A Court of Bastards [ACOTAR]

Chapter 51

Fiona flashed into existence in the shadowed clearing where Bella and Riordan were waiting. Her cousin's face was blank as she grabbed their arms and winnowed the trio away without a word.

They reappeared in the abandoned kitchen beneath the Forest House, the stone floors cold without the roaring hearthfire Fiona was so used to. Bella ducked her wings low against the ceiling and took up a position against the same counter Fiona had stolen her knife from. It felt like half a lifetime had passed since then, when her biggest concerns were blankets and kitchen knives and Aidan.

"Pray tell, Fiona," Dan wrinkled his nose at the state of the kitchen. "Why are we in the Forest House again?"

"Because if Eris did set a trap, the last place he'll be looking for us is his own home." Fiona explained. Then a smile ghosted her lips. "And also because I set fire to the Oak, and I want to hear his reaction."

Dan spluttered a cough but Bella seemed to ease at that, grabbing an apple from a nearby cupboard and tossing it in the air. "So how did it go?"

Fiona let out a long breath, allowing her shoulders to slump as she decompressed. "It was...odd." Sitting in front of Eris had been like sitting in front of a ghost – she couldn't get Elain's prophecy out of her mind, and kept picturing her father as a dead man with his jilted crown, surrounded by the wreckage of the Oak Hall. She shook her head to clear it of the image. "Although, I know he told the truth – he had nothing to do with the Autumn Court's presence in Velaris."

Bella nodded. "So, will he lend his soldiers?"

"Yes, but on one condition." Fiona looked up at her friend from beneath her lashes. "He wants me to take the place of his heir – legitimately."

A sigh sounded from one side of the room. Dan's eyes clouded over, as though he could already see all the cards on the table. Bella shot him a confused glance. "Ok, so you take his troops and his crown," she looked back to Fiona, frowning. "It's a double win, no?"

The Autumn bastards shook their heads. "It's not that simple."

"If Fiona is legitimized, she loses everything," Riordan explained. "No trips to Velaris, no freedom, no escape from courtiers. It would mean she has to fully commit to the Autumn Court, to live here and train to take Eris' place."

Bella's brows knitted together. "Can't you just do what you like until he croaks one day?"

"Not by a long shot." Fiona shook her head. "And even if I could, Elain's prophecy makes me think that day will be sooner than we'd imagine. Both Eris' life and Keir's victory hang in the balance of whoever takes his crown – we can't beat Keir without the Autumn Court."

"But why?" Riordan whined. "Surely we could find support from somewhere else, why Autumn?"

"I don't know, Dan," Fiona snapped. "Elain didn't exactly give me a set of instructions."

Bella sighed between them. "She's probably right. With the Spring, Winter and Dawn Courts being uncooperative, we're running out of allies. Eris' soldiers would make all the difference."

Fiona nodded, seeming to draw in on herself as she folded her arms. "So there's only one option."

"But Fiona, what about you?" Bella dropped the apple she'd been toying with and closed the distance between them. She pulled her friend's hands out from the knot they'd formed around her chest, clutching her fingers tightly. "What about us, what about your freedom?" She asked, her silver eyes shining. "What about Xander?"

Fiona slipped out of her grip and turned away, unable to bear the look in her eyes or the sound of his name. "Well...exactly," she muttered. "This is about him as much as it is about me. If we can't defeat Keir, if something happens to him, then who takes the Night Court? Nyx?" She practically spat the name. "The only thing keeping Keir from the rest of Prythian is the High Lord. We can't risk losing Xander." Her words were decisive, though they wobbled on her lips.