Rhysand studied her closely, Celeste had a feeling a conversation passed between them. Mor sat up a little straighter, watching now as well.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Feyre finally said, with a smile.

She went to say more but then there were two loud thuds out the front of the house, the impact slightly shaking the space. Celeste had a feeling these were the final members of the group they were waiting for. She started to play with her hands, suddenly feeling nervous for the first time since she fell through the portal.

The front door banged open and two towering males with large, leathered wings stalked in. They were beautiful and deadly, but Celeste didn't feel fear. Feyre stood up as some sort of buffer and introduced the first one to come into the room. "This is Cassian, the general of our armies."

He gave her a wicked grin and strode forward shaking her hand. "Hello, nice of you to drop in." The woman, Nesta snorted from the corner, his eyes darkened but his grip on Celeste's hand remained gentle. He then stalked to a chair that seemed as far away as possible from Nesta. Feyre then continued her introduction. "This is Azriel, our Spymaster." Celeste first noticed the shadows gently settling around him and then her gaze met his eyes, he started to dip his chin, but then his eyes went wide, his body tensed and he took a slow step back. Mor darted out of her seat, her back straight and her silk dress falling around her legs.

Rhysand narrowed his brows and Feyre turned to look at him, he nodded slightly in greeting.

"Hi," Celeste managed to say. She made eye contact, went to step forward to shake his hand but he backed out of the room and walked out the door. Celeste let her hand drop to her side. Rhysand coughed awkwardly, excused himself and followed Azriel out the door.

What the hell was that?

Feyre stood up, seemingly the perfect hostess. "You must be hungry, let's see if Cerridwin and Nuella have something in the kitchen."

Mor still hadn't moved from where she had stood up, but she watched the front door. Cassian watched her and Nesta remained unmoved.

Celeste had no idea what just happened and she had a feeling that no one would tell her if she would ask, and her stomach protested in favor of Feyre's offer for food. The male, Azriel was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. She tried not to let the sting of his reaction feel like rejection. Maybe he didn't like humans, she wouldn't let it bother her. She was literally in an alternate world, she had so much to learn and discover.

"That would be great, thanks." She followed Feyre into the kitchen and as they walked past the front door she could see Azriel pacing on the street, Rhysand stood with his hands in his pocket watching him. She peeled her eyes away, something in her chest tightening at the sight of his distress.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rhys finally said, breaking his clouded thoughts.

Azriel shot him a dark look. He stopped pacing, but his wings widened slightly as if he was tempted to take to the skies to get away from—from this new reality.

"She's my mate," he whispered. He watched Rhys nod his head slightly. And Azriel had just walked away. She had looked up at him, with big, dark, human eyes and the mating bond had just snapped into place. He didn't even know her name yet. Only his years of training had kept him from dropping to his knees and telling her what raged in his chest. And the look on Mor's face… He groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

Rhys chuckled.

Azriel growled.

"I don't think I've ever seen you like this before, brother."

Rhys moved to lean against the fence and picked at his sleeve. "It's Celeste."

His head whipped up and his eyebrows pulled together.

"Her name," Rhys drawled, not bothering to remove the smirk on his face.

Celeste. The name rolled around in his head, soft and sweet.

"I don't know what to do."

"I don't think standing out here talking to me will help. I think your answers are sitting in my kitchen enjoying some bread and honey."

Azriel shot another look at Rhysand, but followed him into the house. His shadows hovered around the edges of him, ready to cover him from a threat. But what was the threat? He shoved them away and they complied. He could feel her getting closer as he followed Rhysand into the kitchen. He noted Nesta and Cassian still in the sitting room, pretending the other wasn't there. Mor was nowhere to be seen and Rhysand didn't offer an explanation.

They came into the kitchen and Azriel watched as Celeste took a large bite of fresh bread, she let out an involuntary moan and his throat closed up at the female sound.

Elain stood with Feyre, she gave Azriel a sympathetic smile and squeezed his arm as she went into the sitting room. Feyre must have filled her in already. He couldn't take his eyes off Celeste though. She must have sensed it, because she looked up at him through dark lashes and gave a tentative smile.

He returned it this time.

Feyre and Rhysand mumbled some excuse about cutting herbs from the garden and left. He resisted the urge to glower at them, everyone knew Elain did that, he was pretty confident they had never been in the garden to actually garden.

We've done other things though, Rhys laughed into his mind. Azriel lifted a finger shooting a vulgar gesture at their backs.

"Good to see some things are the same as in my world."

He turned to look at her, she smiled again and his chest tightened. How was he going to do this? What would he tell her?

"Are you okay?" she asked, slathering another slice of bread in honey.

"Yes," he managed to croak out and cleared this throat. "I apologize for earlier." He didn't say anything else, what else could he say at this point?

"Okay," she said.

His hands clenched and unclenched at his side, he didn't know what to do with his hands. Why didn't he know what to do with his hands?

"They weren't exactly subtle were they?" Celeste said, nodding in the direction Rhys and Feyre had gone.

He shrugged.

"So…" She bit at her nail and started to look anywhere but him. He was messing this up. Why couldn't he say something, do something. This woman had driven him to his base instincts and he didn't know what to do.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"Velaris."

"Right, but like what is it? She asked again. "I didn't see much when I, you know, fell from the sky and then we teleported to the door. Soo…"

Finally something he could do. "Would you like a tour of the city?"

Her eyes got wide. "A city?"

He nodded and she smiled and his chest bloomed as she said, "I would love a tour."

Slowly, Azriel decided to start letting his guards down, she was his mate, he could do this with her. The final shadows fell away and then he did something he rarely did, he offered her his scarred hand. She came around the counter and took it and in that moment everything felt right. She was human, but she was his and her hand in his felt right. As he led her out into the street, she took in their surroundings and she didn't keep her awe at bay and it brought him a feeling he hadn't felt for another person in a very long time. He wanted to get to know her, that much he knew and hopefully the rest would fall into place.