A Court of Fire and Ash

Aelin

One moment we were talking about food and the next moment Feyre suddenly stumbled foward and collapsed to the floor.

„Feyre, what's wrong? How can I help you?”
I could see that she wanted to answer me but she couldn't.

Was something wrong with the baby?

I called out for Nuala and Cerridwen but no one answered me.

Then I rushed to Feyres side as she started screaming.

„Feyre?”
She didn't answer.

Shit.

I needed to do something.
But I was alone with her and I couldn't.
I had never felt this useless, this irrelevant.
And whatever would happen to her it would be my fault.
Because I hadn't protected her.
Because I didn't do anything.

But I couldn't just let her die.

I could see her eyes closing slowly and her body going limp.

There was no time.

And suddenly there were hands all over me.
They pulled at me, pushed me and hit me.
They came from behind me but every time I wanted to turn around I was being held back.

I didn't know anything about my attackers but I wouldn't stand here defenseless waiting for them to kill me.

This time when the hands reached for me I dodged and turned around.
And I was eye to eye with them.

They looked like a cult, dressed in black and with masks on their faces.
And they would be easy to kill.

I smiled at them as I leaped forward ready to unleash myself upon them.
But suddenly there was this wall of fire right in front of me.

The fire that I had loved.
That I had called mine.
Holding me back, circling me.
There was a cage of fire build around me and the walls came closer and closer.

I screamed as the flames started burning my skin.
And then suddenly there was this pressure pushing me down.
Making me feel like I was going to burst.

And through the flames I could see a white figure dividing the crowd.
With every step she made the people dressed in black bow down.

She was the one wielding the fire.
The one who had me trapped with the one thing I had loved all my life.
And as she reached the cage, made out of fire, a blue stone on her head started to gleam and suddenly there was no cage, no ground, only emptiness.