Chapter 14

Feyre

I pulled a midnight blue sweater over my head before turning and facing the mirror. Rhys sat on the bed watching me with a stupid grin on his face. I pushed my fingers under my hair, trying to make it bounce more, "How long until you stop staring at me and get ready?"

His eyes met mine in the mirror, "Never, not with your beauty."

He got up and strode towards me, putting his hands on the curves of my hips, "We might be a bit late," his sensual smile grew.

Heat melted into me where his fingers touched me— Corbin had done the same thing, and the memory raced through me. I stepped away, no longer seeing Rhys as I relived it. The damp walls surrounded me as my pleading echoed off the walls. I shook my head, trying to pull myself out as a comforting presence filled my mind.

I blinked, seeing Rhys again in front of me, his hands on my shoulders, looking at me with a worried expression, "Feyre, what's wrong?"

Everything was wrong yet nothing was wrong, and it infuriated me. I wanted to ask him if he felt the same way but something stopped me when I looked into his eyes. "Nothing. I'm fine," I let out a shaky breath, "Nuala and Cerridwen could watch Nyx for the night right?"

He nodded, eyes wide and full of concern.

"Ok then. Let's get ready to go," I forced a small smile before turning and leaving the room, his stare following me the whole way out.

vVv

When we walked into the town house the only thing I could hear was Cassian and Amren arguing. "PLEASE! You can't take me down in your fae form just like you couldn't take me down in your old form!"

Amren snarled back as we entered the room, "You wanna bet?"

Azriel stood in the corner, silently laughing as Mor held a pillow close to her chest, eyes wide and twinkling. Elain stood next to Nesta, gaping at them like this didn't happen regularly.

"Looks like Cass had a bit too much to drink already," Rhys murmured.

I snorted, "And he'll drink another three bottles."

Laughter rang down the bond as Amren went to lunge at Cassian just as Rhys winnowed from my side to right in front of him, hands up in surrender, "No need to get so violent Amren," Rhys drawled as I slid onto the couch next to Mor, "This is supposed to be a party. It would be a pity for Cassian to end up in the medbay… again, " amusement danced in his eyes.

Amren managed to stop herself from colliding with Rhys, but continued staring daggers at Cass. "Amren. You and I both know that Cassian couldn't beat you for the life of him. So why embarrass him?"

Amren kept her icy glare on Cassian before deciding her energy could be used better elsewhere and she sank into the nearest armchair. Cassian moved towards Azriel, grinning madly.

Mor turned and faced me, a wide smile on her face as she leaned in and embraced me, "Mother above Feyre. I'm sorry I haven't seen you the last couple days but I had to make the trip back from the Winter Court. Gods I'm rambling…"
I nodded my head, stifling a laugh as she kept going, "If you want to talk about what happened I just want to say I'm here for you… obviously. You can talk with me," she loosened a heavy breath.

I smiled at her, relieved that I could have someone to talk to. Rhys has been great, but… he just hasn't opened up about what had happened to him, and it just didn't feel right to only talk through my problems.

Amren eyed me before smirking, "Good to have you back girl."

"Good to be back. How did the whole thing with Cassian start," I grinned, turning towards her.

"Him being an arrogant asshole, as always."

Laughter belted from Elain, and she quickly went to cover her mouth at Amren's inflamed stare. I started laughing too as Mor cackled at Elain's sudden outburst. Amren narrowed her eyes at all three of us before stalking off towards the kitchen.

I got up and slunk towards Azriel and Cassian, leaning against the wall next to them, "Thank you."

"You have nothing to thank us for," Azriel said.

I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow as Cassian continued for him, "You guys are our family and High Lady and we would sacrifice our lives for you if it meant you and Rhys surviving."

I slumped a little, "You shouldn't ever have to though."

Azriel shrugged as Cassian handed him the bottle and I returned to my perch on the couch, watching them pass it amongst themselves before handing it to Rhys, who has already gotten through half of one.

vVv

My head throbbed as I looked at everyone around me. Rhys lay sprawled onto the armchair, drunkenly laughing at a joke Nesta said while Cass roared with laughter as Elain listened intently. Amren talked quietly with Azriel and Mor.

Every part of me seemed to scream that everything was wrong. We had just been captured and tortured, but we were acting like everything was normal. I idly itched the bandage on my back, looking around again. Maybe Rhys needed time to sort everything out on his own; his wings weren't just a part of his body, they were a part of him. Maybe enjoying himself as much as he could was a way for him to heal.

Mor plopped down next to me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me out of my thoughts, "Wanna hear a secret about Rhys when he's drunk?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? He doesn't seem that drunk."

She smirked and looked over at Rhys as she spoke, "That's because he's good at hiding it. The truth is, when he's drunk he's reckless as fuck. Dare him to do just about anything and he'll do it, no matter how embarrassing or stupid. He'll never say no."

My mouth dropped, "Rhys? Are we talking about the same Rhys here? A lot of his moves are… calculated."

"Not when he's drunk. In fact… we made up a game intended for our drunken selves."

I chuckled as she continued, "It's basically truth or dare, except it's just dare. And three of us declare dares on each other and the best one wins. That person has to then do their dare," mischief shined in her eyes, "Wanna play?"

I huffed out a laugh, "Is that even a question? But how do you decide which three?"

"The three least drunk."

She smirked before moving herself to the center of the room and clapping her hands, "Hey! Does anyone wanna play Dare?!"

"Yeah!" Cassian bellowed as Azriel nodded quickly, Rhys smirked at Mor as Amren smiled devilishly at her.

"Ok then… Amren, you dare the first person."

Amren shot a smirk at Cassian, "Fine. I dare Cassian over there to eat the hot pepper I grew-"

"That's not so bad," he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not done yet… I was going to tell you that I've been growing it special, it's flavors will be the hottest you've ever tasted. I used mandrake essence to make it as spicy as it is."

He blanched and looked at Elain to come up with a dare. She shook her head and gestured towards Rhys, who smiled smugly, "Feyre darling," he crooned, "I dare you to swipe one of Amren's many jewels without her notice by the end of the week."

I scoffed, as Nesta snickered beside me. Cassian and Azriel whooped about how that was the winner, but Mor interrupted them, "You're forgetting about the final option!" she turned to Rhys, her mischievous smile growing, "I dare you to jump off the bridge overlooking the Sidra."

Nesta smirked as she and Elain voted for that. Amren nodded as Cassian whooped and Azriel softly clapped, forgetting about Rhys's dare. Mor turned towards me, a knowing smile on her face as I laughed at Rhys's face of astonishment.

"Great! So let's get moving!" Mor yelled out as she made her way towards me.

Cassian and Azriel decided to wrap their arms around Rhys and put their weight on him as they stumbled out. I joined Mor and looped my arm through hers, laughing as Cass and Az started drunkenly singing 'He's a Jolly Good Fellow.'

When we arrived I leaned over the railing a little, looking down at the water below, "He's not going to do it."

Mor glanced at me before looking back down, "Yes he will. I told you, he'll do anything when he's drunk. He's reckless."

As if on cue Rhys pulled himself out from under Azriel and Cassian and made his way to

the railing. Nesta, Amren, and Elain crowded around the railing, waiting patiently. Mor nudged Cassian out of her way and stepped in front of Rhys, "Are you ready!?"

A chorus of whoops and hollers.

"Rhys, do you have anything to say before you jump?"

Rhys looked over at me, running his eyes over my body before smirking, but as he started to speak he took a small step back and lost balance. He flung his arms out, trying to steady himself as he fell backwards. Laughter erupted around me as he let out a surprised yelp before he fell over the side.

Rhysand

I relished the feeling of the air hitting my face. Everyone above me grew smaller before I flipped my body towards the water, watching it come closer and closer; my eyes shut.

I gasped at the sudden cold that struck my body, momentarily freezing me. Drifting deeper, I looked around at the blurry surroundings before starting to kick towards the surface. I emerged, gasping for air as everyone started cheering and clapping. I grinned, swimming towards the shore before winnowing back up.

I stumbled towards Feyre, her laughter drawing me in. Water droplets ran down my neck before dropping to the floor. I smiled at her, wrapping my arms around her and looking deep into her eyes. She gasped at the cold water sunk into her clothing but didn't move.

The blues and grays of her eyes swirled together as she looked at me, gleaming with amusement. I leaned down closer, feeling her breath on my cheeks and whispered, "Feyre darling… Do you know what your eyes look like?"

She shook her head slightly, smirking slightly.

"They look like fucking starlight Feyre."

Her smirk broadened into a grin, and before she could say anything back I pressed my lips into hers, melting into her warmth.

When we pulled back, we were both breathless and I didn't hear anything as we grasped each other's hands as we walked back to the River house.