[DISCONTINUED] TOG and AOCTAR Crossover

06

My love, she purred to him, look up.

Slowly, his head tilted to the roof of the cave. His cold eyes met hers through the slither of light and his face began to soften ever so slightly.

He's not going to hurt me, she whispered.

He gave a small nod and looked back to the centre as Tamlin tapped his spoon against the glass. The room fell silent.

The High Lord of Spring picked up a golden goblet and pushed it into the fire. When it emerged, a green liquid was now slushing about in the bottom with a slight glow.

"As you are well aware, this years rite will be a little different," he announced, "considering as this ritual is supposed to be between the High Lord and his wife, it seems only fitting that I use it to find my own."

Feyre resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Usually, I drink the full contents of the cup so that the magic produced can empower the land. However, it doesn't seem fair for my future wife to be chosen whilst I am in such a state of power and lust."

After a few beats of silence, Tamlin put the rim to his lips and took a small sip. He tilted his head to the ceiling as a golden glow surrounded his body.

And then he pounced, lunging towards the puca that looked exactly like Feyre. They knew it. Right on schedule, the creature began to scream bloody murder, as it - she - was forced to the stage.

As soon as Tamlin had gotten her out of the chair, Rhysand disappeared and winnowed directly next to his mate. The real one.

When they both peered down below again, they saw all of the High Lords (other than Beron) standing and watching the scene in horror. The puca and Tamlin kissed, but what the latter didn't know was that the creature was slowly beginning to change forms.

Feyre gave a wicked smile as she began to free fall from the stone ledge.

-+-

The rock shuddered as her knee and fist hit the ground. People looked up and gasped at her, kneeling behind the lord of Spring who was completely unaware he was now kissing a goat's head with a man's body.  He opened his eyes and jumped back, mouth agape upon seeing the situation.

"An I interrupting something?" Feyre asked coldly. She was furious at what he had tried to do, what he thought was acceptable.

"But you- you w-were just-?" he stuttered.

"Did you really think that you could pull this off without someone noticing?" she asked him. His face was pale and panic stricken.

"You thought that no one would notice the sneaky little law you made about the rite?"

He was starting to understand, but slowly.

"You thought that you could trick me into marrying you?"

"Y-you" he stammered, trying to regain himself, "how dare you! How dare you try to fling such accusations and insults at me!"

"Did you, or did you not just grab and assault a woman who you knew was mated? Just because you thought you had political impunity?" Feyre continued.

She was unrelenting - a maelstrom of anger.

"The power had blinded me!"

"No," she simply said.

"No?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"No. The power did not blind you - you had but a sip."

The other high lords still stood with their weapons drawn. It seemed like a fight would break out, but Feyre hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"I just wanted to protect you!" he shouted, claws sliding out from his fingers.

"Protect me? Do your subjects know what you did all those years ago? Do they know that the spring court allied with Hybern?"

"Enough!" he snarled.

"Do they know that their high lord, who rebuilt them from the ashes he brought in the first place, turned a blind eye whilst I starved and slowly died in your home?"

"Enough!"

"Do they know that the dark and scary king of the night," she held up finger quotations as she said that "came to save me from your grasps - not to steal me away."

He growled once more.

"If they didn't know before, they sure do now."

A large thudding sounded from Feyre's side, and she knew that Rhysand had landed next to her. She could feel his anger radiating from his body in waves.

"Control your woman," Tamlin barked. Always giving orders.

"First off, Tam Tam," Rhys slid his hands into his pockets, eyes shining with lethal rage, "I was giving my mate her time to shine, something I know you would never be able to understand."

The puca had now returned to its chair, in another random fae form that Feyre did not recognise.

"secondary, did you just tell me to control my woman? How rude and misogynistic. I pity the poor female that marries you."

The other high lords were sitting again. Lucien was even reclined in his chair, sipping wine as if this was a five star theatre performance.

"And I think you know very well by now, that there is no controlling an Archeeon sister. Any poor fool that ignores that fact is a dead man."

Feyre could have sworn she heard Cassian chuckling from the back of the stage.

Tamlin staggered back and shifted into his beast form, running at them. He only found himself bouncing off of their magic shields. The crowd laughed.

"You have ruined me!" he shouted over and over again.

"No, Tam. You did this to yourself. Goodnight."

And then they winnowed back home. Feyre knew that this wouldn't be the end of their problem. There was more to come. Mor and Amren were currently collecting all of the spring court members who no longer wished to reside there anymore.

and by the fury in Tamlin's eyes as they left, she knew that he would not forget this act so easily.