A fic in which Rhys died during ACOWAR, so Feyre remained High Lady. And now her time has come to join Rhys. My ultimate BROTP is Feyre and Az after them training in ACOWAR, so this is just a wee fic to occupy my mind!

Feyre's POV

Feyre, darling. You need to wake up, I hated his damn voice in my head. Of course I had to wake up, it was the opening of a new camp today and I had to officially open it. But I didn't want to leave my bed, my body ached and felt like lead, wrapped in all them blankets from last night. "Do I have too?"

Yes, love. You need to open the new camp. Think of all the children that you are giving a second chance too now, think of the education.

"You're just as demanding dead as you were alive"

I'm flattered, really flattered. I would've pushed him if he had been here, but he wasn't. No, he was gone. Rhysand had died in the war and now all that was left was the aching hole in my chest were my heart should've been, but when he died he had taken it with him.

Up you get, get dressed, and go down to Az and Cass. They're waiting for you.

"What should I wear?"

I hardly think that red piece of lingerie is acceptable.

"Rhysand…." I mumbled, crawling out of bed and then grabbing the deep purple dress-top with a pair of leather trousers. The top came to my waist, but then at the back it feel down to my ankles as well as at the sides, decorated in stars and swirls of moonlight.

Beautiful.

"Inspired by you"

I'm honoured. I would've kissed him, I would've kissed his nose and hugged him for that then let him plait my hair and sort pins into it, but he was a ghost. A fragment gone in my shattered heart. He was gone. And now I was High Lady of the Night Court.

Az's POV

She was talking to Rhys again. I could hear her walking around her room and talking away, did a voice answer her? I wondered softly, could love be so strong and so defiant of death that a voice could answer her? I never asked her. I never asked if Rhys spoke back, it did catch me off guard during meetings when she would mumble something directed at the ghost beside her, part of me was tempted to send a shadow with her, to follow her so that she had something to actually talk too instead of just talking to the air. I let out another breath, making sure her cup of tea was nice and warm, adding a leaf of Ancra Utha to keep her calm today. The plant was native to the Night Court, growing on the cliffs right where the waves crashed against, so it was nearly impossible to harvest but for my High Lady, I would do it a thousand times over. "Good morning" I looked up and smiled politely, bowing my head. "Good morning Feyre, sleep well?"

"Better than normal, I think the drink Amren gave me is helping"

"I would say so, Cassian tends to drink it whenever he comes back from wars or when Nesta is snoring too loudly" Feyre snorted, shaking her head. "My sister does not snore; I don't know what he is on about"

"He insists he hears snoring whenever he has to sleep with someone, Rhys got so tired of his complaining he always got a separate tent" Feyre laughed, and I felt something simmer in my heart. It was nice to see her laugh; it was nice to see her not break down and cry when I mentioned his name. Wounds heal but scars never fade, scars are deeper and run like the roots of trees into your body, engraving themselves into your bones so you can never pull free. "Rhys says he also kicked him out because his feet stink" Rhys isn't here, I wanted to say quietly, Rhys is gone now, yet the words died in my throat like the embers of a fire caught in rain. "Of course he says that, he was obsessed with hygiene, made him impossible to live with" I murmured, "And the grooming of his eyebrows, he never stopped. He tried to do mine one night, it didn't end well"

"What are you on about? We actually have a spa day once every two weeks, full pedicure with a facial, waxing and bronzing" Cassian reached over and grabbed himself some fruit then grinning at Feyre. "Good morning, High Lady. Radiant as always"

"Good morning Cassian" Feyre took her tea, sipping it politely and sitting down. She never took Rhys's seat, she never sat there. She always sat to the right, she never sat at the head of the table, always to the right just like it had been when he was alive. "I see we are going for the kickass fighter look today, are we intending on kicking any ass?"

"No, Cass. Not today"

"Are you sure? I know some guys who took my savings last night"

"Did you happen to gamble these savings?"

"Maybe. Oh maybe we could attack Devlon" Feyre rolled her eyes, sitting back in her seat and looked at him. "Anyone else?"

"Keir, The Autumn Court, Jurian, The Autumn Court…am I missing anyone?" He looked at me when he said that, "I think you missed the Autumn Court," I replied getting another ghost smile from Feyre, setting her tea down on its saucer and nodding gravely, giving Cassian a very serious look. "I hear you, Cassian. I really do but you are the Master of War in case you forgotten so I think me kicking their ass won't achieve anything"

"Oh I could let Nesta on them…" He murmured, looking off into the distance as if following the flight of a butterfly. "That'd be good"

"Your children are going to be dangerous to the world," Feyre muttered, looking at me. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready whenever you are" she gave me a slight nod then stood up, checking herself to make sure she had everything, then her eyes locked on his chair again, her hand reached out and touched it. Her fingers followed the curve of the wood and traced the grain.

I believe in you, Feyre darling. I nearly swore I heard his voice.

Feyre's POV

The city was at its finest, the cool summer air tickled my face, dancing along my skin and blowing my top out behind me. While it wasn't cold, it wasn't warm either. It was just nice. I knew I could've winnowed to the camp, Az had insisted on it but I wanted to walk, just clear my head for a minute before the camp.

You can do it, Feyre. You must stop doubting yourself like this, I would've sold my soul and the moon to just feel him again. To feel him touch my back lightly in concern, like he did before all the dinners we attended together or any other social occasion. I knew Az was concerned, I knew he watched me with more intensity than before, and I had noticed how his shadows were following me now as if to protect me from something, I didn't know what that something was.

Until today.

The Night Court was now known for its peace and equality, not torture and injustice as it had been believed during the time Under the Mountain. Az had explained there had been a drug floating round too, his spies working frantically to sort it out before it took over the city but he had assured me that it was nothing to be concerned about. Nothing serious. I could hear the person before I could see him, he was shouting in the streets, yelling and roaring.

Be careful, Feyre darling you don't know what you are dealing with. I bit my lip, I wanted to say something back, I wanted to say to him that he technically wasn't there, that he was just a figment of my grief. This man, whoever he might be, was still apart of my Court and was still under my care. So I walked towards him, opening my hands to show him there was nothing there to hurt him with. "Hello, sir" I said calmly. "Are you ok?"

"S-she's dead" I took a deep breath, half of me was screaming to just go to his mind and take away this pain, to settle him. But I knew I couldn't do that, so I swallowed, stepping towards him hesitantly. "Who is sir?"

"My little girl," he choked out, he had a knife. I could see the sky's reflection on the blade. "S-she died"

"I am so sorry," I whispered, stepping towards him again, trying not to anger him. "I am so sorry, what was her name?"

"Lucy, my little Lucy"

"That's a lovely name, what was she like sir?"

"She was so smart, she was so smart and then she got sick…she went to sleep and I couldn't wake her" I felt like there was a hand around my throat, squeezing every breath I breathed out of me then giving me no room left to breathe. "I am sorry"

"Sorry's not going to bring her back!" He yelled, grabbing the knife and holding it out. I took a step back instinctively, still holding my hands up. "I know, believe me I know" I could see his pupils were tiny from the drug, this wasn't going to end well. "Sir, can you set the knife down for me?"

"No"

"Lucy wouldn't want this, sir. It's ok to feel grief, its ok to feel anger but there are other ways to express it," I said strongly but all I got was a bitter laugh in return. "You don't know her! You do not have the right to say what she would and wouldn't want!" He snapped, stepping forward again. My head was spinning, I was vaguely aware of Rhys's voice again, trying to encourage me but it all happened so fast. I didn't register it until I felt the stickiness of blood in my side, he had swung at me, then lost his balance and fell, his knife catching my side. It had punctured my stomach, just below my ribs. I felt the blade pierce my skin. I felt it sink into my body and I knew I only had a matter of minutes before I died. I could feel it.

Az's POB

No. I could feel it, I could feel Feyre screaming down the bond she had given the Court, when she took over as High Lady we all got tattoos to call for help, and now my High Lady was screaming down the bond and I didn't waste a second, I winnowed straight to her side, catching her before she even hit the ground. "Feyre," I breathed out, looking at her side that was oozing with blood. The man had ran away, and yet Feyre wasn't angry.

I knew why.

"Azriel" she breathed, giving me a weak smile. "Hello Azriel"

"Hello Feyre"

"Wasn't very good was it? Getting stabbed," she rasped. I could feel my heart tightening, shaking my head. "No Feyre, you did good. You did so good"

"Cassian will be ashamed, his student getting stabbed"
"He's got stabbed plenty of times before" her eyelids fluttered shut and I gently tapped her cheek, "No, no Feyre you need to wake up" she mumbled something, her head lulling to the side then very slowly her eyes opened. "I did…..didn't want to get….up today"

"I know, Feyre"

"Rhys made me" my thumbs gently touched the corner of her eyes to wipe away the tears. "That's ok Feyre, that's ok"

"I miss him" she choked out, her blood hadn't stopped, it was soaking into my clothes too.

"Feyre"

"Don't.." she swallowed, speaking was hard now but breathing was harder. "Don't save….me"

"You are my High Lady"

"Rhys.." she sobbed, I shifted my position, holding her close to my chest and then extending my wings so that the sun wouldn't hurt her. "Is he there, Feyre?"

"He's there"

"Is he smiling?"

"He's smiling" she smiled too. I remembered one time years ago when Rhys insisted we went horse riding, it had been his sisters favourite activity. I remembered how we were walking on the horses and someone nearby swung themselves off the horse, I had asked Rhys why and he explained 'sometimes, when you are horse riding you need to know when is the right time to let go of the horse before you get hurt. That horse had bolted, if she had stayed on then she could've been seriously hurt so she threw herself off when she knew she was still in a safe environment. Sometimes its just about knowing when to let go'. I remembered that every day, remembered that as I watched people being innocently slaughtered or soliders dying on the battlefield. Watching people, who I knew could fight it just slipping into peaceful death. It's there, inside us, that sense of knowing when it's our time to let go. When its our time to let go of the run away horse and accept we are going to fall, fall into whatever may come. And I knew from the look in her eyes, Feyre had accepted this was her time to let go.

"Are you ready to be with him?" I whispered, Feyre's eyes were barely open and her hurt was barely beating. I couldn't feel it against me anymore. It took her a while to answer, she opened her eyes and looked at me. "Yes" I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Then I'll stay, don't hold on Feyre, when you're ready, just let go" I choked. She offered me a smile, closing her eyes again, "I see….stars"

"Stars are everywhere Feyre, beautiful silver lights" Feyre smiled again, her eyes distant.

"Starfall, I remember dancing" the world was slowing down. I had registered Cassian was nearby, maybe with Mor and the Sisters, I wasn't too sure. "That's it, Feyre"

"Beautiful" she whispered and then she smiled again, tears streaming down her face. "Goodbye, sweet Prince"
"Goodbye my Queen. Your sisters are here" Feyre smiled, I don't think she could see them, I think her eyes were that clouded and she was so close to death. Nesta kneeled next to me, taking Feyre's hand and nodding. "I'm here" I could see the lump in her throat.

"Nesta?"

"Yes?"

"Take care….of Elain"

"Always"

"And Cass"

"I can't promise that" Feyre chuckled, then she let out the softest noise I had head, and she went still. The High Lady of the Night Court was reunited with her mate.