A Court of Blood and Glory

Flying and Feasting

Rhysand

I listened to her story, listened to her pain, and I knew why she didn't want to talk about it with me before that moment, knew how the memories had scarred her, and I knew that she felt like she had betrayed me, but I didn't care. She was my mate, and I would love her no matter what.
I reached for her hand as she finished her story, a weight seeming to have lifted off her shoulders, took her hand, and pulled her off her chair and into my lap, hugging her close, telling her that she wasn't alone. Mor, Cassian and Azriel soon joined, each of us showing her how much we cared for her. Amren chose to show Feyre in her own way, and I saw the old beast smile at my mate, tears in her eyes as she took in the scene.
"I don't hug." Was all she said as we stared at her, and we laughed at her response before Cassian pulled her in, his wings forcing her to remain in our embrace.
We spent a few moments like that, and a few moments more to witness Amren's discomfort, before breaking up and taking up our seats at the table.
"What do you want to do now?" Cassian finally asked.
"I want Azriel to teach me how to fly." Feyre said, and looked expectantly at the spy master.
"Then I will train you. Meet me outside the house at dawn tomorrow." He said, grinning ear to ear.
"I take that back. I will learn myself." Feyre said, unhappy about the early morning wake up.
Convince him to train me later. Please? She asked me.
Sorry Feyre darling, but you got yourself into this one, so you will have to get yourself out of it.
She gave an exasperated sigh before turning back to Azriel. "Dawn it is. Any pointers on what to expect?" She asked.
"Pain." Was his only response, his grin widening.
"Great." She said sarcastically, and Cassian chuckled quietly.
I would enjoy watching her train.

Xxx

I woke Feyre by shaking her slightly, no sign of light outside the window. "Get off." She said, annoyed that I was waking her.
"No, Feyre darling. You have training, and you can't be late for Azriel." I said, my voice soft. She closed her eyes and turned away from me, but I licked her ear, grazing the soft skin of the lobe with my teeth.
"That's not fair. You're cheating."
"No I'm not!" I said, smiling against her neck. "But you need to get up, and if this is the only way possible I will stay here all day."
"All day? In bed? With you?" She said coyly, finally turning me. "That's too bad, because I may just take you up on that offer." She tried to kiss me, but I twisted out of her reach, picking her up as she squealed. I deposited her in the bathroom, chucking her clothes in there with her.
"If you aren't out in ten minutes I will have Azriel train you naked."
"Fuck you Rhys!" I heard, but I could tell she was getting ready, not wanting to risk me following through on my promise.
She came downstairs to find a plate of pancakes and syrup awaiting her. "You need to have a good breakfast before training." I said, and I took a seat opposite her as she sat down, still grumpy from the wake up.
"She finished quickly before I walked her to the door, opening it onto a smiling Azriel. "Let's go." Was all he said before turning away, Feyre closely following him.
She wouldn't be able to walk when she came home.

Feyre

I longed for another hour or two in bed, but Azriel wouldn't have it, and began to walk away from me and I followed, the cold air biting at my face. "Where are we going?" I asked him as we walked out of Velaris.
"Away from many distractions." Was all he said, and I knew he meant Rhys. He picked me up and flew me away, to a destroyed clearing full of power. Rhys's power, and I knew that that was where the Illyrian's went to train.
"First things first, let me see your wings." Azriel said as he put me down. I took a moment to study his wings, wanting to get them just right, before I formed my own. He walked around me, analysing every part of the wings, including the scars that I refused to remove. He stretched them out, looking at the span, comparing their size to my body, before letting them drop. "You need to also adapt the muscles in your back, make them stronger so that they can easily support your wings. Start by looking at my back so that you can develop the muscles in the right way. We will then work on strengthening them." He said before turning around, giving me full view of his back.
The muscles were shaped slightly differently, formed around the wings and connecting them to his body. I changed the formation of my muscles and showed Az, his nod the only approval I received in return. "Now lift your wings from the floor. It is a sign of laziness amongst Illyrians to have your wings drag along the floor." He said and took a step back to watch me try and lift the heavy wings.
After a few failed attempts I finally managed to get them off the floor, stretching them wide so that I could see their span, making Azriel chuckle as he took in the size of his wings compared to mine. "Good, now try to tuck them in." I attempted to bring them in slowly but they snapped in very quickly, and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from crying out in pain.
I felt a feather like brush against my mental shields, Rhys checking that I was ok.
I'm fine, don't worry.
What happened?
I'm just struggling to get the hang of this. I felt his laughter down the bond.
Can I watch?
No.
I didn't want anyone else to see how badly I was doing. A pointed cough from Azriel had me trying again, stretching my wings and then trying to close them, but I fell over that time, my wings coming in with enough force to push me to the ground.
I heard a tree branch crunch behind me, and I turned to find my mate lying on the branch, his wings spread out behind him. He laughed at my muddy leathers, and I stood up, fuming just someone else had come to watch me struggle. I tried again, but Rhys sent me images of us in bed and I forgot to do anything as my wings snapped shut, once more pushing me into the mud.
"Stop it Rhys, I'm trying to practice."
"Practice what? Falling over?" He laughed, and Azriel did too. I felt my face ores, but that only fuelled my desire to do better. When I tried once more I still snapped my wings shut, but I managed to stay on my feet, bringing a round of applause from my mate, and a smile from the spy master.
"Good." Az said. "Again."
We remained in that clearing for hours, the sun going well past midday, before finally stopping. Rhys came down from the tree and picked me up, carrying me not to Velaris, but to a small cabin in the woods.
"I wanted to have you to myself for a while." He said mischievously.
"What is this place?" I asked, looking around the small cabin. It was cosy but still quite spacious, and most likely magic seeing as everything was prepared for us.
"This is a little secret between the Inner Circle, and since you are a part of our family you are now entitled to know about this place." He walked further into the cabin before turning to face me once more. "You can't winnow in because of the wards around this place, but I can show you the boundaries and you can winnow yourself in before walking. Or you could just fly in, if you ever learn." I went up to him, intending to kiss him, but he quickly moved away, and I only caught thin air. "No more kisses until you can fly Feyre darling, so you'd better learn quickly." I tried to get him again but he moved once more.
"I may not learn to fly to torture you then. How good is your self-control?" I said, slowly walking towards him, my hands on his shoulders, sliding over to his wings, the metal cool beneath my hands.
"Because I heard that metal wings..." I ran my nail down one of his wings. "...are extremely sensitive." He shuddered at my touch.
"That's cheating." He said quietly, but he didn't try to move away.
"No it isn't." He placed his hands on my back, moving them lower and lower, past my bum, until he was gripping my thighs. "How is that self-control again?" I asked, scrunching my nose up.
"Non-existent." He said as his lips pressed firmly against mine, his tongue brushing the roof of my mouth. "I love you." He said, pulling back to see my eyes. "I love you more than anything."
"I love you too, to whatever end." And we had a whole cabin to ourselves, the night ahead of ourselves with no distractions in sight.
"We will have to control these urges soon; we are at war." He said, his eyes sparkling at the prospect of time alone.
"Yes, but that's not for some time." I said, and I kissed him once more. I kissed him many times more before removing his clothes, and we continued where we'd left off the night before, with his body underneath mine, my hand clasping his dick.
I loved him, more than anything, and no one could separate us.