A Court Of Shadow and Blood

☆ The Faebane Queen ☆

She hadn’t bothered changing before leaving, so it was in a loose tank top and shorn pants that she entered the cold and wind-whipped Hybern. Feyre was already wrapped in her shadows as if she’d never joined her, her scent completely snuffed out by her own. Eblis took a moment to settle her features, her heart, her limbs. Even a month away from Hybern had not whisked away the terrible smirk she made herself wear, as if buzzing flies over a rotten carcass were all that she dreamed about.

She used to relish that smile—relished the way people wilted under it.

She tried not to think about what Feyre, hidden in the darkness, might see. But she could feel the female's gaze as she settled into her place of General; it was a constant, drilling reminder of what she had let herself become.

Eblis pushed the thoughts from her mind and embraced the side of her that cackled rather than laughed, that smirked rather than smiled. By the time she passed the first set of guards, she was completely in tune with herself. She remembered at the last moment that she had been forgetting something; from the darkness between the shafts of late sunlight in the hall, a trio of curling forms gathered to walk along her feet. Shadow puppets in the shapes of small felines. They marked her as Spymaster, but more importantly were a warning that the very shadows along anyone’s clothing could unravel to choke them if she bid. 

Sheet-white stone surrounded her in the hallway she traversed, small, iron-wrought windows spilling light across the hall. Through those windows, she could see out over the village surrounding Hybern—one set far beneath the cliff the castle was settled on, it’s stone walls crusted white with the salty spray of the bay, the buildings themselves moss- and mold-ridden things despite efforts to prevent it. The sky was overcast with dark clouds, the threat of rain and storms seemingly a constant looming figure on the horizon. It was a gloomy and pale display.

One of her felines yipped, and her gaze darted away from the scene. Before her, a winged figure bowed his head in greeting with a coltish grin. White-gold feathers ruffled behind his back, sun-dark skin seemingly darker beneath a sheaf of dawn colored hair and crushing blue eyes. Like the sky was trapped within, she recalled, remembering when she’d first found the boy, trying to skip out on kitchen duties with over-sized wings dragging behind him.

“Imillion.”

The Peregryn’s smile widened at her curt greeting. “Spymaster.” He trailed behind her as she continued forward, her shadowed felines nipping at his booted heels playfully. She snapped them to attention quickly, and the trio of dark forms stalked along her sides once more. 

“Spymaster, why are you back so soon?” Thin, flight-worthy armor shifted and whispered softly together as he moved, strong muscles shifting. “Did something happen?”

“Yes and no.” He took the hint and dropped his voice, those eyes of blue going distant. They flickered briefly to and fro, but Eblis merely let the male practice his abilities. 

They snapped back to focus. “No one. Not even in the walls.”

“They do not know I’ve arrived quite yet,” she murmured, searching her own mental barriers. “You were the first. Good job.” The young male bared his teeth in a smile, great white wings rustling.

“The others are still in position. Only Requeza and I are here,” he admitted, despite the pride in his eyes. 

She kept her back straight as she walked, even as she sent him a glance. “Not much competition then?”

“None at all.” Imillion winced suddenly, a hand going to his head. Those wings shifted with annoyance. “Requeza knows your here. And she knows what I said.”