Feyre
Disclaimer: The incredible art displayed above was not created by me, and all credit goes to the artist who made it.
I shifted in the plush oak chair, frowning down at the sheaf of papers stacked in front of me. Concern lit up in my face as I studied the letter, and I scribbled something short in response before leaning back and rubbing at my eyes tiredly. Stifling a yawn, I glanced at the ornate brass clock briefly, eager to sleep. Nearly jolting out of my chair as I realized the time, I made my way out of the study and through the warmly lit halls, trailing a slender hand on the wallpaper. Reaching the large oak door, I clasped the handle and pushed it open, smiling when I beheld the inside. An enormous, plush bed bursting with pillows, large, open windows, squashy armchairs and a crackling fireplace. Warm, spacious, comfortable...and well-decorated, I thought with a snort. It had been me and Gesinda, a faerie specializing in design, who had thought out the interior of the River house. We had spent countless months picking out textures and patterns, painting thresholds with broad swaths of color, and bringing in beautiful but practical pieces. But I was too exhausted to notice how the windows opened up to a wide view of the sparkling Sidra, how the rich brown of the armoire perfectly matched the bedframe and the fluffy bed covers resembled the throw pillows perched on the armchairs. Shedding my thick ivory sweater and practical leggings, I trudged into the connected bathing room and twisted the silver handles until warm, steaming water rushed out into the porcelain tub. As I waited for the bath to fill, occasionally dumping in soap to create bubbles, I sent a thought spearing down the dark, glittering bond between me and Rhys.
Where are you? It's getting late.
The question faded into inky black, enough of a sign for me. Rhysand was not in Velaris, or the Night Court at all, for that matter. Pushing down my growing worry, I turned off the taps and stepped into the water, nearly groaning as the heat enveloped me. Reaching for the bottle sitting on the edge of the tub, I began to wash myself, occasionally sending a thought or two down the bond. However, it wasn't until the bathwater had turned cold and not nearly as inviting that the High Lord of the Night Court deigned to respond, the words brief and muffled from the distance.
With Tarquin and Helion. Autumn Court. Az will be home soon.
A shudder of relief went through my body at the words. Safe. He was safe, and with two other High Lords. Stepping up and out of the bathtub, I carefully maneuvered herself around the clothes littered on the ground and sent a pulse of love down the bond in response.
Come home. Beron and his snakes can wait.
A flicker of amusement on the other side of that ebony bridge.
I'm not sure Beron would appreciate me leaving a highly tense and important meeting so that I could be there with you, my love.
I snort out loud as I pull on a thin, silk nightgown and stalk over to the bed.
It's practically midnight. What on earth could you be doing that's so important at this hour?
There was a pause on the other side of the bond. Then glittering, adamant talons gently stroked the outside of my mind, and I felt Rhys say,
I'll show you.
Is that even possible? I reply skeptically. You're all the way in the Autumn Court-I'm not sure that could even be done.
Somehow, I felt him chuckling wherever he was.
Not now, Feyre.
My cheeks flushing with embarrassment, I scowled at nothing in particular and sent a vulgar gesture back at him.
Prick.
I can feel his amusement growing, but he withdraws slightly and says,
I have to go. Eris is complaining about the new border laws, and I can tell Cass is getting annoyed.
Have fun, I replied mockingly.
Cruel, beautiful female, he purrs. And then he's gone, his mind a distant, faded presence on the other side of that bridge. I sighed and shake myself out of the reverie the bond sometimes put me in, glancing around and realizing I stood almost directly in the middle of the room, having stopped dead sometime during our conversation. Making my way around one of the armchairs, I opened the door and make my way into the room right next to ours. Picking up a few toys strewn across the ground and placing them in their rightful spots, I reached the end of the room, right under the window, and leaned over the crib to smile down at the baby boy nestled in blankets.
True to the Carvers prediction, Xhaiden has violet eyes and raven hair almost identical to Rhys's, with a similar bone structure to mine and an occasionally piercing gaze. But he also possesses a wide, bright smile and a bubbly laugh that brings joy to everyone nearby, something I'm sure the Carver never had. And then there are the wings, the same ones that nearly tore me apart when I had him. Visible even in the shadows, and twitching ever so often - almost as if he was dreaming of flying while he slept.
A slight pang went through my chest at the thought of the ancient death god, but I brushed it away and remember the faint smile he wore as the wave of Hybern's power had swept through our ranks. I had had a while to come to terms with his death, as well as many others.
Pushing away thoughts of the war, I marvel down at the child before me; our son. He'd been remarkably quiet going to bed tonight, and I thank whatever forces are at work in this world for allowing me and Rhysand a reprieve. The past several months had been absolute hell for sleeping, with Nyx constantly waking up multiple times in the middle of the night. The recent few weeks had been slightly better, however, as he finally had started to get some semblance of a sleep schedule. Although we still had to occasionally wake up a few times, the nights had been much fuller and had given room for...other things as well. I smirk slightly at the thought.
Not willing to risk waking him up, I adjusted the blankets slightly to cover his tiny fists and finally stepped away from the crib and back towards the door. Pausing just before stepping out into the hallway, I looked back at the serene nursery, moonlight streaming through the window and illuminating strips of the room. I had predictably gone with a night theme for the nursery, but I had done my best to keep it bright and not too crowded or dark. The walls were painted a gentle white and so were the crib and changing table, but a little star mobile floated above the crib, and some of the corners of the walls were painted with delicate shooting stars and galaxies, barely visible except at certain angles. My favorite part, however, was the swirling night sky on the ceiling. It had taken me several days to finish painting it, a gentle, soothing black mixed in with faint streaks of purple and blue, as well as little white dots representing stars. The final touch was the shining, glow-in-the-dark stars, the light illuminating the dark. I gave one last smile to them, my stalwart, constant friends, and shut the door with a quiet click, letting my son sleep underneath the peaceful stars.
...
Hey everyone! How's it going? I'm so sorry I've been late updating; I've had a soccer tournament all weekend and I kinda feel like I've been hit by a truck haha. Really out of shape here. But anyways. I hope y'all enjoyed that chapter-I had a ton of fun finally showing Feyre and Rhys's side of the story. And ik you guys are thinking WHAT THE HECK SO FEYRE AND RHYS HAVE A CHILD NOW?? And yes. They do. In KoA, Aelin describes what I'm assuming is Rhysand and Feyre saving her, buuuuut the female is, according to sjmaas, "heavily pregnant". I've decided to just go with that and adjust it to the timeline I now have. This story takes place a year after the spring Aelin's kingdom got covered in kingsflame (which I'm sure you already know because it's in the description), which means that Feyre would have delivered by now and her baby would be around a year, if not a bit younger. I hope you guys like the name I picked for him; it means "a beam of cleansing light", which I feel like was appropriate. He is a bright star after the darkness of the war, a beautiful light to help his parents and family heal. I also just like the sound of it, and think it is pretty unique. If you also noticed, feyres part is written in first person while the ToG parts are in third. This is because sjmaas wrote her books this way; with ToG she wrote in third person and just happened to focus on particular people in different chapters, while in ACOTAR she writes in first person and designates a specific person who is narrating each chapter. I plan to use this tactic and have third person for ToG and first person for ACOTAR. Anyways. Vote, comment, add, blah blah. Ok bye!
*edit: there are slight ACOSF spoilers in here because I actually changed his name and a few details to match the book (which i just read omgg)! I'm not gonna lie, I kind of like Xhaiden better than Nyx from just hearing it, but I love the meaning behind Nyx so good job S.J. Maas!*
- xo