A Court of Magnolias and Ash

Twelve

Nesta:

I stiffened as his snarl deepened. Amber droplets fell towards the hem of my indigo gown.

Cassian slid his rough hand over mine, his unfailing warmth spreading through me. I didn't dare look at him, nor did he glimpse at me.

So, we watched, as I struggled to make it through the endless night. We watched as I faintly sung Feyre's lullaby, as I attempted to speak of the curse and failed. As I prayed to whatever gods or goddesses Prythian kept.

We stood in silence, watching as I counted the brightest stars—wishing upon them for a different life. Wishing for a stronger body, one that could have fought off monsters and feral beasts without failure. A body and spirit that would make the earth tremble my name.

The night progressed, creatures of all shapes sniffed me for pleasure, for food. Only to be scared off by something my human ears could not tune into.

Threatening shadows, hissing their warning to those who lingered.

Sapphire ink circled the sky, wrapping itself in a new cloak of stars. I cried in pain, trying to drag myself towards the direction Tamlin left in, hoping to find Feyre. Pulling myself by tree roots, I made it halfway up the hill before rolling back down, defeated. I wept as I caught speed, only to slam my head into a moss-covered rock at the bottom. I faced the stars once again, feeling the trail of drawn blood leak down my pale face.

"Feyre..." I mumbled as the distant lights blurred into one another, more crimson dripping from my temple. "Fey..."

"Have you made up your mind?" Tamlin asked, squatting beside me in the early morning glow. Honey rays of light filtered through the leaves, casting a rainbow of gold, green and amber throughout the forest floor.

As dizzy and as sick as I felt, I still muttered, "neither."

Tamlin growled in response, "my patience is growing thin." He brushed the golden-brown hair out of my drained face, I sprayed bloody spit across his masked features.

He raised my sticky crimson chin with a deathly grip, "I can't wait to see who you fall for, how their heart will snap when you reject them. How yours will rot with loneliness..."

Cassian released my fragile hand, I glanced at his, they were shaking with magic and adrenaline. He didn't growl nor snarl, he stayed silent. A sickening, rage filled silence that made my pounding heart gallop faster.

It was similar to when he found out about Tomas. When he read me like an open book, seeing the hurt—the flicker of horror as I remembered that pig. Cassian had asked if I had ever been with a man and all I could see was Tomas ripping at my skirts, holding me down.

However, the difference between then and now, he didn't know Tomas by name. Didn't see what he had done to me in that secluded barn. But this...he would never un-see this memory of mine. Never un-see the cruelty that Tamlin inflicted.

"Since those options don't entice you. Here's the third, if you come looking for Feyre again, I will kill her. I will make sure it is the most excruciating death felt throughout this land and yours. She will die, and her blood will be on your hands."

I tried to fight, I attempted to reach for him but I couldn't. The pain was so excessive all I could do was twitch my fingers.

"But if you leave, I will heal you. Feyre will live. She will live a long, happy life and I will send you home to even more riches than fathomable." He wiped the excess blood down his face, smearing red across his golden-kissed skin. "I'm surprised what I gave wasn't already enough—but you'll receive more. It will set your bloodline up for life."