Chapter 8

Feyre

I lied in my bed, looking at the ceiling and silently cursing myself. I was a fool to think getting out of here would be that easy. What would happen now? Would he punish Rhys, or me?

I was starting to doze off when the door opened. I bolted up, preparing myself for the worse. His neck was a mixture of blacks and blues. Despite that, he casually leaned against the wall, "Well, that was quite a performance you made the other day," his voice was raspy.

I smirked at him, "Especially for your guards."

He dryly chuckled before shifting his weight. His guards were probably outside, but he must have known I wouldn't dare attack him again, "What do you want?"

He raised an eyebrow as he smiled slyly at me, "Hmm, I was going to tell you the many different ways I planned on breaking you the other day, but I think I would enjoy it more if it were a surprise to be honest," he shrugged nonchalantly.

I narrowed my eyes at him, anger building in my chest, "Oh fuck off."

He let out a surprised laugh before turning towards the door, "I would love to stay but-"

"I want to see him"

He turned towards me with a smirk; he knew I wouldn't be able to resist myself, "Hmmm. Well I think we both know that won't happen," he paused, picking at a cuticle, "but I do think he enjoys the weight off of his back."

I growled, my patience gone, "When I get out of here I promise your fate will be worse than being trapped in a ring. I'll make sure it'll be long and painful."

He winced before returning that smirk to his lips and shot back, "I wonder if you'll already be too far gone when you get out. Will Cassian and Azriel realize the danger you're in, or will they be too late," he hardened his gaze, "Be prepared for the coming weeks Feyre."

I curled my fists as he left, his words found their mark.

vVv

I spent the next couple days in fury. My rage only extinguished when sorrow tried to break it's way through. My crotch area throbbed from the cuts left there and Jurian's words had left me worried. What if Az and Cass did come too late?

I tried to keep those thoughts at bay; I couldn't let myself think like that, it would end with nothing but trouble. I was pacing again, running my hands through my hair, when I heard a soft knock at the door.

I stopped, cocking my head in confusion. No one has knocked when they entered before. A wave of fear washed over me; I tried pushed against it. And then as the door slowly opened I glimpsed a flash of red hair as I backed up a few steps.

"Feyre?"

Lucien stood before me, wide eyed; his russet eye whirled. My mouth dropped, this was too good to be true. "Feyre… what did they do to you?"

I bit my lip, tasting blood, "What are you doing here?"

He looked around the room, shellshocked. His eyes paused on the droplets of blood near the cot before returning to me, "I had a feeling something was wrong. Jurian was lying to me. He didn't expect me to get back from the lake so quickly."

Emotion pressed down on me, I sank to my knees, whimpering slightly. Lucien strode towards me and gave me a tight hug. I gaped at him, at the kind of affection he's only shown me once. "We need to get out of here," I whispered, "He cut off Rhys's-" I trailed off.

I couldn't finish that sentence, not yet. Lucien pulled back and nodded, "I can't get these chains off, I don't have a key or anything strong enough to cut them with," it was my turn to nod.

"Do you know where they're keeping him?"

I shook my head, "Is there a medbay anywhere near here?"

Lucien got up and helped me to my feet before escorting me out of the room, "We have to be quick, we can't stay out long."

I quickened my pace as he led me down each corridor, the turns blurring together, my hopes increasing. Finally we approached a door with a red cross and a lock on it. Lucien grabbed the key that hung next to the knob and unlocked the door. He inclined his head towards me; I reached for the knob, my fingers shaking slightly.

This was it. If Rhys was in here…

Rhysand

A soft gasp and the pitter patter of hurried steps woke me up. I lifted my head, bleary eyed, to Feyre's face inches from my own, wide eyed, "Rhys?"

I gaped at her and started to struggle to sit up so I could face her better; she put a hand out to steady me as I stared at her, not believing it, "How did you get here?"

Her face broke into a tentative smile, "Lucien found me."

I couldn't believe she was here. I managed to fully stand up before we crashed into each other, embracing. Our lips connected and my hands were running over the curve of her hips, feeling every part of her.

Heat roared up my body as her hands raced across my stomach. I leaned back for a breath and looked at her; something was off, but she leaned into me and closed the gap before I could determine what it was. Her hands trailed to my lower back and slowly made their way up. I ignored the sting of pain and pulled her closer.

Her hands reached my shoulder blades and I winced, tensing my back. She immediately took her hands off of me and backed up a step, "Shit Rhys. I'm sorry I didn't realize."

I gave her a lazy smile and tried to relax my muscles. "You don't ever have to be sorry about anything."

She shook her head softly, muttering something. Why was she being so timid with me?

Feyre

I looked over the area of Rhys's back I had run my hands on, trying to ignore the worried look he was giving me, and embraced him again, "I've missed you so much. I've been imagining the worst."

His eyes moved up and down my body, his nostrils flaring, "What did they do to you?"

I shook my head and pulled myself out of his arms, "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me about this Feyre. Please."

Tears pricked my eyes as I looked down slowly as realization dawned on his face, "Ohh no Feyre."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "It's fine… We'll deal with it when we get out of here."

He shook his head, "It's not fine," he growled, "They will be get what they deserve or so help me-"

I put a hand on his chest, stopping him, "We need to make a plan to get out of here before that."

He nodded and leaned into me, I breathed in his scent, "How well can you walk?"

"To be honest I'm not sure, I don't have anywhere to walk except this room. I don't think I can run at all."

I swore. There was no way we could get out of here without running. He set his mouth in a grim frown, seeing the problem. I shut my eyes, my throat getting tight, "We could…"
A tear fell down my cheek and I went to wipe it, but Rhys's hand grabbed mine. He pulled me closer and let me cry into him. When I pulled back he was also crying, "We could have Lucien get Cass and Az for backup," he whispered, his voice scratchy, "We could last another day or two right?"

I nodded as the door opened a little, Lucien stuck his head in, "We need to go Feyre," I released a steadying breath.

Rhys looked at me and pulled me in for another kiss, "This isn't goodbye for long Feyre darling," he whispered.

I turned and left. As we walked back to my cell, I told Lucien the ghost of a plan we came up with.

vVv

I sat in the corner, my knees up to my chest, thinking about Rhys. We didn't get the chance to talk about his wings. Maybe it would be better if we didn't yet, at least not until we got home, but I knew how much his wings meant to him. I tried to imagine the wings I was able to conjure being cut off, squirming.

I eyed the plate of food they brought me a while ago; it was more than usual, but I dismissed it as I slowly ate it before laying down in my cot.

I pushed the door open, and there he was. Rhys was on his stomach, his whole torso bandaged. I stumbled into the room.