Wingless Illyrian

Part twenty four

Cassian woke, greeted by the sunlight seeping through the curtains. Keena was fast asleep in the bed, if she had woken during the night she had been quiet enough not to disturb him. Although that would be hard as she needed to replenish all the power she'd lost from the storm.

He slipped from the chair, creeping out of the room to let her continue sleeping while he caught up with the information he'd missed.

As much as he wanted to stay with her, making sure no nightmares tore her from sleep like he'd heard in previous nights, he needed to do the job Rhysand paid him for.

He met everyone in the War room, and by everyone, he met Azriel and Amren, as Mor was sleeping off her intoxication, and Rhysand had already left with Feyre to test her ability to sense the High Lords' belongings.

Now as Azriel was explaining what Feyre would have to do alone Cassian had begun to see what a bad idea it was. They sat around the table, a large map of Prythian resting atop of it, searching for advantageous places for battle. They hoped that it wouldn't come to another war, but something was shifting in the air.

Mor joined them a few hours later with a tray of food.

Cassian reached for some but found his hand swatted away by Mor who continued to shovel the food into her mouth.

Mor was followed a few minutes later by Keena who carried a tray of food in each hand, setting one by Azriel and the other in front of Cassian. She took a cup of coffee from the tray and sat down at the table.

Azriel and Mor didn't mention anything as they ate their lunchtime meal.

"Have you eaten?" Cassian asked her as she continued to sip from her mug. She shook her head slightly.
"You need to eat, the coffee won't help. I can see you shaking, Kee. You didn't eat anything yesterday." Concern laced his voice.

"I can't eat," she whispered, "it makes me sick."

"Kee."

"I've asked Nuala to make a broth for me, I'll try it in a while. I need to be here to hear what's happening."

Cassian didn't get the chance to respond before Rhysand has winnowed with Feyre back into the the house.

Everyone gaped at the mess that covered Feyre: the dirt, the grease, the chunks of hair, not to mention the god-awful smell that surrounded her.

"You kill her?" Cassian asked, sounding a little to happy for someone suggesting murder.

"No," Rhysand answered for her but turned to face her a second later, "although, given how much screaming there was I'm curious to know what Feyre darling did to the poor Weaver."

The light in Feyre's eyes darkened as she was taken back to the cottage, as if realising what happened. She vomited on the floor by Cassian's feet, he jumped back with a half curse.

Amren cleared the mess from the floor and her skin with a flick of her hand.

Feyre took a deep breath before talking. "She... detected me somehow and locked the doors and windows. So I had to climb out through the chimney. I got stuck," she added as Cassian's brows rose, "and when she tried to climb up, I threw a brick at her face."

Amren turned to Rhysand with a cold glare, "and where were you?"

"Far enough away that she wouldn't be able to detect me," he shrugged.

"I could have used some help," she snarled.

"You survived, and found a way to help yourself."

"So that's what this was about, not just some stupid ring, but to see if I could overcome the panic. Well, fuck you." Cassian swore as he watched her slam the ring on the table, a ring he'd seen so often in his childhood.

"You're a prick, Rhysand." Cassian said quietly. Rhysand looked at him with an expression that said, you'd do the same thing. Cassian looked back at his daughter, her eyes half-glazed and empty.
"Maybe I'd send a few people."

Keena stood up quickly, her chair falling to the ground with a bang. She stood, blinking as if she didn't know what she was doing and then turned to Feyre, "why don't we get you cleaned up? You can use my bathroom upstairs."

Feyre looked down at her hands and nodded her head before turning to Cassian, "I want to learn to fight-if the offer is still standing, I don't want to keep running from every fight."