A Court of Souls and Shadows

25. Raven

I had just thrown my bag down on my bed after winnowing back from the Dawn Court with Mor when I heard a knock at my bedroom door. I smiled to myself and rushed to open the door, expecting to see Azriel on the other side. My smile dropped into a frown when I opened the door to find Rhysand standing there instead.  Before I could open my mouth to ask what was going on, he stepped into the room, his gaze landing on my bag on the bed.

"Don't bother unpacking," he said, turning to face me. I stood in the doorway staring at him, my frown deepening. "Why?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. Fang perked up from his spot on my bed, flying haphazardly towards me, before landing clumsily on my shoulder. I fought a smile as the small bat started nuzzling into my neck.  Rhysand looked at Fang and smiled, before meeting my eyes. "No rest for the wicked, as they say," he said with a smirk. I raised my eyebrows at him in question as he casually tucked his hands into his pants pockets. His casual arrogance annoyed the fuck out of me sometimes. He sighed and took a step towards me, reaching out to ruffle Fang's scruffy fur on the top of his head.

"I'm going to be straight with you," he said seriously, his eyes still on Fang as he continued to pet him.

"Please," I said, irritated already.

"Everything's going to shit," he said, and I laughed at his frankness.

"That's putting it mildly."

Rhysand smiled before letting out a deep sigh and running a hand through his hair. "The Wall is becoming less stable by the day," he said. "We need to get Nesta and Elain out there now to try to repair the holes before the whole thing comes down."

I inhaled sharply at the information he had presented me with. "Elain is nowhere near ready," I said, shaking my head.

"And Nesta?" Rhysand asked.

"She can do it, with my help."

"You know she won't go without her sister," Rhysand said, and I nodded. "I know," I replied, scrunching my brow in frustration. "There's something not right, Rhysand... I can't put my finger on it," I admitted. Rhysand stared into my eyes, concern flickering across his features.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Elain has little to no control. I have no idea what the Cauldron did to her and Nesta, but it seems to be... closer to her, somehow," I admitted, frustrated that I couldn't find the words I wanted to explain what was going on with her. Whatever had happened to her seemed so much more potent than what had happened to Nesta. The Cauldron seemed to have its hooks so much deeper into Elain, and I was terrified about what that might mean. Not just for her, but for all of us.

"I'll assign some warriors to accompany you to the Wall," Rhysand said with a frown. "We will talk more about this at another time, after you've repaired the wall." I raised my brows at him in question but said nothing, walking past him to pick up my bag once more.

"Lead the way," I said, hefting my bag over my shoulder.

* * * * * * *

After a short briefing in the dining room of the House of Wind with Rhysand, Feyre, Mor and Cassian, I made my way to the balcony to leave for the townhouse to meet Elain and Nesta. Cassian stood behind me, his hand resting on my shoulder. "Ready?" He asked, and I turned my head to look at him with a small smile. "Ready," I replied as I stepped into his embrace, and he held me close as he flew us to the townhouse.

We touched down on the rooftop of the townhouse within minutes and made our way inside to meet the others. I kept my face neutral, pushing all my personal feelings aside to focus on the mission at hand. Nesta smirked at us as Cassian and I stepped into the living room where her and Elain were waiting. She was wearing Illyrian leathers, and had multiple weapons strapped to her person, even though I was pretty sure she didn't know how to use most of them properly. I followed her gaze to where it had snagged on Cassian, who was smirking back at her. I raised my brows in surprise, my eyes flicking between the two of them, as a heavy silence seemed to press into the room. "Am I interrupting something?" I asked, smiling wickedly at the two of them. I was going to interrogate Cassian on whatever that heated look had been between them at the first chance I got. Nesta immediately snapped her gaze to me, her features twisting into a scowl. "Of course not," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. I heard Cassian chuckle under his breath behind me and I bit down on my smile.