Chapter 11

Made as if of chiffon, the clothes they prepared for me were gauzy and pastel coloured. There were two beautiful long dresses with short sleeves, three sleeveless tops with matching baggy harem trousers caught in at the ankle, and two pairs of very comfortable flat shoes. I hadn't expected so many things for me to wear and was surprised by the fairies' kind gesture. In the end, after much deliberation, I chose a baby blue top with harem trousers and white flatties.

Having folded the rest of the garments and put them on one of the cabinets, I left the enormous bright marble bathroom and found Meleri still sitting in the armchair next to the big window. "I thought you would choose something pink or yellow," she said, moving her eyes up my body. "But this one suits you." She smiled.

I peered down at myself. "Thank you. I liked that one."

"Do you want to have your hair brushed?" she asked, motioning to my ponytail.

"Oh, no, thanks. I prefer a simple ponytail. My hair isn't as long and gorgeous as yours so there's no need to let it down."

She nodded and looked outside, seeming now upset.

"So, what will we do now?" I asked, hoping to wander about the house. This time, I wanted to be accompanied by one of the residents and, luckily, there was one currently sitting in front of me. "Any ideas?"

"I thought about giving you a tour around the residence," my little kidnapper said absentmindedly, not looking at me. "But it's already dinner time and Mother wants us to join them in the hall. The tour must wait until tomorrow."

Feeling a bit disappointed, I flashed her a faint smile. "No problem. Lead the way."

Without saying a word, the youngest of Feyre and Rhysand's children got up and left the bedroom. I just had to follow her. So I did.

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The residence I landed in was really enormous. There were lots of rooms and corridors that, thankfully, didn't look like those from Rian's hallucination. Instead, everything was bright, clean and lavishly decorated. I saw wonderful pictures on the walls, walked on soft carpets and smelt the scent of flowers. I thought I ended up in heaven.

At the end of our little journey, I saw stairs leading up. Meleri started climbing them and I followed her. Having reached the top, I immediately stopped and opened my eyes wide. Wow. What a view it was!

The first thing I spotted was the mountains. Huge, slightly capped with snow mountains that were stretching to the left and right, covering everything behind. And then I noticed the stars. A whole ocean of stars was floating in the night air, draping around the residence and slowly lulling it to sleep.

I took a step forward. To my surprise, the hall was open and had no windows, yet it was warm here. There were tall marble pillars, some dark curtains, pillows, and the endless night. Slowly, I approached one of the pillars and gazed down. "Careful there." I heard Rhysand's voice.

Underneath, all I could see was impenetrable darkness. Lifting my eyes, I glanced about. Mountains around. Stars above. And the open hall behind me. Only then did I realise where we were.

With my heart pounding in my throat, I looked over my shoulder. My hosts were sitting at a long glass table in the middle of the hall, paying attention to the food in front of them. I looked outside again and said, "Wow. That's your house. The one at the top of the mountain. The magical one."

"Then you've heard about that place too," Feyre remarked.

I faced them and then shrugged. "Well, yes."

Rhysand motioned to the table they were sitting at. "Come dine with us."

"Thank you."

Coming closer, I noticed the glass table was laden with several wine bottles and plates with chicken, vegetable salads, and bread. There were even cupcakes, chocolate cookies, and a pie with strawberries and whipped cream on the top. Apparently, they had a surprisingly healthy appetite before going to bed.

"You can sit next to me." Meleri patted the chair on her left and then drank some wine. The chair was between her and Rhysand.

Lifting my brows, I regarded the place and asked, "Are you sure you want me to sit there?"

"Oh, come on, Alexandra," Rhysand said, flashing me a smile. "I'm not biting."

Feyre, who was sitting opposite him, snorted. "Unless someone asks you to."

Rhysand winked at his wife and whispered, "Feyre darling, not in front of the girls." Then he looked at me and added, "I'd be delighted to sit next to you, Alexandra. Please, take a seat."

"Okay." I sat next to him and immediately felt a bit awkward. Keeping my eyes on the plate in front of me, I didn't dare to look at him; after all, I was sitting next to the Rhysand, the book character I had had a secret crush on for years.

The room went silent as everyone busied themselves with eating.

"In the main chamber, you've said there isn't magic on your Earth. Is your world much different than ours, then?" Feyre asked.

Glancing at her, I said, "Yes, it is. But I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Try us. Wine?" Rhysand lifted the bottle but I shook my head. I wasn't going to let them get me drunk and then ask all kinds of inconvenient questions. Well, at least people in films did such things. "Don't worry. It's not the fairy wine," he said with a smile. "We're not going to get you drunk tonight."

I laughed nervously. "That's great. But are you really sure you can't read my thoughts? That was exactly what I've thought about."

Rhysand put away his fork and stared at me for a while, making me feel even more nervous. Gazing at his face, I couldn't help but notice his shiny raven hair and incredible violet eyes. No wonder Feyre fell in love with you, I thought. I would gladly do the same.

"I'm sure," he said, shooing me.

What was the question again?

Rhysand looked at the red liquid in his glass and added, "There is… there is emptiness in your mind. Like a void with literally nothing inside." I felt a cold shudder. "It's really hard to explain as I have never seen anything similar." He drank the wine. "All minds, protected by a shield or not, have memories and thoughts inside. Yours doesn't. And that's odd." He gave me a serious look.

I swallowed hard. "But I do have memories and thoughts."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," he said. "They're just…" he sighed, "impossible to reach."

"That may be cold comfort, but they are impossible for any of us to reach." Feyre leant back in her chair. "Maybe you are the reason. Maybe you and your world without magic are somehow blocking us. I'm not an expert on mind reading, unlike my mate, but I've practised that skill over the years and I've never come across a mind so impossible to reach as yours. Even though it doesn't have a shield." She glanced at Rhysand. "I'm sure Rhys will agree with me."

He nodded but said nothing.

"Well," I said, sliding my empty glass across the table for Rhysand to fill it with wine. "At least no one will poke around my memories, trying to change them." After he poured me the red liquid, I bolted it all down.

Suddenly, we heard the sound of beating wings and three dark-haired figures rolled up in the hall. Their wings were huge, dark and bat-like, stretching far behind their backs. Surprised, I realised they seemed truly strong and real. That wasn't a special effect generated for the film and TV but actual wings. Honestly, I didn't see that coming.

After a second or two, the wings were gone as if taken by a blast of wind. The three fairies, now wingless, approached us and took their seats.

I suspected Rian had wings as he was a younger version of the man sitting next to me, but I didn't know Cerys and Ciaran had them too. Well, they had to inherit some of their parents' genes because both Feyre and Rhysand were able to create wings at will and then fly.

Rian glanced at me while taking a seat right in front of me as it was the only place left.

"Oh, Batman graced us with his royal presence." I smirked.

"Aw, one would say that you are jealous, lovely Alexandra," he said, drawling, "since the last time I checked you didn't have any wings."

"Why would I even need ones?" I flinched at his words. "I would look as ridiculous as you, Tinkerbell. No offence," I added, flashing the rest of them an apologetic smile.

Cerys poured herself wine and said, "None taken."

"Mother above. I'm starving," Ciaran exclaimed, reaching for a chicken thigh and a roll.

"What took you so long?" Rhysand asked, leaning back in his chair and setting his eyes on his children. "I thought you'd be back before dusk and it's already night."

"So did we." Rian stabbed a piece of tomato with his fork. "But we encountered some unforeseen delays," he said and pointedly looked at his brother, "which slowed us down."

Ciaran huffed. "I said I'm sorry, Rin. I didn't do it on purpose."

"Sure." He nodded several times.

"I'll talk with you later in the office," Rhysand broke in. "With both of you."

Looking from Rian to Ciaran, I drank my wine that had been filled again by Rhysand and wondered what happened. It had to be something serious as the handsome muppet seemed quite angry with Ciaran.

"So what did you do when we were gone, Lexi?" Cerys asked.

I flashed her a smile. "Nothing special. I got new clothes since my old ones were deliberately destroyed." I set my eyes upon Rian who gave me a lazy smile. "Apart from that, Melly promised to show me around your residence tomorrow and I'm really waiting for it. This room is already amazing." I looked around the hall with a grin. "I've never seen anything like this in my whole life."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Rian lifted a single eyebrow just for a moment. But that was enough for me. "What?" I asked.

"I didn't say anything." He furrowed his brows.

"You didn't have to, mate."

"I'm not your mate," he spat. "So stop calling me that."

This time it was my turn to furrow my brows. "What's that supposed to mean? Because I'm rather confused."

Rian put his hands on the table and leant across it, saying coldly, "So let me make it clear – I don't wish to be called 'mate' by you as you are not my mate and never will be. I've never seen you as my potential partner or love interest, regardless of what Bryaxis might have said and promised my sister." He looked at Meleri and then fixed his eyes on me. "This, by the way, was very foolish of her. In any case, lovely Alexandra, be so kind and don't ever call me 'mate.' All right?"

Feeling really ashamed and hot on my cheeks, I replied, "Okay. I'm sorry. It's just a way of saying 'man' or 'bro' in the UK. It doesn't mean anything offensive."

"And?" Rian was still looking at me expectantly.

I sighed. "Fine. I'll never call you 'mate' again."

"Promise?" he asked and extended his hand.

"Rian, don't," Rhysand warned. But his eldest son just ignored him; he didn't even glance at his father as he was staring at me with his right hand outstretched.

I furrowed my brows. "What's going on?"

"Do you promise, Alexandra?" Rian repeated and glanced at his hand. "To never call me 'mate' again?" He fixed his stare at me.

I wanted to get over it, so rolling my eyes, I took his hand and answered, "Yes, I promise."

"Excellent." Rian grinned, still holding my hand.

The air between us stirred and I smelt something metallic. Looking around, I let go of his hand and was searching for the source of that smell. Not finding it, I set my eyes on him again and I felt a cold shudder that gave me goose bumps all over my body. Belatedly, I had come to realise what all of that meant.

"Oh, no," I said and felt that blood drained from my face.

Rian gave me a seductive smile. "Oh, yes."

I had just made a deal with the devil.