ELLIANA
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I scrunched the bed sheets beside me. I let myself become lost in the frenzy of panting and moaning, quietly chanting Rhysand's name again and again under my breath. I could never get enough of him. No matter how much he taunted me, left me, shut me out. It only made me want him more. In my whole, existence he was the only thing I couldn't have for longer that a moment. I shut my eyes even tighter and cried out in pleasure as I remembered all of the things he had done to me at Calanmai. Strong fingers entwined with my hair and yanked my head back as everything came crashing down around me. A moment later I felt the bed shift as he rose to leave. I kept my eyes closed until the footsteps stopped. Finally I opened my eyes and was surprised to find he hadn't left the room yet, but stood waiting by the open door. Deep auburn hair and cruel grey eyes stared down at my naked body appreciatively.
"Don't think I couldn't hear you chanting his name," the Autumn Court Prince snarled quietly at me.
"Not that is matters. I could taste my revenge all over you."
"Tomorrow she will be dead and I'm sure he will once again need a whore to warm his cold bed."
I stared up at him with a blank disinterested face, then yawned and curled up under the sheet to sleep.
When I knew he was gone for real I stared up and the ceiling and smouldered with hatred. My head kept denying it and telling me it wasn't true. That it was impossible. Yet somewhere deep in my heart I had known, known since the moment that I saw him staring at her from across the ball. Rhysand had finally fallen in love with someone and it wasn't me. I growled out loud in territorial fury. He was mine. Mine since hundreds of years before that human born abomination even walked the earth. And tomorrow I was going to take him back. That bitch queen had to die. Even if that meant teaming up with those despicable Autumn Court.
The deal had been made. The plan had been set. Yet as the prince went to leave he had grabbed her by the hair and pulled her mouth against his. She was surprised when she found herself kissing him back.
"Prove that you mean to go through with this," he had growled biting down on her lip so hard that she tasted her own blood. Was he mad? Rhysand was the only thing that she had ever wanted. She would give anything to get him. Even herself.
"Let me taste my revenge in you, or I'm out," he growled as he tugged her hips against his own.
She had understood. She wanted something tangible too. Some kind of punishment and price to know that she had really bought Rhysand. So she drew her claws down his back and tugged him towards her bed.
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TAMLIN
It had been two weeks. Two weeks with no word from Hybern. Two weeks with no news of Lucien. He tried his best to keep himself occupied with Feyre's training and setting up the tournament. Yet in his heart he was fretting by the minute, imaging all of the cruel things that Lucien might be enduring. He swallowed hard as images of Lucien's shredded eye and flayed back kept springing to mind. It made his anger worse than ever, especially now that he had to share his days with the High Lord of the Autumn Court. He could feel him smirking at him, his cruel eyes cold with a defiant challenge despite the peace agreement that they had signed this morning.
I heard a shout from outside and sprinted towards the door. Two muscular Faeires were carrying a limp body between them. I roared and ran the last few steps to him, ripping Lucien's body away from them and carrying it with me inside to the infirmary. Once on the table I heaved a sigh of relief as I felt his faint pulse beneath my finger tips. He was still alive, just. But if I didn't work out the cause of his illness soon I would lose him for good. I roared in frustration and paced the room, running my hand vigorously through my hair in distress. As if in answer Feyre arrived. Her eyes wide with fear and her heart written all over her face. She stumble forward staring down at Lucien's face. She swept back his sweaty hair that was plastered all over his fevered face and then she laid her head down on his chest over his heart.
"He lives." she said softly, breathing out her own sigh of relief.
"For now. But not for long unless I can work out what is killing him."
"He has no wounds." I growled.
Feyre closed her eyes and lent down, drawing in deeply of Lucien's scent. Her eyes spring open and she stumbled back, drying reaching violently as she clutched the wall for support.
"It's Ash" she gasped.
"But he had no wounds." I protested.
Her eyes widened and she shook her head slowly as she tried to make sense of the conflict going on between what her eyes saw and what her senses knew.
"They must have found a way to extract the essence of the wood into a poison."
My eyes grew fearful as I stared down at Lucien's laboured breaths. If that was true then he was as good as dead, for in all my existence I had never been able to save someone who had been wounded by an Ash weapon.
Feyre seemed to read my thoughts and she let out a sob and stepped back over to Lucien, laying both her hands over his heart. I felt the spark of life in him go out like a guttered flame starved of oxygen.
He was dead.
I stepped forward and tried to draw Feyre back away from his body but the instant my hand touched her I was thrown against the wall by the amount of power coursing through her. She was staring at me but I could tell she was not seeing me. She had gone to some place deep within herself. The room thrummed with her power, it was every bit as potent as the cocoon she wove around herself in the mines. I could feel the power bearing down on me, crushing me as the pressure built. Just when I thought I would be completely crushed the power in the room abated as it was forced into the life less body of Lucien. I felt his heart jolt to life at the bolts of power jamming through him. His eyes snapped open as beads of blood and poison oozed out of his body's pores and dripped down onto the bench. The stench was revolting. Lucien cried out in agony as Feyre lifted her hands off of his chest and a burrowing lump of flesh began to move. The lump kicked and grew beneath the skin until an ugly Ash wood splinter torn free of the skin and was deposited into the kidney dish beside the bed. Lucien threw his head back and screamed one last time as memories of the syringe inserting the splinter into his heart came flooding back to him. He vomited and then passed out.
Feyre collapsed to the floor too. Yet before I could take a single step towards her Rhysand stormed into the infirmary and swept her up in his arms. He looked furious. Even more so as he had no one to blame or kill for the current emotions he was feeling. He looked down at the Ash wood poison and the splinter in disgust. He tore his eyes away from the hideous weapons and looked straight at me.
"He is going to live?"
I nodded with certainty.
He seemed satisfied as he swept out of the infirmary and carried Feyre upstairs towards her room.
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LUCIEN
My eyes sprung open and I waited for the aches and pains that came with sleeping on the prison floor. I rolled over tentatively waiting for the pain to rip through me as it always did. I had had such a nice dream. I dreamt that Feyre had saved me. I smiled. Silly me, that was under the mountain when she offered up her name for my life. I would never ever forget that day. She had given me a gift that not even my family would have ever offered. That day transformed me. Previously the only people I had any loyalty or feeling towards were myself and Tamlin. Tamlin because I owed him a life debt. Yet Feyre only owed me a knife in the back and yet she had screamed out her name like saving me was the only thing that mattered to her. Ever since that day she had been slowly chipping down my walls and getting under my skin. I grinned at how arrogant and annoying she was. No wonder I cared about her. I sighed. If I was going to die in this cell at least I knew I had given her a chance. Even if spying was forbidden to an emissary. I was still glad that I had found out about the ash wood poison -even if I had been caught and tortured for it.
I rolled over and groaned out of habit, the soft bed enveloping me in its comfort. My eyes sprung open as I smelt the familiars scents of Spring wafting in from my near by window. As my eyes shot open I let out a yell of terror as the double vision hit me and my world turned into one big whirlpool of vertigo. I felt a steadying hand upon my shoulder as Tamlin's green eyes swam above me. I blinked my eyes and then gasped out loud. I blinked again, the wonderful impossible feeling of both my eyelids and lashes fluttering open and closed. I winked my left eye and then my right before letting out a loud boom of incredulous laughter.
"Am I dead?" I exclaimed incredulously.
Tamlin chuckle quietly next to me and I saw a tear spill down his face.
"No my friend, but you are finally whole again."
I reached up in shock and touched what I already saw to be true. The slash on my face was gone. My eye was back and my full vision restored. It was impossible. No one in Prythian had the power to work such a complete healing on my old injury.
"How?" I spluttered out.
Tamlin didn't answer but just smiled down at me, unsure if I was lost in my own bewilderment or asking a genuine question.
"Feyre!" I called out loud.
"What about her?" Tamlin asked quietly.
"She did this, didn't she?"
Tamlin just smiled and nodded.
I sat bolt up right in bed and gasped for air as the truth hit me.
Tamlin looked at me with questioning wary eyes.
"I died... didn't I?" I asked, cringing as I looked up at his honest face.
"What do you remember?" He asked gently, handing me a tonic that he had been preparing for me.
I gulped it down and gave him a full report from the minute I had left Prythian to the moment I had been caught spying and ended up a prisoner in Hybern.
"We have to pull out of the challenge." I said with a panic-stricken voice.
"He's going to betray us and kill her Tamlin."
Tam only nodded.
I knew he wasn't taking me seriously. He thought I was just a sick fevered solider ranting in his sickness induced delirium. But I wasn't. I needed to get the words out. Needed to make him realise how much danger Feyre was in, how much danger we were all in. But as I went to speak my words were slurred and I realised that that bastard had fed me a sleeping tonic. My heart stuttered in my chest and I struggled to get out the words of warning that could save us all. Yet it was too late. For better or worse my lead-ladened eyes closed and I was tugged into a deep healing sleep.
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Hey Everyone,
Oh my gosh my heart is bursting with love for Lucien. I love him almost as much as Rhysand but in a different way. I'm so glad his face is finally healed.
So how about that biatch Elliana- she is such a psycho. Watch your back Feyre!
I have a feeling there's about 3 to 4 chapters left but will give you a warning when the time is drawing near.
Anyhoo hold on tight because we are all in for a wild final ride.
Till next time,
Spinlight xo