Sandstorm [ACOTOR series side story]

Forty-eight

"How can you do that without finding the cauldron, our biggest problem at the moment," Cassian reminded them.

"Simple, we track it by the power the cauldron is using on Feyre at the moment. Nashira, if you may," Helion said with a bow in her direction.

She was glad to be able to finally locate the cauldron, but she still didn't appreciate or forgive Helion's antics, so she smacked him hard in the head as she passed him.

Nashira focused on Feyre as she approached her and gathered her power to perform the spell quickly, lest the power disappears before she finished. She was shocked and a chill went through her from the location she got from the spell.

"It's Under the Mountain," she announced to everyone in the room and that set them all to prepare for the attack.

"Nashira, can you anchor a shield here along with mine?" Kaimuzu asked her.

She sighed thinking about all the power she needed for the spell that was to come but nodded and her shield snapped into place a second later. It wasn't even a minute later that they were winnowing to one of the boarded-up entrances to Under the Mountain.

"So, what do we do now?" Mor asked.

"We dig," Asim replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nashira's hands were grimy and scraped from all the rocks she had moved and wished she could have just slipped them all through the rock in the mirror realm, but she had to save all the power she could.

"Come on, we're almost through!" Mor said as dark light filtered through.

"Let's do this quickly so we can leave this place sooner."

They all agreed with Helion and filed into Amaranthe's former Throne room and even Morrigan who had never been under the Mountain all those years winced at the sight of it.

"I find it amusing that they are coming so unprepared for what's to come," a voice says within the dark. 

"How is it they were stupid enough to leave the cauldron unaccounted for. I say this is what their own carelessness gets them" says another equally despised voice. 

Further back in the room was the High Lord of Autumn and his oldest son grinning with malice at them with the cauldron behind them.

"We were forced into the war, but we gained a valuable tool in the process," Beron remarked.

"Nice of you to join us. Now, I'm sure you already know that was a lie, so let's get down to business," his face distorts further from its natural form into a scowl. "I will become the sole ruler of Prythian or I will put this sore trinket to good use."

Nashira was disgusted with the man and that was saying something because she knew the bastard he was to his wife. She wondered how hard it would be to steal his wife right from under his nose the next time she was in the autumn court, she knew her cousin would treat her better. The rest of them all looked like they agreed with her sentiments and gave Beron curled lips and their disbelief.

"I would suggest you comply nicely with the request; I think it's about time it's done," says Eris calmly.

Nashira was prepared for a fight and she saw her father was too, but Mor froze from what Eris had said. She and Azriel shared a look and it was out of place enough to make Nashira pause. If Nashira hadn't sensed something off she would have jumped like all the others when Eris sent a bolt of power mercilessly to his father that killed him instantly.

He brushes off his hands like there is dirt on them, then claps his hands once.

"It was time for him to kick the bucket anyway," he states simply.

"Eris, give us the cauldron," Helion demands.

Eris shakes his head and we all see the power shift to him with his gleeful smile.

"Why should I? You didn't even fight for it?" he says putting up a shield around him and the cauldron.

Mor screams with rage and attacks the shield. Father joined in, expertly delivering heavy blows to destroy Eris's power. Helion begins to cast a spell on it but Eris yells for them to stop even before she could run across half the distance to him.

"That's enough! I will give it to you I have enough evidence to rid me of suspicion over who killed my father. The last thing is for you to injure me," he says steadily.

Nashira felt a chill down her spine from how similar Eris's plan and her own brother's were. They were both slimy and oily and crossed too many boundaries.

"You had this all planned out, didn't you?" Mor accused.

"Don't worry none of the blame will fall on either of your courts," Eris quickly intercedes.

"In that case," and in the next moment Azriel inflicted multiple wounds on Eris, one bleeding profusely.

Eris left after that and Nashira glanced towards Helion to make sure it was alright, but he had eyes only for the cauldron.

"Hurry we have no time for this. We need to finish this quickly," Helion exclaimed.

Nashira grabbed one side of the cauldron and almost flinched at the revolting and sentient feeling it exuded. They winnowed it back to Feyre's healing room and find that Rhysand's body was already there.

"Hurry, the quicker we do this the less risk there is!" Helion yells

Nashira and Asim quickly brought out the former High Lord of the Night Court's body and if she didn't know his body had been preserved, she would have balked at the task. But there was no time for anything so she kneeled down and grabbed hold of both the cauldron and the body. Helion placed his hand on her forehead and he begins the spell to siphon off her power to use for his spell to revive Rhysand.

She heard a scream in the room then her mate's hurried voice, but she can't focus on anything but the spell that I became the conduit for. Nashira felt the spell peak and not even a few seconds after, Rhysand shot across the room for his mate, momentarily causing a blackout in the room, because Nashira realized Feyre was well into labour. She was too tired to care about the labour and struggled out of the room in exhaustion. Waiting outside the room was everyone who was kicked out from the birth all worried about what was happening inside the room, including her mate.

"Was it successful?" Azriel asked her as soon as she was out. 

She sank down onto Kamuzu's lap without a word but gave them a tired nod. She heard cheers and not too long after a newborn's cries, but Nashira fell asleep wrapped up in her mate's arms.