Alayna
We were the last of the solar courts to arrive, Thesan and Helion were already seated at the table, waiting for the other High Lords to arrive. I nodded respectfully to both of them, still a little tense, anticipation rising inside of me,
Relax, we'll be here for a while.
I know, I'm just worried the seasonal courts will abandon us.
Day and Dawn would stand with us, but if Autumn had already reached out to the others, or worse, attacked them, we might not be able to rely on their support. The door opened, and a familiar male entered, a dawn glow surrounding him
"Ally, it's good to see you, it's been too long."
"Indeed it has, Jacob, how is Arianna?" Jacob's mate was not with him,
"She's well, visiting her family on the continent, and hasn't be able to return I'm afraid." He glanced down, noticing the ring now shining on my left hand, a simple silver band, but we hadn't had time to get anything more special "May I be the first to offer congratulations, Cauldron knows you deserve this, Ally." I smiled, thanking him gently, and introduced Connor as my mate, not just part of our court, the males shaking hands as they studied each other. "I always knew you'd end up with a warrior, Ally, your spirit outshone even mine."
"Oh please, Jacob, you were just in the right place at the right time." I laughed as I recalled our fleeting relationship, if you could call it that. I had needed someone to be kind, to contrast the Illyrian war camps I had spent much of my time in. Jacob had been that, but he had never held my interest for long, I think he had known that, but didn't mind, somehow. He turned to greet my parents, leaving me to face Tamlin and his son as they entered the room, I inclined my head a little,
"High Lord,"
"My lady," Tamlin's voice was surprisingly warm as he addressed me,
"How are things?"
"My people are thriving, thank you, Alayna," He had changed, even since I had last seen him, thirty years was a long time, but he seemed to have recovered, the death of his wife had raised memories within him, memories of losing a different female, but he had recovered, had regained his dignity, like before. He nodded to my mother, no sense of loss resonating from him, only the happiness that she had found the life that she was born for, as he had. We continued the exchange of small talk, steering clear of any information regarding our courts, while remaining pleasant towards one another. The same could not be said of his son, however, Max greeted me warmly, asking about how Velaris fared,
"You, you look great, Ally, um,"
"A light through the dark?"
"Indeed." He was right, my sleeveless gown of black satin fell just to my ankles, leaving the matching pair of heels visible, the silver embroidery following the patterns of the stars in the night sky, giving the bodice an ethereal glow, the skirts flowing as I moved. I had vanished my wings, Alex and my father doing the same, opting for the full Night Incarnate appearance, an Illyrian dagger at my side, sheathed on a belt slung low across my hips, reminding those present exactly what I was capable of, with or without using magic. Our friendship had indeed improved relations between the Spring and Night courts, something we had expected a marriage to do, but we had both pulled out, at the last minute. We would have driven each other crazy, but it was good to see him again.
Kallias and the Winter Court were the last to arrive, their presence momentarily causing the temperature to drop by a few degrees, that is until Mor met Viviane's eyes and squealed, running over to her and almost crushing her ribs. She smiled broadly at Viviane's sister, a smile that never once faded whilst she looked at her, they stayed close to each other, fingers brushing at their sides, until their conversation was interrupted,
"If we're all ready?" Thesan's voice rang out over the conversations between the courts present, the absence of Beron hardly noticed as we took our seats. Eyes turned towards me and I cleared my throat, giving myself a last chance to order my thought before rising,
"As you are all aware, there was an attack on the Night Court recently, with no major damage sustained, and we have reason to suspect that it was the work of the Autumn Court," murmurs filled the room and I paused a moment to allow silence to return, "Or Aaron Lasaire. Or both," worried glances were exchanged around the table as eyes returned to me, studying my posture, my face as I mentioned Aaron's name, but I schooled my features into a mask of bored neutrality, not giving an inch of space to anyone wishing to abandon us. "Our concern is that Autumn may be helping willingly, or may have been infiltrated, has anyone noticed any differences in correspondence from Beron?" The shakes of heads left my worries all but confirmed, until,
"Yes." that one word from Tamlin drew everyone's attention, "In that we have received none recently." None, that was strange, all of the courts had a good working relationship, we hadn't received anything from Beron, but that was expected. "I assumed he was busy, but perhaps that is not the case." Murmured agreement sounded around the table and I glanced to my father, his slight nod giving me all the permission I needed to make my next request,
"Does anyone have intelligence inside the Autumn Court?" The silence around the table was expected, the hostility resonating was not, I did a double take, not expecting the flood of hatred that was now flooding into my mind. From his sharp intake of breath, I knew that my father sensed the same, and Alex tensed in his seat, ready to leap between me and any attack. I moved slightly, adjusting my posture to place myself firmly in front of him,
Don't you dare.
He relaxed visibly, but I could still feel his worry, the bridge between us was weaker than it had been when we were children, but it was there, just enough to communicate.
"How do we know that you're not in cahoots with Lasaire, Heir of Night?" Kallias and Viviane's son had never liked me, but he had never suggested anything of that sort before, and it shocked me enough that I couldn't stop Natty as he surged out of his seat, a hand on Connor's shoulder to prevent him from doing the same.
"Watch your mouth." He practically spat at the Heir of Winter. Aster just grinned,
"Or what? You'll attack me? What civilized company you keep, Alayna."
"Enough!" I rarely raised my voice, but now I lowered the glamour keeping a damper on my power slightly, allowing darkness to leak into the room. "Insult me all you want, but bring my court into it, and there will be a problem." He grinned at my thinly veiled threat,
"Merely testing the waters, to see what Lasaire's whore is-" Shadow struck into him faster than I could move, I turned towards Azriel, anger flashing in my eyes as he shook his head. It wasn't him. Bella growled as the shadows struck again, sending him flying across the room,
"Never. Use. That. Word. In my presence. Ever again. If you want to live."
"Is that a threat?" he pushed himself back to his feet,
"No, it is a promise. If you insult my sister again, I will end you, slowly."
Sister, perhaps not by blood, but in nature definitely, that declaration still sent joy rippling through me every time she said it, we were sisters, in spirit at least, and nothing could take that away.
The softness melted away, leaving the pure undiluted rage of an Illyrian warrior, her hand drifted to the blade at her side, "And you will see exactly what an Illyrian warrior can do." He scoffed,
"You're a female, what could you possibly do to me? Besides, aren't Illyrian females for breeding? There are no female warriors." Blood roared in my ears at that final statement.
"There are now." I kept my voice level and even, "And unless you want her to fulfill that promise, I would shut up." Turning to Bella, I nodded, "Thank you, Shadowsinger," She sat, taking the hint, still glaring at Winter's heir as he limped back to the table, huffing,
"I wouldn't want to hurt you anyway, I don't make a habit of hitting females."
"Get out." I snapped at him, "I'm not in the habit of taking bullshit from self-important males." He glared at me, "Get. Out." no one opposed me as I pulled myself up to my full height, my violet eyes shining with anger, authority resonating with my voice. He glanced around the room, searching for support, finding none, he growled, kicking his chair back as he stalked out.
"I apologize for my son's behavior, Ally," The High Lady of Winter's shocked expression was enough to explain that even she didn't know what his sudden outburst was caused by. "We," she gestured to Kallias and herself, "Have received information that Beron was ill a few weeks ago, but nothing since then." No one else offered any information, "It seems that Autumn had been infiltrated then."
I nodded, my heart heavy as I spoke again, "He's back."