When The Last Petal Falls

16. Discovery and Dread

Bellona woke up in the middle of the night, not quite sure how she had ended up in her bed. All she remembered was the fight between her and Nyx, then the sensation of being moved, of being lifted and carried, fading light following her. Ughhh. She reached her hand up to feel her nose, anger mixing with pain as she remembered the lapse of concentration that allowed him to break it. Even though she had her fae healing, she still expected it to be chipped or at least swollen. She pulled her hand away in surprise, feeling nothing abnormal besides from the harsh headache that accompanied it. She buried her throbbing head into the soft pillow, hoping that would ease the pain a little. Every few minutes, she would twitch slightly as the cool breeze brushed against her skin, her breathing slow and steady, her heartbeat a dull roar in her ears. She wanted to close her eyes and drift away to sleep but for some reason she couldn't.

Just as she managed to nod off, Bellona could hear voices filtering through the crack in her door. Ignoring the pain she sat upright. As her waist-length hair fell in place behind her, she looked around the room. At the light coming from a small sliver of moonlight which danced across the floor, making the dark shadows of her body dance in return. Groaning in annoyance as she thought of every single way she could make them feel pain for disrupting her. Bellona crept silently toward her door, straining to catch the hushed conversation on the other side. She couldn't quite make out who it was so she gently opened the door and slipped out of it.

She didn't make it two steps before a creak of the wooden floorboards sounded underneath her feet. Fuck, she thought to herself as the conversation downstairs stopped. She held her breath and listened intently as the moments passed. Eventually the murmurs started again and she started to creep further down the dark hallway, heading towards the light she could see at the bottom of the stairs. She came to a stop at the top of the wooden staircase, being careful to hide in the shadows as the illumination from the meeting room increased. Crouching down, she managed to peer into the room. There was Feyre and Rhysand sitting next to each other at the table, worried expressions on their faces. Craning her neck further she could see that Amren and Elain accompanied them. The latter was the only one standing, her body so stiff Bellona wondered if she was still breathing.

"Are you sure about this Elain? This would be your first vision in over twenty years", asked Rhysand.

"22 years, 14 weeks and 3 days", said Elain, her rich brown eyes finding her sisters blue-grey ones. "I am not mistaken in the slightest".

"No one's doubting you, we're just trying to wrap our heads around this, tell us again please", Rhysand covered Feyre's hand with his own. She paused for a moment before she spoke, "the mountain stained with blood is given to the messenger of war. It shall be then, when legends resurface, a broken promise brings to life an age of bliss."
"Amren?' Rhysand turned his attention to his second-in-command.

"I'll need more time to decipher it properly but it sounds as if the mountain stained with blood would be Under the Mountain", the fire drake answered.

Feyre's face paled.

"Legends resurfacing could allude to the trouble with the Trove and Koschei all those years ago. Other than that I'm not sure", she finished.

Elain shook her head, her knuckles turning white as she clutched the chair in front of her, "no, you don't understand. This vision... this thing in my mind isn't of past events, its of something preparing to happen. I can feel that it is still to come to pass and with it nothing but pain".

"Elain are you sure about this?" Feyre asked firmly, not the voice of a sister but a High Lady.

"Without any doubt", she whispered, "something dark is coming".

It was as if Bellona could taste the feeling of impending doom, as if the darkness that the seer spoke of called to her very soul, her very existence. It was at that point Bellona started back towards her room, head now pounding due to a different reason. She had to go home and warn her family. No scratch that, she had to learn more about the supposed threat, then escape to home to warn her family. She had nearly made it back to the room before she felt a presence behind her.

"Now, now. What the hell are you doing?"

Without even turning around she knew who it was.

"Don't think I don't notice you creeping around at night, spying won't get you very far here". Nyx crosses his arms.

"It's none of your business", she retorted.

"It's my court, so I think it is my business".

Bellona rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Has anyone ever told you that you behave like a 2 year old? Seriously what point do you have to prove right now? I'm sick of your shit just let me go to bed". She made to head back to where she came.

He grabbed her wrist.

Bellona spun around, fire blazing in her eyes,
"Get off me".

He smirked, "not until you say please".

"I swear to god Archeron, if you want to live five more minutes..."

He only laughed at her frustration.

Dumbfounded by his response, she let him pull her close, so close she could feel his body heat mingling with hers. Close enough that she became intensely aware of the short nightgown that someone had changed her into. Close enough that she had the perfect opportunity to -

"Fuck!"

Nyx fell to the ground before her, as she kneed him right where it hurt. She leaned down and lifted his chin, tears already forming in his eyes "that's for my nose". She smirked and patted his cheek gently as she left him cowering in the middle of the hallway.

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