A Court of Stags and Night

Aelin

The room burst into chaos once more, but with a not so subtle release of my warm flames, it all went silent. Beron fumed in his seat, glaring at the flickering fire with hatred. He was just pissed mine was better, and therefore stronger.

With a slight twitch of my fingers, the flames withdrew from the room and slithered up my arms until they rest as a crown atop my head. And just to further piss off the High Lord of the Autumn Court, I blew him a smoky kiss and winked.

"Now that that's settled," I smirked, "perhaps we can finally get down to business."

No one said a word, much to my relief. I looked over to Feyre and raised a brow. She looked at me with confusion, but when I glanced back to the rather large group behind me, she elbowed her mate, who quickly provided comfortable seating.

For the time being, I would remain standing. The time for hiding was over. Especially since I realized exactly how stupid some of these idiots were.

It did not mean I was going to share all the information. It wasn't my style, nor was it necessary. Not yet. Not when there were still so many pieces still missing.

"Now, this may be hard for some of you to swallow, but if you want to survive this war, you will have to listen to me." I glared at Beron and Tamlin, daring them to argue, but they stayed silent. "The Valg, in general, are not the smartest enemy, but their masters hold a tight leash. You just met one. The Valg Queen." I had to repress a shiver. It was still much too soon to be dealing with this. "Do not let her fool you. I don't care what horrors you've seen or been through, she can do much worse."

"And how would you know?" Tamlin asked. "You bear no scars, and have lived too little."

"The Queen has seen more than her fair share of pain," Chaol barked from behind me. "She's sacrificed herself again and again for her people. For us."

"That's enough, Chaol," I cut in. I did not want my life story on display for them. "Those monsters may not be the only ones here, but they are the ones I've sensed thus far. As I said earlier, fire and beheading will kill them. They can also be healed if they were previously fae or someone that possessed magic."

"How do we know if they're Valg or not?" Thesan questioned intently.

"Their eyes are a dead giveaway," Dorian answered, stepping forward. "My father locked a Wyrdstone collar around my neck and watched as a Valg Prince took over my body and mind. It's like reliving your worst nightmare over and over again. There's no end to the pain. They feed off your darkest thoughts and pain."

"Conserve your magic where you can," I picked back up. I gave him a nod of thanks. He hadn't needed to say any of that. "She will want to weaken us until we are no match for her. Their eyes, their mannerisms, their scent. All of those are indicative of those beasts. But be warned, they're hard to pick out unless you know. They can take over the person next to you and you might never know. This is what she wants. To rip us apart from the inside. Then and only then can she take over. Go home and rest. Plan to keep your courts safe. We will meet again in three days to determine a future course of action."

I noticed each High Lord risk a look to Feyre and Rhysand, who offered each of them a nod in return. Those not of the Summer Court winnowed away, likely back to their homes. Kallias and his mate stayed a bit longer before leaving.

Tarquin wanted to discuss things in more detail, but I refused to speak on the topic any longer. I wanted time with my mate and Court. And to determine exactly how royally fucked we were.

"When were you going to explain anything to us?!" Feyre demanded once we arrived back in Velaris.

I rolled my eyes and continued past her. This conversation could wait until tonight at the very least, and more preferably, tomorrow. But it seemed she would not be taking no for an answer any longer.