𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕

𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙠

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╰┈˚ · ° .   IT WAS TIME FOR FEYRE'S FIRST TASK. I didn't know what it consisted of, but for sure, she would have to fight her way through it because I had been escorted by Hybern Faeries guards down to a torch-lit cavern that formed a massive arena below us.

The crowd of Fairies and Fae alike was along the banks, ready to assist at whatever the High Queen had in mind for Feyre's task. A wooden platform, insted, was raised above everyone else, and atop it on the throne, sat Amarantha. The platform had the best view of the exposed labyrinth of tunnels and trenches running along the floor of the cavern. And to finish, a group of six males, all regal and surrounded by an air of superiority, stood around the platform. All the High Lords of Prythian. From Autumn, to Summer, Winter and all three of the Solar Courts. All but Tamlin that sat beside the Queen herself. Always unfeeling, unmoved, untouched by anything.

The two guards that had been like my shadows as soon as my feet touched the other side of the cell, both red-skinned and very brutal looking, escorted me until we stopped just in front of Amarantha.

Dressed in the League's uniform made of leather and fabric, my second skin, numerous knives located in their respective places all over myself, the hunting knife strapped on my right thigh and my sword sheathed on my left side, just my eyes and forehead to be seen, I was the perfected example of the assassin trained by Braken. No words had left my lips since I had seen Rhysand, and my eyes, already too cold, I was almost sure that now they had no life left in them.

"Maiven! Oh, I'm so glad that you could make it before your sister!" Amarantha spoke with a feline smirk on her red lips. "Don't worry, she will be here soon. Go and stand behind with the others so you can have the best view. I hope you'll enjoy the show." She finished with a laugh that made her red hair fall back into her back as she tilted her head back.

I didn't wait a second more to walk past Amarantha and Tamlin. I passed by the six High Lord too, each one of them studying me with looks that ranged from disgust to curiosity and intrigue. I didn't even bother to acknowledge any of them. Not even Rhysand. They were nothing but Amarantha's puppets, just like I was Braken's.

I took the farthest spot away from everyone, definitely not in the mood for any Fae politics and antics. From my chosen spot I still had a good view of the arena below, and I was still undecided if that was a good or a bad thing.

I didn't know what task this was going to be. My fear was high because I didn't want to watch my sister die, not when I could not do anything to prevent it, to stop it or help her in any way. I could do nothing but watch.

I believed in Feyre, I really did, but there were things that not even with every inch of the faith that I had in my twin sister, I thought she could win or survive against.

Because we were both just humans surrounded by beings on a whole other level.

Minutes passed before Feyre was escorted into the arena. The armed guards hauled her toward a wooden platform making her fall on her knees before the High Queen.

Feyre rose on trembling legs, her eyes taking in all the people on the platform. Amarantha, Tamlin, the High Lords...

And lastly she noticed me. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of me, eyes so sad that I was sure she was about to cry. I had to break eye contact. She couldn't look even more weak.

Amarantha had only to raise a hand to silence the roaring crowd below.

"Well, Feyre," the Faerie Queen commenced, "Your first task is here. Let us see how deep that human affection of yours runs. I took the liberty of learning a few things about you," Amarantha drawled. "It was only fair, you know. I think you'll like this task," She said. She waved a hand, and the Attor stepped forward to part the crowd, clearing the way to the lip of a trench. "Go ahead. Look."

Feyre obeyed. Hands slammed into her back, and she cried out before she was falling down. The Attor reached forward and jerked her up with a bone-hard grip. Laughter echoed through the chamber as Feyre dangled from the Attor's claws, its powerful wing-beats booming across the arena. It swooped down into the trench and dropped her on her feet.

"Rhysand tells me you're a huntress. Hunt this." Amarantha said, flickering her fingers in her direction."Release it." She called out.

A grate groaned, and then a slithering, swift-moving noise filled the chamber. The crowd quieted to a murmur, silent enough to hear a guttural kind of grumble coming from the labyrinth.

Amarantha clicked her tongue "Run." she whispered, eyes locked with Feyre's.

Then it appeared. It was a giant worm, or what might have once been a worm had its front end not become an enormous mouth filled with ring after ring of razor-sharp teeth. Its pinkish brown body surging and twisting with horrific ease. A Middengard Wyrm. These trenches were its lair and Feyre was the dinner.

Sliding and slipping on the reeking mud, Feyre hurtled down the length of the trench running away from it. She halted, squeezing herself through a gap in the walls, but as she made to pull herself through, the walls grabbed her back. She clawed at the mud, twisting, tearing at anything to pull herself through. Grabbing onto the wall, she pulled and pulled. And finally, she was released. She fell through the crack, sprawling in the mud.

Middengard Wyrm where known to be blind, the only way it founded his preys were usually only by scent.

Feyre continued to run and pass through the gaps within the walls escaping her death. As she ran, Feyre looked through the crowd.

There was one thing that helped her with having a crowd to witness everything, we could easily give away the position of the Wyrm as we looked at it.

Feyre's eyes traveled to the wooden platform, her gaze landing on me. She blinked her eyes, asking me the question without uttering the words like we had done so many times before when hunting. Behind the veil that covered my features, I smirked and gave her barely noticeable nod back. She had understood the Wyrm's weakness.

Feyre continued to run then, but she was still too surprised by her discovery and didn't notice the enormous pit in front of her, making her fall straight into it.

Come on, Fey.

"Feyre," Amarantha called tauntingly. "You're ruining everyone's fun! Come out!"

"What's it doing? What's it planning?" one of the faeries hissed as everyone watched Feyre jamming bones into the wall creating a ladder with them.

She started to climb up but quickly rethinking her plan, she stepped back into the pit. She started to break bones creating sharp points before one by one, she stuck them into the muddy floor beneath the pit opening until the whole area, save for one small spot, was filled with white lances.

Feyre dashed to the bone ladder and just like that, she heaved herself out of the pit mouth. She grabbed a fistful of the reeking mud and smeared it across her face, her hair, her neck, her clothes, until every inch of her was covered.

"What's it doing?" the green-faced faerie whined again.

"She's building a trap." Rhysand replied.

"But the Middengard—"

"Relies on its scent to see." I said with the most bored tone I could master. "And Feyre, she just became invisible." Not It.

I could feel the warmth in my eyes, the pride, as I took in my sister still covering herself with more mud. Surviving, that was the only thing she could do now.

Feyre eased around a bend, craning her neck. Too covered in its scent to smell her, the worm continued feasting, stretching its bulbous form upward as one of the faeries dangled what looked like a hairy arm. The worm gnashed its teeth, and the blue faeries cackled as they dropped the arm into its waiting mouth. Feyre recoiled around the bend and raised the bone-sword she'd made drewing the jagged edge of the bone across her palm, splitting open her flesh. Blood welled, bright and shining as rubies.

The crowd had gone silent.

Feyre leaned around the bend again to see the worm. It was gone.

"TO YOUR LEFT! " Lucien's voice bellowed across the chamber.

Feyre bolted, getting a few feet before the wall behind her exploded, mud spraying as the worm burst through, a mass of shredding teeth just inches away.

She was already running towards the trap, so fast that the trenches were a blur of reddish brown.

The mouth of the pit now loomed in front of her. She leaped inside aiming for the spot that she had chosen. She scrambled out of the way, as far into the darkness of the worm's den as she could get. She grabbed another bone and whirled when the worm plummeted into the pit.

It hit the earth and lashed its massive body to the side and then, a wet, crunching noise filled the air. And the worm didn't move anymore.

Feyre edged around it and slowly climbed out of the pit, still holding the bone-sword in her hand. Silently, she stumbled back through the labyrinth till she reached the front of the wooden platform.

"Well," Amarantha said with a little smirk. "I suppose anyone could have done that."

Feyre took a few running steps and hurled the bone at the queen with all her remaining strength. It embedded itself in the mud at her feet, splattering filth onto her white gown, and remained there, quivering.

The faeries in the crowd gasped again, and Amarantha stared at the wobbling bone before touching the mud on her bodice. She smiled slowly. "Naughty," she tsked. "I suppose you'll be happy to learn most of my court lost a good deal of money tonight," she said, picking up a piece of parchment. "Let's see," Amarantha went on, reading the paper "Yes, I'd say almost my entire court bet on you dying within the first minute; some said you'd last five, and"—she turned over the paper—"and just one person said you would win."

I turned my head towards Rhysand. And sensing my stare, the High Lord looked towards me. I raised an eyebrow, I knew it had been him.

"Was it just to spite her? " I willed the thought to arrive to him, and the only way I knew it did, was the way he rolled his eyes, lips twitching before he scowled his emotion back to its normal cocky attitude gazing back to Amarantha.

Under the veil I tried to suppress my grin as I glanced one last time at the High Lord of the Night Court. A grin quickly faded as I scanned Feyre's body. She was hurt and covered in filthy mud. Her wounds were for sure going to get infected soon.

Feyre didn't fight as the Attor hauled her out of the trenches, dumping her at the foot of the platform before flying off.

"Take her away. I tire of her mundane face." She clenched the arms of her throne hard enough that the whites of her knuckles showed as the guard escorted Feyre back to her cell. The queen snapped her head towards me, a filthy smile on her red coated lips. "You are not so different after all." She laughed before giving me a fox-like wink "Don't worry, Maiven, I still prefer you over your sister. You are quite good with knives after all. It almost looks like you enjoy my orders."

I didn't

My eyes drifted to the bone that Feyre had used to kill the Middengard Wyrm. Oh yeah, I was very proud of her.

"Can I go?" I asked, looking directly at the queen.

Amaranth rolled her eyes as she waved her hand. "Go." She sighed, rolling her black eyes.

I didn't waste a second to disappear between the shadows of the cave, my eyes remained on the queen as she cunningly looked at his subjects. Not saying anything, she remained quite just like everyone else. She had so much power over everyone...

And then, finally she rose from her throne. "Rhysand, come here." She commanded the male.

I was crouched on a rock far up, away from everyone's eyes and senses. My head tilted slightly as I watched Amarantha and Rhysand walk away together.

I knew that Rhysand had other motives to be, as everyone seemed to call him, Amarantha's whore. I wasn't so naive.

Worry. That was what I was feeling as I looked at them. And I didn't know why. He had helped me the night before but for sure it wasn't enough to make me worry about him. It wasn't enough to make me care about him.

And then, anger.

But it wasn't mine. It was faint and lasted just for a couple of seconds. I even thought that I had imagined it if it wasn't for the even fainter smell that reached my nostril.

Salt and citrus. Rhysand's scent.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

Feyre's first task is done! There are only three chapters left until the end of this Act! I tried to make it as short as I could so we can all jump into the more interesting part of this story (In my opinion)

What do you think about the 'bond' between Rhys and Mai, or whatever is happening between those two?

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Thursday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾