✧ Feyre's POV ✧
We all stood, silent on top of the House of Wind as the world moved around us. The city stirred awake below us, people flooding the streets on their daily activities. They looked like small bugs from up here, as small as flecks of paint.
Azriel was the first to move. He ran to the edge of the House, looking down at the forest of sharp pine trees below. His shadows swirled around him malevolently as he breathed, "She's gone."
"H-how?" I stuttered, my nerves finally catching up with me as the adrenaline in my veins faded. I looked at my family around me. Rhys held a sleeping Cas, Mor cradled Elain, laying on the floor and clutching her reddening face. Amren walked over next to Azriel.
"She's back in her Fae form," Amren said, scanning the dense thicket of trees for anything. "Her magic probably just concealed her long enough for her to winnow."
"No," I breathed, walking towards them. "She winnowed in thin air. The magic around the House that prevents you from doing that extends way farther than a few feet from the walls. How did she get away?"
"I don't care," Rhys said quietly behind me, his voice thick. I turned around to look at my mate, his shoulders slumped as he held his friend in his hands. His violet eyes swam with anger, and fading fear. "I'm going to kill her."
"Rhys," I soothed, walking over to him. He raised a hand to stop me, and I saw him crack. I saw his mask of calmness crack, the healing pieces breaking again as he cradled Cassian.
"I'm going to kill her."
"It's the idiots fault," Amren said, turning around to come up next to me. She stared at Cas, her features softening. "He taunted her. He took it too far. Have you forgotten the feeling of someone taunting you to the point you break?"
"She almost murdered him," Rhys breathed, nostrils flaring.
"He's been beaten worse," Amren stated, looking away with a wave of her hand. "He knew what he was doing. He wanted her to maul him like that, so he pushed her buttons. It's not Nyssa's fault."
"She... she could have stopped herself," I stammered out. I was about to go on when Az mumbled something obscene, his face a distracted, emotional expression of frustration as he walked away from the edge. He stormed toward the staircase to the rest of the House when Mor called after him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Away," he called back vaguely his shadows almost concealing his figure as he disappeared down the stairs.
"He will be fine," Elain mumbled softly, and I turned around to her, dropping to my knees. A sob got caught in my throat at the sight of Elain's soft features blooming with the purple and blue of a deep bruise. The purest one out of the three of us.
"Will... will you be ok?" I asked her, taking her soft hand in mine. She mustered a half smile, gingerly squeezing my hand in response.
"Yeah," she responded. "I want to go see Lucien."
I furrowed my brow in mild shock. I knew they had became friends, but they were evidently more closer than I thought. Mor nodded, touching my shoulder as she helped Elain to her feet. I stood up as well, a gentle hand on Elain's back ushering them forward.
"Tell me when he wakes up," Mor whispered to me as she passed, "I want to beat his ass for what he pulled. And also make sure he's really alive."
I tried to smile at Mor's joke, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. I could only meekly nodded as she escorted Elain, watching as they disappeared from view.
I turned back to face my mate and one of my best friends. He slept peacefully now, his chest rising with his even breaths.
The realization of what just happened finally caught up with me. I shuffled over, falling to my knees as I knelt on Cas' side, opposite of Rhys. Hot tears burned at my eyes, my throat tight as I stared.
"You idiot," I mumbled as I cried, laying my hands on his stomach. Tears dripped down my face before they began to flow like a river, unstoppable as the overwhelming waves of emotion that wrecked through me.
Rhys gripped my hand. I peered up at him, his eyes downcast to avert my gaze. "He taunted her with the name of her mate," I whispered, looking back at Cas.
Rhys' hand clenched mine, dried blood caking with the movement. "Her mate?" He whispered.
"I... her mate or her husband, I don't know," I confessed. "I told Az about it when I came home last night. When you two were drunk beyond belief. Cas must have overhead me."
"I don't..." Rhys began, glancing at Cas' sleeping face. "I didn't even hear. I don't remember anything from last night."
"It must've stuck in his memory... it's ok," I told him, squeezing his hand lightly as I swiped at my tears. "Don't murder Nyssa, please."
Rhys sighed, his eyes remained downcast. He was silent for a few moments before admitting, "I don't like not having power. She makes me feel powerless at times. She's a goddess of fucking magic. How do I protect my family against that?"
I closed my eyes, squeezing his hand tightly. "You don't," I whispered.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Feyre," he sighed heavily.
"It scares me too," I whisper. He looks up at me, our eyes meeting. The faintest glimmer of tears welled in Rhys' eyes as they quickly glanced to Cassian, and back to me. "But she's genuinely here to help us. She has her own trauma to battle through."
"I don't want her battles to become ours," he responded, and I shut my mouth in defeat. He made a really good point. I was thinking about an answer when Cas stirred awake, his breathing catching as he snorted.
"I want to do that again," was the first thing Cassian said as he sat up, grabbing his side. He blinked a few times, Rhys and I backing up to give him space to adjust. He looked around, brows furrowing in confusion. "Where is everyone?"
"You fucking bastard," I breathed, slapping him once. His face flew to the side from the impact. He reached a hand up to rub his cheek,
"Ow," he whined. "That's gonna leave a ma-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as I leapt forward and hugged him tightly. He jerked back at the contact, awkwardly patting my back. "What happened?" He asked Rhys over my shoulder.
"You tried to get yourself killed, that's what," Rhys said with a shake of his head as I detached myself from Cas, offering a hand to me. He pulled Cas up next, the Illyrian stretching with a slight grunt of pain.
"Hey," Cas said defensively, raising a lecturing finger, "She wouldn't have killed me. Her mortal body would have given out before my life force did."
"Well, tell that to Nesta," I muttered, rubbing at my eyes. "She pulled Nyssa off of you by her hair."
"That's my girl," Cas said proudly, his smile dropping off his face at my look. "What's wrong?"
"Nyssa tried to get back up and heal you, Nesta kicked her back, Elain tried to calm Nesta down, she hit Elain across the face, Feyre ordered Nesta out of the city, Nyssa snapped her own neck and made herself Fae again, healed you, then disappeared in thin air."
Cas was silent, his jaw opening and closing multiple times as he processed what Rhys summarized for him. I sat in silence, turning around to look at my city below.
"You ordered her out of the city?" He asked in disbelief, the words directed towards my back. A flare of anger welled inside of me as I turned around, brows raised.
"Of course I did," I defended myself. "She hit Elain. Elain, Cas."
"She- well- she was defending me!" He shot back, hurt on his face. Rhys put a hand on Cas' shoulder but the Illyrian roughly shook it off, taking a step towards me. I saw Rhys clench his hands at the movement, ready to defend me if needed.
"Elain wasn't attacking you," I yelled hotly.
"She needs help, not banishment," he shouted, his hurt turning into frustration.
"What in the gods do you think I've been trying to do?" I answered, throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation. "She has made up her mind that she doesn't want help from me. She needs something she wants. And she doesn't want my help. For gods sake, she doesn't want any of our help!"
"That's... that's not true," he breathed, pacing while his nostrils flared. He turned to Rhys, a look of despair on his face. "Please."
"I have to agree with Feyre," Rhys said quietly. Cas stopped at Rhys' words, betrayal blooming on his face. "I've seen what Feyre put herself through to make it work. It's Nesta's choice to accept it or not. And if she can't accept it, and she will continue to hurt those around her, then maybe she needs a change of scenery."
"I- I can't believe this," he stuttered, looking in between us. He shook his head, pushing past Rhys and walking away from us. "I'm going to talk to her."
"Have fun," I called sarcastically, and he made an obscene gesture at me as he walked away.
My nerves rattled at the sight of Cas mad. I've never seen him this hurt. This protective.
Rhys walked over, and a wave of tears rushed me as I fell into his chest. Tears flowed down my face. "I tried, Rhys," I cried, grabbing the front of his shirt as he wrapped his arms around me. "I really tried to help her."
"I know," he whispered, gripping me tightly. He stroked my hair soothingly as the sun shined brightly on the dark events of the morning, the day progressing as normal around us.
☾
After the events of the morning, I wanted to get out of the House of Wind and go back home to the townhouse. All I wanted was to lay in Rhys' arms for the rest of the day under all of our blankets and forget about... everything.
But Rhys had other ideas. He wanted to go talk to Nyssa at her apartment and see it for himself. I didn't protest much as I was already exhausted from the morning's affairs.
I briefly visited Elain and Lucien before Rhys and I left. She was resting in her bedroom, Lucien reading a book to her in a chair an arm's throw from Elain. I had a chat with my fox friend, briefly explaining what happened. I didn't go into too much depth to spare Elain and I from any more undue stress at thinking of what just happened.
Rhys had waited outside for me, and we both breezed past Nesta's open chambers without a glance as we made to leave. I caught Mor drinking wine in one of the halls before we left, informing her Cas was awake. She went to check on him. She promised me she would come over late, and I gave her a grateful hug in parting.
Rhys carried me in his arms as we flew back to Velaris. I snuggled close to him, breathing in his scent as we descended from the House of Wind. My mate held me tightly, reassuringly kissing my head a few times through our flight.
When we landed on our roof, Rhys went down to make me breakfast while I took a quick bath and changed. I wondered where Az disappeared to. I was brushing my hair when I heard the front door downstairs open, some hushed conversation for a few minutes, followed by the door closing again.
When I descended the stairs, I found Rhys staring at an old scrap of parchment before he quickly rolled it up at the sight of me. He smiled, whisking me off my feet and twirling me in the air with a kiss.
I squealed, breathless when he put me down. "Who was that?" I asked, looking at his twinkling violet eyes. They held millions of stars and galaxies within them, an endless display of beauty and possibility.
"Az," Rhys said, kissing me on the forehead once before walking toward the kitchen. He held my hand, dragging me behind him. "Nyssa's at her apartment. We can go after we have breakfast."
"He went to her apartment?" I asked, perplexed. Rhys nodded, turning to the eggs on the stove. He flipped them, turning back around to face me as they cooked. I took a seat at our dinner table, gazing down below at the rest of Velaris.
"He acts really weird with her," Rhys told me, and I turned my gaze back to my mate. He stood, hands on the counter as he leaned forward. "Just told me that she was in her apartment, and he was looking for information on this 'Nyx' person."
"Perhaps we can ask her about it," I suggested, looking down at my fingers as I played with my rings. I caught a glance of my tattoo, the ink beginning to slightly fade. I smiled at the sight of it.
"We will," Rhys assured me, and I looked up as he took the eggs off of the stove and served them with some reheated meat. He plated them, bringing the breakfast over to the table as he took the seat across from me. "Enjoy," he said as he set my plate down in front of me."
"Thank you, darling," I drawled with a slight tease, and he rolled his eyes at me. We ate in silence for a few seconds before I asked, "What was that old parchment?"
Rhys paused, setting down his fork as he pulled it out. "A note to Cas, from Nyssa," he told me as he handed it to me. I unfurled the piece of parchment, not as old as it appeared from the staircase earlier.
Dear Cassian,
Sorry I beat you to a pulp. I'll try not to next time. Don't taunt me again.
I also healed you. I will be expecting a gift of gratitude sometime soon. Don't disappoint.
Also, please get your girlfriend under control. Thank you.
-N
I smiled at her note. Raising a brow as I handed it back to Rhys, I quoted, "'Next time?''
"Knowing Cas, there will be," he mumbled, raising his fork in thought as he chewed on his food. "Actually, knowing Nyssa, as well. She looked like she was having a good time."
"I never knew a mortal could fight like that," I mused.
Rhys looked at me questioningly. "You didn't know how to fight like that when you were a mortal?"
I scoffed with a laugh, looking at him like he was crazy. "Gods, no. I'm not a trained assassin."
"The way you killed the Middenguard Worm could have fooled me," Rhys grinned, and I rolled my eyes. That felt like so long ago. I remembered the way Rhys had watched me that day.
I scraped my plate clean, savoring every bit of Rhys' delicious cooking. "I'm so glad you can cook," I said as I stuffed my face with the last bits of food before handing my clean plate to Rhys. He put our dishes in the sink before coming over to my chair. "It makes one of us."
"I could teach you," he said, a boyish smile on his face as he stared at me. I smiled back. This was the Rhys I loved to see. "One day." Flecks of dark thoughts splashed in his eyes as I felt his thoughts wander off the deep end.
"Hey," I whispered, putting my hands to his cheeks. I was about to say something, Rhys closing his eyes as he leaned into my touch. I paused myself, a small grin on my face as Rhys opened one eye in confusion.
"What?" He whined. I just pushed his cheeks together, his lips puckering and his eyes crossing in the funniest expression. I burst out laughing as he pouted, softening at the sound coming out of my lips.
"You're silly," he mused as I calmed down, leaning over to kiss me softly.
"Can we just stay home all day?" I whined, throwing my head back.
"We have things to do, my High Lady."
"I don't want to do anything," I complained.
He paused, his eyes looking downward as he got lost in his thoughts. I sighed, poking him in the shoulder. "Don't be like that. I'm just being dramatic."
"I know," he said, still looking downward. I sighed impatiently as he finally looked up, a longing in his eyes. "I don't want to do anything either. I just want to spend forever with you. Getting to know you, falling deeper in love with you, just being with you."
My heart swooned at his words as I pulled him to me, embracing him tightly as he laid his head on mine. I wrapped my legs around him as I sat, squeezing him tightly.
"We can get through it. Together. You told me that, remember?"
He chuckled softly, kissing the top of my head. We stood like that for a few before one of the clocks chimed, signaling the top of the hour. He detached himself from my embrace, pushing his hair back before leaning down to give me a kiss.
"Give me a few to get ready," he told me and I nodded, kissing him once more before pushing him towards the stairs. "Someone didn't save a bath for me," he drawled on.
"Oh, shut up," I called after him, and he stuck his tongue out at me before running up the stairs into our bathroom.
☾
A/N:
Sorry for some of the filler chapters recently. I'm trying to space out the book so I don't write it too fast and end up with nothing to write, lol. I don't know what I'm going to do when I finish this book.
No more dwelling on the end and sad stuff. I changed my plans, and I'll be uploading Chapter 12 and 13 on Christmas Day as your guys' Christmas present. Granted, my internet at the cabin I'm in cooperates with me. It was out the whole day today!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm trying to balance out some of the darker stuff with some light Feysand fluff.
Don't forget to vote and comment to let me know what you think! Thank you for reading.
with love, lunar-loves