Chapter 387

It was as if the sound in the Throne Room had been choked off when Elain got to her feet. All sound and movement ceased and all eyes seemed to turn her way. Elain lifted her chin a little, trying to remind herself that one day she would be the Lady of the Day Court. That throne up on the dais would have one beside it that would be hers, and she really needed to come up with something to do to act like she was as confident as she was pretending to be. In her periphery, Elain saw Ashk turn her head to look up at her, but she did not dare to meet those pretty russet eyes. Ales was about to die if she did nothing, and so she was going to do something, even if that was only to buy time.

"What are you doing?" Rian asked, his own eyes on Elain as he half turned away from Ales who still knelt on the ground. Moving without thinking, Elain stepped forward. The others on the floor seemed to shift out of her way, making her a clear path to the centre of the room, closer to Rian, and Elain moved slowly as if unhurried. Uncertain of her intentions, Elain remained silent, acting as if she hadn't heard him.

The smell in the hall was sickeningly familiar and unbidden images of the Forest House during the coup when she and Lucien had first visited the Autumn Court flashed before her eyes. Elain didn't think she would ever forget the tang of blood on the air and it threatened to choke her now as she tried to draw a calming breath. The whole room stunk of death and it was all too easy to picture those hallways slick with sticky blood. Elain remembered the disgusting feeling as she had tried to walk across it, the tacky sensation beneath her feet as she and Lucien had tried to get outside. A quick glance across the hall revealed a similar image close to where the bodies of the slain faeries lay, and Elain felt sorry for whoever was going to have to clean that off the floor. She hoped that it wouldn't be anyone already forced to be in here and witness the deaths.

Rian let out a harsh laugh, watching her, and Elain almost thought he sounded like Malak had. She didn't think she would forget Lucien's brother's cold laugh either, and she rather thought this male would have gotten on well with Malak. Elain had been thankful for her seer abilities as she and Lucien had stealthily snuck from the Forest House that day. Her gift had saved them from walking right into Malak himself, and they would likely have been dead without it. It hadn't proven so useful today, but then she had been poised with faebane for much of the day. That thought gave her an idea, however.

Trying to make her voice sound as detached as she could, Elain began to speak loudly, carefully keeping her eyes averted from Rian or Colm. "The reign that begins in blood will end the same way." She said, coming to a halt in the middle of the room.

"What's that?" Rian asked, moving past Ales toward Elain, lifting his blade as he did so.

"Shut up." Colm told him, "She's a seer…" The older male moved toward Elain quickly, brushing past Rian as he did so. "What is that you see?" he asked her when he was close enough.

"Blood." She said, figuring that the palace was drenched in it. "Hallways of blood."

"No doubt." Rian muttered, only to be silenced by a single gesture from Colm.

Elain tried to imagine where Lucien was, listening to his heart. It was beating quickly, but she could feel nothing else. She had no idea if he was fighting, or if he was on his way to find her. As much as she tried to will herself into seeing something further, the visions would not come.

"Can you see Helion?" Colm pressed.

"Yes." Elain lied. It was clear that Colm valued the visions of a seer, and she figured that if she could keep him interested in what she was saying then that would put a stop to anything else that might happen before Lucien and Helion found them. She held as still as possible, her eyes directed at the floor and unfocused as she tried her best to look like she was currently seeing something. Nobody knew what she looked like when she had visions, and she doubted that anyone would know the difference.

"Where is he?"

"Here." She replied. "His palace…"

Rian made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat but was silenced by Colm once more. Elain didn't know how she was going to keep this up without somebody realising what she was doing, and she sought for something else to say. She could feel that Rian was quickly growing bored, and that did not bode well for Ales or for anyone else, and she knew that she was going to have to do something more.

Drawing a deep breath, Elain let out the loudest most ear piercing scream that she could. Several nearby faeries actually flinched away from her, Colm included, and she drew another breath, wondering if another scream was required. Deciding against it, however, she began to talk. She didn't know what she was saying, and just let nonsense fall from her lips. "More death." She whispered, "More death is coming. More blood. The floor is slick with it. It's hard to walk. Hard to run. Nobody will get away from it. It's coming. Through those doors…" She flung a hand in the direction of the large double doors, "He's coming through those doors and there will be no escape from it. Not for you. Not for you. The reign that begins in blood will end the same way…"

Colm was staring at her, and Rian stood beside him. "She brings ill news." The younger male muttered. "They say if you kill the seer who brings ill news then it prevents the prophesy from coming true."

Elain choked on whatever she had been about to say next. She hadn't heard that superstition before, and she had no idea what to do or say to contradict it.

"Stuff and nonsense." Colm replied, but Rian shook his head.

"Would you risk it?" he asked, "After everything you've gone through to get here?"

Elain took a step back. She knew that she couldn't run, that she wouldn't even get to the doors, but she didn't know what else to do.