Winds of Fire [ACOTAR]

CHAPTER THIRTY

Orion's hand was tight in Prim's as they walked out onto the field. Feyre and Rhysand were being flanked by Azriel and Amren, Prim and Orion behind them and Mor bringing up the back of their group. In this distance, they could see a line of Autumn and Summer soldiers. They were dressed in armour, but they did not look as if they were about to attack. Instead, they just stood there, blank faces as they watched the Night Court approach.

"Stay close to me," Orion whispered, his lips brushing Prim's cheek as he leaned in close to her. Prim was easily the weakest of them all, her shifting ability and dagger securely hid beneath her dress were the only things offering her any protection or advantage. Squeezing Orion's hand in response, she kept her head high as they approached the line.

Rhysand stopped, everyone following behind him, the Autumn and Summer Court soldiers a few meters away. When Rhys spoke it was like Hades himself had broken out from the underworld to command order. There was an aura around him, an aura of darkness. He became the High Lord that everyone feared, the High Lord that made people quiver and shy away. Prim supposed Orion must be rather used to seeing his father like that, he did not blink, did not stare indifferently as Rhys demanded to speak with Beron, the soldiers falling away like dominos and allowing them entry.

The camps here were surprisingly mundane. Prim wouldn't be able to tell between the ones owned by the Illyrians and Dawn Court soldiers and these ones. The same ominous white material made up the tents were the soldiers slept, makeshift firepits had been dug out between them and the armed warriors that walked around them looked similar. It made her realise how everyone was so alike, how when dealing with two different sides of a war it was still possible to find similarities.

The Night Court was lead to a larger tent at the end of the camp, one that had rich gold and copper silk holding it up, instead of flimsy white sheets. With an Autumn Court soldier holding the tent open, Rhys slipped inside, the others entering after him, Orion pulling Prim slightly behind him as the tent closed. There were guards flanking each corner, one waiting right outside the entryway and one stationed beside Beron who was sat upon a golden sofa, Eris across the room on a leather armchair.

"Beron," started Rhys, clasping his hands in front of him, "Quite an army you have built for yourself."

The smirk Beron gave was not at all amusing, his lips curling up to reveal slightly crooked teeth. Shifting, Beron lifted one leg over his knee, scanning Rhys and the others carefully, "I didn't expect to see you here, I suppose the rumours are true after all."

Prim could feel Orion's shoulders tense beside her, she gently rubbed her thumb over the back of his palm in hopes of soothing him. It was Feyre who spoke next, her voice like rich velvet, very much resembling the navy blue dress she wore.

"If you are talking about the rumour in which one of your soldiers killed one of our warriors. Then yes, that remains true. And not only one of our Illyrian warriors, but my nephew." Feyre explained, chill ringing in her words.

"Perhaps if he wasn't as reckless as his father he wouldn't have tried to win a fight against three autumn court soldiers in the first place." laughed Eris, running a hand through his red locks.

"And how do you know that?" Orion snapped before anyone could stop him, "I was there that day and even I didn't know that."

He brushed past his father, leaving Prim beside Mor as he advanced Eris. Thankfully stopping short, Orion stared down at the redheaded boy. "So," Eris grinned, "You did find your tongue after all?"

Orion knew when to allow his father and mother to speak, knew when he was there to prove a point physically rather than with speech. Eris knew how to get on his nerves, and Prim, knowing how to calm them, stepping forward to wrap a hand around his forearm. "He's just trying to get a fight out of you," she whispered, "Don't let him win, okay?"

"Oh? And who's this?" Eris asked as Prim attempted to pull Orion back into line, "Your whore?"

It was Rhysand who grabbed Orion's other arm, pulling him rapidly away just before he was able to pounce. Azriel and Amren had stepped back to meet Mor, the front line now taking up Feyre, Rhysand, Orion and Primrose. Shrugging both his father's and Prim's arms off, Orion stood beside his mother, cheeks red with rage.

"A new member of your court, I see," Beron commented, his eyes scanning Prim as she suppressed a gag. Eris stood up, circling the court like a bird watching its prey. Prim hated how she moved closer to Orion, his hand going protecively to the small of her back.

Rhys looked at Prim from the side of his eyes, looked at the bundle she, Orion and Feyre made. "Yes," he nodded, turning to Beron with a stern look, "She is my daughter-in-law."

Daughter-in-law. Not Orion's wife, his daughter-in-law. A small smile grew on Prim's lips before she could stop it. Orion slipped his arm completely around Prim's waist, his fingers dancing on her hip.

Barking out a laugh, Eris stopped beside his father's chair, looking between Prim and Orion, "You've already got yourself a wife, Orion? How much would it cost for you to let her suck my-"

There was no stopping Orion as he shot across the tent, his hands going straight around Eris's neck and the pair of them tumbling to the floor. The guards within the tent moved in an instant, reaching to pull Orion from Eris who struggled beneath him as Orion's hold tightened. Azriel moved to push them back, knowing they were not afraid to use force with Orion. Mor had also launched forward to the guards who were trying to enter through the tent, not allowing them to pass. Prim could hardly see through the flood of people in front of her. Rhys had taken Feyre's hand and pulled her to the side, out of the line of fire as he looked over at his son in the middle of it all. Moving forward, Primrose called out for Orion to stop, trying to at least push past the guards and see into the midst of it all. Her heart was beating faster in her chest with each second that passed, her lungs feeling tighter as she forced her way through.

Before she could even reach Orion, who was now in the hold of two guards, Prim gasped at the arms snaking round her waist and neck. Someone was pinning her up against them, her back to their chest as they held her tightly. Everyone within the room froze. The guards had stopped fighting to get through, Azriel and Mor had stopped trying to assist Orion, and even Orion had stopped struggling to get free. Amren was with Feyre and Rhysand, Beron still sat smugly within his chair. The only person Prim could not see, the person who had her in his hold, was Eris.