A Court Of Moondust And Shadows (Azrielxoc)

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     'You're dead! You'll pay for what you did to them bitch!'

 Rayna threw herself on the ground, barely escaping the dagger that flew over her head. The fae male too advantage of her position and hit her in the face with his heavy boot. Her head flew to the side as she groaned in pain. Pushing herself off the ground, she spit blood onto the ground. All she could feel was the metal taste in her mouth caused by the hit. Next to her on the muddy ground laid the lifeless bodies of three soldiers.

    'What a pretty face for a mortal, maybe I'll give you to the soldiers after I'm done with you.' The fae let out a cruel laugh.

  He was one of the High Lord's soldiers, she could tell by the armor. His fiery red hair matching hers and tanned skin gave his court easily away. Rayna risked a glance back at the boat, Killian's boat, ready to set sail behind her. Her eyes then fell on the captain who was helping people onto the boat, runaways and strays all of them. She knew coming to save people from the Autumn Court was always a high risk, but most of the time they were the ones needing the most help.

   From a distance, a bit blurry from the night's darkness, she could see their faces. Gods, there was no way she could ever forget those faces. The horror, agony the hopeless eyes, like animals trapped in a slaughter house. A look she once wore too. Females and children who were seen as nothing more than objects or slaves. Rayna's eyes darkened as rage filled her for all those who had been wronged.

  The soldier sung his sword, aiming for her throat. It would have been a clean kill move if Rayna's hand didn't catch the silver blade midair, millimeters away from her skin. The fae soldier didn't even try to hide his shock. He pushed the blade harder in anger and humiliation. The sword didn't even move an inch. Blood started running down the pale skin of her hand and arm from holding the blade, but Rayna didn't so much as flinch.

   'Impossible.' The soldier whispered, not quiet believing his eyes.

 Slowly a smile appeared on Rayna's face and he could have sworn the darkness of the night smiled with her.

   'There's no such thing as impossible.' She replied, her voice deadly calm.

  His hold on the sword flattered.

  'What kind of monster are you?' He asked.

Rayna's smiled widened. She pushed the sword back, hitting him in the head. The new wound made the fae male take a few steps back, unbalanced. Those few seconds of recovery was all Rayna needed to perform the kill shot intended for her. His head flew off his shoulders in one swift movement.

  She didn't look back as she made her way to the boat.

°•▪︎♤▪︎•°

    'Well that turned messy.' Killian complained, using a wet rag to clean the blood off his face. 'Maybe we should avoid autumn for a bit.'

  Rayna turned her head to look at him from where she sat on the table, legs tucked under her. She wore fresh clothes. The many weapons strapped to her belt and legs, the long black coat and the bandana around her head made her look more like a pirate. Most people thought their were pirates anyways, sailors never carried that amount of weapons or only sailed at night. It had been Killian's idea to play into the stories and rumors. The humans thinking of them as pirates meant they would have some level of fear towards them. Which meant they would leave them alone, not try to pry into their business. A good cover, he had called it.

  'What are you going to do about that?' Killian's voice turned dead serious as he pointed to the sealed envelop besides her.

  Rayna sighed, giving herself a moment of rest as she closed her eyes. She was so tired, couldn't remember the last time she had a good night sleep or the last time she ate a warm meal. They had been at sea more than usual, even though she hardly left the Captain's quarters since she couldn't stand the sight of the ocean. Since the news of a war coming their rescue missions doubled, no time to waste. For one week now she had been at sea, only stopping to get supplies or people onboard.

   She had yet to have time to return to the Archeron mansion and give them the Mortal Queens' response that had arrived two days before.

   'I'm afraid they will have to wait another week to see what's inside, we need to get to Summer Court before heading back.' She replied.

 Killian looked conflicted.

  'Aren't you going to open it?'

 Rayna shook her head. She was sure either Rhysand or his Spymaster would know if she were to read it, besides Nesta was going to tell her what it said anyways. And maybe, just maybe she did not wish to know yet. She wanted to hold onto the hope that the Mortal Queens had said yes to the High Lords request and the war was going to be over before it even begun.

   'No. We have our own issues to deal with, let the High Lord deal with this one.'

 She knew she was being selfish, but she was so tired. There were so many weights on her shoulders she wasn't sure she could take another one. She didn't want to take another. Killian was about to open his mouth, most likely to protest.

   'I'll go make sure everybody has what they need for the night.' She quickly excused herself before leaving the room.

  Killian didn't remind her that the rest of their crew already took care of that. He just watched her go, a concerned look on his face.

°•▪︎♤▪︎•°

   'Captain, I was just giving out blankets.' A man, missing an eyes informed her.

 Rayna nodded in his direction as she made her way into the belly of the ship where all the people they have just gathered from autumn were. The tall man had been in their trusted crew for years now and even though he looked intimidating he had the warmest soul.

   'It's okay, I'll take it from here. Go get some rest, Will.' She offered him a kind smile, taking the pile of blankets from him.

 He thanked her quickly, before rushing away. Rayna walked around for a bit, handing blankets and helping people get settled. She had to remind most of them that there was no one out to get them there, no one to hurt them therefore they could sleep peacefully. Some of the kids started giggling at the was the hammocks moved under them with every wave the ship hit. Their sounds of joy warmed her and the rest of the people's hearts.

   'Excuse me? Are you the Captain?'

 Rayna turned around, away from the children. In the hammock in the further corner was a fae male, staring at her with a pleading look. She made her way over, concern shinning in her eyes.

  'One of them, yes. Are you well? Do you need anything?' She questioned.

 Now that she was close enough she could fully see him. His clothes were one of a farmer's with mud covering them. She couldn't really make out his features through the dirt on his face, but she was able to make out his eyes . Their were amber, almost gold. Rayna had never seen eyes that color before. He pointed to his leg.

   'Oh, Cauldron!' She exclaimed.

 There was a long cut down his leg, that did not seem to stop bleeding. Why did he not mention it earlier she wasn't sure.

  'Would please try put some of your weight on me so I can guide you to the healer's chamber.' She asked him, but did not move.

 She stayed put, not wanting to touch him without his permission, if he was on that boat who know what he had been through. Only when he nodded did she move, placing one hand on his middle while his arm went around her shoulders.

   'Rest you weight on me.' She instructed him as she helped him make his way out of the room.

  Climbing the stair was trickier than expected since they were too small for both of them to fit side by side. He was in front, clinging onto the wall.

   'What's you name?' She asked, her voice soft as she tried to distract him from the pain.

 He seemed to pause for a moment before looking over his shoulder at her, his amber eyes almost glowing in the dim light.

    'You can call me Eris.'