"Never have I ever had wings," Mor declared, holding up her wineglass. Other than she and Amren, the rest of us groaned and drank a sip of our wine. Feyre, drinking something non-alcoholic that made her wrinkle her nose.

"Trying to get us drunk?" Cassian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As if it's hard," Rhys murmured and my mouth twitched as I caught Feyre holding in a laugh.

"Never have I ever slept with an Illyrian," Amren murmured and we all groaned again.

This wasn't a drinking game I had ever participated in, but I'd heard some of the Illyrian males playing it before in the camps. And I realized it was a good way to get someone drunk. Or find out too much about them, I supposed.

"Never have I ever been skinny dipping," Cassian grinned and Azriel and I narrowed our eyes before taking a drink. It had only happened once… after our mating ceremony… but still. Rhys raised his eyebrows across from us.

"Can we play something else?" Azriel suggested and Cassian smirked.

"Not doing so well, Az?"

"Never have I ever… thought I had the biggest wingspan," I flexed my wings and watched as the three Illyrian males shook their heads at me before drinking.

Mor and Feyre grinned at me and even Amren laughed as we watched the males finish their drinks.

Everything got funnier as the evening went on. Although I was pretty certain that was because of the wine. We played different games, acting things out, and we even ended up playing a card game that I remembered my father playing with some of the other warriors. Soon Feyre and Rhys headed to bed and I didn't blame her- she looked exhausted. Amren was next. Leaving Mor and I with the Illyrian warriors.

"It's been a long time since we all stayed here," Cassian said to Mor and Azriel. My mate wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"It has," Mor agreed, "And now there's a new member of the Court of Dreams." A wink in my direction. I smiled.

"Pass me a bucket," Cassian teased and Azriel let out a low laugh. "I think I miss the brooding."

"I don't," Mor replied and then she stretched. "Right, I'm heading to bed and with any luck the room might stop spinning." She turned to us all, "No loud noises." And then she headed to bed, the red skirt of her dress swishing behind her.

"Well I'm not being the chaperone here," Cassian smirked.

"That's fine, I thought Mayar and I would go for a walk," He looked across at me and I gave him a nod. We stood up in unison and headed towards the door.

"No skinny dipping!" The General called out as the door slammed shut behind us.

Azriel held my hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb as we walked along under the sky of stars. It was still warm, although not unbearably so, and I could hear some grasshoppers somewhere as we walked along the hillside. Ahead, shining in the moonlight, I could just make out the river as it flowed downstream. We had all ended up in it earlier on, splashing around and cooling off. We followed the river until we reached the waterfall and we sat beside each other on a large rock, the sound of rushing water behind us and in the distance somewhere I could hear an owl.

Above us the night sky was as beautiful as ever and I swore that here we could see even more stars. I rested my head on his shoulder and we looked at the darkness around us. The darkness that I wasn't afraid of. The darkness that relaxed me. Home. Because with my shadowsinger, I was home.

"I've missed this," He whispered and I smiled.

"Me too." And I had. Whenever he was away I found myself missing him and wondering if he was safe. Yes, for now Ironcrest and the other war-camps had settled down, but for how long? I'd heard that other camps were proving reluctant to train their females, going against Rhys and Cassian's orders, and this was bound to cause some friction. And what if there was another war?

"Maybe next time you go I'll have to hold you captive," I grinned, sitting up and meeting his eyes.

His smile was flirty. And somewhat feline, "Really?"

"I'm sure I could find some way of tying you down."

"I wouldn't fight it."

His lips crashed to mine. I returned the kiss eagerly as his arms pulled my waist, pulling me closer and closer. My body burned as sparks ran through it. Magic hummed through my veins. The kiss was intense, eager and when it led to more and we made love next to the waterfall, it was everything I'd ever wanted.

"You two got in late last night," Cassian smirked when we walked into the dining room for breakfast the next morning. Azriel released a low growl and I punched Cassian in the arm as I walked past him to sit in an empty chair.

The table was laden with pastries and fruits and meats and I was starving. Azriel poured me a coffee and took the seat beside me, shaking his head at Cassian who piled his plate high.

Some things never change, Azriel murmured into my head and I gave him a small smile.

"Help yourself to food," Rhys said, meeting my eyes, "Or those Illyrian bastards will eat it all."

Mor snorted and Feyre laughed softly and we all tucked in.

The break at the cabin was exactly what I needed. I spent the morning splashing about in the river with Mor and Feyre, relaxing and chilling out and letting Mor thread wildflowers in my braided hair. And when Azriel and Cassian said they were going hunting, I decided I'd go too.

It had been a while since I'd actually gone hunting. In fact, I hadn't since living in Thornhill, when I would go with my father to hunt down prey to feed the village with some of his other warriors. In Windhaven, it simply wasn't one of my responsibilities. As a female.

The forest across the river from the cabin was dense and the shade of the trees was a refreshing change as we wove in and out of the branches. I rolled up the sleeves of my cream blouse and moved my hand to grasp the hilt of the knife on my thigh- the sibling almost to Azriel's magical knife, Truthteller. It had been a mating present to me. The hilt was beautiful and silver with engraved flowers and Illyrian runes carved onto the blade.

I heard a twig snap ahead and I held out my hand to Azriel and Cassian, who flanked me. Swords were strapped to their backs and they too had throwing knives at the ready. The males nodded and let me continue taking the lead. I crouched. Slowly. Peering out from behind a tree. A deer stood before me, walking slowly and unaware of its company. If this worked, we would enjoy our venison tonight.

My blade moved quickly, hitting the deer on-target and knocking it to the ground. Quick. Azriel and Cassian were there in an instant, ensuring it was put out of its misery and we crouched beside it, readying it.

"Nice shot," Azriel murmured as I retrieved my knife. I wiped it and then returned it to where it belonged.

Cassian was tying the legs together to make it easier to carry, "The concern is that you're teaching all those Illyrian females to aim like that too."

"Worried you might get on the wrong side of one?" I asked with a playful grin.

"One of you is scary enough."

"Only because my mate kicked your ass," Azriel laughed softly, his hazel eyes shining with what looked like pride.

"I let you win," Cassian said to me.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure."

I let the males carry our dinner as I walked ahead of them. I spotted some edible berries as we walked and I collected some, gathering them in the satchel I carried. They'd be good in a pie, I decided.

I heard the warning hiss of the males behind me before I saw what was in front of us.

I looked ahead and saw four shadows ahead of us on the other side of the clearing. Four winged shadows. Illyrians.