Rattle the Stars

Chapter 13

#Writers Block. Hmph. This chapter is a little wack, but I had writers block and whipped this chapter up in a day. As usual, enjoy! And again feel free to comment suggestions or constructive criticism.

A mock gasp was heard, and Elena tugged down her hood, revealing her face. "Aelin, the daggers are unnecessary." Letting out her breath in a furious whoosh, she dropped the weapons and sank back onto the chair by the bedside. "Gods, Elena. What do you want?"

Elena blinked twice, seeming surprised that Aelin was still acting hostile. "I just wish to assist in healing Rowan for you. You're going to need all the warriors you can get."

Well... that was unexpected. Distrust sparked in her, a want to keep Rowan safe, but common sense told her that it was fine and that she should be thankful to Elena. She gave a shallow nod. "Is that alright, Rowan?" He bobbed his head yes, and the fae approached, laying her hand over his. A bright light flashed, and her mate was healed.

"Now, I have more news." Elena continued, face slightly pale from the amount of magical energy used. "I managed to pinpoint Mantyx's location, and figure out the status of Terrasen." Both Aelin and Rowan tensed. "And?"

"And, everything is... mostly stable."

"Mostly?"

"Well, your friends are fine. But... There's some sort of disturbance in both worlds." Overwhelming  relief hit her when she realized that Yrene, Chaol, Dorian, and the Thirteen (WHYYYY SJM, I LOVED THEM SO MUCH. My bloodthirsty babies ;-;) were all safe. Oh, and a disturbance was absolutely great as well. "Really? We can't have 30 minutes of peace, even in another world?"

Rowan snorted next to her as she stood and began to pace. Elena huffed a breath, taking Aelin's chair, long silver hair swinging unbound. "A massive portal, capable of spanning across nearly a battlefield. The amount of power this will take is immense, but the spell has been cast, and the portal will be joined and activated on the night of the new moon in Prythian."

The darkest night of the year.

Her gaze flickered over Amren's notes, forgotten and open to that one page. "A Valg queen could do it, couldn't she?" The only question was...why. Why lie, and then do all of this? It made no sense, and Aelin hated it. "I have to go."

"Confront Amren?" Rowan asked.

"Yes."

"Good. I'm coming with you." Elena sighed, pushing her hair back and shaking her head. "At least let her explain her ways. I have viewed her life; she truly has changed." A snort. "Yes, and you ancient pricks are always so straight-forward and noble about everything." That caused Elena to scowl, but Aelin brushed past her and out into the stone hallway. Rowan jumped up close behind, incriminating pages in hand.

Storming down the hallway, she slammed into the kitchen, where Feyre had joined the others in a lingering  group discussion. Her court was there too, conversing quietly in the corner, Fenrys with a large amount of food in his face.

All the eyes in the room turned towards Aelin as she stalked in. "Care to explain?" She drawled. Lysandra sighed, dropping her head in her hands, already knowing her queen's signs when she was angry. Amren froze, spying the book in Rowan's hands.

Amren licked her lips nervously, and then let out a breath as she loosened her shoulders. "Aelin, listen. You need to understand-"

"Understand what? You lied to us. YOU LIED, about our ability to get home. And, on top of that, you cast a spell that could possibly crush both of our worlds." Everyone went silent. "What?" Mor half shouted, eggs dangling from her fork. "Is she telling the truth, Amren?"

The Valg queen glared at them all. "May I explain?"

"What is there to explain?"

A few beats of silence, and the room crackled with the quiet intensity of too many powerful fae in one place. Amren never faltered, though, and Aelin had to give her credit for that. "The only way too defeat the two kings is to join our worlds. The combined power of Prythian and Erilea will allow our magic to flow there, and yours to us, providing a possibly cataclysmic amount of power we could use to our advantage."

Feyre sighed, running a finger down her braid. "But Amren… you can't just do that without telling us something like that. This is huge- a threat to both worlds."

"I needed a representative of Erilea to do it, and I got one." Damn them all. Aelin knew who Amren was talking about.

"Seriously, Elena?! Haven't you meddled enough?" The former queen had followed them into the dining room, solemn and quiet. "This is what has to be done, Aelin. Whether you like it or not."

"Yes, and you're plan the first time ended up with me powerless and a war we have a 1 percent chance of winning on my hands."

Azriel shook his head, holding up a scarred palm to initiate silence. "When will this take effect?"

"The night of the full moon."

"That is, you realize, in exactly two weeks, right?" Aelin felt her stomach sink. Two weeks. They had two weeks before everything went to pieces. "Yes."

No army for the Night Court. Which, coincidentally, led back to her original point with the mortal queens. "Truce?" Mor asked, half hearted smile on her face. No one at the moment seemed all that pleased, but they all nodded.

"Tomorrow, we prepare for war." She really did try to shove away the heaviness in her gut at those words, but they settled like rocks instead, dragging her down and down and down.

Next chappie... the mortal queen alliance!