DISCONTINUED A Court of Blood and Night Rewritten

6

Heyyyyy I just got my writing honors in school and I REALLY need to update this. Sorry that it took so long.

Lucien didn't have a chance to confront me over the next few days. Both of us were dreadfully busy; him with negotiations between Hybern and Spring (Tamlin was too busy with wedding preparations to bother with them) and I with dress fittings, alterations, choosing my flowers and the colors, and just about everything else that Alys and the other servants thought could take up my time. I only stopped to eat, relieve myself, and sleep. I didn't even have time to talk to Rhys, not that there was much to remark upon.

The day before the wedding, which I was ready to ruin, I spent all of my free time on getting into people's heads and planting small seeds of doubt about Tamlin, about the Spring Court, about Ianthe. I'd been doing that slowly with the people living outside of the manor, but with the inevitable return to my Court rushing toward me, I had to act fast. Nearly all of the servants were given something to worry about, and the sentries, the loyal warriors that had been willing to sacrifice themselves, were uncomfortable staying in the same room with their High Lord once I was done. The only people I left alone were Lucien, Alys, and Ianthe-- Lucien because he was already too suspicious of me, Alys because she'd been too kind to me, and I didn't have the motivation to willingly betray her like that, and Ianthe because I didn't want to be inside her mind, mostly because I'd probably break it and get caught in the act. Of course, revenge for what she brought upon my sisters would be well worth it.

Free of responsibility for a few hours, I find myself in front of a canvas, carefully detailing a rosebush in front of the open window. I was considering the best way to replicate the colors in the wickedly-sharp thorns when someone coughed. I pretended to be startled and whipped my head around to look at him, but I'd had wards up so I knew the moment when he arrived. "Lucien." I set my brush down. "What do you need?" The question was a challenge in and of itself. Did he dare accuse me of betrayal in his High Lord's home?

For a moment, he seemed to consider it. I almost expected him to accuse me of what we both very well knew and corner me. But instead he said, "I've been thinking."

I raised my eyebrows.

He continued, "It's obvious you're loyal to Rhysand and to the Night Court. I've seen you communicate with each other, and I'm sure you do so often." His jaw ticked, but he didn't make a move to insult me or my Court. "If that's true, I have a feeling you know the wellbeing of your sisters."

I could see where this was going, and I didn't know how to feel about it at all. "You want to know how Elain's doing."

"Can you blame me?"

Yes, I yearned to say. But could I really? If I were in his position, if I didn't know the things I knew, would I cope nearly as well as he seemed to be doing? Likely not. Indecisive, I glanced at my painting to see if it would help me make up my mind on what to tell him. Trying to put myself in his shoes was giving me a headache.

Finally, I said, "My sisters are as safe as it gets, and they're being cared for." I met his gaze. "I can't tell you much more. I haven't had the ability to assess their wellbeing myself, and while I trust my friends-" his expression tightened at the word-- "they don't know my sisters as well as I do and may not understand how bad of shape they could be in." I thought about leaving it at that, but couldn't resist adding a bit sharply, "Trauma does things to people, and they don't recover from it swiftly, Lucien."

He stared at me silently for a long moment. "If you can give me a confident idea of how Elain is doing, then answer me this: why?"

"You'll have to be more specific than that."

"Why leave Spring? Why befriend the enemy? Why stay with Rhysand, and for the love of the Mother, why continue staying here and deceiving Tamlin and the rest of his Court?"

I turned back to my painting and picked up the brush while I considered what to say. As I began painting the thorns, I said quietly, "After Under the Mountain and Amarantha, we were expected to forget about it and move on. In doing so, we all suffered. I didn't eat or sleep, and I could barely function. Surely you remember that." The barb in my voice was unmistakable, but before Lucien could say anything, I continued. "Rhys recognized my torment and offered me a hand when nobody in this Court would. And when I really began healing, when I realized I could not only smile again but feel alive again, I realized I could not go back."

"And yet you're here." The ache in my head spread behind my eyes, and my vision blurred slightly. I blinked hard and everything focused again. Still, I decided painting small details was probsbly not a good idea.

"Yes, I'm here." I set my brush down and faced him again. "I'm here because Hybern struck a deal with your High Lord and decided my fate for me. But Rhys and I were prepared for a similar situation and acted accordingly." I folded my arms across my chest and checked my warding, despite my headache growing even worse. Nobody else was within hearing distance. Tamlin wasn't even in the manor. "I cannot wed Tamlin. I assume you already know that."

Lucien raised an eyebrow. "Can't, or won't?"

"Both. I won't marry Tamlin because I have no inclination to marry someone who I've grown to despise." I stared at him unflinchingly. "And I can't marry him because I'm already married."

Lucien's face tightened and his shoulders set rigidly. "To Rhysand." I wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question, but I nodded anyway. His eyes narrowed. "When Hybern severed your bond... He didn't succeed, did he?"

I flashed back to the horror of that night and shuddered. Cassian and Azriel, covered in blood, Elain and Nesta suddenly stuck in new bodies, the agony of Hybern's magic cutting off the bargain so harshly... The pain in my head was slowly growing unbearable. "No, he didn't. He severed my bargain with him, but no one can sever a mate bond."

Lucien was silent, just thinking. "I see," he said quietly. "And if you don't plan to marry Tamlin, what will you do instead? Kill him?"

"No. I plan to leave."

"And what do you plan to do to my High Lord before you do?"

I smiled despite the pain I was suddenly in. "The damage is already done. All I plan to do is walk out the door and go home."

I knew he was itching to ask more questions, but the pounding in my head doubled, and my ears began ringing a high-pitched tone. I felt myself swaying in pain, and as it grew even worse, I made a soft sound of pain. I could hear just enough to register that Lucien was also in pain, and then the ringing grew deafening and my vision flashed white as if a lightning bolt struck my head. Then there was silence, and everything was gone.