When Rhys got back to HQ, it was quiet. There was only one person there, waiting, as she had said she would.
"Well? How is he doing?" Mor's voice was quiet.
"He'll be fine, as long as he gets sufficient rest and peace." Rhys sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.
"You're tired. Get some rest, we can discuss why Tamlin captured you in the morning."
"Fine." Trudging back to his rooms, Rhys thought back to what Tamlin had said:
"But with Feyre, you can never be certain." Be certain of what? "My darling Feyre" Grinding his teeth, Rhys stormed into the building. At least he still had his bargain with Feyre. He would put that into action soon enough.
Next day - Tamlin and Feyre
Feyre dragged herself out of bed, groaning at the thought of another day of dresses and pretending she didn't know anything about Tamlin's 'job'. It wasn't that she didn't love him, it was the fact that he kept things from her, locked her out of his office whenever an important meeting was happening.
A knock on the door snapped her back to reality. "Miss Feyre," It was Alice, "Mr Tamlin asks that you join him and Mr Lucien for breakfast downstairs." And of course, Feyre knew he wouldn't take no for an answer. Instead, he would bang on her door, asking if she was okay? Why was she not down? Could he come in?
"Give me a few minutes, and I'll be down right away." Her voice sounded hollow and empty of joy, even to herself.
"Very well, I'll tell him that you'll be down in 10 minutes, Miss Feyre." Miss Feyre. She hated being called that. Tamlin had insisted that the staff (though really, he treated them as nothing more than servants, slaves at the worst of times) call her that. That they were polite… or else. She hadn't wanted to know what 'or else' meant, but it made her feel separated, like she had no friends. Tamlin and Lucien were the only ones she could talk to, and sometimes, even that was not enough. She supposed Alice might be called a friend, but not with the barrier that Tamlin had placed between her and everyone else here.
Dressing in one of the loose, but stylishly fitted dresses that had been given to her, Feyre hurriedly brushed her hair and put it up in a plait. Running down the grand staircase, she noticed that a lot of the 'staff' seemed to be avoiding her. She wondered what Tamlin had told them to do now. She forced on another of her smiles, then burst into the dining room.
"Good morning!" somehow managing to make her voice sound cheery, Feyre adopted a bustling, busy air, becoming someone who couldn't wait for the day ahead, to see what would happen. Of course, this was all what was expected of her.
"Morning love, did you sleep well?"
"Yep, total bed-head when I got up though! That was why I needed 10 minutes." Lie, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him… or make him hurt her. She wanted to rub her wrists, but knew that that would draw his attention, and that was one thing she did not want. If she let on that her wrists were aching more than usual he would want to get her checked out again, and the nurse - Ianthe - would just rub more stinging ointments into her wrists and recite more prayers, none of which would nodded, then pulled out his phone, scrolling through lists of what could be anything from groceries to kill lists. Not that she thought that he took care of the shopping.
Seating herself to Tamlin's right, Feyre smiled a greeting to Lucien, then proceeded to pour herself a bowl of cereal.
"Is that all you're going to have?" Lucien's voice was incredulous. Through her mouthful of milk, Feyre looked up and mumbled,
"Well… I might have some fruit after this, but I'm really not that hungry right now, I'll make up for it with a big lunch." Tamlin looked up from his phone, his brow furrowed in worry.
"Feyre, love, are you sure? You've not been eating that well the past few days, don't think Lucien and I haven't noticed." Lucien shot Tamlin an alarmed glare, as if they had already discussed this, and he hadn't wanted to be included.
Feyre stood. She didn't want… no. Those were the wrong words. She couldn't have this conversation here, now. She stood, and - just for a second - she let that mask, that cheerful, optimistic smile fall. "I'm fine," She forced the mask back on, fighting her weariness. "Really."
She stalked out of the room, leaving the 2 men and a half eaten bowl of cereal behind her.