𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 ! [ rhysand ]

𝐯. a ride with a demon !

Tamlin's stare was assessing. "Why else were you in the woods that day? You had a bow and arrows in your . . . house." Ana knew he was trying to be polite, but he was about as good at being nice as Alec was at flirting. "When I saw your father's hands, I knew he wasn't the one using them." He gestured to Feyre's hands. "You told him about the rations and money from pelts. Faeries might be many things, but we're not stupid. Unless your ridiculous legends claim that about us, too."

Ana's grip on her fork tightened, knuckles turning white. There was a big difference between hunting for survival and hunting for sport. Hunting for sport meant one could simply go out in the woods, have fun, maybe shoot an animal or two, and then return home without a care in the world. But hunting for survival was stressful, agonizing, and coming home without a kill meant no eating that day.

She knew this difference well, having been forced to hunt for survival herself once upon a time, and hearing Tamlin disregard it made her really want to stab him again. And maybe use some of her strength to actually break through whatever barrier stopped her from before so he'd actually feel pain.

Lucien took notice of how Ana's eyes were slowly burning gold and cleared his throat. "How old are you, anyway? Either of you."

"Nineteen," Feyre said politely.

Ana nodded. "I'm nineteen as well."

Lucien tsked. "So young, and so grave." His attention turned to Feyre. "And a skilled killer already."

The blonde noticed how Feyre's hands turned into shaking fists. Gently, Ana placed her hand over Feyre's, a silent way of telling her to calm down. Punching Lucien would do them no good (even if it would make both of them feel better.) Feyre had already killed his friend. It would only cause her harm if she tried to do the same to Lucien.

Sucking in a breath, Feyre calmed herself. "So is this what you do with your lives? Spare humans from the Treaty and have fine meals?"

Lucien smirked. "We also dance with the spirits under the full moon and snatch human babes from their cradles to replace them with changelings⎯"

Ana choked on her water, eyes going wide. "Holy shit, you guys do that, too?"

The redhead frowned. "The faeries in your world do that?"

The blonde nodded. "Not the dancing with the spirits shit, no one in my world does that. Seelies have a natural connection to the earth, they don't need to dance with spirits. But that changeling stuff is no joke. The amount of times I've had to stop nixies and pixies from taking human children is⎯"

"Didn't . . ." Tamlin interrupted Ana's discussion with Lucien, causing the blonde to stiffen. A big pet peeve of hers? Interruptions. It made her skin crawl and her blood boil. 

Don't stab him. Don't stab him. Don't stab him.

"Didn't your mother tell you anything about us?" Tamlin continued, his question aimed toward Feyre.

Ana winced. That day, their topic had gone back to family. The blonde knew that Feyre's mother was a sensitive subject.

Feyre poked the table. "My mother didn't have the time to tell me stories."

For once, Lucien didn't laugh. "How did she die?" Tamlin asked. "I didn't see signs of an older woman in your house."

Feyre squared her shoulders at the unmistakable sound of pity. "Typhus. When I was eight."

The honey brunette then rose, preparing to leave. However, Tamlin stopped her as she reached the doorway. "Feyre, I'm sorry for your loss."

She gave no signs of hearing him, only hesitating for a moment before continuing out of the room. Ana watched her go with soft eyes. The blonde knew how she felt in some way. While Ana had never really known her parents (her dad was never in the picture and her mother . . .) she knew what it was like to lose people close to her. People who meant the world to her.