Band of Sisters

Chapter 2

The first thing I noted when I awoke was that I hadn't known I was sleeping.

The second thing I noticed was the lavish crown molding in the corners of whatever room I was now in. The blankets wrapped around me were plush, white, and clean. And I was the only occupant in the entire, massive bed.

Panic struck me.

Where were my sisters?

I threw the covers aside, ignoring the light headed sensation that threatened to stop me as I leaped out of the bed, frantically looking for a door. The room was generically decorated, there was some bobble or piece of art one nearly every inch of every wall. They passed through my sight in a blur as I twisted until I saw the door on the other end of the bedroom.

The golden knob gave easily on my touch and I had the good sense enough to hesitate before flinging the door open and screaming my sisters' names. I'd instantly remembered the beast and his threat to kill us, then... then saying he'd take us all.

But that was good, I reminded myself. That meant that they were here with me somewhere. I just had to find them. And knowing Aelin and Lysandra, they were already looking for me. In fact, I was surprised I wasn't hearing some sort of scuffle or sweet talking going on through the halls. Neither of my sisters were... subtle.

I lined up an eye with the slit of hallway I revealed with the barely open door. The hallway was lit by something I could not see - magic, no doubt. It was just as ornate as the inside of my room, money lined every inch of this place and I was starting to wonder exactly what kind of beast had kidnapped us. Turning back to my room, I wished I had my bow with me. But I'd make do. Pacing through the room, I laid hands on every surface I could find searching for any sort of instrument that could give me a desperate edge I would need against such a creature. Now, Aelin, she could take bath tissue and find a way to kill the thing. Give Lysandra two minutes and she'd convince him to let us go. I, on the other hand, had no such abilities. My strengths were all silent, and in this situation, useless.

I finally found a candlestick holder in a drawer of an armoire and decided it would have to do.

Creeping out into the hallway, my heart was flying in my chest, beating faster than it had during any kill I'd ever made - including the wolf I'd shot yesterday. The wolf I'd had a feeling wasn't completely natural. And that's exactly why I had to find my sisters. I was the reason they were here in the first place. But after replaying the pride in their eyes at my kill, I wasn't so sorry.

Each step I made felt like an avalanche of noise, despite the soft sounds from the worn wood beneath my bare toes. I'd been changed into a simple tunic and pants. I didn't want to think about who might have done that, knowing that the beast that visited my hovel definitely didn't have the thumbs for such a task.

I nearly peed my pants when I slammed into another person and though I tried to remain somewhat poised, I couldn't help falling completely to the ground at the feet of the force.

"Oh, dear," the woman's voice said. "I was just coming back to get you ready for supper."

I dared look up, my brow riddled with confusion. "What?"

"The High Lord wants you all to have dinner with him," she merely replied. "Oh, I'm so sorry. My name is Alis. Come now, let's get you cleaned up."

She yanked me up by my arm and shuffled me back through the door I'd just came through before I could even think of a reply. What kind of kidnapping was this?

_______

It took her minutes to get me ready, mostly because I refused any delicate hairdo she offered and nearly spat on her when she wanted to put me in a dress. So she brushed through my hair and found a pair of shoes for me to wear before walking me down the hallway to a set of stairs that led down to a great hall, two large wooden doors with intricate designs at its head. We walked along the marble tile of the practically royal room just as I realized what she'd said to me.

The High Lord.

Not only was I in Prythian, over the wall in fae territory, but I was in the home of one of their leaders. The ruler of the country just north of my home on the mortal side of the continent.

I let myself take one swift gulp before bottling the rest of my fears as I entered a great archway into a fine dining room, only to see my sisters already sitting at the great oak table with two masked men with long faces and long frowns.

I couldn't help the sputter of a laugh that I had tried to hold between my tight pressed lips. Lysandra wore a dress. Its spring green skirts billowed around her seat, fabric flowing everywhere. Fabric that was surely missing from the chest of the gown. And then Aelin, to my surprise, also wore a dress, though its red was bright as her temper and its fabric was clinging to her body, thin as her patience. The noise of my laughter brought the attention of everyone in the room directly toward me and the piercing gaze of the two fae males shut me right up.

"Ah," the male at the head of the table spoke first. His mask was cartoonish and golden like his long hair that cascaded down his chest. "So you've decided to join us."

"Decide is an interesting word to use under these conditions," Aelin said, turning a vicious smile to the blonde male.

The other male remained quiet, looking as if he would rather be anywhere than here. He also had long hair, though his was a brilliant red and his mask was the face of a fox. Fitting, it seemed.

"Now, I would consider it a mercy that your lives have been spared at all," the blonde fae started, but the red-haired fae cleared his throat to interrupt him.

I could see the gears turning in Lysandra's eyes.

"My name is Tamlin," the blonde fae said, "and I am High Lord of the Spring Court. This is my home and you are my guests."

"You mean prisoners?" I asked, still standing in the archway.

"You're repaying me the life of my friend, and seeing as how he was immortal, I would think three human lives still don't quite make an even trade. Now sit."

Aelin stood. "You don't tell us what to do. You also don't kidnap people and call them guests unless you're entirely insane, but by all means, please, let us live in your home. Let us know where the heart of your country is. Let us have access to your friends and citizens. Let us murderers murder some more!"

I rolled my eyes, stifling a laugh.

"I have an idea," Aelin continued, "let's start a betting pool on how long it takes me to find which bed in this house is the one you lay your head on to sleep at night."

"By the Cauldron," the red-haired fae mumbled. Lysandra gave him a pleasant, mindless smile from where she sat across the table from him.

Apparently, Tamlin thought the best way to deal with Aelin was to ignore her. Little did he know what fire that would ignite.

"This is Lucien, my right hand. He can help you with anything you need, just as Alis can. She'll be tending to you all for the duration of your stay," he said, never even giving Aelin a speck of attention. He turned his masked face to me. "Please, sit, eat with us."

So I did, only after seeing Aelin take her seat once more without throwing down with the fae over his ignorance of her. But I knew what the fae, Tamlin, did not.

Aelin was more than a loud mouth, more than rash actions and big talk. She was patient, intelligent, and relentless. Lysandra was scheming, and once she had a plan, she would become whatever you needed her to be - whatever your wildest dreams envisioned - then she'd rip it all out from under you.

And I...

Well, I was more than just the little sister and the Spring Court was about to find out fast.