Chapter Text
Lyara Mistbane had always watched. She had watched since the dark queen took the throne after her sisters had faded.
Lyara was what the ancient fae had called a watcher, she could see into people’s souls, and learn truths about them, that they couldn’t see themselves. Along with that, she had extraordinary healing powers and cure people from any, and all diseases. And that was how the dark queen had found her.
Perching on the stone throne, in a stone castle, placed up un a hill in a city made up of more stone, and rivers, to many of them to count. She had always sat there, occasionally flying out to eat and stretch her wings, or shifting to take care of her human form when no one was around, always one command in the back of her mind; Stay in Doranelle.
She watched as a then young, dark, demi-fae with a gift from deep within Hellas realm, took the sacred oath to the dark queen, the first in a line of fine fae warriors.
She watched the silver-haired male, whose animal form was a white-tailed hawk, broken from the loss of his wife, not mate, and their unborn child, swear the same oath, binding him to the dark queen. She knew that they were not mates, she had always known, for she could see the truth that others couldn’t.
One day she watched as the osprey sat on the opposite side of the stone throne. The dark queen had met him on one of her only travels without her owl. He mostly stayed in his other form, always out on missions for the dark queen, in a faraway region. Even though she never saw him, she would always see him, see the defiance in his soul, even though he did not see it himself.
Then it was the lion, he came to the dark queen in a quest for honor, males like him were drawn to power, and just like every other fae males, his fae instincts overrode every little sign of wrongness, that she had seen so clearly.
Half a century later, or maybe more the last ones came. A set of twins, which were rare for fae. Even though they were similar, they were also polar opposites. Both of them took the form of wolves, one light, one dark, one came in an act of sacrifice, the other in an act of hate of spite towards his lighter brother, he would always be in the white wolfs shadow.
She knew that the queen wanted them so desperately. Even though she didn’t show it, Lyara knew, she would always know.
Another two centuries went by before she arrived in Wendlyn, the young, fiery soul, that was the match and complete opposite to the hawks cold and stormy one. She had known ever since she had laid eyes on the male, that she was his mate, not the dark-haired flower fae from the market. She took pity on the female, for it was not her fault, that the dark, wicked queen had spun a web of lies and, then caught her in it.
Two months went by before the fiery soul was welcomed into the city of rivers, demanding information about three ancient objects, and demons from another world.
Lyara watched as the dark queen whipped the hawk, the lion and dark-haired male holding him back.
The dark queen was taunting the princess now, ““Not for all the world, Aelin? But what about for Prince Rowan?”
Lyara saw the wildfire in her eyes before the dark queen did, and in the blink of an eye, the city of rivers was engulfed in flames, people screaming, but no one was burning, yet.
The princess had made a deal with the dark queen, the hawk's life and freedom, for the ring that belonged to the black queen's former lover. She saw the hawk swear the sacred oath to the burning princess. She saw all the emotions that the demi-fae, the osprey, the lion, and the wolves showed. hatred, sorrow, confusion, disgust, and envy.
She felt great sorrow for the white wolf, she had seen how he had wanted to be the one to train the princess, to get away from the city and the dark queen, for he was a firebrand like her, always seeking adventure and new challenges.
Months went by and Lyara often thought of the princess and the hawk, hoping that they would never face the dark queen again, but as fate would have it, not all hopes would come to be.
She sat for 2 months, 3 days and 7 hours, watching the princess getting broken over and over again by the sadistic male. The dark queen had ordered her to watch over the young queen and the white wolf.
She watched everything, during those long months, she heard every scream, and felt the white wolfs pain as she saw his twin, the black wolf, stab himself in the heart, not able to carry out the dark queens unspoken order, kill them.
She sat in the throne room on the fateful day the princess was rescued. Her orders, stay in Doranelle, who still kept her chained so she wouldn't see the rescue of the young princess, carried out by the hawk, the lion, and the demi-fae, but she had known it would happen, and she listened and felt every moment of it, and she was glad that the young queen and the white wolf were away from the dark's clutches.
The dark queen was furious when she returned. Not only had her reason for leaving the city been a plot by the hawk, the lion, and the demi-fae, but the princess and the white wolf were gone, her best warrior, the sadistic man, dead along with half her soldiers.
She only stayed in the city of rivers for a short while, and just before she left, she hissed one last order to Lyara, “Stay here, you are not to move from your position on the throne for any reason, not to eat, not to stretch your wings, not to clean yourself. Do not communicate with anyone in this castle, in any way, shape, or form, is that understood?”
Lyara could only nod at the queen as she felt the oath's bond binding her to the throne and binding her mouth shut.
With that, the dark queen left, setting a shield over the city, so that Lyara, or any other could not see outside of the city, leaving her completely in the dark.
But as fate would have it once again, even though the orders of the oath always prevailed, under all circumstances, it too would falter in the grip of death.