Wildfire and Stars Eternal

Chapter 2: The Dark God

I spread the map of Hybern we'd kept from the war out on the table. "Alright. The Cauldron is here." I pointed to a spot on the castle. "We'll steer clear of it this time around."

I glanced up at my friends. The rest of the High Lords were refusing to help with this particular mission, but that was understandable. They had nothing to gain from rescuing Aelin. So I tried not to hold any grudges. 

"Couldn't Aelin have already left Hybern?" Cassian asked, crossing his arms and scowling at the map. "I know it's warded, but maybe her Wyrdgates still work. She could have gone home." 

"Aelin wouldn't just leave us here to fight her gods alone," Mor snapped. "Besides, she wouldn't have left her mate behind, and we don't know what happened to him." 

"I just meant-" 

"So we steer clear of the Cauldron." Rhys interrupted. "What do we do if we run into Deanna?" 

I traced out the Wyrdmarks Aelin had shown me on the table. "I'll try to trap her. But if that fails, we'll just have to keep her away from the Cauldron and try to take her down the old-fashioned way." 

"Feyre," I glanced over at Amren, who was sitting in a corner off to the side, examining the books we'd found in the library about Aelin's country and gods. "You said that Hellas was the other god who is here, right?" 

"Yes. Why?" 

Amren blew out a heavy breath. "You're not going to like this." She slid the book across the table, and I walked over to peer down at the page. When I saw what was on it, a string of curses slipped from my mouth. 

"Woah, what is it?" Cassian asked, coming over to look as well. "Oh, shit. That's Hellas!?" 

"He's Erilea's God of death. Violent death, to be specific." Amren said, her voice too calm for the subject matter. "He's also supposedly the ruler of the Underworld." 

"Didn't Aelin mention a Hellas at some point?" Mor asked me, her eyebrows drawn. I racked my brain for a moment.

"Yes. A member of her court was descended from him, I think." I said. Rhys nodded absently as he came over to look at the book as well. 

"Lorcan Lochan, if I'm remembering right," He said, a small smile forming on his lips. I repressed my own smile. I remembered now. Aelin had made fun of Lorcan's name endlessly. 

I looked back down at the drawing of Hellas, which portrayed a hulking male surrounded on all sides with immeasurable dark power. It reminded me of Rhys a little bit, but this male's darkness was different. Where Rhys's power was enchanting, Hellas's was only violence and rage. Even from the page, I could see how dangerous this male was. Pair him with Deanna, and the Cauldron... 

The chances weren't great. 

"Do you think they might have left Hybern? Since we know they're there?" Mor asked, trailing a finger over the map. 

"It's only been a day. Chances are Deanna feels she's won, if taking Aelin really was the plan all along." Cassian replied. He scowled at the floor when he said Aelin's name. I knew that even though he didn't like her, he still felt guilty about leaving her behind. 

"Well, at least we managed to actually tether the Cauldron," Mor sighed, flopping into a chair. "That's one problem we won't have to worry about." 

I winced, gently touching my forehead. Even hours later, the room still spun if I stood up too fast, despite Madja's help. I should be thankful that a headache was the worst of what I got. Rhys had cracked two ribs, and Cassian's already injured shoulder had been knocked completely out of its socket.