I was able to smell how strong the shot of alcohol was the moment the waitress put it down in front of me. Wrinkling my nose, I brought the shot to my lips and downed it. Rhys laughed at my squirming, amusement glittering in his eyes, "Too strong?"

"No," I said, smiling a bit, "it's just been a while."

"Hmm," his smirk broadened.

We watched Mor dancing for a moment before he turned to me, 'Would you like to dance with me Feyre darling?'

For a second I hesitated… I was already feeling the effects of the alcohol and didn't trust myself, but… 'I would love to.'

He smiled and extended a hand out to me; I took it and stood, blinking at the sudden blurriness, but I ignored it and smiled as he led me into the middle of the room.

We started slow, drifting around the room as the music slowly picked up speed. We grew faster with it, everything blurring at the edges. He spun me, once, twice… on the third spin a sudden wave of nausea hit me and I tripped. Shock pulsed through me as I saw the ground coming closer, as I realized that I had messed up that dance move for the first time ever. I've never messed that one up before. Rhys caught me before I hit the floor, eyes wide at my sudden stumble, "Are you ok?"

I nodded, trying to blink away the blurriness that had encroached on my vision once more. But it wasn't clearing. Another wave of nausea, my knees wobbled. Did I really drink that much? My head spun. "I think I should go home and rest a little. You stay here."

He shook his head and grabbed my hand, "No, I'll come with you," I started to object- "Really it's fine Feyre. I'll end up sitting here and watching Mor all night"

I didn't have the strength to argue, not when the room wouldn't stop spinning.

The streets were relatively empty for this time of day as we made our way back to the River House. Each step grew harder and harder. Rhys gripped my hand and I whispered, "Why is one drink affecting me this much?"

He shrugged, putting his other hand on the small of my back to steady me, "I don't know."

I blinked, and suddenly wind and darkness surrounded me as Rhys winnowed us the rest of the way home. My stomach clenched and unclenched as I pulled away from him and made my way up the stairs. Maybe a cup of water would make me feel better. "I'll bring you something to eat," he called as I made it to the top step.

I nodded and wiped my eyes. I couldn't see well, everything was blurred. My breathing grew heavy as I fumbled on the door knob of our room. The door swung open and I pitched into the room, stumbling towards the bedside table to grab the glass I left there last night.

My fingers closed on the glass and I turned, stumbling towards the bathroom.

I opened the door and made my way towards the sink. My hands shook as I turned the faucet on and filled the cup before bringing it to my lips. I drank, fighting the nausea that occurred with each sip. I blinked, and the crash of my glass filled the room as I fell to the floor, trying to regain my breath.

Another blink, and Rhys was yelling something, and then his footsteps were sounding down the hall. I tried to open my mouth and say something, to say that I was ok and that I tripped, but I couldn't seem to.

Another blink, and he was sitting beside me, holding my hand tightly. I gasped, choking on nothing.

Another blink and he was pressing down on my chest repeatedly as he said something, but everything was muffled… so so muffled. And I was so tired…. "Hang in there ɘɿγɘᆿ. You'll ɘd ʞo … Stay with ɘm… ɘƨɒɘlq. ɘƨɒɘlq."

Another blink, and I was on the bed, a woman standing above me and someone holding my hand. But I couldn't hear, couldn't think as the woman forced my mouth open and poured something down my throat.

It was like acid. And I screamed. I screamed as I flung an arm out and shot a blast of raw power in her direction. I screamed as the acid made its way down my throat. I clawed at it, trying to get it out, trying to stop the burning mess that my insides were becoming.

Another blink, and she was struggling to her feet and someone's hands were holding me down. I clamped my mouth shut, trying to fight against the nausea and her hands trying to force my mouth open.

Another blink, and the acid was forced into my mouth, and I screamed and thrashed and screamed some more but those hands were unyielding. And someone was saying something to me but I couldn't hear above my pain, above the burning pain—

Another blink, and everything was still. Utterly still. And I could see clearly again. Rhys sat at the window overlooking the Sidra, gazing out solemnly. No warmth in his face, only icy rage. "Rhys?" I rasped.

His head whipped towards me, and that rage was replaced by relief. "Rhys. What happened?" my voice was hoarse. So hoarse.

Silence for a moment, then, "You were poisoned."

Poisoned. The word clanged through me. Poisoned. I always knew it was a possibility in my position… but I never thought it would threaten me in Velaris. I shivered, "Who?"

"We're still looking into it."

He stretched his legs… as if he's been sitting there for a long time. My gaze darted to the window; it was sunset. "How long have I been out?"

He got up and made his way to the bed and sat beside me, "Two days."

I looked at him, really looked, and saw the dark circles under his eyes, the exhaustion that lay in them, "When was the last time you slept?"

A shrug, "It doesn't matter," I opened my mouth but he cut me off, "I wouldn't have been able to sleep even if I tried."

"Where did the poison come from?"

He frowned, "I think it came from the shot you drank. It was a strong alcohol… strong enough to mask the scent."

Rhys had been thinking of this for the past two days. Two days of sitting and thinking about all the different ways things could have gone differently. I took his hand in mine, "Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known."

He nodded and looked down, "Do you remember anything that happened?"

It was my turn to frown…. I remembered being sick, I remembered stumbling around the room….but- "Who was that woman?," I asked, remembering her struggling back to her feet, "Did I hurt her?"

"It was Madja," my face fell but Rhys gave me a squeeze of reassurance, "You didn't hurt her. The power you shot wasn't anything dangerous… You shot a blast of air at her."

A tear ran down my cheek and Rhys brought my hand to his lips and kissed it softly, "You didn't hurt her. I promise she's fine and she has no hard feelings. She knew the antidote would cause a reaction like that."

I nodded and watched the setting sun before I leaned into him and shut my eyes. He rubbed a small circle on my thumb and murmured, "How are you feeling?"

"Weak, so weak… everything just hurts."

My pride. It hurt just as much as the rest of me ached. How had I not detected the poison after I studied about them for so long? How did I not realize when everything started going sideways? Rhys trembled next to me slightly and I turned to look up at him, "What's wrong?"

He stayed quiet for a moment, his lips clamped tightly shut before he spoke down the bond, 'Nothing…. It's just, I was scared. I thought you were going to die- you were so close to dying for a while. And all I was able to do was sit and watch as you suffered. If you died…' he didn't go on, but I knew; if I died it would destroy him, just like it would destroy me if he died.

'Don't worry Rhys. I ended up being okay. This was just a setback, and once we find out who did it we could get even more information as to the why.'

He dipped his head slightly, putting his nose into the crook of my neck, and I shut my eyes against it- the normalcy of it all, as if it was like any other evening. My stomach growled and a rumble of a laugh made its way out of Rhys, "If you were so hungry why didn't you just say? You haven't eaten for two days!" he paused, considering for a moment, "Do you want me to get you something to eat, Feyre darling?"

I blushed, nodding as he was already making his way out of the bed, smirking like a cat, 'I'll be right back.'

…Five minutes later he came back in with a cup of soup, and I couldn't help but laugh at the inside joke… he really knew how to make me feel better. I smiled, taking the steaming cup from his hands and sipping slowly. Flavor burst on my tongue and I moaned centently. Rhys watched me closely, and I snuggled up into him. "Rhys… everything's going to be okay, right? We're going to find that person, I'm going to get strong again, and everything will sort itself out. Right?"

He flashed me a soft smile, "Of course."

And that was good enough for me for now. And with that thought, I returned my gaze to the now rising moon, marveling at the beauty after such a horror.