To The Ones Who Can't Dream

chapter 17 - So There Aren't Any Other Rooms In Your Huge Palace?

     The visits to the Winter, Summer, and Autumn Courts were uneventful. They had been back in Velaris for about a week when the letter came for Rhys. A previous general of Hybern, Amarantha, had requested to visit the Night Court. Amarantha was now emissary of Hybern and wanted to discuss trade and relations to her country. When Rhys had told the rest of the Inner Circle, they had all seemed shocked. But for Amren and Seren, they had never heard the name before. Apparently this Amarantha had a long history with Prythian and the War between the fae and mortals.

     When Amren had asked when Amarantha would be joining them in Velaris, Mor said she wouldn't be coming here. Az explained that besides the people currently residing in Velaris, nobody knew about the city. It was one of the best secrets kept by the Inner Circle. Even those who were a part of the official Night Court, aka the Court of Nightmares, did not know about Velaris.

     They were to meet Amarantha at the Court of Nightmares in three days' time. Seren could tell that Rhys didn't trust this Amarantha. But he said that it would also be a good opportunity to introduce Amren and her to the Court of Nightmares since they had officially become a part of it. When Seren questioned Mor on what the style was in Court, all she said was dark and sexy.
Now this wasn't the look Seren usually went for, but she could never deny herself a good fashion holiday. Seren had no clue what to expect from this Court or Amarantha but she figured it couldn't be any worse than what she had already dealt with. They were all going to travel to Rhys's official home above the Court of Nightmares tonight, so they would have two days there to prepare for Amarantha's arrival.

     Seren packed anything she might need for this short trip and met Azriel in the living room. Mor danced into the room, with her camera. "Smile!" she cheered as she faced the camera towards Seren and Az.

     No doubt that the photo would just be Seren and Az's surprised faces. Although Seren would never tell Mor, she always loved when she took photos of everyone and hung them on the fridge. Everytime Seren walked past the fridge, there would be a new photo of all of them doing something. Seren had never had anyone besides Amren who had cared about her, so it felt nice to see these small reminders that she was valued here with the Inner Circle.

     The rest of the Inner Circle slowly filed in, with Rhys striding in last and looking at everyone. "Okay, I'll take Amren and Seren. Az, you take Cass and Mor," he said to them all.

     Nodding, Seren stepped closer to Rhys. He looked at her, and without breaking eye contact grasped her hand. Amren finally cleared her throat and Rhys glanced over at her before grabbing her hand also. Before Seren could really process anything, they were standing in what she guessed to be a living room. But the room didn't look like any other room she had ever been in before. In fact when Seren glanced around, she realized none of the house looked like anything she had ever seen before.

     Almost every single place there was, she could see the mountains surrounding them. And no, she wasn't talking about windows. There were simply no walls. Amren spoke up, "How does this place stay at a comfortable temperature if we are surrounded by snow?"

     Mor appeared next to them with Az and Cass as she said, "Some ingenious spell the Night Court came up with a long, long time ago."

     "Leave it to those pretentious bastards to create a palace that was meant for the Summer Court in the middle of a mountain range that never stops snowing. Those old dudes never failed to amaze me," Cassian jokes.

     "Mor, would you please show Amren to her room while I show Seren to her's?" Rhys said.

     Motioning for Amren to follow her, Mor walked over to the staircase and turned left. Seren followed Rhys to that same staircase but instead of turning left, he turned right. "The only room that is available now is the one right next to mine," Rhys said impassively.

     Seren narrowed her eyes at him, "So, you're telling me that in this whole palace, every other room is being currently occupied?"

     The corners of Rhysand's mouths turned upward, "Yes, I am telling you that every other room is in use and you have to be in the room right next to mine."

     Seren rolled her eyes at him before he stopped in front of a door. Pushing it open he said, "Welcome to your new room Seren."

     Seren's jaw dropped open before she could stop it. Two walls of the room were completely gone and she had a stunning view of the mountain range. Pushed up against one of the walls, was a humongous white bed with curtains currently tied against the posts. The door on the other wall was open and she could see into the bathroom. There was a huge bathtub which was built into the ground. It honestly looked like a hot tub with an infinity edge.
Rhys interrupted her staring, "I have to tell you a couple things before I let you explore your room. I already know that as soon as I leave, you'll be jumping in that tub."

     He laughed but said seriously, "I made sure that it will always be hot. The bath, I mean. And if you ever need the temperature adjusted, there is a screen next to it."

     Seren looked down, slightly embarrassed but also slightly pleased that he had remembered her fear of cold water. He cleared his throat, "Anyways, tomorrow I am going to take you to visit the Court of Nightmares and introduce you to everyone who lives in there. The rest of our friends will come with us but I need to warn you that I'm a different person under this mountain. They all think I am something to be feared, and I like to keep it that way. Their fear is the only way I can keep them in check."

     Seren grinned, "So does this mean that I get to play scary second-in-command to the High Lord of the Night Court?"

     Rhys chuckled, "Yes, but only if you want to. You can choose to play whoever you want when in front of them."

     "Interesting," Seren pretended to ponder on what he had just said, "and what if I want to play dirty temptress. Would you let that slide?"

     "I'll never make you pretend to be anyone you don't feel comfortable being."

     "Well, I'll think it over tonight and let you know tomorrow who I decide to play."

     Rhys nodded before walking over to the door. Before he opened it though, he turned around to glance at Seren. Seren raised her eyebrow at him, "Anything else you need to tell me?"

     Rhysand seemed to shake off whatever had held him captive before smirking, "Wear something black."

     He stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him. Turning, Seren headed to the bath. Proving Rhys to be right.