ACOMAF (Rhys's POV)

This Mask Does Not Scare Me (Chapter 42)

That's when the first arrow flew by.

Fuck!

An army of deadly darts followed. I snatched one clean out of the air and took one look at the ash makings before my hands had snapped it into mere fragments.

Feyre's body went rigid against me as we hurtled down to the ground in immediate descent. I wouldn't winnow lest we lose whoever assaulted us. Magic tore from me to form a shield against the arrows trailing us - trailing me and my mate , seeking to wound or kill, I didn't want to know. My arms engulfed Feyre in response, every instinct in my body telling me what protecting my mate's life truly meant.

Cassian and Azriel were at our side in seconds, blue and red orbs blazing around them to form their own shields. Shields I had seen many, many times over the centuries in battles and in wars.

Blood pounded in my ears vying for dominance over the brittle wind.

This was my court. And someone had infiltrated. The Attor hadn't been lying that day Azriel carved him up and feasted on his dirty little secrets.

The moment we slammed into the ground, I handed Feyre to Cassian - barely registering she was unharmed - ready to demand payment from whatever bastards were roaming my mountains.

"Take her to the palace," I told Cassian, who's eyes were made of fire and sun, "and stay there until I'm back. Az, you're with me."

Cassian didn't so much as blink. But Feyre stepped away from him, retreating back towards the embrace I'd made her quit. "No," she said.

I whirled around back around from where I'd turned to face her and was not proud of the snarl that ripped from my mouth. "What?"

My mate.

My - my mate .

But Feyre was strong. And she did not budge.

"Take me with you," she said, neither a request nor a demand. I steadied a breath. My wings, my arms, my everything - collapsing inward. Feyre's gaze glossed over me noticing it all, a huntress marking every detail. "I've seen ash arrows," she said, her words no more than a breath of air. "I might recognize where they were made. And if they came from the hand of another High Lord... I can detect that, too. And I can track just as well on the ground as any of you. So you and Cassian take the skies. And I'll hunt on the ground with Azriel."

You think like an Illyrian .

And it was still true.

Not only true, but just.

Hybern. Tamlin. Some other beast I knew not about. My own people... Even Tarquin now. I did not know what sought after us. But Feyre could. And I trusted her to do it. Trusted my - my friend.

My friend through danger and doubt, who had not left me to myself these many weeks. And who now stood straighter, no longer starved, but confident and assured of who she was becoming.

I turned to Cassian, my mind searching rapidly to see the details. "Cassian - I want aerial patrols on the sea borders, stationed in two-mile rings, all the way out toward Hybern. I want foot soldiers in the mountain passes along the southern border; make sure those warning fires are ready on every peak. We're not going to rely on magic." Cassian nodded, just as my other brother sent shadows spilling out of him in a frenzied rhythm. "When you're done," I told Az, "warn your spies that they might be compromised, and prepare to get them out. And put fresh ones in. We keep this contained. We don't tell anyone inside that court what happened. If anyone mentions it, say it was a training exercise."