Two Worlds

Chapter 13 - Feyre

The High Lords wouldn't be easy to sway. I knew this. My stomach clenched into a tight knot as we arrived at the Summer Court. Rhys had sent out notices to the other High Lords and asked them to meet. So far, only Helion, Tarquin, and Kallias and Viviane. I saw Viviane grin at Mor, who only gave her a tight smile in return.

I turned to Elide and saw her looking around in awe. Then I turned to Tarquin and saw him looking at Elide with a puzzled expression. I gave him a look that said, It'll all be explained later.

He nodded tersely and sat down at the table in the middle of the room. Rhys, Amren, Mor, Elide, and I did the same, Kallias and Viviane following suit.

Helion arrived next, then Thesan. Regardless of the situation, I still managed to smile to myself when I saw the same baffled look they gave Elide.

My smile evaporated once the last two High Lords showed up.

They arrived at the same time, scowling. Tamlin had already seen Elide, I realized as he dismissed her with a glare. Beron, however, had not. The other High Lords, even Tamlin, went silent and turned to the High Lord of the Autumn Court.

This will not end well, Rhys thought to me a moment before it happened.

When Beron saw Elide, his face turned tomato red. His nostrils flared, his lips pursed, and he took a deep breath.

"Hello, Beron. How are you?" Amren asked before he could begin screaming.

Rhys snorted.

"A human!" Beron bellowed. "A human at a meeting specifically for High Lords! It's bad enough that you, Rhys, deign to bring them—" He jabbed a finger at me, Mor, and Amren—"but to bring a human? Have you gone mad?"

I stole a quick glance at Elide, who was regarding Beron with a cool expression. Rhys growled.

"Watch your tongue," he ground out. I gripped his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. Elide can handle herself, I thought, even as my blood began to boil.

"Perhaps," Thesan cut in, "If you would explain why you brought her, we could sort this out."

I gave an appreciative nod toward him and took a deep breath.

"We all know about the portal," I said. "But—"

"Stop talking," Beron ordered, cutting me off. "I will not sit here and listen to you with a human present."

Every one of the High Lords turned to him, save for Tamlin, who kept silent and glared at the table.

"I have as much a right to be here as you," Elide said, the first words she'd spoken since we'd arrived. Beron laughed, a short, bitter sound.

"You are a human surrounded by High Fae—well, mostly," he said with a disapproving look at me.

Rhys didn't fail to catch that look. "What are you implying? That Feyre is not a High Fae?"

The High Lord of the Autumn Court snorted. "Of course not. She only looks like it because she stole my power."

"Perhaps we should just get on with the meeting," Tarquin chimed in before any blood was shed. "Feyre, what was it you were saying?" I gave him a grateful look before starting back up.

"Anyway, the portal brought a few different things."

Beron made an angry noise. Everybody else ignored him.

"Some not-so-good things, I'm assuming?" Helion said. I nodded gravely.

"It brought a Valg king."

"A what?"

"A Valg," Rhys repeated. "It's like—"

"Perhaps I can explain," Elide cut in. "I spent a long time in Morath with witches and Valg and Erawan. I think I can handle it."

"Go ahead," I said.

"Valg are very dangerous creatures," Elide started. "Far more dangerous than one might think. Valg kings are..." She took a shuddering breath, and a flicker of pain flashed in her eyes. "Valg kings are horrible. They possess you, use you as a host and take over your body until nothing left remains. They drain the life out of their victims; the ones they keep alive they make relive their memories. They will kill you without a second thought. One Valg king tried to take over my land—Erawan. Now one of his brothers are here. Orcus or Mantyx, we don't know yet. But they will probably be angered by the fact that Erawan is dead, and they won't be looking to fail as Erawan did."

There was a pause.

"You want us to help you defeat this... Valg king, then, right?" Tarquin asked.

I nodded.

"Is there a way to do that?" Kellion asked.

"Fire," Elide said. "Fire works best. Or beheading."

Everyone in the room looked to Beron.

"If you think, for one minute, that I am going to believe some sniveling, disgusting human—" he snarled.

Rhys waved a hand, and though he tried to speak, no words came out.

"Oh, shut up, Beron. We all knew you weren't going to help us," I said. We'll deal with him later, I thought. I turned to the other High Lords.

"You have to understand that we're all recovering from the last war, right?" Tarquin said. "I don't know if the Summer Court will be able to provide supplies right away, much less soldiers."

The other High Lords nodded in agreement. "We don't yet know what the Valg king is doing here," I said. "But whatever it is, I can assure you that it will not end well for everybody."

"How much worse than Hybern could he be?" Tamlin finally asked. I nearly jumped at the question.

"The three Valg kings alone conquered their entire world. Hybern couldn't even conquer Prythian."

There was a deafening silence in the room.

"The Summer Court will offer what assistance we can," Tarquin finally said solemnly.

"As will the Winter Court," Kallias offered.

I nodded my head in thanks.

"I need time to decide," Thesan said. "The Dawn Court is struggling as it is. We do not need another war."

Rhys let out a small laugh. "None of us do. But it's coming." He sent a stern look toward Tamlin. "I suggest you all think very carefully about who you ally yourself with."

Beron stood up. "How dare you take away my privilege to speak," he snarled.

Everybody else ignored him. "I agree with Thesan," Helion said. "We're still recovering from Hybern's war."

Rhys nodded.

Obviously Beron isn't going to ally himself with us right away, I thought to Rhys. So we're just waiting on...

We all turned with bated breath toward Tamlin. All he did was glare and winnow away.

The meeting was over. The other High Lords followed suit, insults still spilling from Beron's mouth as we winnowed back to the Night Court.

"That went well," Mor said.

Azriel snorted.

A/N

Thank y'all so much for reading this! I am legit in awe at how many reads this has. I am so, so, so sorry that this chapter took so long. Apparently, when you add school, soccer, and a concussion, you don't get much writing time. I am trying to get chapters out quickly, but obviously it's not going great. The next chapter will also probably take a while, as I'm still healing from a concussion. Anyway, thanks again for reading!