The Princess of Terrasen

Ch. 24

Ilias-quickly and quietly- scrambled up a particularly leafy tree. He used his last dregs of magic to cover up his footprints in the dirt and waited. He didn't think anyone would dare touch Aiyra, what with the black fire. 

But then, as if the world is deliberately trying to make his life harder, that column of fire disappears. Fuck. He swears under his breath and listens carefully, whoever's here isn't that close yet and he estimates that he can grab Aiyra and get her up the tree before they come. He jumps off, leaving his shoes and starts racing for Aiyra. Tree roots curl away from his path, dirt shifts to hide his scent and footprints and yet he's going too slow. He jumps over a ditch before coming up to where she's lying and picks her up. He races back, and just in time, because those footsteps are far too close. 

He's awkwardly climbing up the tree, half pushing half pulling Aiyra along with him. He gets onto his branch and curls his feet around it, practically hanging off it so he can pull her up. And then the footsteps stop. He cranes his neck, catching sight of a woman-no, fae. She sees Aiyra. Sees him. Sees that they're dangling on a branch and smiles. 

Ilias freezes. Then Aiyra's hand, captured in his own, squeezes his reassuringly. Ilias sighs through his nose and watches warily as the fae approaches. When she's close enough that Ilias can see the freckles under her eyes, Aiyra swings forward, kicking her straight in the chest before using her momentum to flip smoothly out of Ilias's grip. 

The fae snarls and pulls out a sword, Aiyra watches her raise it expressionlessly, and right as the sword is about to cleave her neck in two, her eyes glow black and then the blade and the fae, both of them are simply... gone. 

Then she raises her eyes to Ilias, and they are hollow, but alert. And still pitch black. 

"Where are we?"

"An island off our continent."

"So this can't be destroyed completely?"

"Preferably not, Aiyra. You've barely left any landforms as it is. We'll run out of places to live."

She blinks at him

"Shield it with your earth magic then. There are too many fae for me to individually find."

"I don't have enough magic left." he admits, glaring at his hands.

 She follows his gaze, nothing changing in her expression. But he feels a tendril of magic coming closer to him, her head cocks as Ilias feels his magic surge for her, both joining in a dance that warms Ilias all over. The black in Aiyra's eyes lightens a bit, bits of turquoise peeking through and her lips quirk up a little as she tilts her head to the sky.

"What does- what does that mean?" Ilias manages to ask

"I think our magics are compatible. We could be carranam. If you want." she bites her lip as she says it, but doesn't retract the offer. 

Ilias nods, gasping softly as Aiyra retracts her magic. 

"Do you have a sword, dagger- something?" she asks and Ilias shakes his head. She swears, looking around for something sharp and then Ilias sees the amphiptere streak through the sky, the massive wolf clutched in it's claws. A hawk flies behind them, and Ilias rolls his eyes. Of course Cerin followed them. 

The amphiptere drops the wolf to the ground and slithers up Aiyra's arm, coiling and twisting and hissing, she arches her neck, crooning as the wolf weaves between her legs. Cerin lands, shifting in a flash of light and coming immediately to Ilias.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ilias looks pointedly at Aiyra "thanks to her."

"Yeah?" he turns to look at her, then something crosses his face Ilias can't identify. "Well, it's not over yet. They're spread out all over this island. We've got work to do."

"No we don't." Aiyra interjects "Aecis, Salkhi, you're up."

The creatures shoot off. 

"What are you doing?" Cerin advances towards her,

Aiyra doesn't respond. Cerin repeats the question. She doesn't even look at him. 

"Cerin." Ilias hissed, and his mate turns back to him, eyes wide in exasperation. "stop it."

"You know what, Cerin, go back." Ilias snarls. From what he knows, this is the most Aiyra's ever spoken and Cerin's just making her clam back up again. 

Cerin frowns at him and opens his mouth but Ilias just shakes his head

"Go, Cerin, just go."

Cerin sighs, steps away from Ilias and then he turns back into a hawk and flies off. 

They sit in silence for a while and then Aecis and Salkhi come back, maws dripping with blood, shining ominously on Salkhi's scales, drying in Aecis's fur. 

Aiyra bends, pressing a kiss to the wolf's head and lets Salkhi curl around her arm and neck. Then she steps onto the ocean and it freezes under her foot. She starts making her way back to Terrasen and Ilias does the same, but on his rocks.