Two Worlds

Chapter Four - Feyre

Rhys shot Amren a look. 

"Valg?" he asked. Amren nodded. 

"What's that?" I asked. Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel shook their heads. They didn't know. We all looked over at Amren expectantly. She took a breath, and it was the first time I'd seen Amren uncomfortable. 

"Valg are power-hungry creatures ruled by three kings: Erawan, Orcus, and Mantyx. Originally, there were other creatures in this world, but the three kings waged a war that lasted a thousand years, and at the end, the only creatures left were Valg."

"How do you know that?" Rhys demanded. Amren hesitated, then sighed. 

"Because... I'm from that world. I am a Valg." Cassian and Azriel sucked in a breath, and I could only stare as thousands of questions filled my brain. 

"How did you get here?" I finally got out. 

"A portal opened, and my curiosity got the better of me. I went through it and ended up here." There was silence, and then Cassian asked, 

"So how bad is this, exactly, if a Valg is here?" Amren sighed again, contemplating.

"It depends. If it's just a Valg foot soldier, it shouldn't be that bad; if it's a Valg general, it's pretty bad; if it's a Valg prince, it's awful; and if it's a Valg king ..." she trailed off.

"We're doomed," Azriel finished. Amren nodded glumly.

"But it didn't seem like there was only Valg there," Mor pressed. "What was that other smell? The one that smelled like pine and fire?" Amren shrugged. 

"I don't know."

Rhys cut in, "Then we should go after that first. It could potentially be more dangerous than the Valg. We can assess the situation after we've dealt with the other ... thing." We all nodded in agreement. 

"I'll depart now," Azriel offered. 

"I'll go with you," I piped up. Rhys whipped his head toward me. 

"Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded. Azriel shot me a glance, then we winnowed back to the Spring Court.  

Tamlin stalked over to us when we got there. "What are you doing here?" he growled. Azriel opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off. 

"We're investigating. We'll stay out of your way if you stay out of ours." Tamlin nodded, shooting me a glare before he walked away. 

"Ready?" I asked Azriel. He nodded. 

"I have my shadows searching the area now. I can't get a precise location, but they're not that far from where the portal opened. If we hurry we can catch up to it." We winnowed to the clearing in the forest where the portal had been. The smell of the Valg wasn't as strong now, but it was still there. The other scent, though, had a trail that lead North. Azriel and I followed it for the better part of the day; it grew stronger as time passed, and I could tell we were close when Azriel stopped dead in his tracks. 

"It's up there," he whispered, pointing. I couldn't see anything but trees, but I trusted Azriel. My nerves got the better of me; what if this thing was more powerful than the Valg? What if it was allied with the Valg? Thoughts swirled through my head and my vision grew blurry. Azriel said something, and I shot my head toward him. 

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked. Azriel nodded. 

"What do you think we should do now?" I took a breath. 

"I think we should follow it," I said, even though my heart was still racing at the possibilities of what we could encounter.