DISCONTINUED A Court of Blood and Night Rewritten

2

"Hello, Feyre!" A voice chirped as a female cloaked in blue swept into Tamlin's room. I grimaced when she wasn't looking; I'd hoped Ianthe wouldn't show up again until the next big celebration (Summer Solstice was the next one, to my understanding). So much for that one. I guess good luck only goes so far.

I had woken up to find Tamlin mercifully gone. Likely talking with Lucien about Hybern's little pawns that he was sending to the Spring Court territory more and more frequently. It was disrupting the... Well, everything. I wasn't too sympathetic to Tamlin's constant complaints and stress-- he brought this on himself when he made that deal. He may have mellowed his behavior since I came back, but I knew it was only to stop me from being scared away like a rabbit or something. Still treating me like an animal-- but a different kind of animal.

"Ianthe," I replied, forcing a smile as she looked me up and down. "It's good to see you." I didn't move from where I sat in bed, a book in my hand. We'd already had our quiet conversation about my sisters, where I pretended to forgive her. But as I looked at her, blood boiled in my veins. That would be a debt I would gladly pay back, when the time came.

"And you," she replied, her smile even larger. I wanted to tear out a few of those perfect teeth so that she might not smile at all for a while.

She removed her hood, and her blonde hair flashed like gold in the sunlight dancing through the window. Almost like Mor's hair-- maybe a bit more coppery.

Mor. The Night Court. Rhys.

Every thought circled back to them, to my Court. To my mate. I was a mess over leaving him and I didn't know what to do about it. Why couldn't I be more like... Well, Rhys? Calmer, more collected-- with a mask as perfect and unbreakable as the bond we shared?

I saw Ianthe's lips form my name, and I blinked. "What?"

She huffed. "Typical," she said with a teasing note in her voice, but I wondered if she was actually offended. I hoped she was. I desperately wanted her to be. "I said, 'When are you and Tamlin going to marry?' You two never made it official, since..." she winced delicately, and I forced myself to swallow hard, to look away, flooding my thoughts with memories of the Wyrm, of the Bone Carver, of the Weaver of the Wood so my scent would be drenched with terror. "Never mind that, now," she carried on quickly, sensing my distress. "I think we should do it within a few days of announcing, so that the Night Court doesn't overhear this time!"

Marriage? With Tamlin? I wanted to laugh. Even if I hadn't married Rhys the night before I came back to the Spring Court... Tamlin was no longer someone I felt I could love. Sure, he'd kept his promise from before, of making sure I was in the loop, and he'd certainly changed his behavior... But it was all a mask. A way to keep me here. I couldn't love him, and not just because I loved Rhys. After everything he'd done to me, to his innocent Court, there was no foreseeable way.

But I forced myself to nod. "I think that would be best," I murmured, nodding. "When are you thinking we should... Marry?" I had to force the word, and it tasted like bile.

She beamed almost proudly. "I believe right before the Summer Solstice would be perfect. I'm already making plans." She frowned. "Unfortunately, your dress is gone forever, so we'll just have to get another!" The cheer returned, and I wanted to grimace, remembering all of the poofy skirts and fabrics and... It was disgusting, really. I'd been groomed like an animal.

Then a sudden horror filled me.

The Summer Solstice was merely a month or so away-- I'd already spent so much time in the Spring Court. It made me feel sick-- the idea of spending more time with Tamlin. To spend enough time in this Court for that day to come, let alone one more day, made me want to break the manor apart. There was no way I was staying around for it, but I certainly wasn't leaving without doing what I came here for: to destroy Tamlin.

My breath caught as a new possibility flooded my brain, a possibility that I wouldn't have thought of before I met Rhys. I didn't want to stick around, and I certainly didn't have to. But if I did stick around, it'd be the perfect time to cause a scene, far grander than the first one. Rhysand would enjoy that-- we always did love playing our games together. And where Tamlin's fury and mortification was involved... A slow smile spread across my lips. It was a serious effort to keep my expression demure when all I could think about was how my mate and I could destroy Tamlin within one day. Even harder when I realized I could kill Ianthe that day if I wished (certainly a fitting way to end my relationship with the Spring Court for good), and I had a full month to plan exactly what I wanted.

"Okay," I said simply. "That's perfect." Absolutely, utterly perfect. I glanced at my glamoured arm when she wasn't looking, and reached out for that bond, that connection. I could feel Rhysand on the other side, feeling me and understanding I had something to say. Not that either of us could actually send words while we were such a far distance from one another-- just fragments and images and feelings. I sent a very simple thought down that mating bond, made of feelings and images that narrowed to a promise: soon. Soon, I'll come home.

And though he couldn't technically understand what I was saying to him, Rhys sent something back. A message as earnest and loving as mine had been to him. And as I half-listened to Ianthe's prattling about decorations and hairstyles, I silently deciphered his message. And though the ending of our bargain had taken his voice from my head in such far distance, I could've sworn I heard him purr, I'm waiting right here, darling. Felt him stroke a mental finger down that bond in a silent, lovinv caress.

I was in a suspiciously good mood for the rest of the day, even as I listened to Ianthe drone on.