A Court in Flames

Chapter 13

Feyre's POV

Aelin and I had met yesterday morning for my first lesson on wyrdmarks and they were so hard! I had no idea any language could be so hard!

Aelin had asked me to help her find an outfit for today and we had found an old suit that fit her like a second skin with numerous places to hold blades.

She was now pacing back and forth in the arena. The stands were already full of Illyrians to watch the battle about to take place.

Twenty-four Illyrians were entering the arena now. Rhys had visited all twenty-six. The two who Rhys had visited last had already been treating females as equals. So they had no need to be here.

Rhys was down in the arena announcing the rules. If you get knocked unconscious it's automatic surrender. If you surrender you're winnowed out of the arena. No magic would be used. And there would be no killing.

Then he stated the terms. If Aelin won females would be equals. If the Illyrians won then Rhys would stop bothering them about the equality of females.

"I can't believe she's going to wreck everything," Cass muttered under his breath while crossing his arms.

"Trust me. The little show she put on for you when she fought you three days ago, Cass, was just that. A show. She needed to release some of her pent-up energy," Amren muttered. "This is going to be a real show. And trust me she's going to enjoy the hell out of this. Every. Rutting. Moment." Amren then just leaned forward in her chair. "This will be fun." She finished while cleaning her nails with a spare knife.

"If you have any objections to the terms please state so now or leave," Rhys's voice thundered through the arena. No-one moved. "Then let the fight... BEGIN!!" Rhys then winnowed to the seat beside me.

Ten of the Illyrians immediately took off and as they neared their apex Aelin let fly ten knives in rapid succession. All hitting a different mark and the ten Illyrians crashed to the ground.

I could even see the wicked smile on her face as they were winnowed out of the arena.

Oh. Amren was right. This was going to be a lot of fun for her.

Aelin's POV

I started a mental count. Ten down. Fourteen to go.

The idiots didn't know who they were dealing with. I am Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. I am assassin. Fae. Ally. Carranam. And I will not be afraid.

I slipped into the killing calm as the Illyrian came rushing at me. The circle the had formed around me was growing smaller. But there. A small gap between two less experienced warriors.

I ran at them, drawing the swords from my back and I could almost feel the wind pushing me to go faster. Like it always did back home. In Terrasen. I slid under their swords on my knees and banged their heads together.

Twelve left.

I am Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. Protector. Saviour. Blood-sworn. And I will not be afraid.

Each beat of my heart matched my swords. The swung and flashed like quick-silver. My steel causing wounds that wouldn't threaten their lives but would send them down.

My Fae ears picked up an arrow coming at me from above and I hardly moved fast enough to sidestep it. But there was a blade where I had moved to and it slashed my arm.

The had circled around me again so I ran at one of the warriors and blocked his sword with mine and punched him in the face.

I broke out of the circle and threw two knives at the Illyrian in the air. He managed to dodge the first one, but my second knife had already sent him falling.

Ten to go.

I am Aelin Asryver Whitethorn Galathynius. World-walker. Fire-bringer. Queen. I am not afraid.

There was a steady chant starting to rise from the crowds. The same chant in the vision that Narrok had shown me when I had killed him.

"Aelin. Aelin. Aelin." I smiled. I am Aelin of the Wildfire. 

I grabbed one of the bows that had fallen off the shoulders of an Illyrian male as he fell and a dozen or so arrows that had been fired at me.

 I fired five arrows in quick succession. One. Two. Three went down with arrows through their legs.

Good. I'd knock them out while they were down. I dropped my bow and grabbed one of my two swords before becoming a whirlwind of steel and limbs.

Jump. Duck. Slash. Punch. Kick. Spin.

I knocked another soldier off his feet and I realized as I pulled away, that there were only six left in front of me.

I grinned. This hadn't even really been a challenge.

Cassian's POV

I watched Aelin fight with expertise. One of her swords was forgotten and the other had slashed one of the remaining six men on the leg while jabbing a knife into the leg of another. She then flipped over the leg of yet another sword as it came to cut her in half.

A roundhouse kick aimed at the stomach of a fourth warrior and then kneed another where it counts. She successfully brought those four to their knees and knocked them out before turning to the last three warriors.

Right as she turned one of the warriors sliced her stomach open and she staggered back... Right into the hands of another. The other two walked towards her and punched her stomach.

She simply hooked her arms under those of the male holding her and flipped him over her back, successfully slamming him headfirst into the ground.

The expression of the other two when she caught their fists, was shock.

The crowd cheered as she slammed her fist into the face of one and then the other.

She took lifted both of her arms in the air, releasing a war cry before putting her hand over her stomach.

She hadn't been kidding. She had gone easy on me.

"You better go help her, Feyre," Amren told her.

Feyre's POV 

I just stared at her. That had been the most spectacular fight I had ever seen. 

"You better go help her, Feyre," Amren told me. 

I blushed slightly before winnowing down to her.

"Oh. Hey, Feyre." She said. Her face had drained of colour and she was smiling slightly.

"Here. Let me help." I cut my hand and placed it on her stomach wound helping it to heal.

"Thank you, I could only do so much with my water magic." She replied while looking visibly better.

"Your water magic heals you?" I asked her, intrigued.

"Yours doesn't?" She asked trying to make a joke, but it was half-hearted. "Rowan would've killed me for that stunt." Again that name. I hadn't gotten the courage to ask her. Not yet anyway.

"Actually... Now that I think about it he probably would've killed the male first. Then me, for being the reckless idiot that I am." She told me with her wicked grin.

"If you don't mind me asking... Who is he?" Her face dropped.

"Rowan... He is my mate and I love him, so much. He smells like pine and snow. He's ice and wind and lightning to my fire and water. He is kind and stony and protective. He is the king-consort of my kingdom. He is the father of my daughter and his animal form is a hawk." She smiled at me. "He is my carranam and friend and husband. He loves me for all that I am and all I am not. He's my Rhys."

And I knew exactly what she meant by that. Her mate. Her friend. The one that will love her no matter what and never be afraid of her.