Hellfire

Fenrys

Holy fucking shit. Fenrys didn't know what to say. It was a miracle no one else had noticed that their ship had gained one hell of a passenger in the last few minutes.

"You - You can?" Connall stuttered, as if he wasn't quite sure he could trust what his ears were hearing. Morgana - Morgan - nodded. 

"How?" Fenrys hissed. She shook her head this time. "I'm sorry. I can't explain it now. But I promise you on my daughter's life that I can and I will if you help me free her." 

Fenrys blinked. The sheer amount of weight in that sentence was enough for him to pause. Who the hell was this woman?

"How did you find this ship?" Connall breathed. A small smile. 

"Vaughn," she answered simply. Fenrys reeled. 

"Vaughn?" he hissed. "Why did he tell you it was here?" 

Morgan shifted, eyes darting around the ship. Whatever time limit she'd alluded to was closing, fast. "Because I freed him." Fenrys felt his jaw quiver. 

"Impossible," Connall whispered. Morgan shook her head, looked around the ship one last time, then met his eyes. 

"This is your last chance. Either I kill you now, or you help me free our last hope of surviving. It's your choice. You get ten seconds," she declared in an undertone, then stalked towards the center of the ship on silent feet, leaving him alone to discuss with his twin.

Fenrys looked into Connall's eyes and found them twin to his own. "Are you sure, Fen?" He nodded. Con nodded in one final response, a long exhale escaping his lungs. Golden eyes found theirs through the gloom. She cocked her head, waiting. He and his brother nodded to her, then followed her to the door leading down into the ship.

She inhaled sharply. "Someone's coming up the stairs." 

"Shit," Fenrys hissed. Connall strained forward, listening. "Cairn," he breathed. Morgan stilled, her features freezing. "That son of a bitch," she growled, iron nails flicking out from the ends of her fingers. Connall balked, backing up a step. Her eyes flicked towards him. 

"Sorry," she winced, though the iron nails stayed out. "I'll explain everything later, I promise." 

"You'd better," Fenrys heard himself snap. She glared at him for a moment, eyes flickering. The door swung open with hardly a sound, and Cairn's limpid blue eyes locked with golden ones. Morgan unleashed a snarl, and Cairn charged forward, drawing his sword. Morgan roared, slashing through his guard. Cairn's blade tumbled to the ground in splinters, leaving him gaping at the sword hilt in his palm. He didn't even have time to draw in a breath before Morgan lunged. Cairn's head tumbled neatly to the floorboards before Fenrys could blink.

"He died too quickly," she growled, golden eyes fixed with animalistic intensity as his body followed suit. She looked up at them, face filled with frozen rage. "Move." Fenrys did, Connall close behind. The three of them flew past the levels, barely making any sound. Fenrys was still trying to reorder his thoughts as his feet mindlessly milled down flights of stairs. Maeve was sure to notice that one of her own had died, but, if Morgan was to be trusted, she'd lost Vaughn and hadn't seemed the least bit unhinged. Perhaps Morgan possessed some sort of archaic magic similar enough to Maeve's that it wasn't felt.

Fenrys's head snapped up. He heard the sounds of a struggle nearby. Connall's stiffening posture told him he heard the same. Morgan didn't seem to be bothered. Well, Fenrys reasoned, if you can kill Maeve's second in command in two heartbeats you needn't be worried about much. They hit the last level, the one where potential prisoners were housed, and Morgan slammed to a stop, Fenrys nearly colliding with her shoulder. Peering around her, he spied Vaughn dispatching the guards stationed around the last room. Aelin's room. Vaughn swiped his daggers across the last throat, the man slumping to the ground. His dark hair shifted as he turned to survey Morgan, then Fenrys and Connall behind her. "Cairn?" he inquired, wiping blood onto his trousers. Morgan nodded once. "Good. I tried to stall him best I could, but I guess the effort wasn't needed." His gaze landed on Fenrys. "You two agreed as well?" Vaughn's voice never really seemed to change. He never wasted words, and spent more time in animal form than any of the cadre. Fenrys nodded once, eyes flicking to see Connall do the same. Vaughn nodded back, then faced the door. He drew a key from his pocket and opened it. He made to step inside before Morgan laid a hand on his arm. He stilled, dark eyes snapping to hers. 

"This is Maeve," she said softly, eyes darting to the threshold of the room. "She'll have put precautions in place. I have no doubt that this room is warded with some kind of warning spell designed to notify her as soon as someone other than herself steps into it." Vaughn seemed to consider, then stepped back. 

"I have no experience with breaking spells," he acknowledged. 

"We'll guard your back," Fenrys added, taking up a defensive position. Connall's eyes swept around the passage, backing himself into the shadows, hands within easy reach of his weapons. Morgan nodded, biting her lip. "It won't take long." Without another word, she stepped into the room.