𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 ! [ rhysand ]

𝐢𝐢𝐢. welcome , feyre !

The fox-masked faerie sighed. "Well, I guess I will be considered second forever. Because no human would be my favorite. Especially not above Tam."

Ana sat down and leaned forward with a smirk. "So . . . you and Tamlin? Ever had any . . . feelings for him aside from friendship?"

"What do you mean by that?" 

The blonde laughed softly. "I mean, Lucien, have you ever felt anything romantic toward Tamlin? Like . . . ever wanted to get in bed with him? Kiss him?"

The look on his face was priceless horror. Ana would have laughed, but she was honestly intrigued. She'd easily spotted Alec's signs from the beginning. Not that they were too difficult to see, since he'd practically drooled over Jace, but still. Ana just wanted to know if Lucien and Tamlin had a thing going or not. That's all.

"No!" Lucien stood abruptly. "I have never⎯no such thing has ever been suggested in my entire life. I'm offended you'd think so . . . so low of me."

Ana frowned. "Wait. In Prythian it's considered 'offensive' for people of the same sex to like one another?" Lucien nodded. "Damn. You people are more backwards than I originally thought. And it's not offensive at all!" She stood, crossing her arms. "It's considered brave to come out as gay in my world. An expression of ones true self and no holding back! I'm a little offended that you're offended, honestly."

Lucien scoffed. "Bravery? You'd be beheaded in the courts for such stupidity."

Ana had to keep herself from punching Lucien. Not only was she pissed because he was bashing her friends, but his beliefs were also bashing her. It had taken a lot of strength for Ana to come out as bi to her friends, and hearing Lucien talk about people like her . . . it felt degrading. 

The red-haired faerie's eyes widened as he watched Ana's irises go from cerulean to gold, just like they'd been when she'd momentarily woken up the day of her arrival. He went to say something, to try and settle her, but the sound of heavy footsteps in the corridors broke the silence and snapped Ana out of her seething thoughts. 

Lucien pursed his lips. "Tamlin and the girl have arrived. They are in the dining room. I'm sure you're hungry."

Ana didn't say anything, only watching him as he walked away. She couldn't be around him for a bit, otherwise she'd try and rip his head off. Maybe snap his neck in his sleep. She didn't know which she'd choose, but it would be swift, painful, and silent as the night. Her fingers itched to wrap around the hilts of her dual kindjals, the glowing blades beckoning her to use them. By the Angel, she hadn't felt this kind of rage in forever.

Clenching her hands into fists, Ana sucked in a deep and calming breath and stood up from her chair. She needed to meet with Tamlin, Lucien, and the girl so that she wasn't alone with two pretentious douchebag High Faes. Plus, only the Angel knew what two High Fae would do or say to a human girl. Ana didn't want to risk anything happening to someone she'd vowed to protect, even if she didn't know the girl.

Ana pushed her anger down as she left the study, brushing her hair from her face. She closed the study doors behind her and walked the corridors towards the dining hall, where she heard faint voices coming from. Mainly Tamlin and Lucien, but she knew the human was there as well. Call it intuition or whatever, but it was there.

"The Treaty's summons led me to the mortal. I gave her safe haven." Tamlin sounded bored as Ana came to a stop just by the entrance. She didn't say anything, but she knew that both Tamlin and Lucien had heard her approach them. 

Ana studied the three in the room. Lucien seemed pissed (but that was his normal expression, so she wasn't too concerned. Especially not after their previous conversation), Tamlin seemed on edge, and the girl seemed a mixture of nervous and terrified and headstrong. Now that she was closer, Ana could see that the human girl was much skinnier than she originally thought. Her clothes practically pooled from her body and her hair was a tangled mess of dirt, like she hadn't showered in ages. Ana's heart ached for her.