A Court of Night and Shadows

Chapter 24

Rhysand

The Spring Court hadn't changed much since I'd last visited - when I'd retrieved Tamlin along with many others of Amarantha's pets. The air was crisp and endless, the garden of roses and vines infinite and strangling. I could understand the idea that it was meant to be lovely, beautiful even. But nothing about the Spring Court would ever be lovely to me again.

Not after what the High Lord of the Spring Court had done to my mate.

She was the first to move when I'd landed my winnow outside the manor. Cassian shot me a wary glance from the other side of Feyre, obviously uneasy about the tension that had been raised in mine and Feyre's silence. Neither of us have told any of the others of that day so long ago, yet I knew we both remembered it well. Too well.

Shadows were rippling into existence around me as Cassian averted his gaze, following behind my mate, giving me time to settle myself.

Even after his death, I would never feel settled with Tamlin.

When I caught up to them, they'd stopped before the doors and I realized Feyre was hesitating. Before I could send a wisp of a thought down the bond I heard her clear as if she'd spoken out loud. Do you think they're really in there?

As I searched out their thoughts to find out the truth I asked her, Do you think this could be a trap?

I don't know what to think anymore.

I let my power seek the manor, brushing by mind after mind searching for Lucien or either of her sisters. Though I hadn't met them, anyone thinking of Feyre would catch my attention.

Always.

They're in there. Are you ready?

Cassian had started to bob on his feet softly, nearly imperceptibly. He'd long been used to me communicating silently when it was necessary, but perhaps to do so this often and so casually... He seemed ready for a distraction.

"Are you gonna stare at the door all day or what?" a harsh voice shouted from a balcony above.

Nesta, my mate shared. I noted the drop in her face, the eyeroll. My instincts flew on alert, prepared to protect her if this went in anyway badly.

But Feyre just stomped through the doors and Cassian and I trailed behind. I gave her space. She hadn't been here since I'd forced Tamlin to send her away and she'd never been very eager to talk about her sisters, making for a potentially tense brunch.

Inside the first great room stood a human girl with hair like Feyre's, whose face was rounder, softer, more innocent. She waited with a fresh cut bouquet that matched the soft pink flowers woven into a crown atop her head. A wide grin was spread across her face, and she was practically bubbling with eagerness.

"Feyre!" she shouted, darting toward my mate who stood frozen, stunned.

I wanted to call to her again - ask if this was okay, if I should step in. But I didn't. I wouldn't unless she asked for me. I was grateful that our bond had strengthened so much since her change after Under the Mountain - after she... I couldn't even bring myself to think of that time. The time I couldn't feel her. The time I saw her body but she wasn't there...

Since then our bond had been much stronger with her newfound immortality, however it also meant getting a read on her thoughts, her feelings, had been much more difficult. The Amulet of Storms, it seemed, provided its own shield around her - both mental and physical, and though that was a benefit of the cursed object that I actually liked, it made my job a little more difficult.

"Elain," Feyre said under her breath as her older sister embraced her. "What are you doing here?"

Elain's eyes cast downward. "I..." she started, "I know what happened to you here." My blood heated, adrenaline spiking. I stepped toward them, staying just behind Feyre. My hand moved to the small of her back though I wasn't sure if it was to steady her or myself as Elain continued, "I'm so sorry to bring you back here."

"Then why did you?" Feyre asked, her voice tight - the sound choked me, but she leaned back into my hand. It was a comfort to us both.

"Well," Elain began,

"He wouldn't let us leave," the first voice called, Nesta's voice, as she descended the stairs above us.

"If you're trapped here we can get you out," Feyre said. My eyes shot to Cassian's who had just pulled his gaze from the eldest sister when we made contact. He understood the look without me having to send him any information. We would have to wait until I was no longer here for the sisters to choose of their own free will to leave with Cassian, or maybe Mor, but we could definitely offer them a way out.

"I'm not trapped!" Elain corrected.

And then I heard it. I heard it in her thoughts, in her fear and excitement that refused to be quiet. I heard it and I was not ready for it, nor did I believe my mate would be.

"She's my mate," Lucien said as he entered the room, bold-chested in a stiff hunter green tunic.

Elain beamed at the mention of the bond.

Nesta scoffed from up the stairwell. "Yeah, yeah. It doesn't mean you have to hold her captive or immediately decide to spend the rest of her life together."

I felt the statement like a dagger to the heart. Though in the few centuries I'd known Lucien, I hadn't exactly become his biggest fan, I could empathize with believing your mate would only last a few decades before you quickly outlived her. The thought had kept me up at night many times Under the Mountain.

Many things kept me up at night Under the Mountain.

"Nesta, please," Elain chastised her older sister.

Nesta's lip twitched as if she was ready to snarl like an animal at her sister talking to her like that. The disgust peeled across her face as the red-haired High Fae approached Elain, setting an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

Elain turned back to Feyre, the beginning of a meek smile touching her lips. "I thought you'd understand. I thought you'd know what it was like to have found your mate." She dropped her head, her eyes flicking toward where Nesta came to stand far off in the great room. "Nesta has been... difficult. I asked Lucien to reach out to you so that things might begin to be," she paused at made eye contact with me and then my mate before continuing, "normal."

I sucked in a deep breath.

"Having a mate is far from normal, Elain," Feyre said and even as she said it, I struggled not to want to reach into her mind - to know whether there was any hint of burden on her tongue, whether our bond was the same treasure it was to me, to her. I'd waited centuries for this woman at my side, but if she didn't want me... It was a possibility, I told myself, that I would have to come to terms with.

Elain gave a short nod. Lucien's brows crept together.

"But, I understand," Feyre said, her voice soft and contemplative. She dipped her chin in my direction and I felt the unspoken call, stepping to her side. Our eyes met and I was so, so grateful. "The bond," she looked back to her sister, "it changes you... Pulls you in and redirects you. If this is what you want to pursue, then I support you no matter where it takes you."

Pride rolled through my chest like breaking waves.

Elain gave her sister a simple, hopeful smile before inviting us to the dining room for an early lunch.