The four landed in foyer of the town hall. Feyre and Amren almost landed on their knees if it weren't from Nala appearing from the shadows and gripping both women and keeping them up. It didn't however stop all the sand and water from getting on the carpet. 

"What the hell?" Cassian shouted from the sitting room behind the four and Nala looking over her shoulder to smile at the man. 

"I'm waiting for an explanation, too," Rhys said to the other half of the inner circle as he walked towards breakfast table. 

Amren turned to look at Nala, narrowing her eyes a bit. Just as Azriel were doing from the table. His shadows, as well as hers, were already telling him what had happened down there. "Why?!" Her voice wasn't raised and that was what freighted the inner circle the most. Feyre too was looking at her sister with pain and anger in her eyes. 

"Why what?" Mor asked, distain and suspensions in her voice. If the halfling had done something unbefitting to her family on this trip, Mor would make sure she was thrown into the dungeons under the Court of Nightmares. 

"The water were closing in on us after Feyre took the book." Nala said, letting go of the two women as they had gotten enough strength back to keep themselves up. Amren however didn't let go of the halfling, not yet ready after having almost lost her. "And my magic acted on its own. My fire burned though the water until I got to Feyre and Amren and then I pushed them though the shadow realm until they were outside the Champer." Azriel interrupted her with a "You did what!" As he staked over and took Amren's face in his hands to look her over and make sure that none of the shadows had clung to her and would damage her here in this realm. When satisfied that the silver eyed female wasn't affected, he checked over Feyre, before turning back to Nala with a scowl on his face. "Are you nuts?" He asked with an eerie calm. Coming to her defense Amren put a hand on the male's arm and gave him a warm smile to ensure him that she was all right and show him that Nala had no choice in the matter. 

All around them their family looked on as the three communicated without saying anything to each other. Rhys and Feyre were smiling at the three, Cassian looked confused, having not noticed that the three were so close and Mor looked on in slight anger and resentment. She didn't want Nala to be a part of her family. She had no trust for the halfling. 
Feyre, trying to get the others attention away from her sister, told the others about how the water-wraiths had pulled herself and Amren out of the water and how she had helped one of them when she had been with Tamlin and that they had saved them to repay their sisters debt to Feyre. 

Azriel tucked a piece of hair behind Amren ear, silently asking her if she truly were okay, making her nod with a small smile before turning to Nala and laying a hand on her cheek. You scared me. He spoke down their bond and Nala shivered as she leaned into his hand. I couldn't feel you for a solid two seconds and I wanted to rip the known world apart to get you back. She shuddered at his worlds and cast her gaze down to his chest, not able to look him in the eyes. I'm sorry, it was not my plan. I only had to act. She answered down the bond, watching in fascination as the silvery of Amren's bond intertwine with the golden bond to Azriel. Relax, Azriel, we are all safe and our little halflings magic is so much stronger than we originally thought. Amren's voice sounded in both of their heads, making both of them turn to the other woman with big eyes but the female only smiles at them with a promise of talking this through later. 

Amren turned towards the rest of their family, snapped her fingers and the water and sand disappeared from herself, Feyre, and Nala, as well as the floor and carpet. 

Feyre only had a single wet patch of her jacked were the book laid. Everyone in the room turned solemn faced as Feyre came up to the table with the box and dropped it on the table. 

The box gave a thud and the entire group recoils, swearing. Nala feels the growing of magic from the box, feels it try and drown her in magic. 

Rhys crooks a finger at Feyre. "One last task, Feyre. Unlock it, please." Nala feels the bile in her throat rise as Feyre walks up to the table and slid into a chair, tugging the box closer to her and place a hand on top of the vile box. 

"Hallo," Feyre said and Nale gasped for breath as the magic around the book surged and it felt like it was reaching for her. 

Will you read me? It asked Feyre. 

"No," the older sister said, making everyone but her sister confused about who she was talking to. Nala gripped Azriel's arm as she felt her legs growing weaker. The book was calling to her and she knew that her own magic was reacting to it, her eyes burning. 

"Please," Feyre said and for just a second Nala could breathe, right until the book's magic sparked and her throat closed up and her eyes rolled back in her head and suddenly, she was no longer in the dining room at the town house. 

***

Nala found herself standing in a vast, sun-drenched field, the warmth of the sunlight finally thawing her cold skin. The sheer black fabric of her dress danced in the playful breeze, billowing around her like a dark cloud. It was a welcome change from the harsh, unforgiving winds she had endured before.

For the first time in her life, Nala could almost imagine what it must feel like to be wrapped in a mother's embrace. The wind carried with it a gentle, soothing touch that mimicked a mother's caress.

But it was a feeling she had never truly experienced before. Her own mother had been distant and cold, far from the nurturing and loving figure she longed for.

Despite being thrust into this strange and unknown place, Nala couldn't help but feel strangely at ease. Though she knew she should be afraid and questioning how she got here, the air around her felt comforting and safe. It was as if the field itself was wrapping its arms around her, offering solace and refuge from whatever unknown dangers may lay ahead.

As Nala gazed upon the field of flowers, a woman suddenly appeared and walked towards her. The woman had long, chestnut-colored hair that flowed down her back in waves. Her skin was smooth and radiant, almost glowing in the warm sunlight. She wore a flowing white dress with intricate lace detailing, giving her a mystical appearance. The woman smiled kindly at Nala, immediately putting her at ease.

"Hello, child," she greeted. "Welcome to Magik."

Nala couldn't help but ask, "Where is my family?"

"They are back in your own world with your body, my dear," replied the woman with a smile. "What brings you here? Are you curious about your heritage?"

Nala's confusion only grew by the second as she tried to comprehend the woman's words. "My heritage?" Her mind reeled, trying to make sense of this new information. The woman's voice, warm and soothing, seemed to hold all the answers. "What do you mean?"

The woman's eyes bore into Nala's with a gentle intensity. "Of your mother's family," she clarified. "You already know who your father is and can easily learn about your powers from him. But have you ever wondered about your real mother? The one who blessed your mortal mother with a fourth daughter?" As she spoke, the woman tilted her head to the side with a fond smile on her face, radiating a sense of nostalgia and love for Nala's mysterious mother and their shared bloodline.

"WHAT?!" The panic and anger finally seeped through, and Nala found herself back in the town house. Her mates at her side, trying to get her attention.

***

Azriel called her name again as Nala's eyes slowly started to focus on the room again. She lightly squeezed his arm to signal that she was there. 

"What language is that?" Mor asked, bring Nale into the conversation at hand. Her throat still felt constricted, but she could at least breath now. Azriel were still holding her around the waist. His shadows whipping around her and inspected her for anything amiss. 

"It is no language of this world." Amren said, her hand tight in Nala's. 

"What is it then?" Azriel asked from Nala's other side, his voice soft as his own shadows reached for Amren, trying to get her out of the shook the female seemed to be in. 

But the small female only stared at the book - as if it were a host, af if it were a miracle - and said, "It is the Leshon Hakodesh. the Holy Tongue." Her silvery eyes shifted to Rhys along with Nala's amber eyes and the two, in that second, understood why Amren had come to retrieve the book.

"I heard a legend that it was written in a longue af mighty beings who feared the Cauldron's power and made the Book to combat it, Mighty beings who were here ... and then vanished. You are the only one who can decode it." Rhys said, his voice steady as he looked at his second in command.

"Don't play that sort of games, Rhysand." Mor hissed looking from Amren to her cousin. 

The man shook his head, first looking at his cousin before looking back at Amren and her mates. "Not a game. It was a gamble that Amren would be able to read it - and a lucky one." He made eye contact with both Azriel and Nala, wanting them to understand he wasn't playing games. Amren's nostrils flared delicately, and Nala wrapped an arm around the other female to stop her from throttling their High Lord. 

Rhysand took a deep breath and then said, "I thought, too, that the Book might also contain the spell to free you - and send you home. If they were the ones who wrote it in the first place." 

Amren's throat bobbed - slightly. 

Nala tighten her hold on her female, her breath hitched - home? 

Azriel's shadows stopped, and he stiffened. 

"Shit," Cassian said as he forced his body to relax. 

Rhys went on, "I did not tell you my suspicions, because I did not want to get your hopes up. But if the legends about the language were indeed right... Perhaps you might find what you've been looking for, Amren."

"I need the other piece before I can begin decoding it." Her voice was raw. Nala felt her heart break a bit at his words. Amren wanted to leave this land? Leave her and Azriel? Nala felt herself retreat into herself and let her hand fall from the other woman's waist, and stepped out of Azriel's hold and shadows to stand by her sister. For once it was Nala who needed Feyre and the older Archeron were happy to give her little sister that silent support. 

"Hopefully our request to the mortal queen will be answered soon," he said, frowning at the newly triad as Nala moved from the other two to stand by her sister and Azriel stood still as a pole. "And hopefully the next encounter will go better than this one." 

Amren's mouth tightens as she stares at Nala, wanting the girl back at her side, snug between herself and Azriel. "Mhm." 

Mor sighed a loud, dramatic sound no doubt meant to break the heavy silence—and complained about wanting the full story of what happened. 

But Azriel said, "Even if the book can nullify the Cauldron ... there's Jurian to contend with."

All turn to look at the male shadowsinger. "That's the piece that doesn't fit," Azriel clarified, tapping a scarred finger on the table. "Why resurrect him in the first place? And how does the king keep him bound? What does the king have over Jurian to keep him loyal?"

"I'd considered that," Rhys said, taking a seat across from me at thetable, right between his two brothers. Of course he had considered it. Rhysshrugged. "Jurian was ... obsessive in his pursuits of things. He died with many of those goals left unfinished."

Mor's face paled a bit. "If he suspects Miryam is alive—"

"Odds are, Jurian believes Miryam is gone," Rhys said. "And who better to raise than his former lover than a king with a Cauldron able to resurrect the dead?"

"Would Jurian ally with Hybern just because he thinks Miryam is deadand wants her back?" Cassian said, bracing his arms on the table.

"He'd do it to get revenge on Drakon for winning her heart," Rhys said. He shook his head. "We'll discuss this later."

All of them turned to look at Feyre, wanting to know what had happened in detail and her and Amren started to tell the tale from start to end as Nala stood behind her sister's chair with her eyes cast down, mind swirling about Amren.