A Love From A Different World

Chapter 22

Aelin wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do. Neither she nor Rhysand had exactly spoken about their plan. Was she just supposed to go along with whatever he said? What if they asked her about her life in the human realm? They were the queens of the mortal realm-queens of the land Aelin supposedly lived on. What if they saw through her? Anxiety nagged at her with every step, and those glaring eyes on her did not help. Wordlessly she followed Rhysand's lead and sat down across from the women.

She glanced quickly at the male next to her. He looked at every cool collected High Lord she had come face to face during their first encounter. "Thank you for coming," There was a certain lack of warmth in his voice that Aelin hadn't ever heard before.

The queens looked unimpressed. The oldest looking one had a stern unwavering face, while the queen next to her was frowning for whatever reason. Still, despite those two women, the most unnerving one was the one that was smiling. There was something so poisonous about it, it almost made Aelin shiver.

"It was debated whether or not we should come." One of them said, She had black hair and eyes, a cunning appearance despite its simplicity.

"I'm glad you chose to come-"

"Let's do away with the formalities," The frowning queen said, waving her hand at Rhysand. Aelin wondered how he felt being treated by women who were babies compared to him. "Why are we here?"

"There's a war coming and if we do not act right now, we are all dead." Aelin had indeed heard about Rhysand's worries. Of course he nor anyone in his little circle had filled her in on the grand plan that she was unfortunately part of. She was aware that Rhysand somehow wanted an alliance with the mortal queens-she just was not sure why. Not to give insult to half of her heritage, but when fighting the Fae, humans were significantly at disadvantage.

"The war is not our concern,"

Aelin felt more than saw Rhysand's annoyance. Felt irritation and impatience coursing through it. Not liking the feeling, she put it down to the bargain between them. After all, they did have a tattoo which connected the two.

"Hybern has never been our concern, you deal with him."

Talks of politics were an absolute bore to her, she much rather be doing something useful instead, like shopping. Honesty, the assassin was starting to think that her presence was absolutely useless. No one was paying attention to her. All Rhysand had managed to do was paint a target on her back just from being there.

"Hybern is all of our problem, or haven't you noticed the crumbled wall?"

Ooh, that had definitely hit the mark. The queens looked with a mixture of anger and fear.

"If we don't do something he's not only going to kill my people but yours too." Rhysand took a breath. "The moment he steps over the wall, you are all dead."

One of the queens who had stayed silent the whole time finally spoke. "Then what are you proposing?" She had the appearance of a lion, with amber eyes and curly hair. She was indeed beautiful.

"You give me your half of the Book of Breathings,"

Silence ensued as the proposal hung in the air. Aelin took a breath. She had been sure that this little meeting had been about an alliance, yet that was most definitely not what Rhysand wanted. Had he somehow realized that she could hear them so he intentionally misled her? No, that was not Aelin's worries. No, because right now, all she wanted to know was what was the Book of Breathings and how she can get her hands on it.