After ACOMAF...Part Three
***And here is Part Three! Thank you for the numerous messages to continue writing! Finally, another dual POV chapter between Feyre and Rhys! If you haven’t checked out Part One or Part Two, the links will be posted below! To the stars who listen, and the dreams that are answered!***
The shockwave of fear hit me like a ton of bricks, so hard that I lost my balance as Azriel’s fist connected with my ribs and I stumbled to the ground. We’d been training for days now and I’d been getting better; mastering my footwork, sparring for hours, and running laps around the streets of Velaris. I was starting to feel my years in the Illyrian Mountains kick in once again. So what was this?
Noticing that something was off, Azriel pulled back, sweat dripping down his face, his eyes questioning. Cassian and Mor had also halted their discussion to pay attention, closely.
The wave hit me again, harder this time and I clenched my hands into fists, forcing myself to keep breathing as my heart skipped a beat. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.
With nothing else to do, I pulled across the bond, moving onto my knees, begging, praying. Please be alright please be alright what’s going on.
Nothing. Absolutely no answer.
Azriel and Cassian had moved to sit on the floor beside as they watched, waited. Still, nothing. No.
I felt myself start to shake, my arms trembling as they held me up off the floor. And then….there it was. The slightest tug back. Relief weighed so heavy in my bones that I thought I’d nearly collapse.
“What’s going on?” Cassian laid a rough hand on my arm, his eyes ablaze, his face a mask of calm.
“Feyre.” I felt both of my warriors tense around me, waiting. “It was like a wave. Fear. And then everything just went… silent. I thought…” I didn’t finish my sentence, couldn’t. The thought of Feyre in fear, pain, or…worse. I couldn’t do it.
I pushed myself off my knees and began walking on shaking legs. I needed to know… needed to know that she was safe. This was enough time to wait for contact.
Cassian and Azriel were steps behind me, ready to hold me down if I decided to do something stupid, something that would jeopardize our court. But I wasn’t stupid. I just needed solace.
I marched to the study, ripping bits of paper out of whatever I could find, all the while tugging rhythmically on our bond to get her attention, to warn her. I’m here I’m here.
I snatched the first pen I found and began writing. Not much, nothing to raise attention, I just needed to talk to her. I wrote down the few words I had to say and, before anyone else had time to interject, sent it on its way and prayed.
—————————————————————————————————-
The dining room was a disaster.
As promised, Lucien had gone with me to break the news to Tamlin about my new tattoo. I’d told the same lie I’d told Lucien, making a good show of being ashamed and terrified to tell him. But instead of yelling, instead of flipping the table or hitting Lucien, he’d exploded. The same as when I’d left.
This time I hadn’t had time to throw up my shields before the first wave rained out of him, and then a second had come.
The fear ran deep in me in the seconds that I’d had to grab Lucien and pull him into my shield as Tamlin hit us, again and again, wave after wave. This was not like before I’d left. It was worse.
Had Tamlin grown stronger in my absence? More out of control than I’d realized?
Lucien watched me, his face pale, while I’d held the shield with both of us perfectly protected inside. In that moment I’d wondered how many times Lucien had to experience this alone, without protection. How low had Tamlin sunk in my absence?
“Tamlin hasn’t been the same,” Lucien had said, months ago when he’d come to find me. But I hadn’t given it a thought then, not with Rhys at my side.
As the waves continued to hit, ripples of power sent out from Tamlin’s every pore, my shield began to fail. I’d never spread it this wide before, covering myself and Lucien, and didn’t know how to hold it. I watched in terror as the shield began to fade, it’s light flickering less brightly than before. I felt a tugging deep inside me, begging me to hold out, but I just couldn’t.
Lucien noticed and, as the last threads of my shield broke apart, he’d grabbed me, flipping the dining room table in front of us and lessening the blow of the final wave that knocked us off our feet and sent the table rolling.
Then, Tamlin had huffed out entirely. It was then that I truly saw him, all glamours aside, he looked horrible.
He looked thin, worn. The hollows under his eyes had grown darker, the light in his eyes almost completely gone. He was dead on his feet as he’d stared blankly at the both of us and, without any word of apology, turned on his heels and stumbled out of the house. Lucien had raced after him, telling me to stay put, and that’s exactly what I’d done.
It wasn’t until now, that I was left alone in the shattered dining room with my own thoughts, that I felt the deep tugging, harder this time, and realized that it had been Rhys. My Rhys.
My heart soared, knowing he must have felt me, my panic and fear, and was wondering if I was okay. I felt wiped clean of energy, but I tugged back.
I felt the tugging again, a rhythmic pulling of my heart as it slowed my breathing, calmed my soul. My mate, letting me know I was not alone.
It was minutes before I gathered the strength to pick myself up and, as I did, I noticed a piece of paper sitting on the floor beside me, torn at the edges, but unmistakably covered in Rhysand’s beautiful handwriting.
I sunk back to the floor and hugged it to me, relief flooding my veins, before I bothered to read it.
Please, be alright. What happened? I love you. If you don’t reply in five minutes, I will come straight to you. War between courts be damned. WRITE BACK.
It was then that I noticed the pen lying on the ground next to where the paper had been, and I snatched it up immediately, a second wind of energy soaring through my veins. He had finally sent word. This was my reason, my reason for being here.
Rhysand. I love you. Thank the Cauldron. I’m fine. Tamlin on the other hand, not so much. Something’s wrong with him. I showed him my tattoo, and he exploded. My shields broke before it stopped. He’s falling apart.
The minute I’d set down the paper it vanished, and was back seconds later. He must have been waiting a little impatiently.
If you’re hurt, I’m coming to get you.
In a fleeting moment of panic, I grabbed the paper and wrote, NO. Again, it immediately vanished. It was a minute or so before I got a response.
If he hurts you, we’re done. This is done. I won’t let him. This ruse, it is not worth jeopardizing you.
I smiled at the paper, knowing that my High Lord, my mate, was standing somewhere on the other side, fearing for me, ready to storm the castle for me, and that was enough.
I can protect myself. I promise. If things get bad, I won’t stop you from reigning whatever hell you see fit on Tamlin. But for now, we need allies. This is our chance. Just give me time.
The paper vanished once again, and returned seconds later.
I would tear down worlds for you, and farther beyond. To the stars who listen…
I smiled as I wrote, And the dreams that are answered.
The paper vanished and didn’t come back.
