Fire Meets Stars

Part Two

"What are you?" Tamlin ordered again. Lucien tensed at the tone, at the claws poking through smooth skin. "Where do you come from?" Tamlin's green eyes narrowed. "Are you from the Night Court? Feyre, do you recognize her?" He took his eyes off the woman.

Idiot. Feyre almost hissed.

First he gives up one of their names, then gives her information of who he fears, then gives up the fact that she has a connection with them! Did he not see the wicked cunning that poured off the woman? Not see the face that was young but eyes that said she had seen much more than the average girl? "No." Feyre breathed, making her face say she was stunned and confused. Creasing her brows, just so.

The woman's, Celaena's, eyes trained on Feyre and narrowed in amusement. Oh she saw through her, through every mask that Feyre worked so hard to make. That made her dangerous, or an ally.

Whichever she chose.

"I am . . . what I am." Celaena moved with feline grace, slipping in between the trees as she let her hand run idly over the bark. "What I need to know is what you are." Her smile was small and taunting.

Just the smile that would send these Fae males reeling.

Feyre held in her smile as the woman got the exact result she wanted.

Tamlin hissed, "I am High Lord of the Spring Court. High Fae. Answer our questions and you might leave this clearing alive." Oh, his threats would have had lesser men cowering and begging for mercy.

But the woman had the balls to give him a simpering smile and lean against one of the trees and cross her arms. "Spring Court." She mused, never losing the simpering smile. "Well then," She trailed off eyeing them all up and down.

Feyre stepped forward, shooting Tamlin a back off look when he tried to shove her behind him. More assertive than she had been, but not enough for him to question. "Would you come with us?" She didn't raise a hand out, knew that if she had-had acted like she was dealing with a wild animal, she might very well have to deal with a wild animal. "Let us get you clean up and then we can continue this game of questions and answers?"

The woman grinned at Feyre. Carried herself like she wasn't covered in filth.

"I guess that would be alright." She purred. Celaena swaggered her way over, walking beside Feyre, who glared at the guards who tried to come closer.

"May I take your hand to winnow you back to our manor?" She asked with a hand held out. Feyre knew too well that the woman might not want to be touch with the shape she was in. But Celaena only grinned as she took Feyre's hand, both of their callouses scrapping together-telling enough of their stories for the women to lock eyes and share a look.

A look of understanding. Of respect.

And so Feyre winnowed to the Manor.

Celaena took in the whole house with an eye that said she was well acquainted with finery. That though the house was grand, it might not be the best she'd seen. "I'll get you to a room and let you freshen up. Would you like servants or not?" Feyre asked as the they walked up the steps to the entrance.

Feyre didn't miss how the magic in the air sung for the woman, didn't miss at how the wards poked at her very presence.

"No servant, I'll be fine on my own. But if you could give me some bandages and other healing supplies, that would be amazing." Turquois eyes with cores of gold met Feyre's own blue-grey. With a nod Feyre led the woman into the Manor and to a room.

The one Feyre chose for Celaena was just down the hall from her own rooms. It served her purposes, keeping Celaena close to Feyre, but it also put her close to Lucien. Feyre had moved to the new room across from Lucien when she found her old rooms torn to shreds with vines crawling over everything.

With the click of the door, Feyre went down stairs for the healing supplies and left Celaena to bathe.

-)(-

A plush bed, extravagant decorations, and long curtains of silk that hung from the walls. Green and gold, so close to Terrasen's colors, but so different.

Terrasen Green was darker, more like looking at the bottom leaves into a bright sky. Not this spring grass nonsense.

The finery was almost boastful with all of the knickknacks and simple things made with expensive and rare materials. Aelin had seen a lot of castles, a lot of rich men's homes. But this . . . was just over the top.

But it was a lot better than a godsdamned box.

Pushing away that darkness that seized her at the thought, she padded over to the dresser. No clothes. Not expecting guests.

She huffed a laugh then made for the bathing room. At the sight of the tub and soaps, her knees buckled.

Clean, she would be clean.

It took only seconds for her to strip down, grab all the soaps she wanted, and start a bath. The first tub full of water went right back down the drain as she scrubbed at herself. Blood and dirt slowly leaving slightly paler skin than usual behind. Being in a box without light for weeks then in a dungeon for gods knows how long, did that to a girl.

She looked herself over in the bath.

She'd lost weight, but not as much as she would have thought. It must have just seemed a lot longer than it was. But she probably would have to be careful with how much she ate the next few days anyway.

Lavender and lemon veranda took away the stink of that box, leaving the queen with her usual sent. And leaving her to think about how she wanted to play these fools.

The woman, Feyre, could be an ally. She was cunning and already playing those damn men, definitely an ally. The red headed man seemed clever, at least more so than the blonde male. Tamlin, they had said on their way to the house. The High Lord or some shit.

Well, he was easy enough to read.

Misogynistic pig.

Aelin finally climbed out of the bath, drying off herself before walking into her rooms. Good thing she had left the towel around herself, seeing as Feyre was waiting for her.

The woman had changed into a pretty purple dress, and had a tray of medical supplies resting on her lap as she watched the window. She turned and blinked as Aelin swaggered her way over. "I guess I should have grabbed clothes as well." She teased, a light sparking in her blue-grey eyes.

"I mean I could strut around without them, but I feel like that would be unfair to everyone else here." Her smirk only grew as the woman smiled at her with wicked delight. Oh, they would be fast friends, Aelin could already tell.

"Well, I'll let you deal with these things, as I hunt you something down." The wording was not lost on the Queen who grinned back. Feyre left, and Aelin made quick work of looking her wounds over.

The magic that had rushed over her, and still felt like it was pouring in, had done amazing work. Hardly anything was left except a few scraps, but her tattoo was left in shreds. Rowan would need to-no

No he wouldn't have time to do that. Not when she needed to get the last key then . . . then . . .

Aelin's shoulders hunched forward, but she shook herself. This wasn't the place or time for this. She needed to get back to her own realm and fix everything.

Feyre came back with many different sorts of clothes. Different sets of masks for Aelin to choose from, and from the look in the woman's eyes, she knew just what she had given Aelin.

Time to pick the best disguise for getting out of here.