Aeyre

Aelin POV part II

Aelin spun around, left hand gripping the hilt of her blade while she clutched the book in her right. Behind her, two strangers had appeared out of no where.

Both were well dressed. One was a man with fair skin, dark hair, and blue eyes. He reminded her of a certain prince, but while Dorian was sweet, this man was sinful. The girl slightly behind him, a few inches shorter, had hair a few shades darker than Aelin's.

The man spoke again, drawing her attention to him. "You know, it's rude to ignore your host's questions. Especially when that host is me."

The man took a step closer, but Aelin wasn't about to retreat even an inch. Still, was it safe to give her name? She stared right in his blue eyes, and smirked.

"You must forgive my silence; who I am depends on who is asking, you see," Aelin replied, using a level of confidence she had learned to fake through the years.

The man let out a deep, low laugh in response. "And," he replied in a tone every bit as cocky as hers, "if the person asking is Lord Rhysand of the Night Court?"

Night Court..? "Then I would tell him I've never heard of the 'Night Court,' and he has likewise never heard of mine, Terrasen," she said sweetly to the supposed Lord Rhysand.

Before he could reply, the girl behind him stepped forward.

"So does your court bestow names on its subjects?"

The cheek... Aelin smiled sweetly at her too. "Oh yes," she purred. " It also bestows names on its rulers. I am Aelin Ashryver Galathynius."

In Erilia, such a statement would be met with cheering or scorn.

In the so-called Night Court, the declaration was met with a few blinks and very blank looks.

Aelin sighed. "So does the Night Court have any food? Because I've been walking for who knows how long, and I'd love something to eat."

Rhysand and the girl looked at each other. Rhysand then turned to her, fixed those piercing blue eyes on her face again, and purred. "Of course we do. We were actually just having dinner when I suppose you arrived. Do, do come along."

And just like that, he grabbed the girl and they walked through the wall.

Aelin stared for a moment. Then, she reasoned, this was some sort of test. Could she teleport or whatever, perhaps? Last time Aelin checked, she could not walk through walls, though she pushed on it anyway to see if it was enchanted to let people through. No luck.

Well then. When in doubt...

She set a door-sized portion of the wall on fire and then quickly put it out.

...set the problem on fire.

Behind the wall, Rhysand looked mildly stunned while the girl remained agape. With the slightest strut, Aelin walked through the hole she had blown in the wall.

"It's not like I can walk through walls, unlike some people here," she said by way of explanation. "And I'd really like some food... chocolate cake, maybe?"

Rhysand recovered, as if he'd been frozen and then thawed at her words. "Be that as it may, you can't simply set my home on fire. Follow me... you should be able to do so without ruining the centuries-old framework this time."

Oops, Aelin thought. Not that she was terribly apologetic.

The lord waved his hand. The room they were in had been similar to the other in the sense that it had no door. After his gesture, however, a small portion of the wall to her left simply disappeared, and he walked through, grabbing the girl again. Aelin follow, and after she walked through the wall became whole again. This continued for several more rooms, giving Aelin time to ask a few questions.

"So what is your name?" she asked the girl.

The lord glanced back as if to interrupt, but the girl replied before him, "Feyre."

How unusual, Aelin thought to yourself.

"And are you the Lady of the Night Court, Feyre?" Aelin asked. The girl—Feyre—had some of Rhysand's scent on her, but her own scent didn't ring of shadows and stars. Instead, she smelled more like wild flowers.

Rhysand laughed, and Feyre just replied that she was not, without bothering to explain any more. Fair enough.

Eventually, they wound up in an elaborate dining hall. With another wave of his hand, the table became covered with sweets, including a marvelous chocolate cake.

"Sit," he said.

Aelin stood. Perhaps it was because her nature to be contrary, but she felt a pull in her legs. The ache behind her knees grew. Sitting would be nice, she was tired after walking, hadn't she wanted to come and just eat and relax... Except Aelin distinctly knew this was not her own thinking... at least not fully. Someone was trying to bend her to his will, and she would not be bent.

The ache lessened, neither Rhysand or the girl showing any outward signs of their power being thrown off. If it was them, that is. Aelin was not so foolish as to think she had an inkling of who roamed the Night Court.

"Please, sit," Rhysand repeated.

This time Aelin sat, confident it was her own choice, and they followed suit. For a moment, the trio stared at each other. Just as Aelin was about to cut herself a piece of the scrumptious-looking cake, she paused.

Maybe it was a paranoia; maybe it wasn't. But Aelin was fairly certain there was an extra visitor in her head. It wasn't like before, with the lull in her knees trying to make her sit. That was a power play between her and whatever other being aimed to test her. This was much more covert, more delicate. She stood still, nearly forgetting to breathe, as she tried to figure it out. It was like a worm, digging its way into her thoughts and memories.

Her memories. Hers.

The worm, as she pictured it, paused. Whoever was in her brain knew that she was aware, and perhaps this gave pause to whomever because her memories quickly sank back down. It was not like the vlag who sifted through her memories and feasted. This was a curious entry. But he—and Aelin was quite certain she knew who was doing this, Night Court Lord be damned—had no business there. So just as Aelin pictured him as a worm, she pictured herself as a hawk and plucked that festering worm out and ejected him from her brain.

Then she stretched her fangs and growled, a long, low growl, at Rhysand. Not a second later, she sprung across the table at her target.