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#Cassian imaginr
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A Song of Ice & Shadow
Part 5
You can read chapters one, two, three, and four here.
A/N: Not @ me pulling an all nighter to finish a protocol for uni and submitting it at 6 in the morning just 10 minutes before the deadline. Then proceeding to edit this chapter. This series in ruining my future, because all I did in the last two weeks is write 20 chapters! instead of the four protocols that I should've written on time. Anyways, enough about me. Y/n is fighting everyone in this chapter and saying hurtful things along the way.
Summary: Tension rises as Y/n only makes things harder for everyone around her. After moving into the Town House, she is attacked by the King’s soldiers.
Warnings: angst, slight violence, blood.
Word Count: 4.1 K.
Coming to check on Elain, much to Y/n’s surprise, she was not in her room. She paced towards the room where Nesta usually sat, only to hear her telling someone to get out. When she arrived she found Nesta and Feyre by the door and Elain and Lucien sitting in the room.
“I told you to keep him away from her” Y/n glared at Feyre, her voice tight with frustration.
“I came for a book” Lucien stated, trying to sound nonchalant.
“You don’t fool me, you one-eyed bastard. Get out!” she kept her voice steady, though a storm was building within her. 
“She needs fresh air. Get her out of this house” he advised, and although he was right, Y/n barked “do not tell us what my sister needs. You don’t even know her”. In a moment of intense anger, a faint spark danced across her fingertips, the sensation lost amidst the turmoil of her emotions. She clenched her fists tightly, extinguishing the spark, the potential within her remaining hidden.
Feyre had come this morning to apologize for the previous night, but upon being seen in the same room as Elain and Lucien, it only made things worse.
“Y/n, I-”.
“Save it” she gave her sister a glare before storming out.
With no one around, Y/n felt cooped up and could not leave even if she wanted to. She decided to explore the rest of the house. Reaching the library, she felt something tighten around her chest. She was greeted by Clotho who wrote on a paper offering to assist her. She didn't even know why she was here, but then an idea came to her. She wrote back  “do you have books about the anatomy and strong and weak points of the Fae?”.
“You want to learn about your body?”.
“Something like that”.
Clotho signaled one of the priestesses who led Y/n to the aisle about Fae anatomy a couple of floors below. She started reading out of curiosity but got sucked in. The tightening of her chest returned and she finally put the book down. She looked around, but no priestesses were in sight. She walked around the library when she saw a dark pit below. Something was drawing her closer, and she decided to investigate. She heard a faint voice ask “who walks here?”.
“Hello. Is there anyone here?”. No answer. She resumed her descent.
“Who dares disrupt my sleep?” the voice was louder.
“I-I did not know there was anyone here. I’m Y/n”.
“Ah, the one who’d been lost. I see you’ve been found”.
“What does that even mean? Who are you?”.
“You mean to say, what am I?”.
“You’re not Fae? Wh- where are you? How is it possible that your voice is everywhere?” Y/n was now going down carefully, as the lights began to fade.
“Fae?” the voice laughed “I’m much older, girl-”.
“Y/n, what in the Mother’s name are you doing here?” Cassian grabbed her wrist and led her upstairs.
“What the hell, prick? Let go of me!” but Cassian did not release her until they were in the upper part of the library, where it was safe.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” this was the first time she’s seen Cassian angry. His wings flared slightly, a sign of his agitation.
“What has gotten into you?”
“What has gotten into you?” he repeated “how can you just go down there? Do you know what lies beneath the library?”.
“No, I do not. No one has told me anything. In fact, this is the first time I’ve been to the library”.
“You stupid fool”.
“Mind your tongue, General”.
“Why did you even go down there?”.
“Because- I- I don’t know. Something was calling to me. I had this strange feeling and it led me there” she explained.
“If it ever calls to you again, do not answer. Do not go down there, do you understand me?”.
“I do not take orders from you, General. I’m not one of your soldiers that you can command”.
“Mother above, Y/n. Will you just listen for once?” Cassian sighed. He’d never dealth with such a stubborn and infuriating woman before.
“What is down there?”.
“A creature you do not want to face, trust me. Please, just stay away. I’m not commanding, I’m asking”.
“Alright, whatever. How did you even know I was here?”.
“I stayed behind to guard the city and you and Elain-”
“I don’t need guarding”.
“I know. When I came to the house, you weren’t there, so I had to check. When I got to the library, Clotho told me you were here. I did not think you’d do such a stupid thing, but when I came to find you you weren’t there. Only the book you were reading. Why are you studying our anatomy?”.
“I need to know everything about my enemies in order to defeat them”.
“Do you plan on killing me?” he chuckled.
“If you keep annoying me”.
“You’re lucky that I found you. You could have died”.
“Am I supposed to thank you? You don’t know that. Maybe whatever is down there just wanted to chat” she shrugged.
“Since when do you see the best in people?”.
“I don’t, but it is not a person, is it?”.
“Let’s just get out of here” he rolled his eyes.
“Where is everyone?”.
“Hewn city. If you agreed to help, you could’ve gone with them”.
“And see more of your kind? From what I heard, they’re even worse than you”.
“Much worse”.
“Then why would I ever want to go there?”.
“Fair point. But what about your powers, don’t you want to learn about them?”.
“You don’t know if I have any”.
“You are Cauldron-made. I-we believe that each of you has powers”.
“Power or no power, I’m not doing anything to help you”.
“Why not? You’d help save everyone”.
“You ask a lot of questions, General”.
“And you answer none”.
“I don’t owe you or anyone an answer”.
“Sorry, I asked… I have to go now, Rhys just informed me of their return. And please don’t go down again”.
“I won’t.  Tell my sister and your brother to come here tomorrow, I have something to discuss with them”.
To Y/n’s surprise, not only Feyre and Rhys were in the living room the next morning, but also Cassian, Azriel and Nesta. 
“Good morning” she greeted Nesta, and Nesta only. “How are your lessons going?” she took a seat next to her sister.
“I’m learning to shield myself. Yesterday was tiring” Nesta informed her.
“I want to go home” Y/n informed Feyre, who was taken aback, much like everyone else in the room.
“What? This is your home now” Feyre said.
“No, this is your home. I want to leave. I want to go back”.
“But you’re not human anymore” Feyre reminded “they won’t accept you there. It’s not safe”.
“I can glamour myself. And I can decide what risks I’m going to take myself”.
“You can’t glamour yourself forever”.
“Why do you care? I have made my decision. I want to leave” she persisted.
“Because you are my sister, and I want what is best for you”.
“And you think this is what’s best for me? To be locked up in here with nothing to do, surrounded by people I don’t like. I’m sorry that your human life was miserable, that you had to hunt for our family’s survival and just because you found a purpose here, just because you fit in, doesn’t mean we all have to. I had a life back then, a good one”.
“No one is locking you up. I told you, you can leave any time you wanted” Rhys reminded.
“How am I supposed to leave if no one is here to take me out? Or am I magically supposed to send a letter that would go wherever you are?”.
“You can call with your mind and I would send whoever is nearest to get you” Rhys explained.
“Nice trick, so you can enter my mind and read my thoughts? I’m not stupid”.
“I would never do such a thing, I give you my word”.
“You and your words that you can’t keep” she huffed.
“Y/n-” Feyre tried to diffuse the situation.
“I.want.to.leave”.
“It’s not safe. Not for you and not for your father. You have to think ab-”.
“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you” her reply came with a huffed chuckle “where was all that talk when you came to us for help? Or did our safety not matter to you when your new family wanted help?  Because from where I stand, everything that happened to us was because of a decision you made” Y/n’s voice grew quiet, almost hesitant, pain and disappointment evident in her tone. Y/n didn’t want to say these words aloud, knowing her sister felt guilty, nonetheless. But bottling up her feelings all this time backfired on her.
“Don’t blame Feyre for what happened to you. If you want someone to blame, blame the King of Hybern, blame me” Rhys defended.
“Oh, I do, and his turn will come. But she played a part in what happened, I begged her to take her business elsewhere... I played a part in what happened” her voice faltered “we all did. And you? You want to know why I hate you? You made a promise that you couldn’t keep. You and your brothers promised to protect my sisters and when they needed that protection, you were all helpless. I should’ve never trusted you or let you anywhere near them and I have no one but myself to blame. I knew of the danger your kind would bring us, but still I allowed it to happen and now my sisters are suffering and Elain lost her fiance. All because of one decision” tears were now filling up in her eyes, but no one dared to speak. They all partly blamed themselves for what happened to the sisters and now with her confession, they know she blamed them too. A reminder that they have failed her and her sisters.
“It’s not your fault. No one blames you” Nesta finally spoke, trying to comfort her older sister. This was the first time she saw her break. She was always composed, didn’t let anything or anyone get to her. A faint smile appeared on Y/n’s face before she wiped away the tear that slipped and composed herself. She wanted to say something but had no energy left in her to argue, so she only nodded.
“You are right, it would put my father in danger. I won’t make that mistake twice” Y/n admitted before silently walking out of the room.
“What’s going on?” Y/n stepped out of her room as she heard noise and movement coming from outside.
“We’re moving to Rhysand’s townhouse” Nesta informed her sister.
“Great! And when was this decision made?” Y/n sighed.
“Yesterday… after you left”.
“I see. Is it because-”.
“Elain needs fresh air and staying here won’t help anyone”.
“Right… Was anyone going to tell me or were they just going to drag me there?”.
“I was sent to inform you, since-”.
“Since I basically told them to piss off”.
“Something like that. Let’s go” Nesta led her sister upstairs where the Illyrians and their other sisters were waiting, in addition to the one-eyed ginger. Azriel was the only one who dared to offer to take Y/n. He was met with sympathetic looks from his brothers and Feyre.
To his surprise, Y/n did not object and took the hand he extended to her. This time she’d be calm and composed. She did not say anything during their flight and neither did he. Knowing how she felt about him-  them, he could not face her, as guilt crept up on him. They were the first to arrive and when they reached the front door, he released his grip from her waist and opened the door. “Where’s my room?” was all she asked. He informed her and she nodded in thanks before leaving for her room.
The next day, a healer called Madja was sent to examine Elain. To see if something was wrong with her, but she found nothing. She informed the sisters that there was nothing wrong with her physically and that she cannot enter her mind, since apparently being Cauldron-made gave them immunity against anyone who tried peeking around in their minds. This made Y/n feel pressure lifted off her, seeing as now neither her sister or Rhys can ever read her mind without permission. Madja suggested that Lucien try, seeing as he was her mate, maybe he could sense something they couldn’t. Although Y/n hated the idea, she agreed for her sister’s sake.
“What the hell did you do to her?” Y/n yelled at Lucien as Elain stood from her seat startled by whatever he did.
“Nothing” he claimed and apologized to Elain. After a while, Nesta walked out of her lesson with Amren and took Elain to the garden, away from Lucien. He informed Feyre that he felt her, but as Y/n thought he could not sense what was wrong. Feyre assured him they could try another day before walking after her sisters to retrieve Nesta for Amren. Lucien was left standing alone with Y/n.
“Don’t even think about getting together with my sister” Y/n warned.
“She’s my mate” he reminded. 
“I’m letting you near my sister, you one-eyed bastard. You have done enough damage. You might be able to fool the others, but you don’t fool me. I know the only reason you’re here is because Elain is your “mate”. If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t have cared, you would’ve stayed with that dumb fuck of a male, his existance is a waste of oxygen. And don’t think I’ll ever forget how when my Feyre was suffering, when your ‘friend’ locked her up, you did nothing. When you tried taking her back by force, after seeing how she suffered. When you stood by while that monster made a deal with the King to use his land to slaughter humans. When my sisters became what they are because of you and your friend’s stupidity. You couldn’t even be a good friend, and let him spiral out of control, let him become the villain that everyone hates. So, over my dead body would I let you have her, but I don't put it past you to kill me to get to her, knowing who you keep company. But at least if you kill me, Elain will see you for who you truly are” Y/n said coldly, only hatred in her eyes.
“I-I’m sorry about wh-”.
“You’re only sorry, because she happens to be your mate. Don’t waste your time with me, I will never forgive you” she walked slowly upstairs, knowing her words will leave a deep scar.
Y/n was on her bed reading, when two High Fae males appeared in her room. From the way they looked, Y/n knew they were the King's soldiers. She promptly jumped out of bed and shouted “Elain, get out of the house now! RUN”.
“Don’t worry, we’re not here for your sister. At least not that one” one of them smirked.
“Stay back!” she warned.
“Or what?” one of them blew out blue Faebane dust at her, rendering her magic, whatever it was useless “you can either come with us willingly and make it easy for everyone or you can try and fight back, but it won’t be fun, at least not for you” one of them laughed as he took his blade out.
“I think you know which one I’m sticking with” she gave them a smile, not letting them see her fear. As one tried to move towards her, she threw the lamp on her bedside table at him and jumped on the bed, hoping to reach the door. The other one was fast enough to yank her back by her braid, throwing her on the floor. “Is that all you’ve got?”.
“I’d say it’s not fair to fight an unarmed woman, but again when is it ever fair?” She managed to kick him in the balls before getting back up on her feet and opening the door. When she reached the stairs, one of them pushed her down, resulting in a few bruises and a sprained ankle, possibly a mild concussion as well, but surprisingly nothing more. She limped to the kitchen, in search of a sharp object she could use. The first thing she saw was a small knife, but it would have to suffice. “What do you think that knife is going to do?” a mocked laugh came from one of them as he slowly walked into the kitchen.
“That depends on your fighting style. It could be the eye, your throat or even land right between your eyes or legs. Who knows?” she shrugged “I’m not going down without a fight. The only way you’re taking me with you is if I’m dead”.
“The king needs you alive, but he said nothing about harming you” one of them lunged forwards but before he could reach her, Azriel ripped his throat with his bare hands, blood splattering all over Y/n’s face and nightgown. Before the other one could react, Azriel threw his blade, Truth-Teller at him, which landed in the middle of his face.
“I had it covered”.
“I’m sure you did. Are you alright?” Azriel scanned Y/n bodies for any injuries.
“I’m fine, but Elain-” she remembered as the adrenaline wore off.
“She’s fine. No one tried to attack her” his hands were on her shoulders, still scanning her.
“I’m fine, Shadowsinger. I just sprained my ankle” she reassured him.
“That is what’s worrying me. You fell down the stairs and only got a sprained ankle”.
“How do you know that I fell? And are you saying you’re disappointed I didn’t break my neck or get worse injuries?”.
“I- that’s not what I meant. Just forget it and I’m sorry about the mess and the blood” he gestured to the blood on her face.
“That’s the least of my worries” she chuckled.
Azriel had just finished getting rid of the bodies, while Y/n sat on the couch with an ice pouch applied to her ankle when Feyre, Nesta, Rhys and Cassian walked through the front door.
“You look like hell” Y/n said to her sisters.
“I could say the same to you” Nesta gestured to the blood still all over her and the messed up braid.
“You should see the other males” Y/n stood up and gave her sister a warm hug “I’m glad you’re alright” she took a step back and shifted her gaze to Feyre “both of you”.
The others arrived and gathered in the living room to plan for any future attacks. They informed Y/N why the King was after them and what had happened to the queen who jumped in the Cauldron after them, but still she couldn’t understand how that would happen, seeing as she went in after Nesta and nothing happened to her.
“Maybe it’s because you went in immediately after Nesta and the Cauldron did not realize she took something from it” Cassian suggested.
“But as I recall, you stayed much longer than Nesta and Elain” Rhys reminded.
“The ravens said that both of you stole something from the Cauldron. What did you take, Y/n?” Feyre asked.
“I don’t know. All I know is when I went under, I was full of rage and hatred and I wanted to destroy the Cauldron. Other than that, I don’t remember”.
Then, they went back to discussing the meeting with the High Lord and who had agreed to come and possible outcomes of the meetings.
“The queen might come” Elain said. They all wondered who she was talking about and she clarified it’s the one with feathers of flames. Everyone was confused except for Azriel, who came to the conclusion that Elain was a seer. They started asking Elain questions about this queen and then debated about going to find out more about her and maybe bring back an army when Lucien volunteered to go.
“I need a bath” Y/n sighed before standing up again and heading towards the stairs. Azriel rushed to help her, but she held out her arm, gesturing she could walk alone.
“I need to send this letter out” Y/n entered the living room, where the inner circle except for Feyre and Mor were sitting. 
“Alright, Az will take you. I have some things to discuss with Amren” Rhys said. Azriel stood from his place and nodded in agreement.
“Where’s Feyre?” she questioned.
“Out with Mor. She’s showing her something”.
Y/n strode towards the door and Azriel followed behind.
“Don’t be late” Cassian quipped and Y/n lifted her hand up, showing him the middle finger before leaving.
“I’m sorry you got stuck with me” Azriel said.
“I suppose it’s alright. It was either you or the General and I’d take you any day over him”.
Azriel snorted “what’s the deal between you two?”.
“He’s a giant prick who loves annoying people”.
Azriel winnowed them out to the dispatch center and waited outside when Y/n hesitantly walked in. She had finally decided to send that letter to her father. She informed him of the war that is to come, of how she and her sister were transformed against their wills and that she now lives with Feyre. But she also lied, telling him she’s happy where she is and that he shouldn’t worry about her. That she’ll come visit him once the war is over.
“Is everything alright?” Azriel asked when she finally came out, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
“Yes, it’s fine. Let’s just go”. With that he wrapped them in the shadows and winnowed out.
“Where are we?” Y/n noticed her surroundings were not something she was familiar with.
“We’re on a mountain”.
“No shit, that I figured”.
“I come here sometimes, when I’m feeling low” he confessed.
“Who says I’m feeling low?”.
“I’m not blind” he gave her a knowing look, his eyes narrowing slightly as if to say I can see right through your lie  “you’ve been like this ever since this morning, especially after delivering that letter”.
“And what am I supposed to do here?” she crossed her arms.
“Take a break. Away from everyone. You can see Velaris from here. It brings me peace whenever I come here. I thought it could do that to you too”.
“I appreciate the thought, but peace is not something I will experience any time soon”.
“Then just take a break for a moment to breathe, unless you prefer going back and enduring Cassian” he joked.
“Fine…so what am I supposed to do exactly? Look down at the city and enjoy the view?”.
“If you want. Whatever makes you feel better” he sat on a rock, his arms crossed.
Y/n stepped towards the edge and looked over for a few minutes before speaking “it’s hard to do anything when you’re sitting behind me watching like a hawk”.
“Would you prefer it if I left? I can give you however much time you need and then come back to get you” he offered.
“No. Just- if you’re going to show me a city, show it to me at night or dawn. Everything looks more enchanting at these times”.
“Duly noted”.
“We can leave now, I feel a bit better”.
Y/n was knitting in the living room, a new hobby she’s picked up, when Amren walked in, informing everyone that Hybern had attacked the Summer Court. The inner circle were discussing strategies and exchanging information about what to do next, when Rhys decided they were going to aid the Summer Court. 
Azriel and Cassian were preparing for war, checking their blades and tapping the siphons atop their hand, spreading their scaled armor across their body. Their expressions cold and devoid of emotions. Although Y/n had seen him- them in their full armor before, she never witnessed them preparing for a fight or a war. The sight of them made her heart skip a beat. Was that worry she felt? She did not know. She stood from her place to say something, but they were gone before she could. Nesta questioned if Mor and Feyre were going to fight and Feyre informed her that they would if needed.
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