Heir of Dreams and Princess of Light

Chapter 6: The Second Chance

Nyx watched, heart in his throat, as the Cauldron began to hiss. Steam rose from the ethereal liquid inside, and he grabbed Katra by her arm instinctively to pull her back. She put up no fight, following him as he dragged them both away. Across the room, Feyre and Rhys stood together. Feyre's lips were pressed tightly together. 

"Artemis, grab Lysandra," She suddenly said. Nyx's cousin started, then hastily dashed forward and picked up the Lady of Caraverre by her arms, dragging her to safety away from the Cauldron. 

"Should we be worried? Shouldn't she be awake?" Artemis asked. Rhys shook his head, glancing down at the shifter.  

"Aelin didn't wake up for while after her own possession. We'll check on her once this is over. For now, get her out of here." 

"What?! But I want to stay!" 

"Artemis." Feyre's voice was commanding as she looked at her niece. "Go. Take Katra, too." 

Katra began to protest as well, but then the Cauldron made a noise that sounded, at least to Nyx, like a burp. The room went silent, as everyone gathered stopped and stared at the inky liquid, which had begun to bubble. 

"Um. Yeah, okay." Katra raced out of the room, Artemis behind her dragging Lysandra. Nyx almost wished he could chase after them. Almost. But--

He needed to see this through. 

Without warning, the Cauldron tipped onto its side, spilling its contents on the ground in front of Nyx's feet. He didn't move, even as the dark water sloshed towards him. He could see a shape inside the lip of the Cauldron, moving and writhing as if it was being born. 

Marzanna tumbled out of the Cauldron onto the floor, hacking up nothing but air but gasping as if she'd been drowning. Nyx's eyes widened at the sight of her, fiery red hair and ice blue eyes and pale skin exactly like the form she'd made Lysandra take. She wore no clothing, but that didn't seem to bother her as she raised a hand and stared at it like she'd never seen anything so wondrous. She grabbed fistfuls of her water-logged hair, mouth hanging open. 

"It worked," She rasped. Her voice was rock-salt hard, grating in a way it hadn't been when she was possessing others. "It worked." 

"Holy shit," Cassian muttered. "I did not think that would work." 

"To be honest... neither did I," Feyre whispered back, barely loud enough for Nyx to catch it. The comments didn't really register for him, either. It had worked. It had worked.

Why had it worked? 

Anger, real anger, anger like he hadn't felt in a long time, began to ignite in his blood. It wasn't supposed to have worked. Marzanna should have burnt away into nothing. She should be in pain. She should be suffering, suffering for all that she'd done to his family and the people he loved. How much hurt had she caused? How much damage had she done? And now it was all going to go unpunished? 

Seemingly blind to his inner wildfire, Azriel came forward, draped a cloak around Marzanna's shoulders, and helped her to her feet. The Cauldron righted itself, the liquid sucking back into the object as it landed back on its feet. 

"What about your magic?" Feyre asked, stepping up to Marzanna and looking at her hands as if they held a clue. "Do you still have your godly powers?" 

Marzanna peered down at her open palms, and after a moment, flakes of ice drifted from her fingertips, the temperature in the room dropping. 

Nyx's ears began to buzz. His vision blackened at the edges. She deserves worse than this. She deserves to suffer. 

"Well, now what do we do with her?" Cassian asked, starting forward and slapping a pair of shackles onto Marzanna's wrists. She hissed at the magical stone as it dampened her powers.