Two Worlds

Chapter 25 - Feyre

"It doesn't matter," Aelin said forcefully. Her hands were shaking, but she forced them to stop. "It doesn't matter, because Maeve is dead. She's dead."

I looked at her, furrowing my brows and tilting my head. "Why are you so spooked by Maeve?"

It wasn't judgmental, or an accusation, but Aelin's gaze still shot to mine. "What?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Obviously Maeve's not amazing, but it seems like there's something more going on here. Or," I added quickly, "I could be totally wrong and Maeve just sucks."

Aelin shook her head. "You're right," she said softly. "I told you about the Wyrdstone and mentioned the Wyrdkeys, right?" I nodded.

"You said that Erawan and Maeve both wanted them," I said. "But you didn't say why."

Aelin sighed. "Wyrdstone allows for Valg to possess a host. They can't use their own bodies. But Wyrdkeys—they can open portals from world to world. Erawan was trapped in Erilea. He wanted the Wyrdkeys to go back to his brothers. Maeve, as you know, was Orcus's wife." She sighed. I wasn't exactly sure how this related back to her, but I listened anyway. "She wanted the Wyrdkeys for herself. She wanted to rule Erilea, but if Erawan succeeded in opening a portal back to his world, Orcus would come through and get her back.

"Elena told me I should get the keys before either of them did, of course," she continued softly. "So I did. But Maeve cornered me after I found two. She would have gotten them right then and there. I slipped the Wyrdkeys into Manon's cloak before Maeve realized what was going on." She took a shaky breath and rasped, "Five months. Five months of nothing but chains and whips and an iron box. But then," she added, a manic grin spreading across her face, "I escaped. And she paid."

My eyes widened. The room was silent. Her eyes were distant as she relived past memories.

A light flickered in Aelin's eye. "Wait," she said suddenly, regaining her usual energy. "Amren, pass me that book." Amren reached for the book and handed it to Aelin, who flipped a page. Her eyes scanned over the words. Rhys and I exchanged a glance. What's going on? I shot down the bond.

Not sure, he responded.

"Ha!" Aelin said suddenly, and I nearly jumped, having not been expecting it. "Right here." She placed the book on the table and read, " 'The ancient gods and goddesses of the world drew power from the center of a mountain, which later acted as a prison.' Maybe the mountain holds some clues." She looked up. "I don't suppose you know where that is?"

I saw Nesta and Cassian share a grin.

Aelin

Mor, Rhys, and Feyre winnowed Aelin and the others to a mountain surrounded by veils of chilled mist.

"Where are we?" Lysandra asked.

"The Prison," Cassian replied. "This entire mountain is surrounded by wards; we can't winnow anywhere else."

There was silence. "Who's up for a climb?" Fenrys said eventually. And climb they did. It was a quick, grueling pace, but it gave Aelin something to focus on other than the fact that Maeve was a gods-damned goddess.

"I guess she didn't appreciate the whole 'I am a God' speech you gave her," Lorcan had said in the moments of silence that had followed. Aelin had glared at him, but he only shrugged.

Now, with her burning legs and flaming lungs, she relished the pain. The climb continued for another few hours until they reached a ledge. The entrance of a cave yawned over them as they stood, all of them heavily panting save for Rhys, Cassian, Azriel, and Feyre. They had flown most of the way up.

"I sense magic in there," Rhys said. "But it's protected."

Aelin nodded her agreement. There was a sense of wrongness to it that she couldn't shake. But there was also a sense of familiarity, too. It troubled her.

"How do we get through the barrier?" Lysandra said.

Amren stepped forward. "I did a little more reading while you all were getting ready," she said, gesturing to the weapons strapped to all of them. She turned to Cassian and Azriel. "You two need to use your Siphons and concentrate your power on that cave entrance."

"What will that do?" Cassian said.

"Hopefully, it'll allow for a small opening in the barrier. We can rip it apart after that."

They nodded, and Aelin watched as stepped up. Their faces grew tight with concentration. She could feel the power emanating from both them and the barrier.

"It's not working," Cassian said eventually, breathing hard. "The wards are too strong."

Something stirred in the cave. They all lowered into a defensive position, watching the figure move about. A lone Valg stalked out of the cave, snarling at them.

"I thought I heard intruders," it rasped. Aelin unsheathed Goldryn, but Lysandra stepped forward.

"May I?" she asked, sending a grin back at Aelin. Aelin bowed her head in acceptance, smiling.

"You may," she said.

Lysandra's grin turned terrifying—that was, if you were on the wrong side of it. But the Valg remained indifferent, even as it stepped through the barrier and into Lysandra's oncoming attack.

Lysandra lunged, but the Valg stepped deftly to the side. She whirled, shifting to her Ghost Leopard form. She shot forward, claws sharp and deadly. The Valg managed to dodge, but not enough so to escape a scratch to its leg. It hissed, and a thin line of dark power shot at Lysandra. Lysandra dove to the side. Aelin watched, ready to step in if things went wrong. It's Lysandra, she thought. She'll be fine.

It went on for only a few moments more, but eventually Lysandra tackled the Valg to the ground and ripped its head clean off with her jaws. She shifted back to her human form, spitting out blood and flesh. Disgusted, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. A glance to the side told Aelin that her cousin watched on in admiration.

Something else moved behind the cave, and Amren stepped forward. "I got next one," she said. No one disagreed—after all, it was better than having futile attempts at breaking down the barrier. It was easier to let the Valg come to them.

But the next figure to move was more graceful than a lowly Valg soldier. Deadlier, too.

Aelin couldn't breathe as Arobynn Hamel, the old King of Assassins, strode out of the cave, smirking.