DISCONTINUED A Court Of Blood And Night (Tog & ACOTAR crossover)

11 - Feyre

So it took me ten minutes of staring at the publish button to get me to do it because I feel like it's SO BAD.

Shit.

I feel like I had a really good idea about the characters' personalities, but I just reread this chapter and now I'm not so sure. Whoops. Oh well. I tried!

Also, super excited because Amazon told me I wouldn't be getting ACOWAR until the eighth of May, but I just looked at my package and it's saying it'll be here TOMORROW and my mind is screaming.

And nost of what I wrote in this chapter makes me want to formally apologize to each and every person who reads this. It sucks.

Anyyywayyyy. Yeah. Don't expect too much out of this chapter...

Get rid of the opposition, and he's free to take down the Wall. I felt myself go pale as I thought of it. It was a great strategy, and I hated to admit it.

"Then why get rid of Tamlin, Feyre, and Lucien?" Mor asked Rhys as a continuation of the coversation, frowning.

"If Tamlin was my ally, I'd get rid of him as fast as I could, too," Rhys said, glaring at him with undisguised loathing. After a moment, he continued. "And maybe Feyre and Lucien didn't quite agree with Tamlin's opinions." He smirked at us, at me, and I forced myself to glare back.

"You all aren't even on the same side, are you?" Rowan asked us flatly. His shoulders seemed to sag.

"Give me Rhysand's head and I'll die happy," Tamlin growled from beside me. Are you sure you don't want his wings?

Rhys cocked his head, staring at him. "My head's too pretty for your manor," he replied, violet eyes twinkling with wicked amusement. "And yours too ugly for mine. Still, I think I'd mount it on the wall for the fun of it."

A snarl from Tamlin, and the corner of my lip twitched as I fought amusement. If anyone noticed, they didn't comment on my slip. But Lucien was watching me closely, and I narrowed my eyes at him. The likliness of him telling Tamlin what was really going on had lessened since I'd come back-- something had happened when I was gone-- but the threat was still there.

Rowan sighed, and I turned back to him to see his green eyes closing for a brief second. The tattoos on his face were as dark as night, and for a brief moment, I wondered what the tattoos meant.

"Well, you're going to have to work together if you want to get home," he said, eyes flicking open again. "Because I'm not letting you leave until the person I'm looking for is safe in Terrasen again." Even as he said it, the ropes that bound us loosened and dropped to the ground around us. At least he was willing to trust us some.

We all tensed, ready to protest his words, when the large, intricately carved wooden doors slammed open. "Rowan," an unknown male said from the doorway, "The Thirteen have arrived earlier than expected."

Rowan's eyebrows shot up, and he walked toward him quickly. "Is it just the Thirteen, or are the others with them?" Who were the Thirteen?

"Manon brought Gavriel and the others back with her," the male reported. The doors closed and I could hear nothing more. With a frown, I looked back at the others, who all looked just as confused as I was. Still, we slowly stood up, and my muscles screamed in protest; I had been sitting for so long that my joints locked up.

Tamlin immediately tested the doors but no matter how much weight he put into pulling them open, the doors wouldn't budge. He growled in frustration and began circling the room, looking for other means if escape. Those in the Night Court-- minus Elain and Nesta-- seemed completely at ease. They knew that this Rowan character wouldn't hurt us-- not if he wanted us to look for someone.

"Who wants to bet that the person he's trying to save is his mate?" Cassian finally asked with a sly grin as he stood, stretching. "He has that same expression that Rhys had when Feyre lef--" he stopped himself as everyone turned to stare at him and his smile faded. He grumbled a string of curses. He knew he'd just screwed up a lot. There was no getting out of this one, no way to explain it.

Tamlin stopped circling the room. Lucien didn't bother to look shocked, and I knew I couldn't bring myself to feign innocence when my court-- my family-- was there in front of me. Rhys met my gaze, and he nodded once, slowly. He'd support whatever decision I made.

"Speaking of people who can't keep their mouths shut," Mor said pointedly, sighing. She looked between Cassian and Nesta, brown eyes narrowed. "Both of you should just take a vow of silence, I swear."

"What does he mean, Feyre?" Tamlin asked tightly, and I looked at Rhys again. His face was a cold, amused mask as I made up my mind. We'd played this game long enough. Too long. I was done.

My mouth twitched at the corner and something like relief broke over his expression. Neither Lucien or Tamlin noticed; they were too busy waiting for my next move.

With a smile I couldn't suppress if I tried, I let go of the mask I'd been wearing for so many months, and let the glamour slip away from my arm. "He means, Tamlin," I said, turning to look at him, "is that I haven't been a friend of your Court for a long time." I shrugged. "And, to add, I had no plans on actually marrying you on the Solstice."

He opened his mouth to reply, but then he saw my arm. The whorls of tattoo on my skin, identical to the one Hybern had removed from the opposite arm. He inhaled sharply, eyes darkening. "How? Hybern removed the bond! He..." He glanced between Rhys and I and his eyes widened. "You took her mind, didn't you?" He accused. "Let her go!" Rhys chuckled.

"Her mind is her own," he replied as I retreated towards him. "I don't control her and I don't want to. Unlike you."

He gaped at us, fury in his eyes, and Rhys looked away from him dismissively. His fingers linked with mine, and he smiled at me. "Tamlin, Lucien, let me introduce you to my mate, my wife, and the High Lady of the Night Court." He kissed me, not seeming to care that everyone was watching us, and when we pulled away from each other, his eyes were alight.

I glanced around at my court once, taking in their faces.  There would be time to regroup later, to celebrate my return. But right now, I just needed to see them. To understand this wasn't just a weird dream.

My gaze met Mor's, and her brown eyes were sparkling with a mix of relief and joy, but the rest of her face was controlled and even. Elain looked like ahe might've hugged me had she not been so shell-shocked by her surroundings and the drama, and Nesta just nodded to me. Azriel, always encased by shadow, couldn't stop his mouth from twitching uoward just a bit. Amren nodded once, but she was smiling just a little-- something I hadn't expected from her.

And, even though Cassian still looked a bit guilty, he grinned at me broadly, perhaps even suggestively.

When I looked back at Rhys again, everything felt right for just a moment. And even though we were in a weird, even terrifying situation, I felt happier than I had in a very long time. I was home.

Yeeaaahhhh so I hate every goddamn thing about this chapter because it doesn't feel right... Meh. It's hard to write characters accurately when they aren't your own, I suppose.