A Court of Dark and Decay

Chapter 44- Survivor

It was so much colder then she had thought it would be. Thousands trees spread out into the distance as a dark sea, only crashing against the shore of the Ramiel mountain. From where she was, the ocean of dark trees between her and the mountain, it seemed much less daunting then she had pictured. Her breath clouded before her, even her eyes stinging from the cold. No weaponry, no magic, 4 weeks of training.
Nesta thought about the moment in that throne room so long ago. The single finger she thrust to the King, the promise of death and vengeance. Hellcat, they had called her. Spitfire, the Cauldron had said.
Sweetheart, Cassian had called her. Nes.
If she would have been in the mood, she could have laughed thinking about the rage he would be thrown into once he found out she was gone.
But its wasn't the fact that she was going that mattered. It was that she was going to come back.
Nesta decided she would find somewhere in the forest to camp, so she could be ready for the others when they came. Her main priority right now was making this as easy for them as possible. For Nesta, this was daunting. But it was simply a woods and a mountian. For them, this was a sacred place, a place of fear and death. This was where they had lost brothers, fathers, friends. Nesta would do everything she could to help them.
Besides, helping them gave her a goal other then just surviving. If she was going to be honest with herself, the goal of surviving was not achievable by herself. She needed them, her friends. Her little family.
They would make it through this. She would not allow any other option.
The snow was picking up, the Ramiel mountain in the distance disappearing as a curtain of white descended upon the trees.
Nesta took a breath. In. Out. And stepped into the forest.
________________________________________________________________________

It was the tingles that stood out as odd. Cassian had healed form many wounds, many serious wounds, and never had he tingled like he did. It was almost the feeling of little fingers dancing on the skin from under his scar.
Verra had healed it like a champ. He didn't remember much now, sleep having pulled those half awake fever dreams from his mind, but Cassian remembered Verra placing thier hands on him. And now, suddenly, he awoke healed.
He had the weirdest dream. Cassian couldn't remember if it had been after he fell unconscious or after he was healed, and truthfully the dream was incredibly hazy.
Cassian stood on the edge of a cliff, observing two beings before him. One made of darkness, and one made of silver. He only remembered the silver one glancing his way and then the dream faded.
Oodly enough, Feyre was quite fun to bounce odd dreams off of, so maybe he would speak to her about it.
But maybe not.
Cassian sat up, his wings stretching out to shake the stiffness of sleep. One deep breath was all it took to drag Cassian completely from the fog of sleep.
Nesta was not in the house. He could not smell her, could not feel any lingering warmth in the bed.
She must have been at training.
The wind howled and the frost on the windowsill kissed his fingers as Cassian pulled back the curtain. It was snowing hard, and he could barely see the tree's just outside the window through all the snow. He turned, his wings tucked behind him as he swept a shirt off the ground left the bedroom.
Turning the corner into the living room, Az shifted from where he was on the couch, turning to look at Cassian as he entered.
"Morning, beautiful."
"Stuff it, Shadowswinger." Cassian passed his brother as he chuckled. Turning into the kitchen, he heard Az get up from the couch and follow him. He grabbed two apples and threw one to Az as he came into the kitchen.
"How are you feeling?" Az asked, polishing the apple in his black shirt before taking a bite.
Cassian also took a bite, and spoke through a mouthful. "Fine. Tried, a little sore."
Az nodded. "Your mood?"
"What?" Cassian brought the apple down, stopping taking another bite.
"Your mood. Are you feeling ok?"
Cassian shrugged, lifting his apple back up. "I'm great." The red skin snapped as he took a bite. "Never felt better."
Az cocked his head as he threw his half eaten apple in the trash. "Glad to hear it."
Cassian furrowed his brow, watching his brother.
"Because what I'm about to tell you is going to piss you off."
"Oh, Mother." Cassian also threw his apple into the trash, walking past Az and back into the living room. "Then tell me later. I want to find Nesta."
Az stilled. Cassian could feel it, the tension pouring from his brother.
"Cassian."
It started at the pit of his stomach. The fear, the anger, the anxiety. The was Az had said his name made his breath stop."What?"
He knew something was really wrong when Az paused to respond.
"Where is she, Azriel?" Cassian spoke between clenched teeth.
Az only answered, "Rhys has already declared that you have to stay here and continue training."
Cassian approached his brother, his fists clenched and shaking. "Rhys can come say that to my face. I'm going to ask you this once."
Cassian was maybe only an inch taller then Az, so thier eyes lined up as Cassian got right in his face.
"Where. Is. Nesta?"
Az opened his mouth, but the voice that spoke came from behind them.
"Nesta has gone to the Ramiel mountain to participate in the Blood Rite."
Rhys stood with Jaida at his side in the doorway.
Cassian's whole body went cold.
The Rite.
She had gone to do the Rite.
Jaida was speaking.
Cassian did not hear her. Did not care to.
Her, Az, Rhys. They were all just in the way.
"Move."
Rhys answered. "No."
"Rhys. I am not going to ask again."
"I know you're going after her, Cassian, and you know you can't do that."
Cassian's vision tunneled onto the door behind him. "We let you trot to the spring court like a lost puppy for your mate." He was spitting as he spoke. "Fuck tradition. Fuck you. I will move you out of the way if you don't move yourself."
As spoke from behind him, closer now, more on edge. "Cassian, you need to think-"
Cassian spun around with a fist to deck Azriel in the face. Az was ready though, blocking him and delivering a counter right to the gut. Cassian doubled over.
"We don't want to fight, Cassian, but you-"
Cassian wrapped his arms around Az's waist and threw him to the ground. Both Illyrians grunted, Cassian on top and pressing his full weight onto Az. He threw punch after punch, Az blocking some, letting some land.
Rhys was behind him, shouting at him to stop. Cassian's arms were grabbed mid air, held back from Az who kicked his hips and threw him off.
"Cassian! Stop this!" Jaida, tending to Az shouted.
Cassian didn't hear her, didn't see anything but Nesta's eyes as he stomped onto Rhys's foot with his heel, causing Rhys to let go of his arms. He spun and tackled Rhys over the back of the couch before Az got back up and tried to pull him off of Rhys.
But Cassian didn't need to win this fight. He just needed to get out. Get to the mountains. Get to Nesta.
Az managed to pull Cassian off, but Cassian was already throwing Az's hands off his shoulders.
They were out of the way of the door.
The second Az's hands were off, he was running to the door.
Something gripped his throat.
It wasn't a hand, it wasn't either of his brothers.
Faintly, he heard Rhys. "Jaida, that's enough."
But the magic around his throat did not ease.
"Jaida."
His vision started to go black, little stars dancing around the edges.
"JAIDA."
The magic released, Cassian dropping to his knees and gulping down air.
"She has made her decision. You cannot save her from herself, Cassian. You cannot love her by holding her back." Jaida's voice was as sharp as Cassian had ever heard it.
Jaida knelt down, her hand on Cassian's back. Not comforting, but prepared for any movement he made.
"She left a message you should see."
______________________________________________________________________

The small group landed at the edge of the woods and took a breath. A ragtag mismatched group. A family. Survivors. What lay before them would test them. Change them. Forever.
The cloth was tight and the rope groaned and wings were bound. Breaths came slower, deeper.
There was no backing out, no going back. Rhysand had made that abundantly clear.
Iona, Sera, Lori, and Rosie stood before the ocean of trees, the winter raging around them.
Someone stepped out of the tree line.
Rosie was running through the snow before anyone could stop her. She and Nesta collided, the two women clinging to each other. Words were spoken below the shout of the winter wind. The other three weren't far behind, happy to see Nesta, scared for her, anxious about everything.
Nesta didn't smile. None of them did. Not at the precipice of the Hel they were about to endure.
But they were not alone. They would never be. Not a single one of them.
Rosie held Nesta's shirt fabric in her small fist, scared to lose her in the white out.
Sera and Lori were already planning, beginning to strategize and work around the complexities of all this.
Iona only watched the tree line. They would not be alone out there, someone needed to watch out.
A heavy silence, a heavy darkness lingered.
1 IN 7. Nesta watched them all, their movements, their words, how they breathed.
She didn't want to forget any of it. Not a single nuance in any of them.
She wanted to remember it all. Just in case.
A silence settled over them. Their breath came in clouds, their chests rising and falling.
It was time.
"This way." Nesta headed toward the tree line. "I've gone in a little further. There's a place we can camp for the night."
And without another word, the five women entered the wilderness surrounding the Ramiel mountain, and began the Illyrian Blood Rite.