afflicted

42

TW: mentions of sexual assault

It took them exactly three days to get everything in order for their plan to make an attempt to assassinate Maeve. Rhysand collaborated with Drakkon and received weapons in exchange for their staying out of the fight. They'd rehearsed their parts hundreds of times in those three days, playing through the entire situation while they stared at maps and forced the information into their brains. Callie's head felt ready to explode.

Those of the group who could winnow helped to transport everyone to their starting location. One by one, they landed back in Prythian, strapped with every weapon they could manage to fit against their bodies. Around Callie's neck, the Elentiya stone thrummed with energy like it knew what was coming.

Callie was on edge. If this didn't work and she was wrong, they would all die today. The idea weighed so heavy on her shoulders that she began to doubt whether she was capable of this or not. Almost like he'd felt her shift in energy, Azriel walked over, holding both sides of Callie's face as he stroked his thumb along the apple of her cheeks. She sighed into his touch, closing her eyes and wrapping her hands around his wrists.

"I believe in you," Azriel said so gently and so softly that Callie opened her eyes, tears welling as she looked at her mate, who was also counting on her to survive. "I trust you and I believe in you."

An ache throbbed in Callie's chest at the word trust. Trust meant everything. Between the two of them, trust was something she'd assumed they'd never find again with one another. They'd both been hurt too much and deceived even more. And yet, he trusted her.

She turned her head and kissed his palm.

"You'll never fight alone again," Azriel promised, pulling her into his chest and hugging her fiercely. She hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"I love you," she whispered into the fabric of his shirt. He kissed the top of her head, and they broke apart as the last of the group winnowed into the section of the forest they'd used as a transport point.

"Now or never," Eris said, rolling his shoulders.

Rhysand nodded, walking to Azriel. Amren and Mor walked to join them; their group being sent in first. They would head in and discard of as many soldiers and guards as possible before Callie, Eris, and Vera headed in to find Maeve. The rest were on standby as backup in case anything backfired. They would enter after Callie and make sure everything had gone according to plan.

Giving one last look to the group, Rhysand nodded and disappeared with Amren, Mor, and Azriel. Callie's heart stuttered as she watched Azriel go, knowing how much danger he was running headfirst into. All she could do was wait and hope.

Rhysand

Rhysand winnowed into the tree line nearest to Maeve's current haunt, eyes immediately scanning for guards. Warning bells went off in his head when he saw none. No one was guarding the outside at all. In fact, he couldn't even see any life inside from the windows. Had she left? Somehow had she known they were coming and fled before they could?

Rhys looked to Azriel who looked at him from the side of his eyes, looking just as wary of the situation as Rhys was. Something was wrong. He couldn't figure out what, but he knew it in his heart. Something didn't feel right. But they were in too far now to turn back. Looking to his group and nodding, they all winnowed a few feet from the entrance.

Even up close, they still couldn't see a soul. Furrowing his brows, Rhys reached a hand out in front of himself and the doors ripped off of their hinges, revealing the empty entryway. They all looked to each other as they stalked forward. Inside the threshold, they split up, branching out to take separate wings to see if anyone remained inside.