A Court of Shadows and Lies / ACOTAR FF

Chapter 27

Vera was sat in her immaculate reading room on her red velvet arm chair, with a back so tall it would have rivalled Az if he stood next to it.

Vera and Chance's reading room wasn't a library in the slightest. Portraits of several unnamed Gods, Mother and Coventina, lined the deep maroon walls, along with lamps that cast an orange glow. Exquisite velvet drapes covered the windows, creating an eerie, mysterious mood to the room. Perfect for reaching the dead and using Vera's sight that was marred by the Mother so she could have a family. In front of Vera's chair was a small table with a beautifully, intricately designed tea pot and two cups on their accompanying saucers. A smaller backed chair, similar to the one she was sat on, was placed across her.

A chill ran down my spine.

It wasn't the same shiver I had felt when Mother had introduced me to Vera, and Gods only knew how old she was. I was terrified when I first entered a room similar to this during a time long passed, and a much younger Vera sat in the chair. Calls of the Gods, High Beings, and the dead whispered in the room. The non-existent eyes watching every movement in the sacred room. Their murmurs haunting my soul for weeks after.

Today, the croons weren't there. Nor was the call of the Gods. Mother's lightness wasn't here either. Their eyes didn't stalk my movements either.

The chill was a response to the emptiness.

Vera seemed to have aged quite a bit since I had last seen her, like she had been inputting more of her energy into calling those who never answered.

"I knew you would be coming," Vera called, turning her head towards myself and Chance. She narrowed her eyes at her grandson.

"This is where I leave you," Chance breathed into my ear. "Find me when you're done."

The male quickly squeezed my hand, giving me a smile of encouragement, before bowing to Vera and backing out of the room. The door behind me shut softly, leaving me and the Seer in the quiet room.

"How long have they been quiet for?" I asked her, walking to the empty chair opposite Vera and sat down.

"Since Feyre's birth," Vera responded. Watching as she began to slowly lean over to pick up the teapot, her speed excruciatingly sluggish. I rested a hand on top of hers, cracking a sad smile at her. The Seer sighed and leaned back, slouching into the chair. It was as if this was the first time she could relax in a long time, or she knew she didn't have to put up a façade in front of me.

Right now, Vera looked beyond her years. My heart pricked in my chest.

I poured the tea into the cups and gave Vera one.

"Everything I have seen up to her birth happened," Vera murmured, lifting the cup to her lips and letting the steam hit her face. "After her birth, nothing has been going in chronological order. I saw all of this before I gave up a part of my powers, but anything after...it's not been right. Nothing has been right."

"How old are you, Vera?" I asked her. She took a sip.

"Not much younger than you, my child," Vera replied. "I was birthed when you died. Your Mother made sure I was born and gifted with the sight."

"Excuse me?" I said, dumbfounded. "Made sure?"

Vera's haunting green eyes found mine and I found the answer I was looking for.

The Mother had been scared. She had been terrified of what I could do. It wasn't a fact of if it would happen but when. When would I explode next? Who would I love next? What would set off the next burst of energy to flatten an entire court and render it useless?