Hellfire

Aelin

It was just as she remembered. Green and silver colored the walls everywhere, accented by touches of light blue. The furniture had all but been cleared out, leaving very few ornamentation. Their group followed the slight guard down several hallways before being led up a flight of stairs. Aelin's brows furrowed, and she dared a glance behind them. They had passed the main staircase twice now. Were they trying to get her lost in her own damn house? Aelin swallowed her snarl, and allowed herself to be dragged up another flight of stairs before crisscrossing through two identical hallways. She swallowed again as she remembered a different time of being escorted through a different set of passages, one with a chestnut-haired captain of the guard at her side.

"If you're taking us to the council room, we just passed by the hallway that leads to it for the third time in the past five minutes," drawled Aedion from in front of her. Aelin smirked as the guard stiffened beneath his uniform, and caught Aedion's expression mirroring her own. And they thought that the Queen-Princess, whatever she was, wouldn't notice. 

The guard finally turned down the correct hallway, and soon enough Aedion knocked on the council room door.

A quick shuffling of feet sounded, and Aelin watched as the door swung inward, and Weylan Darrow's icy eyes locked onto her face. She gave him a small smile. It was just Rowan and Lysandra beside her, while the rest of the group waited around the corner. She wanted to give them a proper entrance. She couldn't wait to see Darrow's face.

"Thank you for accepting our meeting request," Aelin said smoothly. Aedion kept his face carefully distant. Indeed, Darrow's eyes glanced to Aedion, searching for a reaction. Nothing.

"Let them in Darrow. We have things to discuss," called Murtaugh's voice from inside the room. Aelin stifled her breath of relief. Darrow's eyes narrowed in irritation, but opened the door a foot further. Aedion grabbed the door handle and ushered the three of them inside.

"Hello, Aelin Galaythius," drawled a foreign voice from inside.

The Lords had claimed an entire side of the table, with Darrow taking his seat in the middle of them. Aelin silently counted the seats on their side of the table. She smiled a bit. Not enough for all of them. They didn't know how many were with her.

She inclined her head to him, and her smile grew a bit further as she heard someone shift in their chair. Unexpected, and it had caught them off guard. She straightened and claimed a seat, Aedion, Rowan, and Lysandra flanking her in chairs of their own.

"Have you taken care of Evangeline and Fleetfoot?" Aelin inquired, folding her hands atop the table.

"The girl and the dog are both safe and well," drawled a voice from the corner, and Aelin glanced to find Ren leaning against the wall. She nodded to him, then turned her attention back to the Lords.

"So, we are here to discuss-"

"What. Is. That," Darrow growled, interrupting her mid-sentence. She felt Rowan stiffen beside her as she followed his gaze to the ring on her left hand. Well, she had planned a bit of introduction before this, but she might as well move along. She inclined her head towards Aedion and opened her palm. He smiled at her and slowly, reverently, placed her marriage documentations in her open hand.

With over-exaggerated care and caution, she slid the papers across the table. Darrow snatched them up the second she relinquished her hold. His face went from white to red to purple in the space of thirty seconds as he rifled through the documents and found them to be completely, utterly legal.

"You little-" Darrow seethed, and Aelin felt the other Lords, including Ren, shift in their positions.

"I would be very careful what you call me, Lord Darrow," Aelin said smoothly, standing. Darrow's hand inched towards his sword as he glared first the papers, then at her. Aelin strode towards the door, then paused with her hand on the handle.

"I introduce to you, Darrow, my court."

Aelin turned the knob, and swung the door open. Fenrys was already grinning.