Iron in the Night

Chapter 9 - Aelin

The portal tipped us out in the middle of a forest.

"I really hated that," Feyre commented, brushing herself off as she stood.

"Yeah, portals aren't the best things ever," I replied, being pulled up by Fenrys who immediately shifted into a wolf once I was on my feet.

Feyre grew wings and flew up, scanning the area.

"Since when did you have wings?" I called up to her.

"I'll explain my powers when we start walking, there is a stone fortress a little way east." She said.

"Do you think it could be Mistward?" I asked Fenrys, he nodded his head.

Feyre landed next to us, "We are going to the fortress, I know the people there." I told her, the wings vanished, and we began to walk.

"So, your powers?" I asked.

"Right, well super long story short, I died then was resurrected by the seven High Lords, I got a bit of each gift, water, fire, wind, ice, healing, light, darkness, shapeshifting, I can walk into people's minds, winnow, glamour myself." She said, counting on her fingers.

"Wow that is a lot." I said, a little taken back.

"What do you mean you can walk into people's minds?" Fenrys asked as he shifted.

"I can talk to people mind to mind, look at their memories, control them if I really wanted to, I hate doing it though. I tend to only do the mind talking and even then, I only do it with Rhys, it is handy when I need to make up plans on the spot." She said with a shrug.

"Ok, please don't ever go into my head." I told her.

"I'm not going to, although you have no mental shields, anyone could walk in." she said, arms crossed, Fenrys shifted back again.

"Can you teach me how to shield?" I asked, if I ever saw Maeve again, she wouldn't be able to take my mind.

"Sure, I'll teach anyone who wants to, I will warn you though, if I do teach you how it will require me trying to get into your mind." She told me.

"That's ok, at least then I will be protected." I told her, giving her a tight smile.

We walked the rest of the way to Mistward in silence. We reached the edge of the forest and the guards immediately began yelling.

"It's Aelin Ashvyer." I called to them and they looked at little closer.

"Aelin, I can't believe it's really you!" Luca rush out of the side door and pulled me into a hug, Fenrys growled, and he stepped back, "Oh." He almost whispered.

"Don't mind the mut Luca, it's good to see you, can I come and see the rest of you?" I asked, a smile on my face.

"Sure thing, Emrys is getting a little too old to be running around now." He said with a wink.

We walked towards the kitchen together.

"Who's your friend?" Luca asked as we walked.

"Feyre, she's from another world." I replied, Luca raised his brows.

"Really?" he almost gasped.

"What are you gawking at now Luca?" Emrys asked as we walked through the door.

"Aelin just said that Feyre was from another world." Luca told the man.

I pulled him into a hug, and he chuckled.

"It's good to see you too," he sat back down and looked at Fenrys.

"The white wolf of Doranelle." He dipped his chin in respect.

"He's mine now." I said, Emrys raised a brow but didn't ask.

"You must be Feyre." He smiled at her.

"Yes, and before you ask yes, I'm from another world." She said, giving the man a smile.

"Why weren't you that open when you first came here?" Luca grumbled to me.

"Because I was in a foul mood, everything I had come to treasure had been ripped away from me." I replied, crossing my arms.

"I'm in a completely new world!" Feyre said looking a little exasperated.

"Aelin, Rowan sent word that they were coming here for a night on their way to Doranelle. They are looking for you." Emrys told me, looking concerned.

"Yeah, Maeve kidnapped me two months ago, I'm assuming he's been searching for me since, the only reason I'm out is because I fell into Feyre's world." I told him, sitting down.

"You fell into my house." She told us.

"Would you two like lunch?" Emrys asked, "Everyone else has just eaten but there are plenty of leftovers."

"That would be great, thanks Emrys." I said with a grin, even if I could only eat a little.

While we all ate Emrys asked for stories of Feyre's world.

"There was once a huntress, she was only a teenager, but she had to hunt to feed her family. One brutal winter she was forced to go deeper into the woods by the wall that split her mortal homeland with Prythian, the land of the fae. In her desperation she killed a wolf, taking it's pelt for warmth and the deer that was to be its dinner. The following day her door was broken down by a massive beast. Unbeknownst to her the wolf she had killed was fae, the beast before her demanded that her life be taken in return. The beast made her an offer, he would either kill her or take her to his home. She went with him to the Spring Court, one of the seven courts that made up Prythian. While she was there, she slowly began falling in love with him. There was an evil queen ruling the lands, having taken all seven High Lord's power fifty years before and cursed the Lord of Spring. The girl didn't know this though and never said the three words that would set everyone free. I love you. Spring was taken under a sacred mountain in the eighth territory. The girl went after him, determined to set her true love free. The queen made a bargain with her, if she could complete three trials, one at each full moon, then she would set Prythian free, or if the girl could solve the riddle, she presented at any time she would set Prythian free. The girl agreed and was beaten for her bravery, thrown in a cell and left until the first trial. She was brought to a mud pit and thrown inside. She had to defeat the Middengard Wyrm, a creature with viscous teeth and incredible smell. She figured out that the wyrm was blind and covered herself in mud to make herself invisible before building a trap of bones. She killed the wyrm but gravely injured herself in the process. The High Lord of Night, the feared seventh court, offered to heal her in exchange for her living with him one week every month, she agreed. Her second trial was to solve a question, but the girl couldn't read. if she didn't solve the question in time then both her and her friend would die. She completed the trial by cheating, Night once again helped her win. Her third and final trial was the hardest. She was to kill three innocent fae, just like she had killed the wolf. She killed the first two, dying a little inside each time. The third was the High Lord of Spring. There was a catch however, a part of the curse she hadn't been told, the High Lord's heart had been turned to stone. She stabbed him and he lived. The queen was furious, but she didn't free Prythian, she had told the girl if she solved the riddle, she would free everyone instantaneously, she didn't say the same about the trials. The queen began torturing the girl and with her last breath answered the riddle, the queen snapped her neck. The High Lord of Spring killed the queen, and all seven High Lords came forwards. They each gave her a spark of their power and brought her back, the only catch was they turned her fae." She finished her story with tears running down her cheeks.

"That was your story." I whispered.

She looked up and nodded.

"A lot happened after that, Tamlin, High Lord of Spring, treated me as less until one day he locked me in the house, Rhys came and got me out, gave me sanctuary. He showed me Velaris, the city having been a secret from the rest of the world. I became a part of his court. Then I found out he was my mate. There was a war, I broke something I shouldn't have, and it was going to destroy my world, but I fixed it with his help. Doing that killed him though. We brought him back the same way I had been."

"I am a story keeper; I will always remember your story and I will tell it to the people who pass through here." Emrys told here, she gave him a small smile.