Of Love and Shadows

The Warrior of Light

Then Rhys and Feyre came in.

Rhys was silent, more silent than he usually is, but Feyre gave him an encouraging look.

"Thalia," my father said, so low I could barely hear him.

"I'm okay," I said as Azriel helped me stand.

Everyone in the tent was looking at me with worry and pity in their eyes and I wanted to cry because I have never had a family who cared so much for me. It scared me a little bit.

"Thalia," Rhys said my name, this time with more confidence.

I looked at my father to see he was holding back what looked to be tears and he squeezed his mate's hand for his own comfort.

"Yes," I said.

"I don't want you fighting in this war until you have fully healed. That is an order." Rhys added.

I pressed my lips together but nodded nonetheless. "Okay," I said, walking over to my father and looking up at him. "But the second I am healed, I am fighting."

Rhys seemed reluctant to agree, but he nodded his head.

Then he pulled me into his embrace.

I didn't know he was crying until his body shuddered in my arms, and I pulled him closer. My cheek was pressed against his hard chest and he had his arms wrapped around me almost protectively. I squeezed my eyes shut tight to stop the tears from falling.

When he pulled away, only Azriel and Feyre were in the room, everyone else finding something else to do outside the tent. Azriel helped me walk over to the desk, and I situated my wings so they could fit in the holes made for my wings. Rhys sat on a chair across from me and Feyre sat next to him. Azriel never left my side.

I began to feel a little better when Azriel handed me the steaming mug full of herbal tea to soothe my pain. I wondered what was in it because it almost instantly numbed my wounds and I could feel my legs better, too.

"We need to talk," Rhys said.

"Okay," I said as I nodded at my father.

His ruggedly handsome face was free of tears now, a look on his face that I couldn't really read. Feyre was holding his hand next to him and I felt my magic curl around my wings and thighs. The wounds on my thighs were worse than the others. Big gashes were covered by bandages, some blood seeping through them. My magic seemed to know that I was injured and used its warmth to make the gashes feel less painful.

"When we brought you back from Hybern, something was off about you," Rhysand said.

I rose a brow at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you were thrown in the Cauldron again."

"Oh," was all I was able to say.

The Cauldron had been in my nightmares ever since I had come out of it, the inky black water clouding my instinct as I dreamed of it. I shivered at the thought of being in that torture again. I was unconscious and didn't remember going into the Cauldron, but the King had done many things to me when I was unconscious, things I didn't want to know of.

"I don't feel any different," I said.

"It's because you still have Faebane in your system," Azriel said as he stepped up from behind me.

"How?" I said. "My magic is still working, I feel it there."

"Dig deeper, go beyond that well, and see for yourself," Feyre said.

I nodded and closed my eyes. I called on my darkness and light and instantly I was pulled under a neverending well of magic. It roared and simmered, almost like it was going to burst any second. I gasped when my magic wrapped around me and caressed my body, almost like Azriel was touching me. It was warm and sweet, almost like molten chocolate as it flowed through my blood.

A hand on my shoulder pulled me out of it.

When I opened my eyes, I saw both shadow and light slithering around my body in a storm of light and darkness. It was like armor.

"Wow," I breathed as I dimmed my magic, pulling myself from my trance. "What was that?"

"I believe the Cauldron had unlocked your full potential," Rhys said. "The scent is almost intoxicating."

"What does this mean?" I asked.

"When you had first gone into the Cauldron, our father-daughter bond clicked into place, but this time, you are getting my powers."

"I'm your daughter, so that means I'm about to bleed soon since I'm coming of power. But that doesn't explain how my magic is working when I have Faebane in my system." I rubbed my hands over my face and pushed my hair out of my eyes.

"That was the Cauldron's gift to you," Feyre said, looking as if she had figured something out. "You're immune to Faebane."