A court of Night and Fire

we're getting the band back together

Aelin POV

I'm sat in the war room with Rowan behind me, a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Manon sits opposite me, feet propped up on the table. I could swear I can see a flicker of worry across her features. Dorian sits next to her, looking slightly pale. I can't blame him. He and the Valg do not have a good track record. Elide sits next to Manon, Lorcan stood rigid behind her. Despite his cold appearances, I think he's actually worried for Asterin too. Chaol is sat next to Dorian, his face grim. His own son is probably somewhere with Sam. Next to him is Yrene, who is looking considerably pale. She's not as used to hiding emotions as the rest of us, but I think the prospect of the return of the Valg is enough to make anyone pale. Nesryn and Sartaq sit next to her, both still in their flying gear after having arrived only an hour ago.

Fenrys, Gavriel and Aedion sit to my left. "as you all know, Asterin has been missing for two days and so far we have been unable to locate a hint or trace of her whereabouts" I can feel the tension in the room "and there is also a potential for the return of the Valg. If one managed to survive, others could have as well. I called you all here to request aid in the search for my daughter and to inform you about the potential threat" 

"Adarlan will help you in whatever way we can" Dorian says determinedly. "the witches will help as well" Manon says, and my gaze flicks to the crown of stars on her brow. "the khagan will do the same" Sartaq says, looking at me and then at Nesryn who nods in agreement. I look to Elide and Lorcan who both nod in agreement. Finally my gaze lands on Chaol and Yrene. Chaol nods firmly. "thank you" I say, quietly.

There is silence for a moment. I open my mouth to suggest something but Dorian cuts me off, looking to Rowan "was there any trace of her where she disappeared?" he asks "no. nothing." Rowan replies, frowning. "it's like she disappeared into thin air" Aedion adds. Something seems to dawn on Dorian "well, what if she did?" he says, looking to me. "what do you mean?" I ask, confused. "Fenrys can do that vanishing teleportation thing can't he?"  Oh. Fenrys nods in agreement adding "but only over short distances"

"so she can't have done that or we'd have found her" Rowan says, looking to Fenrys. "maybe" says Manon "or maybe she did something very similar but to somewhere else" "what do you mean?" Rowan asks "after defeating the Gods, you saw many other worlds didn't you?" Manon asks, looking to me "yes but-" "so surely it's possible she did what Fenrys can do but into another world?" There was silence for a moment. "but that sounds like..." Elide says, trailing off and looking to Lorcan "Maeve" Rowan says. The tension could be cut with a knife. "Maeve is dead" I say, firmly "however, she confirmed that this type of power does exist. It is possible Asterin managed to accidently or was somehow forced by the Valg, to world walk."

"how the hell are we supposed to find her in another world?" Lorcan asks, looking to Rowan. "I'm guessing she doesn't have wyrdmarks tattoed on her back" I felt Rowan stiffen behind me. Calm down you territorial buzzard, he's stating the facts I say down our mating bond. "no she doesn't" I say to Lorcan "but that doesn't mean we can't use the wyrdmarks to get to her and to get her back" "then it sounds like we have a plan" Sartaq says, gazing at me.  I grimace "yes and no. In order to use the wyrdmarks, we need to find the right ones. We could just start opening random doors to other worlds but that would take eternity to find her. We need a way to find which world she's in, which could take a long time" "then we don't have any time to lose" says Dorian grimly.