The Cracks in the Universe (ACOTAR/TOG Crossover)

Chapter 5 - Aelin

Aelin knew that Rowan would be furious with her, but she couldn't stand the quarrelling and knew that they were wasting time. She threw up a shield of translucent flame around herself and turned to look back through the Wyrdgate, Rowan already leaping through. She could feel his wrath rippling across their mating bond, but she lowered her shield as he wrestled her into a bear hug.

What in the Gods' names were you thinking? He hissed down the bond. She pulled away and stared up at him fiercely. He returned the look.

I was bored of your squabbling and decided to take matters into my own hands. Besides, think about how incredible this is, Aelin fired back. Rowan huffed and took in whatever was occurring behind her. She turned to see Aedion and Lysandra stepping through the portal, but when she looked back to her husband all she saw was a white-tailed hawk wheeling overhead.

A familiar touch on her arm was followed by Dorian demanding to know why she thought it was a good idea to go first. She shrugged him off and began to hike away from the group into the surroundings that seemed so much like her homeland. Aelin was already under the shelter of the trees when Lorcan's bellowing halted her steps. She began to sprint back, if they had been ambushed then the Wyrdgate needed to be protected at all costs—

It wasn't there. The area that had once shown a distorted image of the cave was now cool air. The Crochan Queen's shrieks of fury chimed in with Lorcan's as Dorian desperately tried and failed to reopen the portal with his magic, shards of ice shattering in mid-air.

Elide rushed to her and gripped her shoulders. "You have to open it again; you're the only one of us who understands Wyrdmarks!" One of Aelin's daggers was already in her hand, the sharp blade of Adarlanian steel pressed against her forearm, blood welling up where it had scratched the skin. She made a shallow wound, barely registering the pain, and began to paint.

The rest of them crowded around her as she worked, and she could feel the fear and anxiety and rage radiating through the air among them, down the mating bond, across the carranam link. So Rowan had returned from his flight, then.

"I think this is right, although we don't have The Walking Dead book with us so I can't be sure..." Marking the final symbol, Aelin allowed that small drop of healing magic in her blood to do its work. As she made the final stroke, a deafening crack cleaved through the surroundings. Whoops of relief escaped from the others' mouths as a Wyrdgate opened again, but they soon halted as they realised that it was not the dank, eery cave on the other side, but a woman.

"Hello, Aelin." Nehemia smiled sadly as she took in the scene, and extended a hand towards the Queen. Aelin ached to take it, but she didn't cross into the other land, too fearful of what might happen if she did.

Aelin's face crumpled and legs swayed under her. "I miss you," she whispered thickly, "More than I realised."

"I still watch you. Not a day goes by when I don't look at what you're up to." The Princess of Eyllwe stepped closer to the Wyrdgate, "I cannot stay much longer. What is it, Elentiya?"

She opened her mouth to speak but was choked off by tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.

"We need your help." And Rowan explained what had happened, gently but urgently. When he was finished Nehemia shook her head, the gold rings on her braids clinking softly.

"I'm sorry. There is no knowledge I can give you that will reopen that Wyrdgate. It is not an artificial portal like the others you have experienced; it has been here for thousands of years, and why it has chosen now to close I do not know. But what I can tell you is that there is someone here who can help you. She is ancient, and herself came through a Wyrdgate into this world, only to be trapped. Find her, and you may have a chance of returning to Erilea." Nehemia looked around at the party, her eyes lingering on Manon and then widening slightly as if she had just realised something.

"If she's been stuck here for millennia then surely she has no rutting clue how to open a Wyrdgate?" Lorcan spat. Aelin noticed Lysandra roll her eyes. Perfect, the last thing they needed was for everyone to start arguing amongst themselves.

"Her knowledge combined with your own should be sufficient," was the grave reply, "I am too weak to stay any longer." Nehemia's dark eyes glistened with tears as Aelin herself found large, salty droplets rolling down her face, "Goodbye Elentiya. I wish you well." As the princess' ghostly form faded from view, the Wyrdgate disappeared with her.

And then Aelin howled. She wailed and wept and sobbed, the ground surrounding her engulfed in flames of blue wildfire. She had not seen enough of the Wyrdmarks in the cave to safely reopen it, had counted on Nehemia being able to help them, but instead, they were stuck in a world that was cruelly like her own. Their only chance at finding their way back home lay with a mysterious female who could be located anywhere in this vast realm. Gazing up at the unfamiliar stars, the Lord of the North nowhere to be found, Aelin sent up a silent prayer to whatever gods were listening. The inky blackness stared back.

"We need to search for this female. The longer we're trapped here, the more chaos it will wreak back home." Elide's dark eyes shone with determination.

"No," Aedion said, "No, Aelin, open another Wyrdgate. Nehemia must have been mistaken, and we can't afford to waste time on a wild goose chase." Her cousin's usually reasonable, if somewhat coarse, mannerisms had been replaced by something harsh and distant.

"Didn't you listen to the princess?" Dorian's hands curled into fists at his side, "There is a witch—Fae— woman out there who can help us, and if we don't find her we are stuck here. Wherever the hell 'here' is."

"I think I may be able to help you out with that one," A sensual male voice replied. They spun as one; Lysandra shifting back into a ghost leopard, power fizzing at the magic-wielders hands, and weapons in the palms of the others. Standing on the edge of the forest were two beautiful males, flanked by fifty savage warriors.

"I'm High Lord of the Night Court." The male on the right flashed a feline grin, "Welcome to Prythian."

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