Finally, once all was complete, I felt gentle hand on my shoulder. I slumped into it for a split second before turning to Rhys, allowing myself to be held in the arms of someone who truly loved me.

I felt the relief he felt in seeing me alive and mostly unharmed. For just a moment, the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court were able to just be Rhys and Feyre, mates being reunited after a long time apart.

Suddenly, there was a coughing noise.

"Um, excuse me," the young Fae in the doorway said, "But can someone please tell me what's going on?"

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

The Fae's name was Terren, and he was a cousin of Tamlin's. He had taken refuge in the Summer court many years ago. Terren knew about his cousin's treachery, but he did not know that the betrayal had been due to him attempting to steal another Lord's mate.

Needless to say, he was not pleased.

We spoke with him, telling him essentially that we wanted to be allies. Though at first reluctant, he was a bit calmer and more reasonable when I took over the negotiations. Rhys kept in mental contact with me, giving me tips and ideas when I began to falter. At the end, we came to an agreement with spring. The short version: we would back up Spring's new High Lord to the rest of the Lords, and in return we would not cause havoc in his domain. An easy request, really. Hopefully a way to open the door back up to other courts.

After my successful negotiations, we decided that he was safe to leave there to rebuild the court.

Finally, I and my Court winnowed home.

We were all there, standing in the House of the Wind, finally reunited at last.

Az was, as Rhys promised, fully healed. I was surprised to see him holding hands with Mor, but not terribly so. I hugged Mor, surprising Az with a hug as well.

I nodded at Lucian, acknowledging him. We would speak later. I smiled at Elain, standing closer to Lucian than I would have thought. She did not seem to have completely accepted her bond, but Lucian's face told me that she wasn't completely rejecting him either.

To my slight shock, Nesta was there, holding hands with Cassian. A half smile was on her face as she flicked her eyes to her mate every so often. When she met my eyes, she managed to blush, yet look highly defensive at the same time. She and I would chat soon.

I met Amren's eyes seriously, and she smiled broadly. More emotion than was usually seen from cold, stoic Amren.

After a moment, my court all dropped to one knee with the exception of Lucian and my sisters.

"Hail the High Lady of the Night Court," they intoned. I smiled. I was home.

"I missed you guys too," I said, still grinning. Rhys had me tucked in under his arm as though he was afraid to let me go.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Soon after, we were all seated on couches around a large room in the House of the Wind, sharing from several bottles of wine. Elain was recounting for me her and Nesta's struggles with learning to adjust to their Fae bodies.

"Don't feel bad," Rhys said to Elain, "Like I told you, Feyre literally shattered the same glass door four different times." Suddenly I turned scarlet.

"You saw that?" I said.

"Oh yeah," Rhys said, "I saw every second of that. I think the best times were when you broke silverware when you were annoyed." I huffed slightly, but wasn't too upset about him in my mind, even then.

"Well let's just transplant you into a human body and see what you can come up with," Feyre teased.

"Not much, likely," Nesta drawled, "He's ancient, isn't he? He'd shrivel up the minute you tried to transplant that oversized ego into a human body." I simply stared at Nesta as Cas and Amren howled with laughter. She shrugged lightly as though to say "well I've learned to live with them." I smiled slightly and gave her a slight nod.

Rhys still had me tucked up under his arm. He wasn't acting possessive, like I'd somewhat expected and rather dreaded. Instead, he seemed to take a simple delight in touching me. He would absentmindedly rub my shoulder, or dance his fingers up and down my arms. He occasionally drew his free hand through my hair or laced his fingers in mine.

This is my way of being possessive, Feyre darling.

This isn't possessive Rhys, this is showing someone you love them.

Slowly, I began to talk less and watch more, exhausted from the events of the day. Of the past few months really. I began to doze off in Rhys's lap, slowly losing the tension from my shoulders that had been there since Hybern.

The next thing I knew, Rhys had me cradled in his arms gently and I was being carried to his room. I woke up slightly when he tucked me into the bed, and when he got in on his side I cuddled up next to him.

That night, in Rhys's arms for the first time in months, I finally was free to cry myself to sleep with him stroking my hair.

And when I woke up the next morning, I was no longer alone or with someone I hated.

I could look over and see the face of the male I loved so much. I could roll over and touch him, I could cuddle up into his side until he wakes up and pulls me tightly to his chest. I could trace the planes and angles of his face, recommitting every part of it to memory. I could stare into those violet eyes that were filled with love, relief, and joy. I could run my fingers through his hair.

My hand cradled Rhys's face.

"It's real," I said, voice cracking, "I'm home. I'm home with you." His heart in his eyes, Rhys slowly placed his strong hand over my small, delicate looking one.

"Yes, darling," he said, his voice slightly scratchy as well, "You're home."