Court Of Tethers and Ruin *A dark fae fantasy- romance*

Chapter 7: The looming thread of ruin

Ayla sat on a large couch in front of a fire that burned a bright blue, the flames licking an icy heat into the air and emitting a white hue from the fireplace. She had watched the flames flicker against the icicles hanging from the fireplace expecting them to melt and leave pools of water on the frosted floor and yet the fireplace remained strongly etched into the glacial walls defying her expectations. Ayla tugged the thick fur tighter around her body - despite the heat from the fire place a permanent chill seeped in through the walls, a creeping frost coating the walls and windows allowing only a few small peaks through to the outside world.

Sylphara had covered the entire room with fur pelts - shades of fur in tans, greys and creams were flung over chairs and sprawled over the frozen floor. The plush bed had been coated with the finest of fur pelts and thick wool blankets which had been hand crocheted together in tight knots woven loops. Sylphara had practically swaddled Ayla in them when they entered, concerned with Ayla's  health despite protesting that she was fine. Admittedly Ayla had needed their warmth to fight away the biting cold and appreciated the comfort they brought her. A small thing that anchored her to the hope that she would survive.

Her fingers, slightly red at the tips from the cold - trailed the golden lines etched into fine paper. She had traced them multiple times since Sylphara had left her alone, the curves and weaves eerily similar to the runes in her family's oratory. Sylphara had written the translation for each courts onto the map in silver ink whilst the explaining where Ayla was heading after their stay in Eldrithar. She traced the word again; Valorea. The Night court. A court known for illusions and shadows.

There were eleven empires in Aeldrithar; the empires were split into three fractions the Seelie and Unseelie courts and the Empyrean courts. The Seelie and unseelie courts ruled over part of the seasonal sovereigns; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The Empyrean courts were composed of the Dawn court, Twilight court and the Night court. The Empyrean courts existed in lands between realms, the veil that separated them lifting with the rising sun or moon. Sylphara had told Ayla that the Empyrean courts appeared willingly to those that belonged to there and that few had ventured there unguided. It required mastery of Celestial magic and knowledge of the in-between.

"Have you ever been?" Ayla asked in curiosity her fingers stroking the symbols; Night.

"Twice." Sylphara replied her voice shaking slightly despite her attempts to conceal it. "It required a great sacrifice."

Ayla flipped through the book her golden eyes tracing  illustrations of fae history: a bloody battlefield with three opposing figures clad in armour standing before an army, a drawing of a woman who stood before a beast with black smoke pouring from their eyes and mouth, a man with long hair and three eyes shrouded in darkness. Ayla flipped over another page. A woman's eyes glared into her own, her eyes swirling in the black ink, her hands where high in the air and a fractured moon was painted above them - almost split in half - a shard floating between her pointed hands. Beneath her floating figure were three runes, scenes of battles, clawed hands, monstrous eyes and teeth and a dark glittering mist - the images intertwined with each other, moving as if alive within the book.

Ayla closed her eyes, the world around her quieting in an instant. When she opened them again, everything had stilled, as if time itself had frozen in place. Her heartbeat quickened, but her hands, trembling ever so slightly, closed the book with deliberate care. The pages folded neatly onto one another, the soft thud of the closing book reverberating through the air. Her fingers traced the smooth, black leather of the binding, its cool texture grounding her thoughts.