"Be careful, Feyre Cursebreaker. The gods are not done with you yet."
My eyes flew open, and before I'd even woken fully I was sitting up in my bed. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, trying to stop my whirling brain.
"Feyre!!" I nearly screamed as a slim female figure suddenly tackled me, almost knocking me over.
"Mor? What-" I tried to say, but was interrupted.
"Feyre. You're awake, finally." Amren was sitting in a chair off to the side, inspecting her nails.
"Oh, please. Don't act like you weren't worried just five minutes ago." Mor scolded her, pulling away from me and running towards the door. She threw it open and yelled down the hall.
"Rhysand, get your ass up here, she's awake!" Almost immediately, Rhys appeared at the foot of the bed.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, pushing back the covers and standing up. "What is wrong with all of you? You're acting like-"
"Feyre, we couldn't wake you up." Rhys said, walking over to me. "It's been twelve hours since we first tried. We couldn't even make you stir." He wrapped his arms around me, and I instinctively did the same as my mind tried to adjust to what he'd said.
They couldn't wake me? Had that dream been real? Had a queen with gold hair and the power to control fire really spoken to me? Saved me from those voices?
I didn't even realize I had my shields down until Rhys tensed and pulled back, putting his hands on my shoulders.
"What??" He demanded. "Who was she?"
"You know, I'm really tired of you two always-" Mor started, but Rhys didn't even look at her. He stared straight at me, his gaze never wavering. Mor scoffed and left the room, followed closely by Amren. As soon as they were gone, Rhys pulled me over to the chair Amren had vacated and sat me down. He pulled another chair over and sat in front of me. Taking my hands, he gazed into my face, as if reading everything that had happened in my eyes.
"Tell me everything."
-----------------------------------------------
"I'm sorry. Let me get this straight." Mor was pinching her nose, looking like she very much wanted to throw something. "A woman named Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galythynius came to you in a dream, saved you from voices that were controlling the magic fire we saw in the Palace of Thread and Jewels, and then told you that the gods are not done with you yet?"
"I'm surprised you remembered that name." Cassian said, whistling slightly. "Even Rhysie's isn't that fancy."
"So we're to assume the "gods" are those voices?" Azriel asked. I nodded. "What gods, exactly?"
"I don't know. She didn't say." I twisted my ring around and around my finger, and Rhys followed the movement with his eyes.
"And she claims to come from a land called... Erilea?" Azriel asked. "Where she rules a kingdom called Terrasen? And its symbol is the stag we saw yesterday?"
"Yes, yes, and yes." I replied.
"But she didn't tell you why it was here?"
"No."
"And she didn't tell you why these gods were coming after you?"
"No."
"Did she tell you anything else?" Mor asked incredulously. "Anything helpful?"
"Well... not really." I said.
"But we know she's not from Prythian." Rhys said, balancing on the arm of my chair. "I've never even heard of Terrasen before."
"Maybe she's from the Faerie Realms of Montesere or Vallahan." Amren mused.
"Somehow I doubt it." Cassian said. "She said she was a queen."
"And you believe her because she was wearing a crown?" Amren sniped back. Cassian all but hissed at her. I could tell that everyone was tense, but them snapping at each other was getting annoying.
"What are you all talking about?" I whipped around as Elain walked into the room. Her dress was smeared with dirt. I assumed she'd been out in the garden all day. I shot a look at Rhys.
We told her that you couldn't wake up. She's been gardening ever since. I think she was trying not to worry too much. He told me.
Did you tell Nesta?
We tried. She wouldn't answer the door.
"Feyre, are you alright?" Elain asked me, stepping closer. "Did something happen?"
"Yes, I'm fine." I said, standing up. "And yes, something did happen, but we're not exactly sure what it is yet."
"Do you know why you couldn't wake up?" Elain swiped at her cheek, leaving a dirt mark. I resisted the urge to wipe it off for her.
"Sort of. I met this woman in my dreams." I explained.
"A woman? She contacted you through dreams?" Elain asked, tilting her head. I was a little surprised she was so calm about it.
"Yes..." I said hesitantly. I knew Elain was a Seer. But sometimes I truly forgot she could glimpse things no one else could. She rarely ever let her power make an appearance. "Why? Did you see something?"
"No. Well, maybe." She said, fiddling with her gardening gloves. Not, I noted, the ones Lucien had given her. "I dreamed about a woman with gold hair last night. She was riding a white stag with a gold flame between its antlers. She looked like she was riding to battle."
"Did this woman have a pendant around her neck? With that stag on it?" I asked, taking her hands. Elain nodded, lips pressing together.
"Was that the woman you met? Did she warn you about something?" She asked. I nodded, not looking at her. Elain might be older than me, but I would always feel the need to defend her. I didn't want to tell her about this strange queen with control over fire.
Amren, however, had other plans.
"Elain, perhaps you can enlighten us. Have you ever heard of a land called Terrasen, ruled by a queen named Aelin Galathynius?" She met my glare with her own. "What? She could know something."
"I... No, I've never... that is... no, I haven't. But... there's a door to that land." Elain murmured. Amren shot me a bemused smile, which I ignored. "A door that will take you to her, or her to you."
"Her? That queen?" Rhys asked, stepping towards Elain. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry. That's all I can see." She hesitated, looking around the room. "You all know what it means, don't you?"
"Of course they do." My heart nearly stopped as Nesta sauntered into the room, her face pinched in a sour frown.
"Ah, so you've decided to honor us with your presence. Where were you ten hours ago?" Cassian drawled.
"Otherwise occupied." She snapped. She turned to look at me, her eyes cold and empty.
"I see they managed to wake you. What happened?"
"Pleasant as ever, Nesta." I said shortly. I wasn't in the mood to fight my sister. "Nothing much. A queen from a land that doesn't exist decided to pop into my dreams, save me from some magic fire, tell me she ruled a kingdom called Terrasen, and now we're here. No big deal." I loved Nesta, but she'd been a pain in my ass recently. Rhys and I had been discussing some... drastic measures to take against her behavior. But now wasn't the time.
"Seems like a big deal to me." Nesta said, crossing her arms. "What else did she tell you? Anything about that magic fire that appeared yesterday?"
"No. She said if we met again, she'd explain."
"But she knew what Velaris was." Azriel suddenly said. We all looked at him. His brows were drawn, and he was staring at the floor. "You said she described our symbol and our land. Has she been here before?"
"She didn't say." I sighed heavily. I wish I could see her again. I wish she'd explain to me why she had looked so terrified when I'd told her about the fires. She knew something, and I knew it wasn't anything good.
"So, what, we send you back off to sleep and hope you catch her again?" Nesta asked.
"I suppose-" I started to say, but Cassian cut me off.
"No. You can't go back there. What if these gods hurt you again? What if this time she isn't there to help?"
"I'll be ready this time. I'm not defenseless, you know. You've taught me everything I know about fighting, Cassian." I replied. He grumbled a bit.
"Oh please. We've all seen her fight, she can kick your sorry ass any day." Nesta told him. The room was silent for a moment. Had my sister just... complimented me? She seemed to realize what she'd said and shot me a glare. But before she could snap at me, Elain stepped forward.
"You said Terrasen, didn't you? That's the land this queen rules?" She asked. Rhys nodded.
"Can you tell us more about this door you talked about?" He asked. She nodded warily.
"It's not a door, exactly. More like... a gate. All I see is this gate, leading to a land covered with red flowers." She hesitated.
"It's okay, Elain." Mor said. "We'll figure out what it means."
"I know what it means." Amren suddenly said. I turned to look at her.
"What do you mean?" Rhys asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
"Well, it's quite obvious. She's not from Prythian. She's not even from our world. She's like me. She's from another realm."
Starfall art by Starbitart!