I fell to the floor, and cried out. Aelin sprinted right to my side. The most terrible pain I have ever felt seared through my face; I screeched in pain. Everyone was watching me, their faces bone white with shock and worry. I started scratching at my face, trying to stop the twisting. I started to cry. I couldn’t feel my face. My hands became wet and gooey. I pulled them down from my face; they were stained with blood. What was happening?
“Aiyana,” Aelin whispered. “Stop pulling at your face. Stop.” Her face became as white as bone.
“What’s happening,” I gritted through clenched teeth. Nobody answered. “What is happening.”
“Aiyana,” Aelin softly said in complete shock, “your face is changing. You don’t have blond hair and brown eyes anymore. I have no clue what is going on.” Tears started running down her face as I screeched in pain again and thrashed. Aelin put her hands on my arms, gently holding me down to the floor of the deck. “Aiyana,” she quietly cried, “please, Aiyana. Don’t scream.” The strangers started surrounding me, pain flashing across their faces.
At that moment, images flashed through my mind: my parents; a little boy with silver-white hair and green eyes; a queen with vibrant red hair and obsidian-colored eyes; a ship; a baby girl with short, silver hair and green eyes with a mark on her chest; the mark. My chest. The mark.
I fumbled for the zipper of my fighting suit, trying to see the mark on my chest. I couldn’t breathe.
“Aiyana, what is it?” Aelin asked, her voice a distant echo. I was losing it. I was going to die. I tried to speak, but couldn’t. All I could do was point at my chest.
“Her chest. Where Amren cut her,” I heard someone say in the background. Elide. A small, dark figure appeared at the corner of my vision, and it pulled on the zipper of my fighting suit. I tried to touch the spot where the dark-haired woman cut me, but I couldn’t. My vision was blacking out. I was going to die. The force of whatever was happening to me was too strong; it hit me like a wave, strong and enormous, and knocked me unconscious.
There was silence, and darkness. I started to scream and thrash. Not this. Not again. I heard someone sobbing. In the distance, I could hear voices; I could see a light shining. I reached for it, and held on. I was not going to let this kill me. I pulled, and something on the other side of that light pulled with me. I felt like I was underwater; I started to choke, air gradually filling my lungs. I gasped, and this time, I opened my eyes. I was still on the deck of the ship, and Elide was bending over me, face stained with tears.
“Aiyana?” she whispered, pulling back a strand of my hair. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
I slowly nodded. Someone behind me loosed a shuddering breath. I looked down at my chest. There was no mark; just a scar where Amren had cut me. I looked back at Elide. “What happened?” I croaked. I slowly sat up from where I was lying, getting dizzy. Elide grabbed my arm to steady me. “What happened?” I asked again. I slowly rolled up onto my feet, Elide holding my arm the whole time to help me.
I felt strange -- different. I felt stronger, and leaner. I lifted my hands to look at them, and quietly gasped. My fingers were extremely thin and bony, but were long. My skin was white, and there were scars covering every square inch of my hands. I reached for my hair -- it was thin and limp in my hands, and was as short as it was earlier.
I turned around in place, meeting the shocked stares of all the people on board -- strangers, and my friends and family. My senses had heightened: I could see clearer, hear much better, and I could smell everything. “What is that horrible smell?” I asked. My voice; that had changed, too. It was softer, but seemed older -- far from this world. As I turned around to see where the smell was coming from, I spotted a snow leopard sitting behind me, its face tilted to the side as if to say, sorry. Lysandra. I knelt down so I was face-to-face with Lysandra, and rubbed behind her ears. She purred. Sorry Lysandra, I said into her mind as I smiled. I didn’t mean to. She purred, and replied, It’s okay, and I rose from my crouching position. All the people on the deck were looking quizzically at me.
I quickly shut my eyes, envisioning a hand mirror, and it suddenly appeared in my hand. I opened my eyes and brought the mirror up to my face. I jumped back in pure shock and surprise. My face had completely changed: my hair was silver and reached my chin, I had sharper cheekbones, my skin was as white as snow, my eyes were of the deepest green, and my lips were thin and rosy pink. I looked young -- maybe twenty -- but I seemed old. Different. I was beautiful. My wings appeared again. I smiled.
Realizing there were guests, I tore my gaze from the mirror and looked at the strangers standing there, watching me, and snapped my fingers. The mirror disappeared. I bent down next to Amren, and gently took her arm. “Are you alright?” I asked her.
“I’m fine,” she said as I helped her rise to her feet. I let her arm go, and looked at the people on deck. They looked at me, their lips parted.
“I am so sorry for hurting her. She is fine -- I healed her,” I said, facing the strangers.
“Thank you,” Amren said as she walked towards me. She smiled; it was genuine, and kind. Thankful.
I smiled back. “You’re welcome.”
The tall man with the short, dark hair was smiling at me. He stepped out, towards me, and looked at me right in the eyes. “I’m Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. It’s very nice to meet you. You have some great fighting skills,” he said, and winked at me.
I laughed. “Thank you very much, Rhysand. I am Aiyana, the Princess of Doranelle. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“What?” Rowan blurted from behind me. I turned around, and the smile faltered from my face. There was something between us -- a type of bond. My powers rustled as if in answer. Rowan walked towards me, and abruptly froze. His face became white.
“Rowan, what is it?” Aelin asked, worry coating her voice. She walked towards him and took his hand.
“You are my sister,” he breathed. Everyone looked at me. I don’t think anyone was breathing. “How?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “We should talk about this later. In a place that is more -- private.” I quickly looked over my shoulder at Rhysand and the rest of our guests. “We have guests. Let's get to know them better, accommodate them, and then we can talk.” Rowan loosed a shuddering breath, his face and shoulders relaxing.
“Okay,” he said. Aelin squeezed his hand, and looked up at him. She smiled, and lifted her hand to caress the tattooed portion of his face.
I turned around, just as the golden-haired woman that was standing beside Rhysand walked towards me, smiling. “Hi. I am Feyre, the High Lady of the Night Court. It is nice to meet you.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, too, Feyre,” I said. I walked over to the blond-haired woman with the blood-red lips, and smiled at her. She smiled at me. Her smile was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
“Hello. I am Mor, Rhysand’s first in-command and cousin. Thank you for helping Amren -- Rhys’ second-in-command -- and using your magic on her. She needed the practice.” She winked.
Amren, standing next to Rhysand, smiled. “I most certainly did.”
I laughed. Next, the most beautiful man I had ever seen came up to greet me. He did not smile, and shadows enveloped him and his wings as he moved. His suit was replaced with beautiful fighting leathers -- the same that everyone else wore. He looked me straight in the eyes, and sternly said, “I’m Azriel.” He glared at me, silently promising that he would slowly kill me if I ever so much as touched one of his family members. In the corner of my eye, I could see Mor rolling her eyes.
“I’m Aiyana,” I said as my way of greeting, my face serious. Someone from beside Mor -- the last person of the group with the shoulder-length, dark hair and enormous wings -- walked up behind Azriel.
The man smiled, as if seeming to say, he’s a bit overprotective. “Sorry about Azriel,” he apologized. Azriel quickly glared at him, turned on his heel, and walked back to his family. “I am Cassian, the hottest of all the people of my family-”
Rhysand snorted. “I think we all know who that is,” he purred at Cassian, a challenge shining in his eyes. “Me.” Feyre laughed, and Mor smiled a Rhysand as if to say, sure you are.
Cassian smirked, and gave Rhysand a vulgar gesture.
Rhysand laughed under his breath. “I will get you back for that.”
Cassian smiled, silently promising Rhysand that he will kick his butt. He faced me. “Anyways,” he said, enunciating the word, “I am the leader of all of Rhysand’s armies, and one of the strongest Illyrian warriors. Az is the other.” Cassian looked at Azriel, who was paying close attention to me.
“It is very nice to meet all of you guys. You all seem like very great people.” I looked at each of them and smiled. I turned halfway, facing my family and Rhysand’s. I pointed to each of my friends and family members as I said their names. “This is Aelin, my best and closest friend. She is the Queen of Terrassen, a country in the continent of Erilea, where we live.” Aelin smiled, still holding Rowan’s hand. “This is Rowan; my brother, Aelin’s mate, and the rightful heir to Terrassen’s throne. He use to be the Prince of Doranelle, but then he married Aelin.” I then faced where Aedion was standing, next to Aelin. “This is Aedion, Aelin’s cousin. Next to him is Lysandra, his mate, who is a shapeshifter and Fae.” At that moment, the snow leopard sitting beside Aedion’s feet shifted into Lysandra’s human form.
“Hello,” she softly said.
“Then, there are Lorcan and Elide,” they both waved, “and Manon and Dorian. Elide is a blueblood witch, Manon is the last Crochan Queen, and Dorian is the King of Adarlan. There are also Fenrys and Gavriel, who are both very strong and talented Fae.”
“It is very nice to meet you,” Rhysand gently said.
“So,” I asked, facing Rhysand and his family, “is there a reason why you guys are here?”
“Yes, there is,” Feyre said.
“Why won’t we talk about it over dinner?” I asked, and faced the empty space on the deck to my right. Out of nowhere, a nice table appeared -- already set with fine china -- and food platters appeared on it as well. I walked towards the far right end of the table, and sat down.
The sun was almost down, the stars twinkling in the dark sky. The moon was full, and was high up in the sky, right above our ship. Candles -- already lit -- appeared on the table as everyone sat down, and little lights appeared on the walls of the deck of the ship and on the hulls of the ship as well. I snapped, and everyone’s glasses filled halfway with wine. As everyone got situated, I looked down the table at Rhysand and Feyre. “What is it you guys are here for?” I asked.
“Your help,” Feyre said as she looked straight at me.
By Alexa Gantt
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