A Court of Blood and Grief

3

After another dinner of venison, the Archeron family were all gathered around the fire for the quiet hour before bed.

Elain sat contently humming while Andromeda ran her fingers through her hair. Andromeda always loved braiding and playing with her older sister's hair. Currently she was sitting behind her braiding Elain's golden-brown hair into a French braid running down the back of her head that twisted into a low bun. Nesta sat beside her quietly reading a romance novel just loud enough for the two of them to hear. Andy always preferred when Nesta read to her. Although she herself could read she wasn't great at it. She didn't have a private tutor like her oldest sister had to teach her, but Nesta had taught her to read. Still Andy preferred when her older sister read to her.

"Elain," Andromeda groaned, "you have to stop moving your braid is loose. Now I have to start all over again."

Elain giggled, grabbing at the end of her braid to look at it. "It looks fine, you're just making up an excuse so you can braid it again!"

"Me? Lie? No!" Andromeda exclaimed, clutching a hand over her heart. "Elain my darling sister you are much too pretty to have such an ugly hairstyle." That brought another giggle out of Elain.

"What kind of sister would I be if I left your hair like that? Come on, I'll redo it." Elain smiled at her youngest sister but didn't budge. "Nesta agrees with me," she turned to look at Nesta with a huge grin, "don't you nessy?"

Nesta snorted before turning to look at Elain, "Lumina's right Elain that braid is simply awful."

Elain through her head back in exasperation before turning to let Andy redo the braid. Andromeda giggled and then winked at Nesta who returned one of her own. Andy reached out to undo the braid but stopped short when she heard a loud deafening roar followed by the screams of the Archeron sisters. Snow burst into the room and an enormous, growling shape appeared in the doorway.

Andromeda had jumped up with a hunting knife in her hand; she couldn't remember where or how she grabbed it. ​​The first few moments were a blur of the snarling of a gigantic beast with golden fur, the shrieking of Nesta and Elain, the blistering cold cascading into the room, and their father's terror-stricken face. Feyre stood beside her protectively gripping the wooden handle of her own hunting knife.

Not a martax, Andromeda realized-though the relief was short-lived. The beast had to be as large as a horse, and while his body was somewhat feline, his head was distinctly wolfish. It had curled elk-like horns that protruded from his head. But lion or hound or elk, there was no doubting the damage his black, dagger-like claws and yellow fangs could inflict.

The beast reared onto its hind legs and bellowed through a maw full of fangs: "MURDERERS!"

The Faerie let out another growl "MURDERERS!" the beast roared again, hackles raised.

"P-please," Their father babbled from behind his two youngest daughters, failing to find it in himself to come stand by their side. "Whatever we have done, we did so unknowingly, and-"

"W-w-we didn't kill anyone," Nesta added, choking on her sobs, arm lifted over her head, as if that tiny iron bracelet would do anything against the creature. Her other hand was reaching for her youngest sister to come stand beside her while they cowered behind Feyre. Andromeda smacked her sister's hand away, refusing to leave Feyres' side with this beast so close.

Feyre snatched up another dinner knife off the table, "Get out," she snapped at the creature, brandishing the knives before her.

Brandishing her own knife and stepping forward, "Get out, and Begone," Andromeda snapped with a lethal calmness.