A Court Of Shadow and Blood

☆ Tears and Rain ☆

Eblis was already lurching into standing as one of her cats purred a low warning right against her chest, where she would sense it the easiest distracted as she was. She stumbled into the door as the world swayed beneath her feet, but her felines, enlarged by her shadows, supported her. She needed to hide Feyre—and Lilith was in there, unprotected—

She burst into her bedroom, shadows already whipping forward to capture Feyre as her cats pounced to the child’s side. 

“Calm down, it's just me, Ma.” 

Eblis slouched against the one remaining feline, the beast corporeal with her night magic so it could hold her weight. Madalyn swept forward to the extra bed and knelt before the child there.

Lilith stared back with violet eyes far too old for her young age. 

“Hello,” Madalyn said softly, soothingly. Eblis stepped forward and settled herself on the edge of her own bed, the dawn and midnight sheets comforting. 

The girl considered each of them before replying, “Hello.” Eblis inhaled sharply. Lilith sounded like her father, though a more childish and yet raspy version. 

“Should you be here, Madalyn?” she said instead, refusing to meet the girl’s gaze. “You might risk the Queen realizing—”

“Shut up, Eblis.” She winced. “Your...this child is here, and you’re worried about that?” Madalyn gave her a hard look before turning back to Lilith. She muttered, “Imillion is watching my back. Don’t worry about it.”

Feyre took a deep breath. “Lilith, where have you been the past few years?”

“Underground.” All of their faces shuddered for different reasons. 

“Where underground?” Eblis breathed. She could’ve walked past her at any time in the last ten years without realizing it. She could’ve been within finger’s grasp, needing help when she wasn’t there. But how could she tell a kid she’d meant to kill her?

Her little wings, draped across the bed weakly, shifted slightly. “Who are you?” she asked instead of answering. Her violet eyes seemed overwhelmed, but was quickly warming.

Madalyn stepped in for her, as if sensing that she could not find words over the lump in her throat. “She will be taking care of you. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m Princess Madalyn, your sister. She raised me when I was born, as she shall do so for you as well. She is a great mother.” Eblis’s eyes pressed close, her eyes burning. She couldn’t handle this. She’d been through many, many things—and yet the presence of this child, her face a near mirror of hers, was the most heart-breaking thing she’d had to endure in a long while. Most likely since all of her friends had been murdered right in front of her by a man she’d later sired a child from. 

This girl—she was a culmination of so many bad things happening to her. Her father had killed her friends, and then thought to take her to bed when she’d gone untouched and free for decades beforehand. When she’d finally gotten over her fear of being touched unasked.

Her father had separated her from herself; made her someone she no longer recognized at times. He’d destroyed her hope.

And then she’d been given Madalyn, a precious, pure child she could protect from bad things. The female had the same father as Lilith; and in all ways but blood, the same mother as well. 

Feyre stood from the bed and came to a stand before her. But all she did was rest a hand on her shoulder, face grieving her just as much as she did. “I’m going into town again. I’ll leave you three be.” She nodded slowly, and Feyre dressed into garb once more before leaving silently.