DISCONTINUED A Court Of Blood And Night (Tog & ACOTAR crossover)

28 - Feyre

I know, it's early. You're welcome. Sappy stuff ahead, but not quite what you might expect! Not romantic, but sappy. Feely. Whatever.

The strangers spent the night, and in the morning, I woke up to them arguing. Mor was already up, combing her hair with her fingers and wrinkling her nose at the stench of the space. We had only bathed once since we arrived in Terrasen, and that was a while ago. Our titles meant nothing when we were prisoners.

"What are they arguing about?" I asked Mor sleepily, and she rolled her eyes.

"That brown-haired female wants to help Rowan find his mate." She shook her head. "I thought we were searching for an Aelin, not Elena, or whatever her name was." She was irritated. We all were; being left in the dark was difficult for all of us.

"The Cauldron knows what's going on anymore," I murmured, leaning toward the voices so I could hear.

"Elentiya is a demi-Fae! Are you really going to search for her? After what she did?" The blonde female was saying, her voice edged.

"Yes, I am. Because Rowan has treated her like his equal all this time, and maybe he knew immediately, or maybe he didn't. Either way, she's his mate, and he doesn't know if she's okay." Essar had a slight temper this morning, apparently. Her voice softened. "You remember what he was like when he lost Lyria. Do you want to see that again?"

They were all quiet for a moment, and I felt even more confused. Who was Lyria? "What about our assignment?"

"Maeve isn't in Wendlyn, Remelle. She's not around to relieve us of our assignment, so I say let's rid ourselves of it for her."

"That's a dangerous idea, Essar," the male warned. "Maeve would not be happy to hear you say such things."

"Then I guess it's a good thing Maeve isn't here."

There was a long period of silence. "I see we can't stop you," the male said finally. "But I'm not leaving you alone with them."

"What, do you not trust Lorcan and Rowan?"

"Not as far as I can throw them. And Rowan could be unstable with..." A pause. "If you want to keep going, Remelle, then I won't stop you. But you'll be alone."

The female was silent for a very long time. I almost wondered if she had walked away without my hearing it, but she finally sighed. "Alright, I'll go with you. I've nothing else to do."

"Thank you," Essar said quietly.

"Looks like they finally came to a consensus, then," Mor muttered, and stretched before picking her way across the alcove where we'd been sleeping and pushing through the bushes. She looked back at me. "You coming? Unless you want to stick around a bunch of sleeping Fae." She had a point. I stood up and followed silently, leaving my husband and the rest of our Court to rest.

The watery dawn light left the world around us pretty cold without the warmth of other bodies. Even Mor was shivering as we walked together silently. We didn't leave the space, as Lysandra in that form-- a Ghost Leopard, she called it-- was watching us very carefully, ears pricked in alertness. We didn't need her thinking we were trying to escape.

We stood at the edge of the clearing, surveying the area. The mountains that I guessed we were headed for were a few days away, still, but I could barely see the castle in the distance. We only traveled for one day, but we'd made good time.

Essar, Remelle, and their male companion were sitting by a small fire, quietly talking, but keeping an eye on us. They were wary of us because we were strangers. I wondered if Rowan has revealed that we were prisoners yet.

We watched the sunrise, and I felt Mor shift, as if contemplating whether or not to speak. I left her alone to make her decision, looking around the camp, then back at the sky.

Mor finally broke the silence as we watched the sky turn brilliant colors. "You know, when we returned without you, I'd wanted to go after you and kill Tamlin from ripping you away from us. And the Hybern for killing the bond. We really believed that Hybern had that power..." She shook her head, shuddering. "And if he had the power to kill a mate bond, we'd never beat him. I was relieved when Rhys explained that it wasn't possible."

She glanced at me, face solemn and slightly angry. "And then Rhys goes and tells us that you're our High Lady, stuck in the Spring Court with Tamlin. I might have punched Rhys had I not been trying to heal Az." I chuckled halfheartedly, eyes burning.

Mor studied me brown eyes bright. "You're my High Lady, now, Feyre. And the moment I saw you... Wherever we were, I wanted to pledge my loyalty to you then and there. But you and Rhysand were still playing your game, and I wanted to strangle you both."

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "For leaving."

She snorted, but continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Cassian wanted to go after you the moment he was better. I would have gone with him if he had." She let out a breath. "My point is we all act like there's nothing going on, but we were all terrified for you the entire time you were gone."

"I really am sorry."

Mor smiled gently. "No you aren't. Not completely. But I understand." She looked up at the sky a moment longer, then turned to me and kneeled.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm pledging my loyalty properly, as I should have done a while ago." She looked up at me. "You're my friend, but you're my High Lady first, and I promise that, whatever we meet out here or back home, I will protect you. So will the others. The only reason they haven't done this is because they want to be back home when they do. I'm not as picky." She smirked, then grew serious again. "You're the High Lady, and because of that, you're not just Feyre Archeron anymore. You're more than that. You may be Rhys' mate, and you may belong to one another, but you belong to the entire Night Court now." She stood, finally, and gently grabbed my shoulder with a hand. "You're important to all of us, even Amren. So please, whatever happens... Don't do anything too reckless. I don't want to kill Rhys for letting you do something stupid again."

I embraced her tightly. "I can't promise not to be reckless sometimes, but I promise to survive those reckless actions at whatever cost."

She drew back with a soft sigh. "I guess that'll have to do."

"In fact," I added after a monent's thought, "I'll make a bargain with you."

"What?" Her eyebrows furrowed.

It was my turn to smirk. "If you swear to protect me as your High Lady and your friend, then I promise to survive." I watched her eyes light up in understanding. "So, do we have a deal?"

She smiled slowly. "You cunning female. We have a deal."

I'M SO IMPATIENT BECAUSE I WANT AELIN AND ROWAN TO REUNITE RIGHT-EFFING-NOW BUT I HAVE A PLAN AND I'M TRYING TO STICK TO IT BUT ARGH!!!

But yeah, early chapter because I love you guys and am an impatient sonuvabitch.