The artwork above is not mine.
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Fenrys was growing more frustrated with Nascha every day. It had gotten to the point where he found himself thinking quite often that perhaps it was good they'd failed to bring her to Maeve. It wouldn't have been long before one of them had enough and killed her, and Maeve would have killed them for doing so. Besides, if Nascha had been taken to Doranelle, she would've been properly trained and far more dangerous than she was now.
Not that she wasn't still dangerous, of course. Fenrys found her attempting to pick the lock on her door from the inside, using her owl talons. She'd tried to carve holes in the walls with her starlight. Once, when he went into her room to give her food and attend to the delightful task of emptying her waste bucket, she'd swamped him in darkness and tried to make a run for it. That resulted in Fenrys throwing the bucket at her, then later dousing her with buckets of water that did nothing to get rid of the lingering stench.
It was a relief when Suria was finally in view and Captain Silva announced they'd be docking in a few hours. Fenrys was updeck while Aedion took his turn guarding Nascha. He drew in a deep breath and smiled. "You're glad to be back?" Vaughan asked behind him.
"Yeah." Fenrys braced his elbows on the railing as Vaughan joined him. "I never thought I'd be able to say that about a place."
"Do you like Terrasen?"
Fenrys nodded. "I may have been born in Doranelle, but Terrasen is my home. It was always going to be, eventually."
"Connall mentioned a few times that you had always wanted to serve Aelin, even before you met her."
"And even more so after I met her." Fenrys glanced at Vaughan. "She won't force you to swear the oath if you don't want to. She understands. If you want to serve her another way, I don't think she'll object."
Vaughan crossed his arms, not looking at Fenrys. "Do you think I should take the oath?"
"Only if you won't regret it."
"Would she release me from it if I did?"
"If that is what you wanted. She would release any of us if we asked." He pursed his lips. "Except maybe Lorcan. I think she likes having a leash on him, just in case he gets into a killing mood."
"Understandable," Vaughan chuckled. "Do you think you'll ever ask to be released from the oath?"
Fenrys sighed before answering. "I don't know. I have no desire to, but that could change. Although...I don't know what would happen to me without the oath."
"What do you mean?"
Fenrys faced him, knitting his brows. "No one told you how I came to be blood-sworn to Aelin?" Vaughan shook his head. "Let's sit down."
They dropped to the wooden deck, pressing their backs up against the siding. Fenrys leaned his head onto the railing, staring at the sky and fluffy white clouds that drifted overhead. "Maeve kept me trapped in my wolf form while Aelin was her prisoner. I was forced to watch Cairn torture her, and I could do nothing to help. She tried to hurt me to break Aelin. You know how Connall died?"
"Suicide," Vaughan replied. There was a hint of sorrow in his dark eyes.
"Maeve compelled him to drive a dagger through his own heart." Vaughan's lips parted in surprise. "She conveniently didn't tell you that, I imagine." He shook his head. "Well, now you know the truth." Vaughan turned his head away as Fenrys continued.
"Rowan, Lorcan, Gavriel, and a few others were searching for Aelin. To draw Maeve out, they began to spread rumors about the location of a Wyrdstone collar. Maeve could have used that to allow a Valg Prince or Princess to possess Aelin. When Maeve left to retrieve the collar, Cairn moved us to his tent in an army encampment. He intended to burn Aelin's flesh from her bones, because it was the last time Maeve was letting him torture her."
"Aelin tried to fight back, but she was too weak." Fenrys winced at the memory of the sound she made when Cairn threw her into the chest of drawers. "I had to do something. I don't know how, but I managed to fight the oath until it just...broke. I attacked Cairn and gave Aelin time to run, but the broken oath was killing me. Rowan and Gavriel found me and brought me to Aelin. She made me swear the blood oath and commanded me to live. Her oath filled the hole where Maeve's had been, healing me."
Vaughan was silent for several minutes. Finally, he asked, "So you are worried that if Aelin releases you of her oath, the hole will return and you will die?" Fenrys nodded. "You must care for Aelin deeply if you broke the blood oath for her."
"She is my Queen," Fenrys answered simply. "She gave me my freedom and my life." He hesitated, then rested a hand on Vaughan's shoulder. "She would do the same for you, Brother."
"Hey!" Lorcan hollered across the deck. "We're about to dock. Help Aedion with Nascha." Fenrys rolled his eyes and stood. Vaughan followed him as he made his way below deck.
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Nascha squinted against the brilliant sunlight, eyeing the city beyond the ship. It was clear they were no longer in Wendlyn. The air was noticeably cooler here than it had been over there. She tried to ignore the scents of dew and foliage that drifted on the breeze. The scents of...home. It had been eleven years since she was last in Terrasen. She didn't want to acknowledge how much she actually missed it.
Aedion nudged her towards the boarding ramp. Lorcan and Lysandra had already disembarked and were waiting on the dock. Fenrys and Vaughan lingered behind her, along with Aedion. "Good luck!" Captain Silva called as she headed down the ramp.
Nascha didn't reply. She reached the dock, legs swaying while she tried to adjust to solid ground once more. Lorcan grabbed her arm and started walking. The others fell in step around them. "Rowan is meeting us outside the city," he said. "He'll have horses waiting for us. We'll cover some ground before sunset tonight and camp out. We should reach Orynth late tomorrow afternoon or the morning after."
"I don't know how to ride," Nascha grumbled.
"Don't worry," Fenrys replied. "I'm sure Lorcan had no intentions of letting you ride by yourself anyway."
"Sounds like you just volunteered to ride with her," Lysandra laughed.
"I'd be tempted to shove her off and let the horse trample her."
"I'm not keen on smelling shit and piss for the next day or two," Aedion huffed. "She's not riding with me."
Nascha's cheeks burned with anger and embarrassment. "It's not my fault."
"You're the one who made the room dark," Fenrys pointed out. "Besides, I can keep up in my wolf form. I won't need a horse."
Up ahead, Lorcan groaned, massaging his temples wearily. "She can ride with me," Vaughan offered.
Nascha almost gave a sigh of relief. Almost. Vaughan seemed to be the most tolerable in the group besides Lysandra, but she was sure the shifter would be running alongside Fenrys in some form or other. Nascha doubted they'd let her ride with Lysandra anyway. Stars, she needed a drink. She'd need many more by the time they reached Orynth.
Nascha tuned out the ramblings of the group as they continued walking. She let her gaze roam, taking in the sights of the city, which she'd identified as Suria. To her surprise, there were many Fae and Demi-Fae mingling with the Humans. Most of them paused their conversations to bow their heads as the group passed by. They watched her rather curiously.
"Do they know who I am?" She asked, leaning towards Lysandra.
"They might," the Lady replied. "No one besides members of the Court know we were sent to retrieve you though. Many of them probably think you're a delegate from Wendlyn."
"Hm. I suppose they're right, in a sense." Nascha eyed her tan arms with a grimace. "Am I really expected to meet the Queen of Terrasen smelling like shit?"
Lysandra's green eyes sparkled. "I brought a comb and some of my favorite soaps along. I'll share them if we find a place to bathe before reaching Orynth. I would have offered them while we were on the ship but..."
"It would have been a waste," Nascha replied. "Who can properly use soaps and combs when someone is pouring buckets of seawater over your head?"
"Precisely."
Half an hour later, the edge of the city was in view. A familiar male was waiting for them, holding four horses by the reins. "Was there any trouble?" Rowan Whitethorn, now Rowan Galathynius, Nascha supposed, asked.
"Enough that we kept her locked up below deck," Lorcan replied.
Rowan peered past Lorcan, catching sight of Nascha. "You look older."
"No shit. It's been nine years," she scoffed. She felt the glares of her companions, but ignored them.
Rowan narrowed his eyes and jerked his head to the horses. He mounted one himself and waited. Aedion claimed a chestnut mare, while Lorcan swung onto a charcoal colored stallion. Vaughan mounted a white mare and offered a hand to Nascha. She took it, letting him pull her up behind him.
Fenrys had already shifted into his wolf and Lysandra was now a ghost leopard. Rowan and Lorcan took the lead, letting the rest of them encircle Nascha and Vaughan. Nascha sighed, earning a brief glance from her companion.
"Do you know how long they intend to keep me here?" She asked.
Vaughan faced forward. "I'm sure the Queen will inform you."
"Will I continue to be a prisoner?"
"Not if you behave yourself."
"I may be young, but I'm not a child. There's no need to talk to me like one."
"There's no need to act like one."
"Have I been behaving like one?"
"That depends who you ask."
"I think I was wrong."
"About what?" Vaughan looked at her again, raising an eyebrow.
"You. You're just as insufferable as the rest of these males."
"Well, I did live and work with most of them for over a century. We tend to pick up habits from those we surround ourselves with."
"That is unfortunate."
Nascha peered past his shoulder, watching Rowan and Lorcan. They were speaking quietly. Aedion had inched towards them, listening in. Lysandra was still behind her and Vaughan, while Fenrys flanked them to the right. If I shifted now, I might be able to escape, she thought.
As if sensing her thoughts, Vaughan said, "I wouldn't bother shifting. Lysandra, Rowan, and I could catch you. Besides, all Rowan has to do is steal the air from beneath your wings and you'll be stuck on the ground."
"Hmph." Nascha frowned, but recognized the sense in his words. She pushed the idea to a far corner of her mind, and determined to come up with a different plan soon.