The wind was blowing past me as I sprinted through the forest. Everything seemed like a blur – the trees blended together dizzily and the screams from the other fae bleated in my ears like drums. I couldn't even feel myself anymore, like my body and mind were no longer attached. My whole body had gone numb as my legs rushed through the forest. I looked around jerkily, trying to concentrate on what I was supposed to do but, for some reason, the purpose kept evading me. What was I looking for again? It was a…It was a person. No, I corrected myself sternly, an animal. I was looking for an animal. I wanted to slow down but my body wouldn't obey my mind. I'm looking for a doe, I said to myself, I'm looking for a doe.
Or was it a stag? A black stag? No, no, no. It was a white stag.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard Jurian's voice berating me, yelling at me to get it together so that I could continue to the second portion of the ceremony. Usually I would have lost myself by now, but I wouldn't let myself succumb to the hunter inside me. I didn't want to forget myself, to not feel myself.
"What are you doing?" And within a moment, the wind knocked out of my chest and my body stopped moving with a jolt. I turned around slowly and my whole body stiffened. She was there. Her silky black hair was in loose curls around her oval-shaped face and her cunning violet eyes were nailed on me like daggers. She was in Night attire – a long black dress that turned see-through when it hit her knees. It draped to the ground, tickling the leaves at her feet. My eyes rose back to her chest, noticing the deep plunge in her dress. Between her breasts, a fist-sized ruby sparkled back at me. It was like a sick joke, I thought.
"You…" I staggered back stupidly. She looked at me, tilting her head curiously.
"I've never heard you stutter, Tamlin," she whispered playfully, her red lips smirking. They were so addicting, I thought. They were so plump and charismatic, so terrifyingly beautiful. My chest rose up and down. My fingers were shaking at my side. Quickly, I tried grabbing at my weapon but as my fingers reached my belt, I noticed that my dagger had disappeared.
"You're not here," I said, swallowing. The words were falling out of my mouth desperately, more desperate than I had been in a long time. "What are you? Why are taking her figure? What did I do to you to deserve this? I demand you to tell me! Now!" Feyre would have been better, I thought suddenly. I would rather see Feyre in this forest taunting me then to see her.
"Who says I'm not here?" She asked, her violet eyes twinkling. "It was a blurry night, wasn't it, Tamlin? You don't even remember what happened." I growled, my fangs rippling out at her.
"I remember," I told her, though I choked on my words. "I remember exactly what happened that night. You won't trick me, beast." She laughed. Not a cool laugh that I had wished came out of her – an innocent laugh. A careful, thoughtful laugh. I had forgotten how it sounded in my ears, a weird pitch that reminded me of a string instrument. Like a song.
"It's been a weird day, hasn't it?" She said, taking a small step towards me. "First Lucien shows up at your door, an old friend. And then you hear that history is starting to unravel, that Lucien might take the throne. And was that Eris? I thought I saw him."
"You're just looking inside my head," I hissed. "Who sent you? Especially on a night like this? On a night of celebration?" Her smile dropped, a hint of pain reflecting back at me. She looked like I had slapped her.
"The Cauldron," she said softly, her voice a whisper. "The Cauldron sent me. I told you it'd bring me back. I told you it was going to be okay." I shook my head at her quickly. A lump was growing in my throat.
"Leave me alone!" I shouted, and as I released my claws, I lunged at her. She didn't even twitch as I flung towards her. She only rose her chin and tightened her gaze. But as soon as I touched her, as soon as my claws met her shoulder, my claws retracted. Her skin was sun-kissed and was smoother than I had remembered. My fingers draped there for a moment, indulging in her softness. If this was hell, I wanted it. I wanted all of it.
"How could the Cauldron have brought you back? Why now?" I murmured in a low voice, inhaling cinnamon scent radiating off her. I could feel myself growing closer to her, being pulled towards her. "Explain that to me." She didn't even blink.
"I don't know," her voice broke. "I just woke up here, Tam." It wasn't a good enough excuse, I thought. It didn't make any sense. But the night was growing later and the beast in me was still rising. It was a hallucination, I decided. Even though her skin felt so real and her lips were daring me to touch them, it had to be fake.
Yet I could feel myself long for her, just like I had longed for other girls, other maidens, in the past. She shivered as my hand went from her shoulder to her cheek, her face flushing with redness. My fingers tangled into her silky hair, running through the large curls and tucking them behind her ear. She giggled as I did so and she leaned closer to me. Her hand went to my bare chest, her thin fingers tracing across the paint that Jurian had smeared on me. Her fingers were cold. How could something that didn't exist be cold? It didn't make sense. How could her hips be pressed against my waist, her sweet breath tickling my mouth?
"Maybe it's Calanmai that brought me here," she breathed, desperation slipping into her voice as well. Her fingers were shaking when they reached my face. "Things are changing, Tamlin. You've felt it." And she wasn't wrong. The last twenty-four hours have been so bizarre, too much of a coincidence. And now she was here, her willowy figure grinding against mine, my lips nearly touching hers. My hand went to her chest, pressing against her heart. It was beating. Her heart was beating.
"If this is the last time I'll see you, if the Cauldron only gives me tonight, then make it worth it, Tam," she begged. And without even thinking about it, without even considering my options, I pressed her against the tree so hard that it shook. My lips found hers hungrily, barely breathing as I tried to feel every part of her. And as her moans filled my ears, I could feel my consciousness waning. Because, at that moment, the beast was let out.
~*~ discidium ~*~
"I can't believe you just fucking did that." My eyelids slowly fluttered open. At first all I could see was sunlight blinding me as I forced my eyes to widen, but as my vision started to sharpen, I recognized the looming figure above me. Jurian's body was blocking my vision, his face tight and his lips curled upward in a snarl.
"Where am I?" I mumbled lazily. It only took me a moment to realize I was back in my bedroom with the windows wide open, blinding me.
"You missed breakfast," Jurian said, a cold smile curling on his face. "You also missed the most important part of Calanmai." I tilted my head, confused.
"What?" I asked. He squinted at me impatiently.
"Is this why your kingdom sucks so badly? Does knowledge just escape you entirely?" He said coolly. My hand rose to my head. It was bleating.
"Jurian," I said warningly, a growl slipping from my throat. "I'm not in the mood. Tell me what happened."
"You forgot to kill the stag," Jurian replied dryly. I blinked at him.
"I forgot to kill the stag?" I repeated. Jurian's eyebrows rose as he nodded.
"Yes, you forgot to do the most important part of the ceremony," Jurian said slowly, as if I had absolutely lost my mind. "Instead, you decided to skip that very important step and find your maiden." And then my eyes widened. I propped myself onto my elbows, my breath shortening. As I tried to piece together what had happened, tried to understand the events I could barely recollect, Jurian went on.
"The one step you kept griping and crying that you weren't going to do was the only step you actually did do-"
I remembered seeing her, I remember speaking to her. I remembered shoving her against a thick tree and indulging in her.
"-and now every fae in the Spring Court is afraid that they won't get their crops this year-"
After that, I only remembered glimpses. I saw myself taking off her clothes urgently, I heard her moans ringing against the forest, I remembered the feeling of pulsing inside of her.
"-but good on you, Tam. I see you had fun based upon all the bite marks and scratches that are on your back. Do you understand how humiliating it was for me to tell people you didn't even have a weapon on you?" My eyes widened.
"Bite marks?" I asked breathlessly. "Scratches?" Jurian eyes nailed on me like daggers.
"You do know that I used to be a general right?" Jurian asked coolly. "I used to lead thousands of men into battle? And yet here I am, talking about your sex life." I jumped out of bed sharply, nearly knocking into him.
"Did you see anything last night?" I asked. "Did you see who…" I couldn't finish the sentence. The thought of her, the image of her, made me wince.
"The girl?" Jurian replied dryly. "No, I didn't. All I saw was you zombie-walking into your bedroom and moaning about how 'she' was back." I was quiet for a moment, my hands clenching into tight balls.
"Did you see a girl with dark hair?" I asked, this time calmer. "A willowy figure?" He held my gaze for a long moment but then put his head into his hand.
"I'm done, I'm absolutely fucking done," Jurian said tiredly. "Go put on some pants. Eris has already made half a dozen jokes about you and I just had to stop Lucien from attacking him. Helion is on his way, by the way. He'll be here any minute to talk about this situation." As Jurian stalked away, mumbling obscene words under his breath, I opened one of the drawers. As I picked out a pair of long pants, I tried to ignore the fact that my fingers were shaking. I slipped them on quickly and pulled on the nearest tunic available.
"Tell me, Elain," A voice purred from down the stairs. I sighed deeply, waiting for the words to pour out. "What do you see about my future? The Autumn Court?" There was a loud scuff.
"Don't flatter yourself, Eris, you wouldn't-"
"I was talking to Elain, Lucien," Eris cut him off quickly, with a hint of mockery in his voice, "Don't worry, you can wait your t-" And then Eris looked up at me. I was watching them from the doorway, curious as Elain slouched uncomfortably in her chair. Eris and Lucien were exactly across from each other, both of them leaning over the table. Eris had a cruel smile on his face while Lucien looked like he about to explode. But once Eris locked eyes with me, he lowered to his seat. Lucien flushed with redness when he saw me, scrambling back into his seat as well. But Elain seemed to loosen when she looked at me.
"My words were very clear, Eris," I said, my voice sharp as a knife, "I didn't give you an invitation." Eris shrugged a shoulder at me.
"I knocked and your emissary opened the door. What was I supposed to do? Refuse to walk in without your consent?" Eris asked. "Plus, I knew how busy you were last night. I didn't want to wake you." I held his gaze for a moment, unblinking. And then I did something impulsive – I pulled out a knife from my belt and whipped it at him so fast that Eris didn't even have time to take a breath before he caught it.
"I am a High Lord!" Eris roared as he rose from his chair, dropping the knife to the ground with a loud clink. "How dare you-"
"Are you done yet?" I asked, my eyebrows popped up. Eris's lips curled up with a scowl.
"What?" He snarled.
"Are you done acting like a child? Because frankly, I have a bleating headache and I have been dealing with High Lords like you for centuries and you know what? I'm tired of it," I said simply, and Eris's mouth was ajar. "Two wars and it's all because High Lords can't stop being children. This is why I stayed in my quiet estate for forty-nine years. This is why I ceased communication with the rest of the courts since the war ended. I'm not tolerating this obscene childish behavior, especially from the Court of Autumn of all places. So I'm going to ask you again, High Lord, are you done yet?" To my surprise, Eris was quiet. Lucien, I saw, was looking at me wildly.
"That was quite a speech," A voice rang, "though I'd like to add that the Day Court has gone through more shit than all of you put together. Especially from the Spring Court." I turned around and met eyes with Helion. He held his radiant aura as usual, contrasting against his dark skin. I looked him over twice before stretching out my hand. He clasped it and shook it tightly. And as I held his gaze, I could sense that there was something wrong with him. That they were right – the immortal High Lord of Day was sick. There were rings around his eyes, he was leaning on a wooden staff. His breaths, when he leaned closer, sounded harsher.
"It's been too soon, Tamlin," he said, a smirk on his lips that didn't quite meet his eyes. I forced a smile. He then turned towards the table, looking at all of them. It looked like he was going to say something, but nothing came out. Lucien, I noticed, was looking away awkwardly and Eris, to my surprise, had a tight expression on his face. Elain was the only one who seemed relatively welcoming so Helion walked over next to her and sat on her other side.
"Helion," he said, smiling brightly as he held out his hand to Elain, "High Lord of the Day Court. And you are?" Lucien swung his head towards him, his eyes cold.
"Elain," she replied in a sweet voice, shaking his hand, "Seer of the Night Court and Lucien's mate." Helion's smile instantly dropped and he pulled his arm away hastily. Jurian, who had sneakily walked into the room, stifled a laugh. As I shot Jurian a warningly look, I took a seat at the head of the table. Jurian stood behind me obediently.
For a moment, everybody was quite. Helion was looking to the corner of the room awkwardly, trying to avoid Lucien's piercing glare. Elain was looking at her lap, her lips pursed uncomfortably. Eris had one leg over his chair's arm rest and he was picking his nails as if this was the most unimportant chore he would have to do all day. I slid deeper into my chair, sighing. This was going to be a very, very long day.
"Eris, how about you start?" Lucien snarled, and I could swear a hint of relief waved over Helion's face. "As the reason I'm here is because my mate had a vision that you were going to infiltrate the Spring Court." Eris snorted at this.
"Why would I want to touch the Spring Court?" Eris asked, scoffing.
"Because you're an asshole," Jurian interjected, and Lucien nodded towards him in agreement. Helion coughed.
"Coming from the guy who was dumb enough to murder Amarantha's sister," Eris spat at him. "You deserved what she gave you, if you ask me." And something had shifted in Jurian's eyes. A look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"Stop," I growled at the both of them. "This is my home. There will be respect given to everybody in this room." Eris, his eyes flashing, looked away from Jurian and redirected his eyes at me.
"You should be glad that I'm here," Eris sneered. "I have a whole court to rule, you know."
"Then go back," I replied dryly. Eris flinched at this.
"I'm already here," he said highly, his voice raspy. "I might as well stay." I sighed deeply, looking at Helion. He looked bad, to say the least. He looked tired already.
"And what about you, Helion? Anything you want to share?" I asked. He pursed his lips awkwardly. Lucien still wouldn't look at him.
"Nothing that you don't already know," he said shamefully. The anger in my face softened.
"What happened to you?" I said quietly. And when he looked at me, there was a tremendous amount of pain in his eyes.
"The Cauldron is what happened to me. its gone rogue," he breathed.
"The Cauldron is now in your possession is it not?" I asked.
"Ever since war happened, I have gotten sicker and sicker," Helion said in a low voice. "After I found out that Feyre took a bit of my power, I thought it was because of her but even after the war ended, my spells began to….change. The gifts I and my ancestors bare are directly from the Cauldron, but so much has been done. The Cauldron has revived lives, has remade lives. From the situation with the Archeons to Rhysand's second in command. The Cauldron is no longer obeying us, it's uncontrollable." My eyes narrowed on him.
"So what does that mean?" I asked softly. Helion's eyes rose to meet mine, glittering.
"I will die soon enough. My body, for centuries, has relied on the power of the Cauldron. Whenever it was used, I could feel it in my fingers. Just yesterday, I was doing a healing and I fell to the ground," Helion said quietly. "I felt like a part of my body disappeared." I didn't say anything. There was nothing I could say. Though all the High Lords had difficult relationships with one another, we all were connected in an obscure way. The idea of one day dying without any reason…I understood that fear.
"I need a successor," he rasped, "and, conveniently, I have found one." His eyes looked pointedly at Lucien, but there was nothing on his face that showed acceptance. "But there will be a contract to be made if you are to take my place."
"A contract?" Eris asked, one eyebrow risen. The same question was written on Lucien's face as he looked at Helion.
"I don't want it," Lucien said quietly. "I have found my place at the Night Court." I winced.
"Rhysand's court?" Helion said, a short chuckle. "He may be able to show you beautiful things, but ruling is a whole new game. Ask your brother if you don't believe me." Helion shrugged towards Eris, who in which was still lounging in his chair. Lucien's eyes narrowed on him.
"I never wanted it," Lucien replied. Helion huffed at this.
"Because you knew in your blood that you weren't a son of Autumn," Helion snarled, anger that I had never heard from him rippling in his voice. "If it was my choice, I would've taken you both back." Both. I leaned forward in my chair, watching as Helion's aura glowed brighter. Eris straightened.
"With my mother at your side, you mean," Eris spat. I looked at him curiously as Eris's whole body tightened. Helion had turned to him slowly, an unusual amount of rage burning in his eyes. I had never thought about it – if Helion actually loved her. I assumed not, as the Lady of Autumn was an extremely beautiful woman, but clearly I was wrong.
"Yes," Helion hissed. "Both." Eris gripped the table suddenly.
"I don't care if you're dying, I don't care if you're his father," Eris fumed. "You will not touch her." Helion smirked.
"Is this why you came?" He asked, and Eris's snarl broke. "You wanted to see if I was going to come after your mother now that you butchered your father. I'm taking away your brother, why wouldn't I take away your mother, right? Bring her along with us?"
"One of the many," Eris admitted. Lucien blinked at the both of them.
"And would that be so bad?" Helion said slowly, his lips curled up. "Your father beat her every night." Lucien glowered at Helion.
"Raped her-" Eris looked like Helion had slapped him. Even I was beginning to tense up.
"Demeaned her until she hated herself," Helion said, his voice shaking. I could feel Jurian's glare at me, as if begging me to stop this before a fight was unleashed.
"My father loved her," Eris argued, his voice breaking. Helion only laughed at that.
"I begged her to come with me," Helion said, an icy look in his eyes as he smiled at him. "I begged her. I even went on my own damn knees once. And she still wouldn't come. Because she wanted to protect you." Eris's nose flared.
"Shut up," Eris seethed. "You don't know her or my father. You're just a sick old man who is going to die alone." Helion held his gaze for a moment and I was sure he was going to lash out. Who would win? I thought. Helion, who was sick but knew his powers far better than Eris. Or Eris, who had fire built into him and would kill him before he even knew of the consequences.
"You said that was one of them," A voice interrupted. I turned my head. Jurian was looking at Eris with a stony gaze. Eris scuffed at him.
"What?" He snapped. Jurian didn't even blink.
"You said that was one of the reasons that you came here," Jurian reminded him. "What were the others?" Helion had loosened his posture as he leaned back into the chair. Eris was quiet for a moment, as if debating on whether to share, but then his eyes went towards Lucien.
"Because I set this up." At first everybody stared at him, bewildered, but then Helion sneered.
"Tamlin asked me to come here. You didn't set this up." I straightened instantly, my eyebrows furrowed down.
"I didn't ask you to come here, you asked me to come here," I argued. Lucien blinked at me while Helion shook his head.
"That-" And then he stopped and looked at Eris. "You sent a message to Tamlin, pretending to me, and vice versa?" There was anger in his voice. "I am a High Lord! I have very important things to do in my day, and you bother me with a trick?"
"You told me you wanted to meet at a neutral court," Lucien interrupted. Helion shook his head putting his head in his hands.
"You tricked all of us?" I asked Eris. There was a slight smirk on his face.
"And this is why we don't have visitors," Jurian muttered underneath his breath. Lucien's upper lip curled back at Eris.
"You're such a piece of crap," Lucien blurted. Eris blinked at him rapidly.
"Excuse me?"
"You manipulated all of us," Lucien breathed. "What do you get out of, Eris? Making us all be in the Spring Court during this charade?" Eris stood on his feet suddenly, anger ripping across his face.
"What do you mean what do I get out of this? Why do you think I did this for me?"
"Are you trying to tell me that you don't have any self-interest in this at all?" Lucien yelled, followed by a laugh. "You're so full of it, Eris."
"Is that really impossible?" Eris spat. "That maybe I was doing this for you? A selfless act?" Lucien blanched.
"And how the hell is intercepting our letters a selfless act?!" Lucien bellowed. "Why would you even do this? Why would you waste your time, waste our time, to do this?"
"Why do you care, Lucien?!"
"Because I'm tired of you!" Lucien seethed. "Everything is about you, isn't it? Everything!"
"That's not true."
"Then why? Tell me, Eris. Why?!"
"Because I knew Tamlin wouldn't let him hurt you," Eris admitted quietly, looking downward. Lucien opened his mouth, about to retort, but then he stopped. Eris looked up at Helion. Helion looked surprised.
"I knew that you discovered you had a son but I didn't believe you were sick," Eris said icily. "I don't trust you, Helion." Helion rose an eyebrow.
"I guess we have something in common," Helion agreed. Eris sat back down in his seat, not looking away from Helion's gaze.
"I'll sign your damn contract," Lucien blurted. Everybody looked at him in shock.
"Good," Helion said, though I couldn't say the same.
"What?!" Eris said now. "You don't even know what the contract is!" Lucien's chin rose.
"Who cares? The first thing I'm going to do is take your kingdom anyways," Lucien snarled. Eris's hands clung to the table, smoke coming from his hands. I sighed.
"Oh, for the love of…" Jurian muttered. Helion, on the other hand, looked relatively amused.
"Here's the contract," Helion said quickly, just as Eris's mouth opened. He put the sheet and quill on the table, passing it across Elain. Lucien looked at it warily. "Just sign at the bottom."
"What are the terms?" Lucien asked and Eris growled from the other side of the table.
"Nothing much. Just that you put my Court first, you rule to you die, you hold to our moral code, blah blah blah," Helion said, and Lucien's face began to turn whiter. "And, I want you to learn your powers. You have my blood too." Eris snorted.
"I…I have never shown any signs of your Day Court powers," Lucien said hesitantly. "Only fire." Eris was smirking from the other side of the table.
"Because you've never tried," Helion explained. "I can have trainers available tomorrow morning, if you want." But Lucien bit his lip and looked at Elain. She looked anxious as well, but she nodded her head.
"I'll have to go back to the Night Court briefly," Lucien said apprehensively. "Find myself a replacement…" But when he looked up from the paper, he saw Eris's piercing eyes. And with this, he took the quill and wrote his name at the bottom. Before he could look at any further, he passed it to Helion.
"There, it's-"
"High Lord!" A voice yelled. I stood up from my chair. Jurian, beside me, had a knife out. The voice had come from outback. Quickly, I raced to the backyard into the garden. One of my gardeners were out there, running towards me.
"There's a body!" She screamed, tears flowing down her face. "Straight back there. Straight-" And then we were running. Jurian zoomed in front of me, rushing through the trees that went inside the forest. As I glanced back, I saw Lucien, Eris and Helion. Clearly, Elain had stayed back.
Suddenly, Jurian stopped. He didn't grow any closer. From where he stood, I couldn't see what he was looking at because whatever he was looking at was in a ditch.
"Well, what is it, Jurian?" Helion said impatiently. And when Jurian turned around, his face had changed colors. His eyes were round, and again I could see the maddening glint in his eyes. And a shiver went down my spine because Jurian, the man who had led thousands of men to battle, who had conquered death, who was forced to watch every torture Amarantha committed, all in which was in his name, looked terrified. I had never seen him terrified, I realized. Not in the last centuries that I've known him. Not even with a knife to his throat.
"Luna," He whispered. I stepped back on my heel, shaking my head at him, but he wasn't joking. A part of me told me to run, to run back to my estate, but I felt my feet grow closer. Helion was already next to Jurian. He snarled at him.
"That's impossible," he spat. Jurian didn't look away from me.
"The dark haired girl," Jurian repeated emptily. "Willowy figure. It was Luna. You were talking about Luna." I couldn't respond – it was too much. Too much to accept. Instead, I slowly followed his trail. And then I was next to him, looking down into the ditch.
A girl was laying down in there, her eyes closed. There were leaves mixed into her dark hair and there was a purple shade below her eyes. Her lips were lost of color but her dress…it was the darkest black possible, with the cashmere part starting at the knees. It was twisted around her painfully, and the uncut ruby that was hanging around her neck was glowing. Her skin was dead white but yet…
"Are we really wasting our time with this?" Eris snarled, his arms crossed tightly. "She's dead. Boo-hoo. Now let's go back and finish our conversation." But nobody even responded to him. I could feel my breath go in and out, but I felt like I still wasn't breathing. My fingers were shaking at my sides.
Lucien jumped down next to her, going down on his knees as he analyzed the body. All I could do was shake my head. There she was, there was her body, but how? How could she be here? It was impossible. Absolutely impossible.
"She has wings," Lucien said aloud. "She looks…like an Illyrian. Though, I've never met a female Illyrian with wings. And why would she be here? In the Spring Court?" But his words hung in the air loosely. Though Helion had quickly dismissed the possibility, he was still lingering. Surely, deep down, he was considering it as well. We were all considering it. Because, somehow, none of us could go any closer.
"Don't touch her," I heard myself growl at Lucien sharply. My claws had flung out. Lucien looked at me wide-eyed.
"Why? Who is she?" Lucien asked quickly. "Tam-Tamlin, do you know her?" Helion was still sneering at the sight. But Jurian swung his head towards me sharply.
"I thought you killed her," Jurian said, and his words sounded like an accusation as he took a dangerous step towards me. "I even heard the words come out of your mouth. You burned her wings." I inhaled raggedly. I felt myself move towards him, a growl deep in my throat.
"Don't be silly, Jurian," Helion interrupted. "It's an illusion. Or a creature. Either way, its dead." Lucien shook his head.
"I don't think so," Lucien countered, his voice far too casual. "Look, she's breathing." He nodded towards her chest. I dared myself to look closer, only a few inches, but then I stumbled backwards, inhaling raggedly as my body collided with a tree behind me. I gripped onto it, my fingernails sinking into the trunk.
"Oh, fuck," Helion breathed, horror filling his face now, growing closer. Lucien was looking at me wild-eyed. "This isn't good…"
"If anybody could have conquered death, it would be Luna," Jurian said dryly, shaking his head. Lucien stood on his feet, concern filling his face as he looked at me.
"Conquered death?" Eris repeated. We all looked back at him. If anything, he looked uncomfortable. He was leaning onto a tree causally, but he was stiff.
"Are you telling me someone did it again?" Eris tried to say in a sneer, but his voice broke in the middle. "Is this another Archeon sister?" Jurian turned towards him. He took slow, precise steps towards him. There was nothing but cold fury on his face. Eris stepped back.
"No," Jurian murmured. "She is the daughter of Tiberius, daughter of Semele, and…" Jurian swallowed. Even he couldn't say it. But the words fell out of my mouth like water.
"And sister of Rhysand, the High Lord of Night," I breathed.
~*~ discidium ~*~
"We have to get her to Rhysand." After I told Eris who the girl was, and watched him blanch, I scooped the body into my arms. She didn't move as I held her to my chest. I could still feel her chest beating, the blood-red necklace around her neck pulsing. But the rest of her…she looked dead. My eyes didn't look down at her as I carried her in. All I could think about was, was it real? Was last night real?
Despite the dirt that was caked all over her body, I set her down on the white couch. We all hovered awkwardly.
"We are not getting Rhysand," Helion replied sternly. It was Elain's idea – when we walked in, Lucien filled her in quickly, but no matter how much we could explain to them, they would never understand. They would never understand how horrific this situation was.
"Why not?" Eris interjected. "It's his sister, isn't it? His problem." We all looked back at him. He scrunched back as he held all of our glares.
"What? You think he'll just calmly knock on the front doors when he hears his sister is alive?" Jurian snarled. "He'll kill us. All of us, just for being here. He'll burn this place to ash and carry her out in his own arms. And I wouldn't blame him." Eris's eyes widened.
"Then I'm leaving," Eris declared. "I'm not going to succumb to this idiocy. This is your problem."
"It's all of our problems." I was surprised to hear it from Helion. It came out calmly as he sat on the couch next to Luna. His fingers ran through her tangled hair. "Anyways, I owe him. I'm not leaving until she's alright." My eyebrows furrowed down. It was unusual to see Helion be compassionate. He cared for his own court, sure, but I had never seen him care about anyone else.
"You owe Rhysand?" Lucien asked curiously. Helion looked up at him, his eyes looking centuries old as he stopped stroking Luna's dark hair.
"No, his father. Tiberius," Helion explained. "I was High Lord before Rhysand was. No matter how much of an asshole Tiberius was, he helped my court when we needed it most. The least I can do is help heal his daughter." It felt like a punch in the gut. It was my fault she was dead, I thought. And now she was alive, and it changed everything.
"You can help her?" I asked quietly. "She'll live?" But when Helion looked up at me, his eyes were daggers.
"If this is the Cauldron's doing, yes, I can," Helion replied. "It's a spell. An ancient spell. Only the Cauldron could do this kind of magic. I can feel it at the tips of my fingers. I'm not sure who casted it but-"
"She casted it herself," I replied sharply. "Before I-" I choked on the word. "Before it happened, she asked to say a prayer. I…" Helion looked away from me, no longer in the mood to hear my words. His shaking fingers were rubbing her temples softly.
"This was the danger," Elain whispered. She huddled against Lucien. "This was the danger I foresaw." Lucien looked at her, his face contemplative. He looked back at me hesitantly.
"She can't stay here," Lucien said. "She's the sister of the High Lady. If something happens…" I nodded understandably.
"Go," I said. Helion swung his head towards him quickly.
"You signed the papers, you will be back." It wasn't a question, it was a demand. Lucien held his cold glare for a moment and then winnowed into thin air before Helion could say anything more.
"I swear, that boy," Helion growled, his fingers dropping down to Luna's throat. "He has more of her stubbornness than he'll ever know." Eris's eyes flickered at him but he said nothing.
"Is this really what I looked like?" Jurian asked curiously as his eyes hovered over Luna. "Did I look this dead?" I looked over at him.
"I was too busy thinking about other things," I said under my breath. He pondered this as he continued to stare at Luna.
"Did you really burn them?" Jurian said now, his words lower. "Her wings?" He looked up at me, holding my gaze. His eyes were hard, yet…sympathetic. As if he might be able to look past my sins, as I did his.
"Yes," I told him, and this time my words didn't choke in my throat. "I did." Helion's hand was hovering over her heart. I could see a small strip of gold flicker between her body and his hand.
"Everything is in perfect condition," Helion said, partly to himself, as he looked at her body in a way that only a healer could. "Aside from her unconscious state and the occasional cuts, presumably from her time in the woods, everything seems perfect. Her heart is beating in a rhythmic manner, I don't see any broken bones or anything that needs stitches. And her wings…you say you clipped them. But they are in perfect condition."
"You think this is the Cauldron's doing?" I asked, watching as Helion's hands slipped to her stomach area.
"I don't know anything else that has the power to wake the dead," Helion muttered. "Clearly, the Cauldron is ill, making me ill." Jurian rolled his eyes.
"When has the Cauldron being ill caused people to go back to life?" He sneered. Helion's eyes were icy when he looked back at Jurian.
"The Cauldron holds power you can't ever understand," He replied flatly. "If it's in control, everything is in balance. It's like ying and yang. But if it's out of balance, if it's ill, it will give and take erratically. It will hear demands that it should not give." Demands that it should not give. But shouldn't it? Was it right for me to kill her?
"Who else will this ef-" But then Luna stirred. Helion jolted back just an inch, his fingers zapping golden beams on accident. His eyes were wide. Everybody was quiet as they watched her.
"Maybe she-" But then her thick, black eyelashes fluttered. I stepped back, leaning away from view as her eyes slowly opened. They were violet, I thought. A bright violet. Nobody breathed for a moment as she blinked a few times, staring at the ceiling. Jurian was the first to lean over her, catching her attention.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Jurian said finally, flashing her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Jurian?" She mumbled, confused as her eyes narrowed on him with disgust. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same about you," Jurian replied, his voice crisp. "Tell me, how does a bitch like you deserve to come back from the dead?" She goggled at him.
"What…" And then she saw me. The confusion wiped from her face and at first there was nothing. Merely looking over me, as if to identify something she had missed. And then she rose her chin, her eyes cold as night. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"You killed me," she whispered. I opened my mouth, about to say something, but nothing came out. Helion quickly jumped into view.
"Old news," Helion told her, waving his hand dismissively. "You have bigger issues." But she didn't say anything. Just stared and stared at me. It was worse, I realized, that she wasn't trying to kill me. Instead, she looked past my skin and my powers and only stared at the beast inside me. The disgusting, horrible beast that had killed her that night.
"Bigger issues?" She asked emptily, not looking away from me. Helion nodded.
"Yes, see, it's been a few centuries since you last breathed," Helion told her casually. "So, whatever magic you decided to cast upon yourself a few centuries ago, it would be great for you to recollect for me. You're going to have some serious recovery-"
"Why?" But she wasn't asking him. She was asking me. I felt a lump in my throat grow.
"Politics," I said simply. But that wasn't enough, I knew. My words did nothing for her – it didn't fuel any anger, nor show any relief or sympathy on her face. I expected more questions to spill from her, more emotion, but nothing.
"Where am I?" She asked me, looking around. I swallowed.
"The Spring Court," I said. Her violet eyes narrowed on me cruelly. I could feel the disgust radiating off her.
"You're High Lord," she realized in a low voice, her eyes going over me again. Helion watched me closely as I nodded.
"I am," I replied. Her violet eyes couldn't have looked colder.
"Where's my father?" She asked tightly. When I didn't respond, she said louder, "I want to see my father!"
"Your father's dead." It came from Eris. We all swung our heads towards him, clearly forgetting he was even here. He was looking at her with disgust. She propped herself up on her elbows, looking him over.
"And you are?" She spat. He gave her a thin smile.
"High Lord of the Autumn Court," he told her stiffly. "A lot has changed since you've died." And then she looked around the room again – at Helion, at me, at Eris. Anxiety began to fill her face as her long nails scratched into the couch, horror consuming her. Helion reached for her calmly.
"Luna-" But she tried rising from the couch, not before screeching in pain. Helion put his hands on her.
"Luna, you have to sit down," Helion instructed. "Or else you're going to hurt yourself." She didn't care. Her eyes ran jerkily from all of us, trying to get out of Helion's grasp.
"Where's Rhysand?" She shouted, her eyes wide. "Where's my brother?" And the moment was perfect because right then, the windows exploded. Glass rained down as Helion and I created a shield that went over the five of us. And then I heard an explosion – the door opening with a bang. I straightened up, unconsciously standing in front of the couch as Helion cursed.
And then I saw them – Lucien, first. I tilted my head as I digested the apologetic look on his face.
"Lucien-" But then Rhysand came into view. He was only wearing dark pants, his hair wet with sweat as if he had just been training. His eyes were blazing as they went past me, falling to his sister. Beside him, Azriel – his spymaster, I remembered, hovered close to him, his eyes jotting around the area quickly.
"You're alive," Rhysand whispered.
~*~ discididium ~*~
Omg, I thought I'd never finish that. Anyways, I need some serious reviews. I wrote that in one sitting. Give me something, yeah? Please. If you like it, leave a comment. Thank you 3
