The Prophecy - ACOTAR

Chapter 4

Astrid trudged along behind the 'beast man', as she referred to him, much to his frustration. Cam and Ryn trotted excitedly around her, the closer they got to the wall the more excitement she could feel from them. Astrid studied the beast man, curious whether this was what a high fae looked like and all of her fantasies were going to come crashing down.

Astrid barely missed the curious glances he would throw her way, especially as they got closer to the wall. The pull from the wall strengthened, making her more and more determined to cross over. The closer they got, the less questions she asked, the less she called him beast man.

After two days, they finally reached the wall, a wall she couldn't see but could definitely feel. She followed him along the wall, Cam and Ryn almost hopping with excitement, as he searched for the hole he used to cross over. Astrid had taken to holding the horses' reigns, noticing that it had become a bit skittish along the wall.

The horse continued to perplex her though. He either brought a horse with him knowing there was a chance he would bringing a human back with him, planned to bring one back, or had ridden it over in a different form. But why ride a horse when he could transform into a creature himself? And if he couldn't transform, then it had to be one of the former options.

Astrid knew enough about the fae to be wary of this situation. They were incredibly cunning and powerful, so she was more inclined to go with the middle option. He had planned this. As they approached the hole, Astrid made herself a promise, she would figure out what his little master plan was.

She looked towards where the beast man disappeared beyond the wall with her twin, a smile coming across her face as she saw her companions almost bouncing. For once, they were impatiently waiting for her to follow, they were ready to be across the wall, closer to home. She felt a nudge on her boots, looking down to find the shadows pushing on her feet. Her curiosity and confusion grew, a faerie creature had chosen her as its companion and the shadows seemed to protect and encourage her. She couldn't help but wonder if beast man was right about his suspicions regarding her being human.

Looking at Cam and Ryn, she took a breath, "Well, let's go through."

Astrid loosed a laugh as Cam and Ryn practically launched themselves through the hole together. Taking a quick look over her shoulder, a silent goodbye to her home and crossing over.

A shudder slowly coursed its way through her body, starting at her head, lingering at her ears, down her spine, through her legs and fading out at her toes. She could feel his eyes on her, but she raised her hands to her ears, a gasp escaping her as she felt the pointed tip. Even though she was still mostly bones and skin, she felt a newfound strength coursing through her body, one she hadn't felt even when she was able to eat full meals every day.

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked around for Cam and Ryn, finding a giant feline beast in front of her. It had one purple eye and the other a golden hazel. Its fur was different shades of black in a calico pattern, Where the brown had been on Ryn was a deep black, where the grey had been an off black color, and where the white was a dark grey. A powerful slender tail relaxed behind it. The creature on all four paws, which were the size of her head, was slightly taller than the beast man. Enough so that it could look slightly down at him, causing him to back away slightly.

She reached a hand towards it, the creature nuzzling her hand in response, "Camryn..." She breathed out.

The creature purred in response, as if it was confirming that was its name, that it was who her two cats had been. Camryn laid down, looking to her, as if it was inviting her to climb on its back. The beast man had given her a few bits of information on night cats, it was all the information he claimed he had. They were neither male nor female, they simply were. They were not born either, they were crafted from wild magic, which is why they were incredibly rare to find. In areas with little to no magic, or when it would be safer, they would split into two smaller cats. Normally a male and female, one being a plain black cat and the other showcasing the pattern. They originated from the night court and would always bond with another creature; history always had them with a high fae. The bigger they were, the older they were or the more powerful of a creature they were.