Rattle the Stars

Chapter 8

Happy Valentine's Day!

When Aelin shot upright on the ground, scorch marks stained the wooden floor from where her fingers had scrabbled for purchase. Fire- her fire was back, cracking in that hole near her chest.  Rowan was hovering over her, panic just now dimming from his gaze as he realized she was awake.

"Gods, what happened?"Her voice was raspy and broken. Aedion looked shaken from where he stood. "We should be asking you that."  Spotting the Book of Breathings on the table, Aelin couldn't help her slight flinch as she stood. With it, the memories of all those faces flashed in her mind. "Get rid of that." She pointed at the book, hand steady. Amren picked up the book, holding it protectively. "We can't."

"You may have to." 

All eyes were looking at her, before Feyre finally spoke. "Aelin, Amren came with the book, and you just... passed out." A bolt of fear went through her. Everyone looked the same... but it had felt like hours. "How long?" She choked out. Lysandra frowned. "Maybe a minute or two?" Relief passed through her, and she decided to explain. "The Book has been possessed by Mantyx."

They were Aelin's only words, but she knew that the others were no doubt knew she was hiding something, even as they reeled from the information. Her stubborn court wasn't letting go, only eyeing her with that look she rightly deserved. "I saw- I saw images, like when I was with the Valg Princes." She started, slowly beginning her tale. Amren gaped, no doubt wondering how on earth Aelin was alive after such an occurrence.

There was no way, though, that she was spilling the entire story to these people she had known only for days. Later, when they were alone, she would tell her friends and family what she had seen. "Long story short, Mantyx is coming to destroy your world. He was able to possess the Book, use it to knock me out, and put me in a sort of alternate dreamscape." Aelin said the words in a flat tone, not letting a single inch of the despair and fear edge her tone. Rowan came to her side, wrapping his hand around hers.

Rhys was pale, his black hair standing out stark against his skin. "That means... Velaris, the human lands, Prythian... all could be subjected to the same fate of Erilea?" Aelin hated the nod she had to give. Cassian, trying for humor, shook his head. "By the Cauldron, let's just hope Tamlin isn't stupid to ally with the enemy this time." It only made the tension worse.

"The numbers," Azriel interrupted, emerging from his shadowy corner, "Described by Aelin and her court would be too massive for us to rally against without the humans. The Valg army in Erilea was at least a third larger than Hybern's." Lysandra swallowed hard, and placed a hand on her collarbone. The shadow of a ghost leopard flickered behind her, but she managed to keep her human form.

"There's a chance that you could beat them, with the humans on your side-" Mor cut of Lysandra's comment. "Not all of us have a prophesised savior that has been in the works for centuries." The words held no anger or bite, just sad bleakness. Aelin held back her visible flinch at the comment, deciding to rather focus on planning and scheming.

"We have to get the humans on our side. It's the only way." Feyre stated. Rhys snorted. "Yes, and that went so well last time." (Y'all, I can't remember whether they ended up allies or not, so this is just how it is :)
 
Fenrys finally cleared his throat, and stood to face the two worlds clashing in front of him. "There's one thing we're forgetting." The words struck a chord deep in Aelin, reminding her of Terrasen and all of the people fighting for Orynth. Her only comfort was the time difference. "We still have a war to fight. Dorian, Manon, Chaol and the others can hold the front lines, but not for very long."

Silence fell, heavier than any period yet.

Finally, Azriel summoned the two wraith twins, Nuala and Cerridwen, and sent them off with a message to his other spies. They needed to find out where Mantyx was hiding. "Where is the most remote, rugged area, you can think of?" Rowan asked the question, and Aelin had no doubt her mate was narrowing down possible places like Morath. Rhys thought for a moment, before deciding his answer. "The Illyrian mountains. That's where we found you, Aelin."

"Who lives there?"

"Well, the Court of Nightmares is near there, and so is the war camps."  Cassian snorted. "Yes, the most restless, vicious, war camps." Aelin went visibly pale as her mind spun, already putting together what Mantyx's plan was. "If given the chance," She said slowly, "Would they turn against you?"

Next to her, Lysandra made a slightly strangled noise as Cassian nodded. The Illyrian warriors they had been told of- brutal and bloodthirsty, would be the easiest and most deadly group to turn into Valg soldiers. And the Court of Nightmares was just the same. "If he hasn't already- Mantyx is going to put Valg Rings on the Illyrians and members of the Court of Nightmares."

As if a bomb had been dropped, Aelin was thrown into a whirlwind of noise and questioning. How the Valg worked, where they would most likely strike, if this was just theoretical or if Aelin was really certain. "We won't have an army." Cassian was pale, all the blood drained from his face. "If they attack the Night Court... by the Cauldron, we won't have an army." The words held just the faintest edge of hysteria.

"Yes." Rowan said grimly. "That's his idea."

Aedion snapped upwards, gaping as it all sank in. "So what do we do now?" The words echoed in the room, carrying a tough finality that Aelin could barely accept. This was a fate no one deserved, much less this world which had been through so much, and had only just been able to have peace.

"Well," She drawled, her mouth set in a grimace. "We go to war."