A Visitor from Terrasen [Indefinite Hiatus]

Never Her Fault

Fortunately for them, the tunnels were easy enough to find. Aelin swore the wisps herded them towards it, and then they were sprinting. Fenrys dove ahead of them all, leading the way as Aelin desperately tried to keep up in her human form. Rowan stuck close to her back, almost pushing her forward ahead of him.

Her boots thudded solidly on the stone floor, trusting her companions' Fae senses to bring them through the near pitch-black halls under the large mountain. She realised they were sloping downwards, and then heard a yelp from Fenrys and worked out there were stairs ahead.

Aelin thanked whoever made them that the steps were a good height, allowing the trio to sprint down them easily. Her lungs were barely handling the rush but she forced herself to keep going, step after step.

Aelin became aware of 3 more pairs of feet behind them, the wisps had taken human (or likely Fae) form. That made it slightly easier she guessed, if they had physical forms they could fight and harm. Or that was the thought she had for approximately 0.2 seconds.

The voice which called out to her froze her blood and sent her heart into overdrive. Aelin felt as if the world was spinning out from under her feet, as if she was plummeting into the dark. That dark, lonely and desolate place she had spent those torturous months in.

Cairn. It was Cairn.

Bryaxis must have worked out each of their greatest fears, though she could gaze on the creature itself just fine, it seemed to have chosen a single form which would be the most terrifying it could think of.

For that was Maeve's voice next, calling out to Rowan this time. "Little, weak, pathetic Rowan Whitethorn," she mocked coldly, voice dark and promising a horrific end.

Ahead she heard Fenrys falter and Aelin called out to her companions, "They're illusions of who we fear most, remember that. They're illusions!"

The wolf then fell down 5 steps as Connall spoke next, voice as quiet as Fenrys's was loud. "You're the reason I died you know brother? The reason I ever swore the oath to her."

"Run!" Aelin's voice exploded from her chest, subconsciously willing it through the blood oath as the two males rushed more urgently now, moving down the stairs that almost seemed as many in volume as those from their room to the library.

Surprisingly, the figures that she glanced over her shoulder didn't catch them in their mad run. Apparently Bryaxis wanted to at least be slightly entertained. Aelin's feet moved faster than before, thumping down each step in a ryhtym with Rowan at her back. Fenrys had luckily managed to get back to his feet and was still winding ahead, yelping a warning whenever a sharp 90 degree turn was ahead.

The slow echo of steps behind them was more threatening than any kind of rushed footfall, the three behind them were stalking them, like fish in the bottom of a barrell while they were cats sitting watching them run in circles. Yet they kept running, until they burst out of a door into a barely lit alley in the half ruins Aelin had ran through before with Cassian on her tail. Only now she was a lot more scared, for her, and for her friends.

The moonlight illuminated a white pelt ahead as Fenrys bolted for the city, Aelin could feel his torment, his true fear. But she could do nothing. Rowan's hand was too tight on her arm, as if he was constantly trying to remind herself she was right beside him and safe. It was all she could do to keep her feet moving, over the stones, much quicker than she had the last time she had been there. Because this time her torturer was here, or at least a figment of him, and his crooning tones made her want to curl up on the ground and wail.

"We need to split up." Aelin managed to get out as she sprinted, "It's better if they work alone."

"And worse for us!" Rowan growled, "I'm not leaving you."