A Court of Flame & Shadow - Eris x OC

Under the Mountain II

Late. She was late. Vel was hurrying down the hallway as fast as those awkwardly long legs could carry her. Two voices echoed from the throne room, bouncing off the pale grey walls.

"I expected Tamlin would come personally to answer my letter." Amarantha sounded affected, but Vel couldn't tell if the emotion was real or pretend.

"He was otherwise preoccupied. It's challenging to run a court when all manners of monsters prowl the borders." Lucien's tone was measured. For now.

"I can keep those beasts away from his court. He knows what I require in return." Vel entered the throne room with a composed swagger. The tension in the cavernous space was thick enough to cut with a knife. The assembled High Fae and their High Lords paid her no mind as she made her way to the front of the crowd. "And where have you been?" Amarantha crooned, her attention suddenly shifting to her.

"I felt an additional patrol would be wise, Your Majesty. In case the Oracle decided to repay our incursion." At her words, Lucien angled his face towards her and snarled viciously, his features contorted with fury. Even with the damper on his powers, fire blazed in his russet eyes. Then he looked back towards Amarantha.

"Leave us alone. Take your cronies and go back to the shit-hole you crawled out of."

Fate was a complicated thing. Vel didn't believe in determinism, she had shaped the future herself countless times. And yet, she had come here to save Lucien's life but it seemed her words had triggered the very thing she'd wanted to avoid.

There was a flash of movement, too fast for her to discern, but she didn't need to see to know what was coming. With her whole body, she slammed left. Into where she estimated Amarantha would be. Something cracked. The smell of blood seeped into the air. She had managed to knock Amarantha out of the way. The Queen was kneeling on the floor, her nose leaking blood through her fingers, onto the red marble floor and her creamy white gown. Somewhere in the crowd, a female screamed. She turned tentatively towards Lucien, making sure to keep Amarantha in her peripheral vision. She had been a split second too late, there were bone-deep gashes where Amarantha's nails had slid over Lucien's face and his eye ... Shit. Shit.

"You imbecile. What do you think you're doing?" Amarantha stood up, setting her nose back to into position. The blood had already stopped flowing. There was a loud crash from somewhere in the back, presumably from the entrance doors being slammed against the wall and a grating voice echoed through the hallways

"Your Majesty! The Oracle – " The Attor flew in clumsily, his too-stiff wings frantically beating just to keep him afloat. The High Fae scurried out of his way as his silver-tipped feet hurtled a bit too close to their heads. The Attor landed behind his Queen, the entire left side of his body still solid stone. Vel shifted back into her Fae form, taking a small step back towards Lucien. She had to get closer.

"You – " Amarantha pointed a bloody finger at her face.

"Me indeed, how perceptive of you."

"You insolent worm. I will flay you alive and make a dress out of your bones." Vel let Amarantha rage as she took another step back. Her foot bumped into something, someone. Lucien must have fainted but he was still breathing, still alive. She dug her heel into him and prayed it would be enough.

Amarantha's eyes narrowed as she realized what Vel was about to do. There was a blinding flash of light as she severed the wards. Amarantha's power exploded, a moment too late because Vel had already winnowed the two of them out.

Vel had to winnow in bursts. With weakened powers, cutting through the wards had taken more out of her than she'd expected. On the third attempt, she landed on the black-and-white marble floor of Tamlin's manor, her knees almost giving out under Lucien's weight. Their entrance sent the servants scurrying.