Rhys was running, Azriel and he both supporting Cassian, who was still limp in their arms. Rhys cursed inwardly, they weren't going to make it out of the spring faction's territory for another 3 minutes. That bastard had known. Had hurt Cassian precisely for this reason, so that they could not escape his net of death.
"Come on Cass, just a few more minutes, you can do it." He urged his second on, willing him to keep his feet beneath him.
Dogs barked in the distance, and Rhys threw all his energy into getting those noises as far away as possible, but still, their pursuit got closer. Tamlin was a liar and a cheat, it had only been a few minutes!
"Rhys, we're not going to make it."
"No Az, we're not going to leave without you, prick. Stop playing the hero!" "You played the hero for 5 years! And I'm not allowed to now?!"
"No you're not, I'm the-"
"Indispensable one! You are the indispensable one Rhys. All I do is gather intel. You lead."
"If I'm a leader, then you follow my orders, stay with us, under no circumstances are you to leave or sacrifice yourself." Azriel sighed, but obeyed.
Next day
"How is he?" The sterilised hallway was almost absolutely silent, death looming behind each closed door.
"Well, his condition is no longer critical, so that's something."
"Thank you Madja, you've helped us many times." A nod of acceptance from the healer.
"I want to know one thing, Rhysand." Their shoes clicked neatly on the pristine, colourless floor, pacing to 2 different, silent beats. "Why have your people been coming here less in the last year?"
"What, you liked the chance to admonish us for getting injured, while being completely unfazed by the fact that our guts were hanging out?" The healer's cheeks turned pink, the only sign of embarrassment she would show.
"No, but it was like there was a cut off point, like something had been attacking and then you managed to.. Get rid of it, I guess. I have no idea what you do, the only thing I know is that it's dangerous, and there's at least one of you in here a week in a critical condition. Cassian being one of the most common ones. This isn't the first time he's come in with these types of wounds." Rhys considered. Should he tell her the truth? What would she think? If he was honest he liked Madja, she was a good person, with morals, and she followed a strict code of secrecy, he could trust her. He made up his mind.
"Madja, I know I can trust you, but still, I need your word that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you." She nodded. "We… don't exactly have a line of work. You know the gang, the Courts?" Another nod. "I am the 'leader', I suppose, of the night faction, we're the part of the group that takes care of quiet killings and the people who create the nightmarish side of the Courts. All the rumours that are spread are real stories, all done by the night faction, all specially tailored to strike fear into whoever hears about it." He waited for the screaming, the 'get away from me, monster!'... But it never came.
"Ok. So I'm going to assume that those 5 years where people came in every day were a rival gang trying to take over?" Rhys chuckled.
"You're surprisingly accurate. It was kind of that, yes, but it was also a spy of sorts, someone had wormed their way in, and had taken over. Believe it or not, we were saved by what we call an outsider. Her name was Feyre, I think." Madja halted, shocked.
"Feyre… I know her. She's been coming with a guy called Tamlin, they keep seeing Ianthe, one of our religious mental healers. She's been seeing some of our physical health specialists though, and not for check-ups." Rhys tensed, every cell in his body focusing in on Madja, that primal instinct to protect others rearing up inside of him.
"Why has she been coming?" His voice was low and dangerous, and the doctor instinctively leaned away from him, her words were choked, the fear in her eyes a testament to the rage in Rhys' own.
"B-bruises, her arms mainly, as if someone had b-been gripping her wrists." Rhys growled, already stalking away, that rage honing his every movement.
He was going to kill that bastard Tamlin for hurting Feyre.