A World Away

46. Contemplating options

They had all returned back to Velaris quickly after that.

Presently, they sat in the townhouse, each contemplating what the bringing down of the wall meant. "It talked to me," Eve finally said, looking straight at Rhys who cocked his head, motioning her to continue. "When I had blacked out in Dawn, I was somehow- spiritually I suppose, transported to the wall. I didn't see much except the Cauldron itself. It talked to me- told me it was curious and had wanted to see how far I had come." Eve shuddered as she recalled the Cauldron's phantom voice. "It said, 'We will meet again my friend.'" Az stiffened.

"I think, the Cauldron has taken special interest in you," Rhys mused. "Someone wants to tell It that I am not that interesting?" Eve asked rhetorically. No one laughed or snorted- she hadn't expected them too.

Suddenly, a bright idea came to her mind. And by bright, for Eve, it usually meant self-destructive. "What if- what if I call the Cauldron this time? If we do it right, I could find something about where it is hidden, and with it, the rest of Hybern' army. Let it take interest in me and let it backfire on them."

"Absolutely not," Az said immediately. Both, Eve and Rhys ignored him, making him annoyed.

Rhys contemplated the idea. "What if it backfires on us instead?" Eve hummed while thinking. "Keep me in the dark, blindfold me and take me to a clearing. Amren can help me call onto It. If I don't know anything, I will be a useless prisoner," Feyre shook her head even before Eve had finished. Az bit back a snarl.

"It is too risky." Rhys hummed in agreement.

"The wall is down, we need to do something, the humans are innocent and do not know how to defend themselves. And, we don't have the time to transport them somewhere safe, the numbers are too big. Use me instead," Eve pressed. Still, the High Lord and Lady merely shook their heads.

"We could move them to Graysen's estate." Elain spoke for the first time. Nesta' head whipped to her. "His father has high walls- made of thick stone. With space for plenty of people and supplies," Elain continued. "His father has been planning for something like this for ... a long time. They have defences, stores ... and a grove of ash trees, with a cache of weapons made from them." A snarl from Cassian at that. Ashwood was deadly to Fae, Eve had learned.

They all contemplated the pros and cons of going after that. Eve was impressed by Elain' wit and thinking. She also admired her courage to go back to her human fiancée who might very well hate her for what she had now become if he ever found out.

In the end, it was decided that Eve would stay back along with Amren while the others left for the estate except for Cassian who had his duties as the Commander set. She would later join them at the Illyrian war tent.

*******

Eve sat on the couch in Amren's apartment as she contemplated further on the idea she had gotten that morning. If she could distract the Cauldron during the battle somehow....

As time passed by, Eve' thought was snagged at the amount of power she had running in her veins. Every day, she dwelled further in, not finding the end to it yet. She had stopped using them since the past two days- only dwelling further inside. If she reigned the power in- the amount of destruction she could cause would be higher. By the time the war came, the magic would be desperate enough to listen to her every command so that it could find a release. And so, to test this theory, she decided to reign it in for a few days and see what would happen. She hoped for the positive outcome, the one that would benefit them.

Sighing, Amren rubbed her forehead- the Book was more of a headache than a drunk Cassian and that was saying something. She decided to take a break from the Book of Breathings and turned towards Eve who seemed lost in her own trail of thoughts.

"What are you thinking about, girl?" Amren finally demanded. Shaking, Eve came out of her headspace. "Options, for the battle that is to come."

"Tell me," came the response. And so, Eve did. By the end of it, Amren was a bit impressed at her idea.

"It is an idea, it might need a few tweaks here and there but, it is an idea worth considering," Amren finally said and Eve gave out a relieved sigh.

Just then, Mor winnowed in, with a bit of a wide-eyed expression. "You will not believe what happened at the estate."

"Grayson finally conceded to the fact that he has a huge nose?" Eve asked. Amren snorted making Eve blink. "Jurian is on our side." Mor said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Huh," is all Eve could muster after Mor had finished telling them all that had occurred. Amren simply went back to her Book after that muttering how the war was changing tides constantly.

"Come on, we need to go now," Mor said, looking at Eve who nodded and went to take her hand. "I will look into it," Amren said to Eve as she and Mor winnowed away.

"Look into what?" Mor asked once they landed outside the camp. "Just some options for the war," Eve muttered, taking in the bustling area in front of her. Illyrians bustled about, carrying swords, shields and what not. The battle seemed so very close now. Taking in a sharp breath, Eve averted her eyes before her anxiety and panic started to kick in. She could do this. She could survive the war and avenge Mike. What happened after that... did it truly matter anymore? If she survived that is..... 

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