The Best Present (An ACOTAR fanfiction)

Chapter 40

Today was the day. Rhys and I had forbade Catalina and Diana from fighting, High Lord blood or not. We had all those not related to a High Lord carry a vial of blood in case of an emergency. Lucien, Raelia, Karshia, and my sisters were at the KidsKare house along with my children. Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Lucien were with us. Amren had already properly laced the ground with sedative, and Elain had given us a potion to make us immune to it.

We stood in the square in which the Arashaak planned to attack, suited up. We'd evacuated this part of the city, moving all the citizens to the Illyrian camps, which had agreed to temporarily house them.

As if on cue, the Arashaak appeared. We drew our weapons as they charged. I ducked under the first Arashaak's swipe, feeling the adrenaline rush of battle come to me. The sounds of claws on metal, grunts, and hisses filled the air. I made minor scratches along their arms, and danced around snapping tails. Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw the rest of my friends doing the same, holding their own without making major damage.

Keep fighting them until the sedative kicks in. Shouldn't be long. Rhys' calm voice filled my head, and I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. I fought down my feelings of fear and memories from last time. Just until the sedative kicks in, I assured myself. Rhys sent a comforting stroke down the bond. I inhaled sharply through my nose as I barely avoided a tail at eye level. I breathed in again and got into the battle. Swipe, deflect, dodge, repeat. My mind went in a loop, one familiar and somehow comforting. I spun myself, deflecting multiple Arashaaks' attacks. There were definitely more of them than us. In a few minutes, the Arashaak's movements became sloppy, and we easily got them down. Amren emerged to finish off the sedative. When the Arashaak saw her, many of their eyes widened.

"Lady!" One cried, pointing a claw at Amren. Many of the others started hissing words in their language, ones I couldn't understand.

"What are you talking about?" Amren said coldly. "I don't understand that language. I'm no lady of yours." Amren spoke a short incantation which caused the remaining sedative in the ground to turn to vapor, knocking out all of the Arashaak. We chained them up and brought them to the edge of the woods, where Rhys had created a spell-bound area so we could question them without them escaping.

"What are they talking about?" Cassian asked. "Do they think you're their leader?"

"I suppose so. How is beyond me. I've never seen a creature like them in my entire existence," Amren replied, looking troubled. Mor opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Azriel.

"They're waking up," he called from his position next to them. Mor took a spot behind them near the edge of the clearing, Cassian opposite Azriel, and Amren with Rhys and I in front of them. In the short battle I hadn't bothered to count their numbers, but I found there were 15 of them to the six of us. I was mildly shocked. That meant each of us had held off two or three on our own, and pretty easily. Amren and Elain's sedative worked better than I anticipated. The Arashaaks' eyes opened, and they studied and fought their bounds before glancing at who was before them.

Before Rhys could even open his mouth, all of them started speaking at once, all looking at Amren.

"Silence!" Rhys bellowed. They went quiet with surprise. "You, explain." He pointed at the one who had first recognized Amren on the battlefield.

"She is our leader. I've never seen here before now, but in all the legends and artworks of Arashaak, she is the one who lead us to safety after the first war," the Arashaak hissed.

"Me?" Amren said, with a slight chuckle. "I am no leader of yours. I understand you have legends and stories, but I am not the one."

"What have they done to you? Are you under their influence? You are our leader, our savior. Have these Fae tortured you to say that? Oh, lady! We will get you away from here!" He exclaimed. He said 'Fae' with such disgust; I didn't know how to spit a word out with such vigor. The other Arashaak started hissing in their language, and struggling harder in their bonds.

"I was not tortured! I am not under any influence! I am not your leader or lady or any such thing. I am Fae!" Amren hissed with her normal cold nature.

"F-fae? How is that possible?" If I knew any better I'd think they were scared.

"You want proof?" She asked, drawing a dagger.

"Amren..." Rhys warned. She sliced the dagger across her palm, the movement too quick for us to follow. Her blood ran red. She walked closer so she was right in front of the Arashaak who had been speaking.

"Here," she spit. She flicked her wrist so her blood sprayed across his face. He licked the blood.

"Fae," he said in shock. "You're Fae."

"Took you long enough to believe me. Now, you will listen to my High Lord and Lady with no protests or ridiculous interruptions of any kind," Amren finished, backing away behind us. Rhys and I stepped forward.

"We have a deal for you. You are not to kill us, or terrorize my people in any way. You are to leave us alone. In return we will give you a place to live. Where you won't be bothered by anyone and hidden away from the world," Rhys said.

"And what makes you think we will agree, or even believe you?" An Arashaak on the far right spoke up.

"This will," I said simply, but in a way I hoped would show that I wasn't weak. Elder appeared from the woods. Many of the Arashaak gasped. With him here, I could tell how much older he was than the ones chained before us.

"Hello, young ones," he said simply.

~