Chapter Six
Festering
"It was outright abhorrent. I couldn't even leave for the fear of wondering if after I had left, something worse would happen. I just stood pressed against the wall of the manor while he threw a childish fit. It took everything in me to keep from going in and..." Az paused. Rhysand hadn't seen him this upset over something since the battle.
"Let's just say I was very close to beheading the High Lord of Spring. What made it worse was her crying. She was terrified. She sounded so utterly at loss of hope and broken." He shoulders were rising quickly enough to tell he was still extremely upset even though it had been several hours since the second attempt at contacting Eren.
"We have to think of some way to get her out of there. I promised her three days. I am afraid of even that. What if he moves her? What if he locks her away somewhere else and we have no way of knowing where he put her? Or what if he completely loses it and ends up hurting her beyond repair-"
"Azriel." Cassian's voice rang out. He had been eerily silent this whole time. He had just learned of what was going on after returning from our home to check on the new female Illyrian warriors and seemed more passive and inverted than he had been since Rhys was still trapped Under the Mountain.
"Maybe it would be best if you went out and cooled off for a moment. We understand that something has to be done. We will make contact with her again and do what we can to get her to safety but you must calm yourself. All you are doing is getting everyone more agitated and upset. If you want to help the girl, think. Focus."
He sounded as if he were training some youngling. And Azriel glowered at him. He finally sat down at the table beside Rhysand, making it noted that he was most definitely not going out to 'calm down.' But he would attempt to settle himself.
"I had hoped that... maybe after everything he had done and everything he had put himself through... me through.. even Lucien through. After helping bring back Rhys..." Feyre was sitting at the end of the table in a particularly stunning black dress that fanned out in tussles and waves at the hips, but had a severe and plunging neckline that went nearly down to her naval. She was sitting back with an elbow propped on her knee as it was pulled up against her. She was biting the knuckle of her index finger as if was clenched in a fist. She looked deep in thought. And terribly sad.
"I thought he might have changed. Learned that his selfishness has cost others more than their grief. But it's as if he is stuck in this permanent stage of everything revolving around himself. Everything is his." Rhys was looking at her forlornly, as if he could see the ghosts of her past as much as she was reliving them at this very moment.
"We could send her notes... as you and I did when you were doing when you went in undercover." Rhys offered.
"That won't work. You could send them to me through our bond. How do we know what room she will be in? How do we know if she is alone? We would have to figure out places in the manor where only she would see them and there aren't any. Not even her own lavatory. I handmaid could find it, or a member of staff, and they would bring it right to him." Feyre's voice was bitter. Not at Rhysand, nor his idea, but almost enraged at how frustrating it was to something that should be so simple.
Azriel threw his idea on the table next. "What about sending someone in who they would never suspect? A visitor of some sort. We could find an old friend or an ally... maybe even hire someone. And they could get her alone for a moment. Even slip something into her hand while shaking it."
"Yes, but who? Tamlin claims to have finally found his mate. Every court knows. But everyone also knows that right now is not a good time for visiting or congratulations because it is supposed to be..." Cassian paused sourly at the image in his mind. "A time for them to get to KNOW each other... if you get my gyst."
Everyone at the table made a face. Picturing that poor girl alone with Tamlin in any kind of manner such as that. It made them all want to figure something out even more quickly.
"Kallias..." Rhysand suddenly spoke his name almost involuntarily. The idea forming into a single name before he could hold it back.
Feyre was suddenly sitting forward, a hard gleam in her eyes.
"What about Kallias, my love?"
Rhysand sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as if the very idea he was about to speak of was already utter nonsense.
"It's a far fetch... and would take some definite convincing but... the only time it would be acceptable to visit another High Lord after having a newfound mate would be if another High Lord visited. He would have to accept him." He paused for a moment in contemplation before continuing.
"It obviously couldn't be me. And all of the other High Lords have nothing I could use to sway them other than an argument. But Kallias... he has owed me a favor for quite some time. Something happened several hundred years ago and.. well, I have been waiting for the correct moment to call it in. Maybe this would be it. If he would even agree, that is."
Everyone at the table was silent.
"Wait, wait, wait..." There was a terrifying glee in Cassian's voice. "You don't mean... that night on the beach at the Summer Court Banquet... do you?"
"We will speak of this LATER. Cassian." Rhysands voice was suddenly as cold and as sharp as the edge of a knife.
He practically giggled with glee, which had both Azriel and Feyre glancing at each other in worry.
"What favor? What did you do for him that would possibly cause the High Lord of Winter to do your bidding?" Feyre's voice was as curious as a childs.
"Later. Please. I will tell you about it when we are going to bed, my darling." His voice was still incredibly guarded which had Cassian chortling all over again.
"Okay... so.. even if we do convince Kallias to do this.. what should we send her? It's all fine and well to have a way of sending a message but.. since it is what we feared then it sounds as if she won't be able to get away on her own anymore. She would need outside assistance for that as well. Someone to help her to the border. We need to figure out a fool proof plan." Feyre's voice was solemn. But Azriel stood.
"I can do it. Without getting caught. Without being suspected as well."
…...
I couldn't climb out of the corner of the room. Tamlin had left as quickly as he came. But I couldn't get up. It was as if my body had taken over my mind and was thinking that if I stayed in this corner of the room in the dark, I would be safer than if I were standing. If I were running. I should be running. He left me alone. He didn't even send anyone in to watch me. He left the manor with a boom, which I presumed was the door shutting behind him. I could hear the staff running around the house, cleaning up whatever messes he had made in his cacophony but now everything was eerily silent.
Come on... I told myself. It's far past midnight. The sun might even be coming up soon. This would be my best chance. Just get up... just MOVE.
I trembled as my muscles began to slowly unlock, one by one. I couldn't wait on the Illyrian male. As much as I wanted to rely on him and the night court, this was a chance I could not pass up. Yes, it was very likely I would get taken down in the woods by Tamlin himself. Or by some other beast or creature of magic. And I had no idea where I was going. But by gods, he would not take away my will to run. And I would run. Over. And over. He would have to chain me up in some Cauldron-saken dungeon. And if he ever let me out, I would run again.
Hurry! I told myself. He could be back at any moment. Slowly, I uncurled myself. My muscles, my bones even, screamed at me and I had to bite back my voice that wanted to scream at the pain. I had been curled up for hours. Why did it always hurt more to try? To put in effort.
I somehow managed to get on my feet within a few extremely painful moments. My jaw still burned form his touch when he snatched me from across the room. I felt marred. But I was able to quickly throw on a pair of rather comfortably fitting trousers and an oversized undershirt that I tucked in as quickly as possible so as to prevent it from catching on anything and leaving any traces behind. I laced up a pair of boots that seemed best suited for running and walking in. And even managed to somehow sneak down the hallway,down the stairs, and into the kitchens to grab anything that would not perish within at least a few days. Gathering and picking in the gardens and on the outskirts of the palace in the Autumn Court had taught me at least which plants should not be eaten and which ones could be. But this was the spring court. They had a different variety of everything here. Hopefully I would be able to recognize some things if and when I ran out of the cheeses, dried meats, and breads I hastily stuffed into the rucksack I had found tucked away in the back of my closet. I even managed to snag and fill a canteen.
This wasn't me. This was desperation. I had always stuck it out. I had always gone on with knowing that tomorrow was a new day and the hope that maybe it wouldn't be as bad had always gotten me through even the toughest times. I pulled my hair up into a high knot, like I had always done when I worked in the palace. But this wasn't to keep the hair out of my face while I scrubbed the halls or picked weeds. This was to keep the wind from blowing in my face. To keep the branches from snagging it. This was new.
I don't know how there was no one awake who had spotted me inside the manor. Be it from cleaning up the mess Tamlin must have made. Or when their High Lord was gone, they took to rest, but whatever the Cauldron may have done to make this moment work, I was taking full advantage.
Sneaking out a back door in the kitchen, I didn't even hesitate as I ran off into the gardens I had been staring at through the bedroom windows for two days. The scents of the flowers even at night was overpowering. It made my stomach roll. I heard a shout from some distance off, but it made me run even faster. It was pathetic how I was already out of breath. Pathetic because of the fact that I was a female, I was automatically never allowed to train my body for self defense. What I would have given to the Cauldron to have better stamina, stronger lungs and muscles. But all I could do was run. No matter how much I stumbled, no matter how many roots tripped me, or branches that lashed at my face, I kept pushing. I couldn't stay here. I couldn't wait to be rescued. I had to take care of myself or else I would never get out of here. Somehow I knew that if I stayed tucked away in that corner, I would never get out. I had to decide then and there how I wanted my life to play out. And I chose to fight.
I heard a roar unlike anything I could ever imagine sound off in the far distance behind me at some point as I stopped to gasp for air, but I didn't even look back.
