ONE

The years after the war had been so happy, so filled with love, that Feyre and Rhysand had trouble believing how it could have gone so wrong so quickly. Where had it gone so wrong, anyway? Of course, they had been busy with their young children, their son Gavriel who had just turned eight, and their little baby girl, Sophie, who was only six months old.

But all in all, despite the attention they paid their children, they had been a good High Lord and Lady of the Night Court. Their people, their lands were prospering. So where had the discontent come from, anyway? What had made finally made Keir snap and start spying on them for Tamlin and the Spring Court? Keir had always made it clear that he hated them, but what had finally made the arrogant, self-absorbed male do it?

But, all in all, it wasn't all that much of a surprise that Keir had sold them out. What was a surprise was that Keir had decided to sell his High Lord and Lady out to the Spring Court. If asked outright, Rhysand would have said that Keir would have been more likely to sell them out to the Autumn Court. But it was still next to impossible to understand his motives.

As far as Tamlin was concerned, it was a hell of a lot easier to understand. Because as far as Tamlin was concerned, Feyre still belonged to him. The fact that Feyre was mated to Rhysand and had two children with him was irrelevant to him. In Tamlin's eyes he'd had her first, so as far as he was concerned, that meant he owned her.

Despite the passage of time since Feyre had left him, before the war had even started, it seemed that Tamlin's jealousy and hatred still knew no bounds. He still wanted Feyre to be with him, and would stop at nothing to get her back.

Tamlin would stop at nothing to get what he perceived as his property back, not even kidnap. For three days ago, Tamlin himself had snuck into the mountaintop palace above the Hewn City and kidnapped the children who were staying there.

The kidnapping was not even noticed until almost two hours later when Rhys and Feyre had concluded a meeting with Keir. The meeting had felt peculiar to the both of them, almost as though Keir was attempting to keep them there as long as possible.

Despite the usual level of hostility between Keir and his High Lord and Lady, the hostility on Keir's side had been ramped up during this meeting. However, whenever Rhysand and Feyre had attempted to leave, Keir had brought up another point that had to be discussed, thus continuing to delay them.

Therefore, when Rhysand and Feyre had finally entered the mountaintop palace, noticed the absence of their children, and detected Tamlin's scent firmly in the nursery, they had known. They had known in that instant that their enemy had kidnapped their precious children.

The male, the High Lord of Spring that Feyre had once loved, that she had once destroyed herself and murdered innocents in order to save… He had stolen her children from her. Tamlin had kidnapped her children in revenge for her being with another, revenge for her loving another. How could he do this to her? She knew, had always known, that Tamlin had long since hated her mate, but to go this far? Had he really just kidnapped her children, her precious children, simply to spite her? To get back at Rhysand for her loving her? For her loving Rhysand and no longer loving Tamlin? How could Tamlin ever claim to love her, if he was willing to put her through something like this? How could Tamlin kidnap the children of the woman he supposedly loved? How could he not see that it was not love, but obsession?

Moments after they had discovered their children missing, Keir had suddenly appeared behind them. Keir was chuckling, a sadistic – almost gloating – smile on his face. It was as sure a sign as any that the Steward of the Hewn City had worked with Tamlin on the children's kidnapping. That Keir had provided Tamlin the information that he would have needed. It explained why Keir had been so self-important and condescending during that meeting moments before. Why he had been so rude and insulting, why it had seemed like he was delaying them. Because Keir had been delaying them, he had been giving Tamlin the time that he would have needed to snatch their children, what with Tamlin not being familiar with the palace.

Rhysand whirled at the sound of that cruel, callous snicker. For a typically ruthless and brutal Fae male, Keir just looked plain cruel. Not at all like the snivelling, cowardly mask that he usually wore to hide his more… cruel and terrible behaviour.

"Why have you done this?" Rhysand had hissed, fury lacing his face, his posture, his voice. "Why would you betray us? We are your High Lord and High Lady, and you owe us unquestioning obedience. You owe us your position as Steward; owe us for your livelihood. I could have had you executed for what you did to your daughter. So why would you betray us? Why would you allow… him to steal our children? Why would you do something like this? Why would you help our enemy kidnap our children? Have you forgotten what he has done to this family? Forgotten what he has done to Prythian?"

"Because I could," Keir sneered callously. "Because it should have been done years ago. Because before that changeling was mated to you, she was to be the wife of Spring. We have been harbouring a stolen bride for over a decade. Those children should have been fathered by him, not you, and deserve to be raised by a man who will love them as his own. I did it because I could."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Keir," Rhys snarled viciously. "Just because you have never cared about your children, doesn't mean that Feyre and I don't. You have no idea what those two little children mean to us."

Keir sneered. The thought of a parent actually caring for his or her children was beyond him. Keir had certainly never cared much for any of his children. His children were simply assets to him, and had never understood why Morrigan had never fallen into line. Had never understood why she had chosen to sully herself the way she had.

"We will both to everything within our power to ensure that you will pay for what you have done," Rhys hissed, anger growing. "You will pay for your part in the theft of our children."

"You can't do that," Keir sneered back. "You need me far too much to do that. You wouldn't have control over the Hewn City without me. My rule of this city is absolutely crucial. You would lose control over the entirety of the Night Court without me. You would lose your throne without me. My support is absolutely crucial to your success."

"Not that crucial," Cassian retorted, as he and Azriel suddenly swooped in to land beside Rhysand. Feyre hadn't even realised that Rhysand had contacted them mind to mind. "You may think that your position as Steward makes you crucial makes you untouchable. But that's not so. You aren't as crucial as you think you are. You're definitely replaceable, Keir. It would seem that your time to be replaced has finally come. In my opinion, you should have been replaced a long, long time ago. In fact, I think you should have been slaughtered and disposed of a very long time ago. Your slaughter will make a great many wrongs right."

Keir didn't even blink at Cassian's statements. Just sneered at him. "I have better things to do with my time than listen to the prattle of lesser Fae bastards. Such as ruling the Hewn City that you have so graciously given me. Perhaps one day soon, now that you have no legal heirs of your own flesh and blood, you will consider appointing me High Lord in your place. And I anticipate the coming of that day with extreme pleasure."

"Like I said just a moment ago, Keir, you seriously don't have a clue what you are talking about," Rhysand said, voice leaking cold vengeance. Rhysand turned to Cassian and Azriel before continuing. "Take him into custody for helping Tamlin kidnap our children."

Cassian and Azriel started, their shock more than evident, even as Azriel took hold of Keir and vanished, to the dungeons that were levels below the Hewn city, the dungeons that few people knew even existed. As Keir and Azriel vanished, Feyre looked again at her children's empty beds and finally started to cry. Finally started to sob.

"Why did they have to do it?" Feyre sniffled quietly. "Why did Keir and Tamlin literally have to kidnap our children? They would have to have known that there was no coming back from it. Keir would have known what the consequences would be for him. And Tamlin would have to know that there would be no coming back from it. That it would only make me hate him even more than I already do. And to think that I was starting to think of forgiving him. They had to know that they would get nothing out of it. So why did they feel like they have to do it? Keir and Tamlin could have just continued to leave us be."

"I don't know, Feyre darling," Rhysand whispered, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Truth be told, when Tamlin blanked us so completely after the war ended, I thought that it was his way of attempting to get over you. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was planning something like this all along. Damned if I know what Tamlin was getting out of it though, other than a couple of children who weren't his. Damned if I know what he promised Keir. And he must have promised Keir something rather substantial to make him go along with this. To make him agree to betray us so thoroughly."

"Rhys, I don't care WHAT the pair of them thought they were getting out of kidnapping my babies," Feyre choked out through her tears. "I just want my babies back."

"I know, I know," Rhysand murmured against her hair. "I want them back too. The moment that I realised they were missing, it felt like my heart was going to break in two. You aren't the only one who wants them back. The only thing that's keeping me even somewhat sane is knowing that Gavriel will do his best to look after Sophie."

"But Gavriel is only a child! He is only eight years old!" Feyre burst out. "He shouldn't have to look after Sophie all by himself. He should be here, with us, going home to Velaris, not being taken to some strange Court where he doesn't even have any family. He should be here with us. They both should be here with us."

"Feyre, Gavriel may only be a child, but he already has a strong sense of honour," Cassian said softly, speaking for the first time since he found out what had happened. "Little Gav already adores his sister. He won't let anything happen to her."

"You can't know that for sure," Feyre mumbled, tears finally starting to slow. "Tamlin could be doing anything to them. I just need to know that they're all right."

"We'll get them back," Cassian said firmly as Azriel reappeared after dealing with Keir. After imprisoning Keir in the dungeons so many miles deep underneath them. "We'll do everything within our power to get them back. With us dealing with the situation with Tamlin and Keir, you won't have to worry about a thing."

Rhysand sighed quietly as Feyre smiled weakly at the general and the spymaster. He knew that no matter what they said, Feyre would be worried sick until their children were back in her arms. He would be too, as a matter of fact.

In the two days since little Gavriel and Sophie had been kidnapped by Tamlin, they were no closer to finding out where they had been taken. No closer to being able to bring them home. The longer that they were gone, the more it felt like they were never going to see them again. Feyre was absolutely heartsick at the thought. And though he didn't want to admit it, Rhys was too the longer this went on.

Although none of them had officially confirmed anything, rumours about the kidnapping had spread across Prythian. It had also become well known that Tamlin was the one who had orchestrated the kidnapping. Like them, Tamlin had neither confirmed nor denied anything, but the silence emanating from the Spring Court was like a nail in his coffin. As was the fact that Tamlin's borders were shut down tighter than they had been during the war.

In the dungeons deep beneath the Hewn City, Keir wasn't talking. Was refusing to help himself, by telling them what he knew, why he had done it. In the Hewn City itself, Keir's absence was being noticed. Rhys was rather inconvenienced by it, but for him it was a relief to have Keir in the dungeons, to punish him for what he had done to Mor. A relief to punish him for what he had done to his children. It was a complete and utter relief to be able to replace Keir as Steward of the Hewn City.

But both Rhysand and Feyre would have felt a hell of a lot better if they had their children back with them. In a way none of the rest of the Inner Circle was doing very well in the moment. Amren was even crankier than usual and Cassian were stressing about the situation with Tamlin and Keir. Mor was worrying about Feyre and Rhys.

And Azriel… Azriel was blaming himself. Blaming himself for not being able to prevent the children from being kidnapped. Blaming himself for not being able to get them back. No matter how often any of them told Azriel that he wasn't to blame, he still blamed himself.

And then three days after the children's kidnapping, the letter arrived. The letter from the Spring Court. From Tamlin. The letter that confirmed that he was the one who had kidnapped Feyre and Rhysand's children. And this is where the story begins.