Come 10 AM on Monday morning, Rhys was already wishing it was still the day before. That he could go back to the moment he had woken to feel Feyre delicately tracing the tattoo that stretched from one bicep, across his chest and back, and to the other bicep. The delicate whorls and lines that he hid most days beneath button down shirts and suit jackets had been on full display to her and she had seemed completely set on tracing each line. That he could go back and tell her all about his Illyrian upbringing in the mountains once more as he explained what the tattoos meant and how they marked his status as a warrior in Illyrian clans. That he could go back to pinning her against the wall of the shower when she had spent far too long scrubbing certain areas to be anything less than a tease. That he could go back to keeping her trapped on the couch while they watched movies and ordered in pizza. That he could go back to the moment Mor had arrived with supplies for Feyre and no other explanation other than Feyre couldn't go home quite yet. That he could go back to the moment he had offered Feyre the guestroom and she had ended up in his bed again anyway.
Or perhaps even just go back to that morning when they had been getting ready for work side by side and Rhys had realized how natural it felt to have Feyre right there in his bathroom braiding her hair for the day or her sitting next to him at the kitchen island eating a muffin before they left.
Instead he was sitting at the conference table with Cassian, Azriel, and Mor in an emergency meeting. Amren was absent but he had been assured she wasn't necessarily needed yet. He could see Feyre at her desk, hear her typing on her computer as Mor had left the door open, but she hadn't been invited to join them telling him it was more serious matters that had his brothers and cousin sitting before him, each with their own files in hand.
"I take it the date went well if Feyre decided not to go to the hotel," Azriel started, his voice soft enough not to carry out of the room.
"A few hiccups. The Vanserras attempted to kidnap her for their own sick pleasure before apparently returning her to Tamlin. And Tarquin Summer thought it appropriate to flirt with her," he shrugged. "They were dealt with."
"About Tamlin," Cassian opened his folder. "Az caught wind that he had announced he was going to try and get her back. Now he only spoke to his team about it, so the Vanserras must also have a bug in his conference room. We set surveillance up on Feyre's apartment building on Friday when we caught wind. Saturday, shortly after Feyre left with Mor, Tamlin showed up at the building and somehow convinced the building manager he was Feyre's boyfriend and needed a key to her apartment for some grand romantic gesture. He was still there when we were informed you were on your way home."
Rhys frowned at the words. Had Feyre gone home that night she would have likely ended up hurt or worse at Tamlin's hand. He wasn't exactly the forgiving or forgetting type unless he was the one in the wrong, then he insisted he receive forgiveness and his transgressions be forgotten. That Tamlin had gotten into Feyre's apartment so easily was unsettling, and now he had a key.
"Feyre can't go back there, can she?" Mor asked. "He likely did something to make sure even if she changes the locks he can get back in, and that place is horrid enough that a full sweep and lock down of her apartment is almost not worth it."
"It would be ill-advised," Azriel admitted. "We can have someone we trust go in and gather her belongings if she would feel more comfortable and relocate her to a hotel until she finds somewhere else."
"I'll speak with her," Rhys promised. He would certainly advise her against returning, unless she was collecting her belongings and took a security guard. He would also make his recommendation about hotels but he would also suggest the guestroom he had offered her the night before. It was far too quick to even think about asking her to move in with him, but he couldn't imagine letting her stay anywhere else either.
"Now that that's settled," Cassian announced and looked to Mor.
"Over the weekend, twenty-three of Velaris' businesses received these notices nailed to their doors," she opened her folder and handed him eviction notices from building owners.
"But we own the buildings," Rhys looked to Mor.
"We do. These are fakes, but they are enough to stir some fear in the community. I've sent emails and called every business on our list to assure them this is some sort of vicious prank, but they might need to hear from you as well. I also told them to report any suspicious activity to me as well. If anyone comes to threaten them, they are to call me immediately." Mor removed one more report. "These are the businesses that received the notices, and the ones with stars by them also have received calls telling them it would be best to close now."
"I'll follow up with these businesses," Rhys sighed. It would take him a good part of the day to do so.
"And now to the real matter at hand," Azriel pulled his attention back. "I've had reports from both the politicians we are close with and from our Illyrian brethren that Hybern has been looking into turning the reservation lands into new factory space for his company. There have been a few contractors out poking around and there are lobbyists hounding the politicians about releasing the reservation status on those lands. It would seem that man that wanted to build a ski resort out there made one too many good friends of possible investors. He has been turned away from the idea and now Hybern has overtaken the plan to rip apart the lands."
"What will happen to the Illyrian population if he succeeds?" Rhys asked though he already knew the answer.
"They will be displaced and compensated according to Hybern's lobbyists. Likely not even enough to buy a hovel anywhere, but that isn't their concern," Mor snapped. "They just want to rip apart the land and drain its resources for profit."
"If," he heard a small voice at the door and looked to see Feyre standing there, a steaming cup in her hands. "If Hybern takes the lands and drains them for profit, won't the profits go right back to Hybern's main base in Hybern? Why would the Prythian government allow him here if no profit will come here?"
"That's a fair point," Cassian nodded to Feyre. "Do we have anyone reminding our side of that?"
"I'll find some lobbyists sympathetic to native rights and push their direction," Mor promised.
"And will they hire people here or bring in workers from Hybern? From what you've told me of the country," Feyre stepped forward and put the coffee cup down in front of Rhys as she addressed him. "They are overflowing with workers and no place to put them. Won't they send those workers this way."
"Very likely, and they will put them in compounds to keep them from experiencing any freedom in Prythian," Azriel commented. "He's done that in the past when he's taken over other places. They won't be contributing to our economy much if at all."
"Gather up whatever information you can about what Hybern has done in other places to present to the government," he informed Azriel.
"If the lands go up for sale, is there anyway we can outbid him?" Cassian asked.
"No chance. Even all of our wealth combined does hold a candle to what he can offer," Rhys looked to his brother. "We can't just buy our way out of this one it would seem."
"There must be a lot of legalities involved in taking away a native reservation," Feyre reminded them. "There could possibly be some long-forgotten legalities in our favor."
"Speak to Amren as well," Rhys took Feyre's hint. "Set her on them."
"I'll go speak with her now," Mor stood and gathered her things. "And get some lobbyists working in our favor." She stopped to grip his shoulder before leaving.
"Any other brilliant ideas, Darling?" Rhys asked, patting the chair next to him. If she was going to contribute so much, she might as well sit and join them.
"I wouldn't necessarily say it's brilliant," she blushed. "But you said Illyrians are a proud people. They kept their native lands because they fought viciously for them. I would believe some of those blood lines they hold so dear also have lands they have passed down generation to generation. Perhaps they might decide it's worth fighting to protect their heritage. If anything, have the warriors that stay there with little to do but hunt run off everyone that comes poking around."
"I like this one, Rhys," Cassian rose. "I'm going to go get messages out to our clan about what is going down. Get them riled up and action started on their end." He made it to the door before he smiled back at them. "Keep this one."
Rhys snorted. He had no intention of letting Feyre go anywhere. She had a brilliant mind, a wicked sense of humor, and was the most beautiful woman he had ever met. There was no possible way he would ever come across another woman like her and he didn't want to. This one was for made to match with him, he knew it in his bones.
"Rhysand," Azriel's voice was softer. Rhys almost glared at his brother for using his full name but he caught his brother's dark look. There was more and he had intentionally waited until everyone else had left.
"Give us a moment?" Rhys asked Feyre. She nodded and removed herself, closing the door behind her to give them privacy. "What's so horrible you needed to wait for everyone else to go? Tamlin is in my lobby?"
"No," Azriel shook his head. "More of a warning than anything else. I received word early this morning that Amarantha Scarlett is leading Hybern's attempts to get hold here. When I saw her name on the documents passed to me, I did some looking. Hybern found some legal loopholes and got her out of prison here nearly a year ago."
"It's starting to feel like this is all some personal attack," Rhys groaned.
"It might be. I'm going to sweep the building for bugs and spies and then your townhouse and car. I'll need access to your phone and your personal computer by this evening as well to check for anything that shouldn't be there." Azriel stood. "Have Feyre be careful if she chooses to go anywhere alone. I'd suggest she ask Cassian for a few self-defense lessons."
"Right," Rhys buried his face in his hands. Azriel left a moment later but Rhys didn't look up.
It all felt too personal. The harassing of the companies protected under Velaris, the threat to his mother's homelands, the threats to Feyre, and now Amarantha. If she was leading the legal teams, she was back in Prythian, likely somewhere too close for his comfort. No one would allow her anywhere near Nox Industries and she didn't know where he lived, but that didn't make him feel safer.
"How can I help?" Feyre's voice was next to him. He reached out for her without looking up and pulled her down on his lap. He buried his face against her neck and wrapped his arms around her.
"You can give me piece of mind on one part of all of this," he murmured.
"Oh?" She shifted so he had to look up into her eyes. Then he proceeded to detail why she hadn't been allowed home after she had left Saturday. He could feel the slight shake that gave away her fear but her face betrayed nothing. "What am I going to do?"
"Either you go home with a body guard to pack or you let Cassian assign someone to do it for you," Rhys started. "And then we can check you into a hotel I trust until you find a place to live, or you can bring everything to my place and stay with me."
"Rhys! We went on one date!" She pushed away from him.
"The guest room, Feyre. It would be all yours," he promised. "I won't monitor when you go out or with who. You won't be trapped in any way. You are free to come and go, and look for your own place if you choose." Feyre's eyes sparked with a small touch of light at his words. "It would not be a reason for me to have access to you. It would be for your safety and for my peace of mind, but you would set the rules and boundaries."
"I'd like to be there when my belongings are packed up," Feyre admitted. "And I suppose I should at least look at the guestroom."
Rhys felt a small smile tug at his lips. He knew enough that if she was saying that, she wouldn't consider a hotel.
"There are several options," he promised her. "If you don't feel the room I have set as the guestroom is far enough away from me. We can set Cassian to work moving everything around."
"Would tonight be too quickly to go get my things?" She asked.
"Let's see how quick I can get you a guard," Rhys promised. "You might be able to go within the hour."
"That's fairly quick," she shot back at him.
"I'd rather you go while Tamlin should be working, to be honest," Rhys admitted. There was a very good chance that Tamlin had the place watched. Whoever escorted Feyre and her belongings to his townhouse would need to be careful that they weren't followed. He trusted his security system, but he didn't trust that Feyre would be completely fine if Tamlin found her at his place. The thought of Amarantha finding his house was enough to make sure he would have nightmares of her. He didn't doubt for a second that Feyre felt close to the same about Tamlin. "Let me see what I can get together."
"You have a lot to do as it is," she slid off of his lap. "I'll take care of my end of things, you do what you need."
"Fine," he sighed. He did have a lot to organize and he knew Feyre would be able to organize whatever she needed. "I'll call Cerridwen and Nuala to let them know you're coming though." Feyre nodded and went to make her own calls.
Rhys smiled at the thought of his house maids. They had been with him for a long time, had been the only two to see him all the way through Amarantha. He and Feyre had discussed them the day before when he had explained that he didn't normally cook unless it was a weekend, since his maids had the weekends off. Feyre had been surprised he only had two and had described the staff that Tamlin had kept whenever she had actually visited his manor.
The twins would like Feyre. They would probably like her better than they liked him. He had no doubts if he called them, they would drop everything they were doing to prepare the guestroom and make a point to welcome her properly.