#duskdivined

❛    you  𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆  power.    ❜       admiration  &*  interest  practically  set  asterin's  gaze  aglow  as  she  eyes  @duskdivined.          a  grin  curves  her  lips  ,  iron  canines  bared  with  no  malice.           lean  arms  cross  ,  then  she's  set  forward  ,  steps  carrying  her  in  a  prowl  around  the  fae.          ❛    𝒚𝒐𝒖  𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒍  𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆  𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉.   ❜         no  distaste  ;  reverance.        

❛   nesta ?!   ❜      it was the sound of aelin’s voice that eased the radiating ire that bloomed amongst the two males behind her at the sudden arrival of the woman before them.      well , the woman and the dark haired man beside her.      whereas she knew to inquire about the stranger alongside her friend , aelin could not withhold worry in regards to why she was here.      not when she , and the strange male beside her , looked as if they had run for their lives.      embers trickled within her at the realization   —   for a threat against any of her friends was one aelin took personally.      on this world or any other. 

aelin holds no question as to whose power it is she witnesses within nesta.      deanna   —   goddess of the hunt.      (   or had been before she had handed the twisted god the same fate she had bestowed upon elena.   )      only once had aelin bore sight to those sliver flames prior to this moment.      memories swarm like a python around her mind.      standing on the ship in skulls bay , the feeling of another consuming her form as a ball of ice cold fire blossomed in her hand.      a flame that could decimate cities with a single blow.      nearly had , had it not been for rowan’s shot in the dark.      but nesta was not deanna.      the goddess was lost in a world locked away with a fate unknown.      however , that only raised the question of how the brunette before her wielded the same flame.

“   you said when you went into the cauldron you had stolen from it out of anger ,   ”      steeling herself , breathlessness etching her words as the two came to a pause in their sparring.      “   if it is too painful to talk about , do not feel the need to.      i only ask because that power , those flames ,  i know them.   ”

it's as though a wick has lit aflame. she speaks the words as though they've come straight from his own mind – and he realizes then, they might just be aligned in that regard. love seems a rarity. not all who who wed are as fortunate enought to find what his mother and father had. (their's had been a true and wholesome love.)

he is cursed as the second son: the lesser important son. anthony held the burden of the first son which allowed benedict to gallavant about with the only true concern of his being not to ruin potentials for his younger siblings. he's been discreet about his dalliances, has made it clear all these years he's no intention to wed. but his mother pushes and pushes – his resolve is crumbling before his eyes. he fears he has no choice but to give into his mother's demands. if only she knew the struggles that come with being the second son.

nesta's statement, while rather forward (and a breath of fresh air, really!), has renewed his interest in the prospect. no one will ever fully understand him; perhaps not even accept him for his hidden truths. he sees an opportunity here and offers, ❝ then you should know it isn't love that i seek. i simply wish to adhere to my duty, but i don't see a future of a loving marriage. – you'll be cared for well, money is no issue and you'd have the bridgerton name. ❞ he waits a beat to allow that to sink in. his family holds a lot of weight as far as social standing goes. ❝ we could wed with no expectations other than a marriage in name alone. ❞

‧︑ ⸺ ❀ hyacinth had never once allowed herself to indulge that little green monster in the back of her head. always too busy, always found it ridiculous to do anything of the sort. yet here she was, brows pinched and lips a tight line. COMPARING. exactly what nesta said. it earned her a little bit of a narrowed eye look before exhaling sharply.

never allow anger to become you. words a long lost yet eternally wise woman had once spoken into her daughter's ear what felt as if a millenia ago. many phrases and advice the woman had once offered her. knowing the world her daughter was to grow in , the trials and tribulations that would follow her like a waiting asp soley for her title and bering of wings . . . she had never wanted to raise either of her children to be but lambs to slaughter. even more so her sole daughter. memories of times before the hearth , combs brushing through asteria's long onyx strands as stories wove into the fibers , was the reason for the voice in her ear.

the state of the cabin had fueled a deep rooted fire within. the reason she had been dispatched for hours past dinner. fingers numb from scrubbing paint from weather worn walls brushed against the now tattered trousers she had opted for over a gown as she moved through the house of wind. ( pity in the fact asteria had once loved these pants. ) not that she had claimed the house in any sort , it answered to nesta in such a way asteria held naught but respect towards. moonstone had become her haven. but exhausted wings left her little choice as to her pit stop.

lost in her own mind , tallying the tasks still to do to mend their mother's home , it should not have been a surprise to have her path near cut off by nesta herself. “   ohh . . . !   ” gathering herself , asteria pulls herself back into the moment at hand. pulling her body to the side to allow the other to pass. “   apologies. i was only here for a moment then i will be off.   ”

duskdivined asked: we've been researching legends, but there isn't much to go on. ✱˚｡⋆ ↪ 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐀𝐖𝐍 𝐏𝐓 𝟏.