A bright light pierced through the merry chirping and life of Oakwald which grew and grew until it formed a portal of sorts. Passing through, was an ornately designed carriage surrounded by a legion of soldiers dressed in pure iron.

"We're close now." King Luce, ruler of the ethereal kingdom of Equirra, said as he turned to his daughter, "Will you be able to hold it in? Steel your nerves as much as you can. We wouldn't want an accident when we're trying to ask for help."

Looking out the window, Princess Celeste smirked slightly which showed her elongated canines that matched her father's. "Yes. We wouldn't want to embarrass your kingship now would we?"

King Luce shook his head in amusement, "It's not about that Ellie. This queen and her court is different among others you have seen. Her consort is of pureblood, a direct descendant of Mora. Even the queen herself is the heir of Mab."

The princess cocked an eyebrow, "So? That doesn't scream anything to me other than incest." She turned to her father, "Besides, aren't we purebloods as well?"

The man signed at his daughter's arrogance. "That's beside the point, dear."

They both sat in silence thinking about all the possibilities that this "audience" could go about. Well, the worst possible outcome would be her losing control of her powers and suddenly combusting infront of this queen and kill everyone within reach.

Nothing serious, right? She thought.

Celeste looked out the window when horns started blaring, signaling their arrival into Orynth, the capital of Terrasen. They passed by a monument of sorts that had twelve pillars and were close enough that she could see "Asterin" inscribed along one of the pillars among other things.

"Those were the Ironteeth that sacrificed their lives to bring down one of Erawan's weapons that could've killed all of them." King Luce pointed out

She remained silent while she took in the city that they have just entered. After a decade, she could still see signs of the war that had transpired. She spotted a fewbuilding being constructed here and there.

Beyond those, away from the bustle of the city, was the royal palace of Orynth. Its peaking towers almost opalescent.

"Tell me more, father." She requested as she continued to watched the city and the palace that overlooked it all.

And so, he father told her the story of a princess who loved her kingdom very much that she was willing to sacrifice herself for it. Told her of the court she now has and the adventures they went through.

She narrowed her eyes when she spied a white tailed hawk flying alongside their carriage and suspected it was one of those bloodsworn Fae.

She felt a painful throbbing in her head, "I'm not feeling well. I think it's getting stronger."

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"Are you ready?" Fenrys asked as he watched his queen serveying the carriage that stopped infront of the main entrance of the palace.

"Did they really have to bring a legion of their men?" Aelin rolled her eyes

The male smirked at her and said "Well if they were going to deal with you, I would've done the same."

The queen flashed a conspiring glance and went down to the throne room to greet their guests.

Light flashed beside her and saw Rowan now walking beside them. "There's something weird about them. I could scent it when I got close enough to them. Something fae and something entirely different. I've never scented it before."

Aelin raised an eyebrow, "Then I guess this won't be as boring as we thought."

She entered the throne room and used her power to make the walls glimmer moreso than they usally do as they are made of opal. She went to the dais and sat on her throne, the rest of her court gathering around her.

Rowan on her right looked as handsome as ever and her mind went back to this morning when they woke up a long with something else of his that she took care of.

His eyes shot to Aelin.

What are you thinking? This isn't the time to smell aroused.

Hm. Isn't it?

They're Fae too you know. They could easily scent it on you.

Well maybe we should let them know that they've disturbed very important royal matters.

Like what?

She grinned. Making heirs.

She turned her head when she heard a choking sound to see Fenrys looking like he got the air from his lungs knocked out. She inclined her head to see the woman he was starting at.

Noting the scent that lingered in her nose that Rowan had mentioned, it didn't smell anything bad. In fact, the scent was something new. And it peaked her interest.

She stared at the woman. Beautiful wouldn't even do justice to what she could describe her. With her lavander eyes, platinum blonde hair, pale skin and red plump lips. There was a faint glow that seemed to radiate off of her and looked almost... ethereal. Aelin was willing to bet that all the men in the room were ready to fall over their knees.

She half mindedly thought about what Manon would think when she told her there was someone more ravishing than her. Aelin smiled to herself.

She caught the woman staring back at Fenrys with something like denial and sadness in her eyes before she turned her eyes to meet Aelin's.

One of their emissaries stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, may I present, King Luce of Equirra and his daughter, Princess Celeste."

She surveyed the king to see that he looked nothing like the princess. He had dark hair, green eyes and tanned skin that suggested he was always out in the sun.

Hm. Interesting.

The royals bowed to her so she had no other choice but to stand up from her throne and bow back. "A pleasure, Your Majesty. But as much as I'd like to continue all these pleasantries, let's go straight to business. Shall we?"

The princess smirked which exposed her canines and shot a look to her father. So she is Fae. Aelin thought.

She locked eyes with Rowan.

Demi-Fae. He seemed to say. The other part, I'm not entirely sure.

"This way, please." She gestured toward the hallway that led to meeting room. She motioned for one of the guards to lead the way and let the visiting royal walk first.

Before she could follow suit, Fenrys grabbed her arm. "I need to tell you something."

Rowan stepped beside her and inclined his head to go on.

Fenrys looked between them before finally saying, "She's my mate."