The Prophecy - ACOTAR

Chapter 55

Astrid had been unable to let Rhys and Cass take Az from her, she barely wanted to accept help to carry him, but she had big enough ovaries to admit she would need the help. She was thankful Mor hadn't offered to help, because she very well might have stabbed her and now wasn't the time for friendly fire. After more growling than necessary, Cass helped her carry Az up the winding stairways of her old home. His blood dripped onto the obnoxiously shiny floors as they walked.

When Cass had originally began to help her lift Az up from the floor, he had shot her a horrified look when he had felt the coldness that seeped out of the wound. Astrid shot him a warning look; she didn't need him commenting on it or making it obvious that something more was off. His horrified look morphed into confusion, so she let her eyes glance down at her hand, hoping he would get the message and look to.

Cass was smarter than most gave him credit for, he may be the first to start cracking jokes to try and defuse a tense situation if he felt like it would work, but he had more than earned his spot in Rhys's inner circle, and by following her line of sight quickly, he was earning his spot in hers as well. Once his gaze was at her hands, she let her shadows circle onto her hand briefly. Cass's eyes shot back up to hers, his eyebrows lifting only slightly, his way of letting her know that he understood now.

Astrid had been relieved the moment she realized her wings had retreated after the onslaught of visions the Cauldron so graciously gave her with absolutely zero context. The King still thought he had won a big battle between them, and in a way, he had, but only for a short period of time. Because the shadows ripped that victory from his grasp and thrust it towards her like a cat proudly displaying the dead bird it caught you. But Astrid didn't want him knowing he hadn't truly won until the perfect moment, and her mate hanging between her and her newest friend was not that moment.

She could feel the discomfort rolling off her family has they made their way through the halls of castle Hybern. The lack of furniture and art made the place feel like a skeleton. Then there were the High Fae, creatures, courtiers, and guards who were now out in full force that looked at most of them like a meal. Astrid didn't miss the flickers of fear and curiosity that came across their faces as they recognized her, even with her appearance change, the sword on her back gave away her identity.

The guards seemed to be the most afraid when they saw her though, they were some of the only ones that would be able to actually recognize her face. She had either trained with them or helped trained them at some point.

What surprised her about this trek was the flashes of respect from some of the guards, it wasn't many, but it was enough that she would actually have a chance of getting Az out of here if she tried. But she wouldn't try, because her family would still be stuck here, and her family was Az's. She wouldn't do that to him, he wouldn't blame her if anything happened to them, but he would blame himself. Astrid couldn't put that on him, so instead she worked to keep him alive until there was a way to get everyone out. Astrid would accept no other options, death was not on the table today, at least not for her group.

Her breath trapped itself in her throat as they entered the throne room, she hated this room more than the cell she spent months in. Cass's hand that was resting on her arm, where they both had an arm across Az's back, squeezed in an attempt to comfort her. She shot him a quick, tight smile as she let the breath go.

Astrid rolled her eyes at the King as he climbed the dark emerald dais and sat on his throne that was crafted out of brown, smooth human bones. The group stopped before the throne with Jurian stationed behind them as the throne doors closed. She could feel it in the air, something was about to piss her off, someone was about to find themselves on her murder list if they weren't already there.