Chapter 4

We spent the next two hours trying to make sense of the baffling situation I had found myself thrown into. I was shown maps (that looked similar but not quite the same as home), given a history lesson (very confusing) and had tried to have my mind 'scanned' (that was weird). Nothing worked. I must have repeated what had happened half a million times before the next person showed up. No knock at the door, no footsteps, she was just there.

Bouncing, blonde hair fell round her shoulders in a waterfall of glossy strands that literally seemed to glow. A revealing blood red dress wafted around her slender yet curvy figure, accented in golden embellishments. She looked like a literal goddess. Great, another hottie, I thought. When her intelligent blue eyes settled on me a look of surprise scrunched up her pixyish features before a smile of pure delight lit up her face.

"Cousin, who is our human guest?" She asked, turning to Rhysand.

"Glad to see you could finally bless us with your presence, Mor." Rhysand said, drily. "We did call five hours ago."

Blush crept into her cheeks. "I was busy." Was all she deigned to reply.

"Your hangover recoveries are getting slower. Next time we might even have to send Madja over to attend you." Cassian smirked, leaning forwards from where he was draped on the sofa.

Mor faced Cassian her eyes dripping with feigned innocence. "At least I can recover with dignity, Cass. Didn't Azriel have to half carry your delirious person home after your last night out? Apparently he was tempted to dump you in the Sidra. I don't blame him."

"This is what I have to deal with all the time." Feyre whispered to me from where I watched in silence on another plump sofa.

Mor rolled her eyes. "Don't act so innocent, Feyre. We all know what happens when you've had a bit too much down the hatch."

"I'll stop it there." Rhysand interrupted; a positively feline grin on his face. "Mor, this is Lexis Atherton. She will be staying with us until we can figure out where she has come from."

"Will she?" I asked.

Feyre turned to me with a confused expression on her face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've all been very nice to me but I don't know you. You're all some mind-reading, flying Fae things that I didn't even know existed." I continued to ramble. "I don't want to get in your way and be a burden or anything either. Thank you for trying to help but you're all really important and you must have better things to do than help a lost 16 year-old human girl." I finished shakily. That had been building up for the last few hours while they selflessly tried to find out where I had come from. I surveyed their faces; all full of pity though not the annoying kind.

"We are more than happy to help you." Rhysand eventually spoke. The others nodded gently. "It could be dangerous for you out there. You are not from here; everything about you screams that- from the way you speak to your scent. Even your mind is something completely different if I cannot open it. Not only could it be dangerous for you, but we don't know how you being here is affecting our world, our reality. We will find out what brought you here, and then we will send you home."

Home. I missed my family so much in that instant that I wouldn't allow myself to speak. Emotion clogged my throat and I nearly choked on it. They did not know where I was. They didn't know that I was alive. I hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to them that morning as I rushed out the house for work. I had to make my way back to them. I had too. Leaving them in that dying world would be the worst form of betrayal. I willed my face first into steel and then into gratitude, without letting my grief show. I couldn't show them how vulnerable I really was.

"Thank you." I said to them. And I meant it. I showed them that I meant it.

"I know a place we can start looking for answers." Mor piped up, she looked directly at me grinning. "By the way, I'm Morrigan. Rhys' third in command and cousin. My family calls me Mor and so can you if you want to. In fact, I insist. I can't believe all these jerks got to meet you first and hog you for hours. I'm the nicest, except maybe Feyre." She looked so eager and friendly that I couldn't help but like her immediately.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled shyly. Gods she was fit. "Where exactly might have answers?"

"Yes, where exactly?" Feyre asked frowning a little as if trying to work it out. "Rhys and I tried the library earlier while Lexis and Cassian read through some books here. We found nothing."

Mor took a deep breath (apparently a flair for the dramatic ran in the family). "Well this place might come up with the same results as here, but it's also the greatest trove of knowledge in Prythian. Maybe even our known world. If answers are going to be somewhere, they'll be there. We need to go to the libraries of the Day Court."

"No." Rhysand said firmly. "We can't get other courts involved in this. If news about Lexis gets around then people might start to wonder how she got here and if there's a reason for it. It could put her in more danger than she's already in."

"But if there's a chance that the knowledge we need is there then isn't it worth it?" Mor countered.

Cassian raised a hand. "I agree."

"Not until we've run our own knowledge dry. We've done one afternoon of searching, we're not desperate yet."

"This could mean we don't get desperate."

"It could mean a war, or worse."

"Lexis doesn't have to come. We could go covertly."

I watched the cousins bounce arguments back and forth. I didn't really want to put myself in danger but the faster I got home the faster I'd be out of the danger, right? If this court truly was an all- powerful library of knowledge then surely it would be the place to start looking.

"I want to go."

"See, she wants to go." Mor winked at me.

"Are you sure?" the High Lord questioned. "It could be very risky but if it's a chance you're willing to take then it's your choice." He looked at me with those startling violet eyes, riddled with concern.

I flashed him a reassuring smile. "How scary can a library be; it's just books."

Cassian's face paled. "Trust me; you do not want to know what can be found in a library."

Feyre, Rhysand and Mor chuckled at that. I assumed it was some inside joke.

"I'll plan the trip then. We'll need to speak to Helion beforehand to make him aware of the situation." Rhysand said.

"Excellent." Mor replied, standing from where she was perched on the arm of Feyre's chair. "You go do that cousin. I'll see you all tonight for dinner. Bye for now Lexis and it was really nice to meet you."

However, before she could make her magical exit the front door of the house burst open. Everyone's attention snapped to where a small, dark haired woman rushed in panting. Her grey eyes looked at us frantically.

Rhysand stood. "What is it, Amren?" Real worry laced his voiced.

The short female composed herself with a breath. "Something's stirring in the Sidra. Something I've never seen before. It's unnatural, abnormal and it's scaring the people. I don't know how much of a threat it is, I came straight here."

Before I could blink Feyre and Mor had vanished. Rhysand whipped his head round to Cassian. "Keep Lexis safe. Do not let her out of your sight." He grabbed Amren's arm and they too vanished, though not before Amren regarded me with a chilling stare.

I turned to face Cassian, who had gone deadly serious.

"You don't think this had anything to do with me do you?" I ventured, getting up and closing the front door which Amren had left open. A sharp cold was beginning to fill the room and I'd had quite enough of freezing to death already.

He reached for a short sword at his hip. "I don't know."

"We should help."

"No offence to you but you'd be more hindrance than help, especially if things got violent. Rhys told me to keep you safe so that's what I'm going to do. Besides, if it really is your presence making this occur then the worst thing to do would be to take you near it."

I just stared at him.

He stared right back. "What?"

"Don't you want to see it? What if it starts attacking people?"

"Are you trying to make me curious or feel guilty?"

"Both?"

I couldn't stay here. Not if I could be the cause of whatever was happening. A rumble shook the ground and I glanced up at Cassian with wide eyes.

He shook his head. "I want to help as much as you do but this is serious."

"If it's serious we should help."

"You're a bad influence on me you know." He sighed then looked at me dead in the eye. "Whatever happens you mustn't approach it okay? You will stay where you are no matter what you see, understand? We'll watch from a nearby rooftop and if things get out of hand I'll step in, you run. Come back here if everything goes to shit or go to the big house on the mountain." He had the voice of a commander and it was more than terrifying, so different to the rumbling laughter I'd heard earlier.

I focused on my new friend's hazel eyes. "Let's go."