500 Years Ago...
"Please, milady, let me do that!" Tamira, my ever present shadow and nursemaid since I was merely a babe, cried as I hefted a bushel of yellow fruit onto my hip as we padded over the wooden planks of the rope bridge. It was harvest season, and with many of the males on the front lines there was a shortage of laboring hands needed to gather the crops. I swiped a forearm across my brow as I cast Tamira an exasperated smile, she was always worrying over me like a mother hen. Even overbearing as she was, I valued her companionship above most things in my life. She had always been there for me, a mother figure when I hade none and a firend and confidant when I needed one.
"I'm just carrying a bushel of fruit, Tam, it's not like I'm fighting a naga," I chuckled breathlessly. She shook her head at me, short, fiery-red curls bouncing with the movement.
"Oh, I would pay dearly to see that," a dark, smooth voice said from behind me, causing me to drop the basket with a gasp of delight. I would recognize that deep timbre anywhere.
"Rhys!"
The little lordling of the Night court let out a quiet grunt as I barreled into him, my arms wrapping tightly around his trim waist as I hugged him fiercely. His strong arms pulled me tight to his muscular chest, careful to avoid my delicate wings.
"I'm almost too afraid to ask why you're here. Shouldn't you be with your father's soldiers?" It had been many months since his last visit and they were become fewer and farther between as the war with Hybern and the humans escalated. Sometimes I wondered what the army camps were like. My father was there, leading our troops, and he sent messages back as often as he could, but he was very conservative in the details. He didn't want to expose his precious "jewel" to the harsh realities of war. All the blood and gore was sure to turn my stomach, so in a way, I was grateful he withheld some of those details. Tam surely wouldn't appreciate it if I vomited all over the floors as I read his messages. And all our floors were hardwood, and those suckers soaked up moisture like it was their damn job. I wondered how hard it was to clean hardwood compared to other floor surfaces. Ooh, I bet stone was so easy to clean! Carpeting though, no way! I once spilled some fruit juice on one of my mother's old rugs and-
"Can a male not visit his dearest friend without being hounded by such questions?" Rhys tucked a strand of my long wine-colored hair behind a pointed ear as he gave me one of his typical panty-melting smirks. A smirk that would have worked on me if we hadn't grown up around each other. As it was, I knew far too many secrets and dirty details about the half-Illyrian to fall for any of his tricks.
I arched a delicate brow at him, pulling out of his arms and resting a fist on my cocked hip. He rolled his eyes with a long-suffering sigh.
"Very well," he huffed and gestured behind him toward where the tree palace hung, suspended in the air by thick tree branches and sturdy, reinforced rope. The palace was a sprawling mass of rooms contructed from the wood and wines and mortar made here in our court, suspended amongst the trees with many of the larger trunks passing through some of the structure for added stability. The palace was connected to the myriad of other homes and shops in our canopy village by an interwoven network of reinforced rope bridges that criss-crossed high above the forest floor. Which was a rather good thing since many of the larger predators roamed freely in the understory.
"If I am to spill all my secrets, we'll need a less... crowded venue." He cast a look at Tam's frowning face.
Tamira never did approve of Rhys, always muttering about the friends he kept and that blonde female he hung around that seemed to hate my guts. It had always struck me as a little odd that Rhysand never introduced me to his other friends, but I guess since the first friend of his, well cousin actually, I ever met had nearly killed me, I could understand why he was hesitant.
The day I had met Morrigan, she had somehow trapped a stinging red-winged jungle wasp and released it into my bedroom, only for it to sting me in my sleep later that night and caused an allergic reaction so bad that had a healer not been visiting the palace at the time, I might not have made it. Ever since then, Tam and I had shared a mutual dislike of the woman and Tam for Rhys since he continued friendship with her.
"Milady, we should be getting ready for supper, you know how-
"What's the point, Tam?" I gave her a sad look over my shoulder as I cut off her rant. Tamira loved protocol, lived for the stuff, and her way of coping with our constantly changing environment was to keep rigidly to our daily schedule we kept before the war had broken out months ago. Anytime something went wrong, she relied on our rigid daily itenerary to keep going and distract either herself or me by keeping to that expected dailty schedule.
"My father isn't going to be here to enjoy it anyway, so why bother?"
Rhys gave me a sad knowing smile. He knew I was all alone up here in my court, with no one but Tam to keep me company. Of course there were servants everywhere and other members of my court, but no one I was remotely close enough to that I would call them friend.
My father was extremely protective of me, his 'Jewel of Dusk', and let very few fae get close enough to me for any length of time to actually befriend them. Rhys was the obvious exception since his court neighbored ours and we were strong allies and trading partners. So my list of friends included a plump and short-tempered Tamira, and the playfully charming Rhysand. Two friends... and one of them was my nursemaid. That was just sad.
Blinking back to reality, I shook off the self pity after a moment and straightened my shoulders, putting on a bright smile and linking my arm with Rhys's.
"Well then, let us not waste what little time we have with idle chatter. Shall we talk in the sitting room, Boggy?" Rhys groaned at my use of his nickname.
"Will I never live that down?"
"Nope! It's not my fault you look, and act, exactly like a bog bat," I chuckled as I flicked him on the nose and took off down the wooden rope bridge, laughing even harder as it swung perilously from side to side, throwing him off balance and leaving a grumbling Tamira behind us with the forgotten bushel of fruit.
...
"Can I show you something?" Rhys asked hesitantly as we tromped through the smelly mud of the bog, sinking to our calves or knees with every step. I looked up at him, studying his face and was astonished to find that he was nervous. Rhys, the king of confidence and composure, was nervous.
"Of course!" I giggled, trying to lighten the mood from whatever he was going to show me. "But did we really need to come all the way out here for it?"
I looked around at the stinking wetland, the only signs of life coming from the little insects buzzing around our faces or skimming along the moss at our feet. Rhys checked our surroundings again for any sign of company before he began unbuttoning his shirt.
"What are you doing?" I laughed as I watch him fumble with his buttons. For only being twelve years old, Rhys was very handsome, and for me to notice this fact with all of my ten years meant that he would make a devastating male to look at when he was fully grown.
My cheeks heated a little as I stared, the innocent little crush I had on him when we were years younger still not having quite evaporated, but it had died down enough for me to be content with our friendship and cherish it above all else.
"I wasn't sure if I wanted you to know for a while..." he said, almost tripping over a few syllables. "But you're my best friend, Ella, so I have to show you."
"Show me what?"
Instead of answering, Rhys just took a step back and large, black leathery wings sprung from his back and stretched out behind him.
I gasped. They were magnificent. I reached a hand out to touch them, but Rhys took a jerky step back, nearly falling over in the thick mud.
"Don't do that," he said, his eyes softening his tone. "They're... sensitive. They aren't like yours."
I cocked my head at that. Not like mine? I glanced over my own shoulder, studying my pointed translucent wings that perched on my back like those of a jungle butterfly. They fluttered rapidly behind me, creating a soft hum with the movement and I turned back to compare his wings to mine.
His wings were much larger than mine, and they looked kinda familiar... almost like...
"A bog bat!" I giggled suddenly, searching the branches of some of the mangrove trees off in the distance.
"What?"
"There!" I pointed to the sleeping form a red-chested bog bat as it hung upside down from a tree limb. "That's what your wings look like, a bog bat's wings!"
Rhys scowled.
"They most certainly do not," he sniffed in annoyance, folding his arms over his bare chest. "And you aren't even a little surprised that I kept this from you?" His eyes watched mine hesitantly, as if he was waiting for me to call off our friendship due to the grave offense.
I just gave him a bright smile and launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around him, carefully avoiding his new wings, and sent us crashing into the squelching mud.
"What a stupid question!" I laughed and Rhys nearly shrieked as we were coated in the thick brown goop.
"Of course I'm surprised, but I'm not angry! And now you have the bog all over you and your fresh little wings! You really do look like a bog bat, a very boggy bog bat!"
"Boggy?" He huffed as he brushed a clump of sticky moss from his clawed wingtip. "Is that even a word?"
"Of course it is! You look boggy, so you're my little boggy bog bat!" I giggled in delight, pulling him up from the mud as we headed back for the tree line.
"Come on, Boggy, Tam's making her lemon pie and I don't want to miss it!" Rhys chuckled at my antics before somehow disappearing his wings and throwing his shirt back on over his muddy skin as we raced back to the palace.
...
His playful growl sounded right behind me, drawing me out of my little reverie, as he winnowed and grabbed me, tossing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey!" I screeched indignantly, slapping him hard on his taut ass cheek.
"Hands off the merchandise, sweetheart. You know I'm saving that for someone special."
I snorted a laugh.
"Oh sure," I chuckled. "And I'm saving mine for an alligator." Before he could respond with another undoubtedly witty comment, a low rumbling sounded through the dense canopy, shaking the trees and causing the bridge to jostle us slightly. Rhys immediately halted and dropped me back onto the planks of the bridge, listening carefully.
"What was that?" Rhys shook his head in denial, not answering my questions as his face dropped into a scowl.
"Fuck," he hissed, his eyes searching the trees for something I couldn't see. "I thought I had more time. I meant to get here sooner, to warn you, but I got distracted, I didn't antipate they'd move this fast. C'mon!" He gripped my hand and I felt him winnow us up to the front of the tree palace. He charged through the front doors, pulling me behind him, the worried look on his face making my heart beat frantically in my chest. The rumbling and crashing sounds of tree limbs snapping were getting louder outside.
"Rhys, what's happening? What did you come to warn me about?" I gasped as I clutched at his arm. He didn't say anything, just kept running as we dodged panicking servants scurrying this way and that like ants in a rain storm.
"Rhys!" I yelled again, tugging him to a stop in one of the narrow hallways, forcing him to look at me. "Please, tell me what's going on," I cried, panting for breath.
"It's Hybern. Az intercepted one of his missives, he's-
Another quake rocked the tree palace's rooted foundations, causing the whole structure to sway and groan in protest, as if the beams themselves where about to splinter under the strain. What on earth could be so poweful it shook the primary tree's foundations?
"He's what?" I shook his arms to get his attention again, but Rhys just clenched his jaw and started moving again, pulling me after him at breakneck speed. He couldn't winnow within the palace walls due to the wards, so he had to run and I had a pretty good idea as to where he was taking me. He visited so often that he knew my home just as well as I did, maybe even better.
"Rhys!" I tried again, but he was too focused on dragging me to our little hideaway, a tiny room in the interior of the palace where we liked to hide from our parents as kids. It was nothing more than a little cubby of space, maybe three feet by four feet of space closed off from one of the main rooms years ago probably during the contruction of the palace since it served no purpose. We only found it one day when Rhys accidentally put a hole in the wall that sealed it off while playing at swords. We tore off a small piece near the bottome and then reattached it later so that it could be opened and closed easily if you knew where to look.
Before we rounded the next corner, a loud boom shook the entire palace, the force blowing both Rhys and I off our feet and we crashed to the hard, thatched floor. Heavy footsteps sounded from down the hallway we had just come from and I shot a frantic look to Rhys. Someone was in the palace, and it wasn't the staff we were hearing. These footsteps sounded distinctly different. Rhys's jaw was set and determination glinted in his eyes as he hauled himself up and yanked me to stand as well, taking off again for our secret room.
"Who are they?" I panted. "Are they Hybern's soldiers?"
"Yes," Rhys gritted out, slamming to a halt and jerking me back up against his chest just before a group of unfamiliar soldiers stormed by one of the connecting halls. I turned my face into his shoulder to muffle the sound of my ragged breathing, my mind spinning. What in the name of the Cauldron was going on? Why was Hybern's army here and not on the southern front? What was in the missive that Azriel had intercepted, and why wouldn't Rhys tell me what he knew?
Those thoughts swirled and tangled in my head as Rhys peeked around a corner, then darted forward to continue on our original trajectory. We were maybe twenty feet and a left turn away from the room that housed the opening to our secret space when we were met by a wall of soldiers in brightly shining armor.
Rhys and I crashed to a stop, barely managing not to plow into the invaders, but it was no use as they descended on us. I felt Rhys being yanked from me as he tried to use his magic to bring them down, but they slashed him across the chest with an ash blade before he could take out more than two, one of them plunging another ash blade deep into the flesh of his shoulder.
"Rhys!" I screamed his name as three sets of rough hands gripped me and forced me against the wall and away from my best friend, my wings crunching painfully as I was slammed against the hard surface.
"Ella!" He cried out, struggling against the guards' hold, blood pouring down his chest and abdomen, soaking into his fighting leathers and weakening his powerful body. I could tell by the way his normally muscular form hunched slightly that the blood loss and the blade embedded in his shoulder had weakened him enough that it prevented him from fighting back against the number of soldiers currently pinning him in place.
The sound of a heavy pair of boots thumping slowly, ominously, down the hall made everyone pause, and I looked to my left to see the tall form of the King of Hybern, blood coating his armor and cruel face, slowly approach. His wicked smile as his lecherous gaze roved over my form made me want to puke. His eyes were feverishly bright as they took me in from my bare feet, up my legs, lingering over my heaving chest before comeing to rest on my flushed, angry fae. He must have enjoyed my furious expression because the corners of his lips tilted up in a cruel smirk.
"Ah, the lovely Gizelle Verissimon in the flesh," he said smugly in greeting, a meaty hand reaching out to stroke my cheek. He chuckled mirthlessly as I tore my face away from his touch, Rhys snarling viciously from the opposite side of the hall where he was pinned to the wall.
"You are every bit as beautiful as the rumors say. The Jewel of Dusk, the last surviving female of the Verissimon and Ranovir lines." He folded his hands behind him as he studied me, an evil glint in his eye. I strained against the guards but their grip was too tight for me to wiggle even an inch.
"What do you want?" I spat, baring my teeth at the monster before me, but Hybern only chuckled as he began to pace leisurely up and down the hall between Rhys and I.
A slow smile curved his lips.
"One of my generals has been advising me in regards to my long-term goals, and she stumbled across something that I found to be quite intriguing. As I'm sure you are well aware, your father is a very powerful Lord, and I must admit that I envy his gifts. It then occurred to me that such gifts often pass to heirs at the time of their parent's deaths and I had the most... glorious idea."
My stomach twisted at what he was implying and I felt like I was going to be sick. My father's gifts were coveted by many, and only the Verissimons possessed those gifts. In order to transfer his gift to me, his heir, he'd have to be dead...
"If you even think about laying a hand on my father, I'll-
The stinging burn of my cheek was the only clue that told me I'd been struck as it happened almost too fast for my eyes to catch. Rhys roared his rage across from me, the blood still flowing like a river down his chest from the deep wounds, pooling around his feet. They weren't healing, and his body was quickly weakening, his skin turning ashen and a cold sweat was breaking out over his skin. I'd never seen him look so bad, and it made me feel sick.
If we didn't get away from Hybern and his soldiers soon, Rhys might not make it much longer. For someone as strong and powerful as my best friend to be brought low so quickly, for the threat of his death to loom so closely, shook me to my core. I had to do something. Fast.
"I have a proposition for you, my sweet Gizelle," Hybern said, circling back to me, his hungry eyes falling on my ample chest before slowly making their way back up to my face again. "I will let the little lordling go free, so long as you agree to accompany my guards and I back to Hybern. Without any trouble, of course."
My brows furrowed as I tried to piece together what he really wanted from me. He would set Rhys free? But for what in exchange? There was more to this proposition than me taking a little sight-seeing trip to Hybern. If father died, his power would revert to me, not Hybern, so what exactly was he playing at? Did he think I would do his bidding if he murdered my only living relative and the most important person in my life? Fat chance, psycho.
"I can see I have not convinced you," he said after a moment of silence. He nodded to one of the guards holding Rhys and the male drove his fist into Rhys's gut as hard as he could, drawing a wet, wheezing gasp from him.
"Rhys!" I struggled even harder against my captors. "Let him go! Please, he has nothing to do with this!" I didn't actually know if that was true, or what 'this' even was, but I'd say or do anything to save my closest friend, my Boggy, and he couldn't last much longer with the amount of blood he had already lost and was pooling at his feet.
"No," Rhys groaned, as he tried to straighten up. "Don't..."
"Quiet!" Hybern snapped, his focus once again on me. "As I said, your little lover shall go free, all I ask is that you come with me willingly."
"For what purpose?" I bit out, barely able to leash my rage. Verissimon gifts were the all-or-nothing sort unfortunately, meaning that you either had all the gifts, like my father, or none, like me. And it hadn't ever bothered me much, until now, when I was fighting for my life and Rhys's life against this monster and his goons with no way to defend us.
"Your mother, Demelda Ranovir, was a rare beauty, even as a lesser fae," he began, that nasty smile creeping back onto his lips. "You have her eyes and face, along with some other Ranovir attributes..." his eyes drifted over my heaving chest and wide hips. "Your mother did not come from a very powerful family, but they did have one trait that made them highly sought after. A trait that made high fae males look passed their wretched lesser fae blood," he sneered.
What was this maniac going on about now? My wings came from my mother, sure, I knew this because my father had none, and I already knew she wasn't high fae. Demelda Ranovir had died giving birth to me, along with my twin brother who had lasted all of seven minutes after his birth, but Father never spoke of her or any gifts she might have had. She was his mate, and I think it hurt him too much to talk about her with me, and he certainly hadn't mentioned any special gifts she might have passed on to me.
"I don't know what you're talking about. All I got from her was my wings, and plenty of other fae have wings of all shapes and sizes." Hybern just smiled cruely and tsked.
"That is not what I am referring to, my sweet, rather the Ranovir ability to create that which is coveted by all fae and squandered by the little mortal pests south of the Pyrthian."
Rhys roared again, throwing off two of the soldiers before they redoubled their grips.
"Don't you fucking lay a hand on her!"
The king just gave a wicked grin at my confused face as he brushed a knuckle over my cheek, completely ignoring Rhys's outburst.
"The Ranovir line was a fertile one, my dear, able to produce dozens of young with any number of partners, and I suspect those hips and breasts of yours are built for more than just servicing a male's needs." His soldiers let out a round of chuckles as their king took a step back, dropping his hand from my burning cheek. I'd never heard any of this before, had no idea if he was telling the truth or if he was truly just insane.
"You will bear me a son," he continued, "One who will inherit Maximus Verissimon's power, as well as my own gifts, and he will be a force unlike any this realm has yet seen."
Rhys's roar of rage was drowned out by the blood rushing passed my ears. If I wasn't being held up by these soldiers I might have crashed to the floor by now. That lunatic wanted to use me like a broodmare, to impregnate me for the sole purpose of combining his and my father's gifts. Which would mean my father, and subsequently I, would have to die in the process, not to mention the act necessary for me to carry his child. Okay, now I was really going to be sick.
Before any more thoughts could flutter through my whirring brain, Hybern produced a blade of ash, twirling it delicately between two fingers. He smiled at me as he took a menacing step toward Rhys, palming the blade as he raised it over his head. My heart stopped as I deduced his intentions.
"Stop!" I screamed, and the blade froze in its downward arc, the king's face twisting into a knowing grin. My throat closed up as I realized with horror what I had to do, what was necessary to save Rhys. He would kill Rhys if I didn't agree to go with him, and he knew that I would do anything to save him.
I swallowed thickly and took a shaky breath, hot tears welling in my eyes as my gaze connected with Rhys's, my decision made. He shook his head violently, understanding dawning on his features and tears welling in his eyes, but I had to do this, for him. Aside from my father, Rhys was the most important person in my life, the brother I never got the opportunity to know, and he was well aware that I would go to the ends of the earth for him. And maybe I could spin this around, get something out of this deal to ensure he survived so that he could come after me, could save me from Hybern before something truly... vile... occurred.
"No, Ella, you can't-
His desperate words were cut off by another savage punch, this time to his jaw, and blood sprayed across the wall before dripping down his chin from a busted nose. I choked out a sob as I looked upon my dearest friend for what I hoped wasn't the last time. He was going to be livid with me for doing this, but I'd rather have him angry with me and alive than see any harm come to him.
"Okay..." I choked defeatedly, tears spilling down my cheeks as I closed my eyes, not able to hold Rhys's pleading gaze any longer. "But you have to heal him first," I demanded, lifting my head to look up at Hybern who now stood before me again with a triumphant sneer plastered over his pock-marked face.
"The Jewel of Dusk is a demanding little creature, is she not?" He said with a low chuckle to his soldiers. "Very well, my dear. I suppose that is a fair enough trade, but know that in return I shall have to ride you hard and often until my seed takes root in that fertile belly of yours. And I am not a gentle male," He whispered huskily, and this time I really did puke. Right onto his boots.
His face twisted into a look of disgust as he waved a hand and his boots were once again sparkly clean.
"Ella," Rhys cried, fighting like a rabid animal now against the soldiers. "Don't do this!"
"I have to," I whispered. "I love you, Boggy."
Rhys's eyes went nearly black as he roared again, the sound shaking the palace walls, before Hybern knocked him unconscious with a mere flick of his hand. The High Lord of the Night court's son drooped into his captors arms, the blood still trickling down his chest from his wounds as they carried his limp form down the hallway and out of sight.
"Where are they taking him?" I demanded, panicked that they were taking him somewhere to finish the job and kill him for good, regardless of the bargain we had just struck. "You promised you'd heal him!"
"Fear not, little one, my soldiers will heal him after he is beyond your court's borders." I shook my head in confusion at his words, tears stinging my eyes.
"Why not just heal him now?"
Hybern just grinned sadistically as the guards roughly tied my hands together behind my back and bound my fragile wings together. I winced as the ragged length of rope scraped against their soft membranes.
"My plans are rather complex, and it requires tying up quite a few loose ends, as it were. It will take some time for your belly to swell with my child, and for that child to be born. I cannot risk any disturbances during that time." The king turned his back to me and began walking down the hall in the direction they had carried Rhys. The guards beside me gripped me tight enough between them that I could barely touch my toes to the ground to walk on my own as they followed after their leader.
"What are you planning, Hybern?" I yelled after him and he cast a vicious smirk to me over his armored shoulder.
"The entire realm is going to forget," he said simply, that knowing, cruel smirk once again curving his lips.
"Forget what?" I asked shakily, not liking the confidence in his tone. He stopped walking and faced me fully as he strode back up to me and the guards, eyeing my body appreciatively before continuing.
"I've finally gathered the ingredients I need to cast a rather interesting spell my general came across. One that can affect the minds of any I wish, no matter how many, to forget whatever I wish them to forget." He grinned, revealing crowded yellowing teeth. "They will all forget about you, my dear. You, your family, and this sweltering swath of swamp and jungle you love so much. No one will remember anything about this court, fae and human swine alike. Not even your little lover," he sneered triumphantly.
I shook my head. He couldn't do that, no one was that powerful. No spell could do that kind of damage to that many minds.
The king of Hybern smirked as he seemed to read my thoughts, and leaned in close to me, his sour, hot breath wafting over my face as he whispered, "No one will ever remember the Jewel of the Dusk Court."
Present Day:
"I need to speak with you and your inner circle," Jurian said quietly to Rhys so as not to be overheard. Azriel's High Lord cast his gaze around at the others filing out of Feyre's family's crumbling home before motioning behind them to a more secluded corner of the half-demolished manor house.
The war with Hybern had only just ended, and they had all gathered here today with many of the other High Lords and their companions to sort out how their new world would work with no wall now separating the fae and human lands.
Rhys cocked an eyebrow at their enemy-turned-ally before looking over at his mate with a questioning look. Feyre shrugged her shoulders once before she followed after Jurian, the rest of them in tow. Elaine remained behind with Lucien as they all made their way to the secluded corner, gathering in a tight circle.
"Before I take my leave of you, there is something you ought to know about Hybern," Jurian began quietly, eyes shifting around their little huddle. "When he freed me from that ring and brought me back using the cauldron, I overheard him telling one of his personal advisors that he was glad it was easier the second time around."
"What are you talking about? Second time around?" Feyre whispered in confusion.
"Are you saying he used the cauldron to resurrect someone else before you?" Cassian interjected, forgetting to keep his voice low until Azriel shot him a warning glare and Rhys erected a silencing bubble around them.
"I can't say for sure," Jurian said quickly. "I only ever heard him reference it a few times. Twice he called it the 'Jewel of Dusk', and once just as 'The Jewel'. I never heard him say what it was, whether it was a precious stone, or a person, or a painting... but he always kept this room in the bowels of his fortress under heavy guard. Based on his comment about the cauldron, I'm assuming its a person he's got squirreled away somewhere in that castle, and they're most likely still there."
"And you're just bringing this up now?" Cassian huffed in annoyance, arms crossed over his powerful chest, red siphons gleaming in the few shafts of daylight poking through the battered walls.
"It didn't seem like the most most important topic, what with the war going on and me having to save your lives every half hour," he drawled nonchalantly. "But now that I have a second to breathe, I'm concerned about the prisoner he more than likely has and how long theyre going to be there with out Hybern ever coming back."
"Did you try asking the soldiers what they were guarding while you were there?" Cassian asked, but Jurian gave him a bored, insulted look.
"Of course I did, but none of them knew what they were guarding, just that whatever it was needed a tray of food twice a day and pitchers of water. So I suspected he has someone down there, someone that he used the cauldron to resurrect before me," he repeated his conclusions, and they all nodded solemly in understanding.
"He's been keeping someone prisoner," Feyre whispered in horror, her hand going to her mouth as she looked up at her mate. Azriel felt his hands clench at his sides. The thought of someone being held captive all this time while they were fighting Hybern was infuriating.
"He's probably got loads of prisoners," Cassian pointed out, and he wasn't wrong. What made this supposed prisoner different than any other captive?
"Someone who was apparently important enough to warrant resurrection using the Cauldron. Whoever this person is, if they're being kept in his castle under guard, surely can't be working with him and isn't just some poor prisoner. We need to free him." Feyre said fiercely, turning to catch the gazes of her family, but Jurian interrupted her before she could go on.
"They may still have soldiers guarding whoever it is. Just because we defeated his army here, doesn't mean he didn't leave soldiers behind to protect his stronghold." They all nodded thoughtfully at that. He certainly had a point there, and Azriel wondered who would be important enough to Hybern that he would use the Cauldron to resurrect them.
"Then we'll take an Illyrian unit and-
"No." Cassian cut their High Lady off with a shake of his head. "No offense, Feyre, but this would have to be a stealth operation. We can't risk a large unit in Hybern's territory. His people might not have even heard the result of the war yet and will fight against us as soon as we get there. And we can't fight off all the soldiers he may have left behind. And we just finished one war, I'm not anxious to start another for some long-ago dead person."
They all pondered for a moment before Azriel spoke up.
"I'll do it. I'll retrieve whoever is locked in that castle and meet you all on the coast beyond the wards under cover of darkness."
"No." Rhys's command was soft, and there was a strange, faraway look on his face that made Azriel arch a brow at his High Lord.
"What is it?" Feyre asked, noting the odd look on her mate's face as well. Rhys shook his head in confusion, his brows pulling together.
"I... I'm not exactly sure, but something about this doesn't feel right," he said quietly. "I have this feeling, or a memory of some kind buried somewhere, about this 'Jewel', but I can't quite put my finger on it."
Rhys blinked a few times to clear his vision and he looked over to Azriel, determination now swirling in his gaze.
"But I know I'm going too. If we're going to free this prisoner, I'm going to be there." His conviction was palpable, and it made little sense to any of their companions why their High Lord would care about this prisoner, and they all eyed him with concern.
"Then count me in too," Feyre said firmly, squeezing her mate's hand and giving him a reassuring smile. "Where you go, I go."
"Me too," said Cassian and Mor at the same time, stepping up beside their High Lord and Lady. Nesta and Jurian were the only ones who had yet to speak up, but then no one expected them to.
"Then it's settled," Rhys said. "We'll leave for Hybern tonight."
...
Azriel felt the shadows flowing and coiling around him as their little group of four infiltrated Hybern's fortress with relative ease. There were not nearly as many guards as they had expected, which had him on edge. Surely he would leave more than just a handful of soldiers watching his gates?
Go now.
The command from his High Lord and brother-in-arms stirred him from his thoughts. Azriel nodded to Rhys as their team, minus Mor who had stayed outside to keep lookout, moved silently down the damp corridor per Jurian's instructions. The prisoner was being held on the level just above the dungeons and they were currently making their way toward the door that held said prisoner after encountering only twenty guards. All of which he and Cassian had dispatched ahead of the rest of their group.
The door at the end of the hall was the only one on this level and it was flanked by two guards, both of which were slumped against the wall, tipped over wine bottles and empty goblets clutched loosely in their hands. Azriel shook his head at the lack of security and quickly dispatched these idiots as well.
"Do we really need to kill them?" Feyre whispered in frustration as they came up behind him. Azriel just gave his High Lady a blank look before he turned to face the locked door that held their target. He passed a hand over it, sensing the magic that held the thing locked and looked over his shoulder at Rhys.
Rhys stepped up beside him, putting his hand out and focusing on the lock with an intensity that told Azriel this spell was a tough one to crack, even for one of the most powerful fae in all of Prythian. Another minute or two and the lock clicked open.
Rhys gripped the handle and pushed the door wide, the rest of their troop filing in behind him before they all gasped collectively at the sight before them.
A very naked, female fae lay asleep in the small stone room, curled up on an enormous four-poster bed, a thick chain running from one of the bed posts up to where she lay with her arms wound tight around her knees. Azriel felt his blood boil as they took in the sight. He had a feeling he knew what purpose Hybern had for this female, and the thought made him sick.
"Rhys?" Feyre said worriedly, drawing each of their gazes to their High Lord. Rhys stood stock-still, his gaze pinned on the sleeping fae, the color drained from his features like he was seeing a ghost. His eyes were focused on her form, his lips drawn and skin pale. There was a tension in the male's shoulders that he hadn't seen for some time. Did he know this female?
"Ella..." The whispered word fell from his lips as his eyes became glazed and unfocused, as if he was unaware of speaking the word. Again, did he know this female?
"Who is she?" Cassian asked, keeping his voice low so they did not wake her yet. Rhys shook his head slowly, brows pinched as he studied the sleeping figure.
"I... don't remember," he said quietly, sounding unsure of his answer, even if he had unknowingly spoken her name under his breath a moment ago.
A small groan caught their attention as the prisoner began to stir, her limbs loosening their grip on her legs and her eyes fluttered open drowsily. Her eyes widened in shock as she sucked in a startled breath and she sat up in the bed against the headboard, clutching the thin white sheet to her exposed body as she took in their little rescue team. Her eyes seemed unfocused in her recent waking for a moment before her eyes widened on Rhys in recognition.
So they did know each other, Azriel concluded to himself.
A choked sob left her lips as she sat up straighter, exposing the thick leather collar wrapped tightly around her neck that made Azriel see red.
"Rhys?" She gasped softly, her eyes landing on Rhys, who stepped out of his mate's hold as if in a trance, striding slowly across the room with that dazed look in his eyes, as if under some spell.
Everyone stood frozen in place as their High Lord paused for a long moment beside the bed, his brows furrowed and lips pinched tight as he gazed down at the female. Silence hung in the air before something suddenly changed in his features, like a torch flaring to life in a dark room, and their High Lord stooped down to embrace the female tightly, burrowing his head into her hair as her little hands wound around him and clutched his back tightly.
"Um, what exactly is happening?" Cassian whispered, looking over at Azriel over Feyre's head, who merely shrugged his answer. He had no idea who this fae was or how Rhys knew her, but it was very clear that he did.
"Ella," Rhys whispered again, lucid eyes now rimmed with tears rather than an unfocused haze, and they all watched in astonishment as he gathered her into his arms as he shifted onto the bed, his body shuddering visibly as he clutched her to his chest.
She was not unaffected either, and sobbed quietly as she buried her head of long wine-colored locks into their High Lord's chest.
"I thought you'd... f-forgotten me like he said... you w-would," her words were gasped between little hiccups as she clung to him. The pain in her voice sent a spear of agony straight through Azriel's chest, and he rubbed absently at the ache as he watched the pair. He, Cassian and Feyre were rooted to the their spot by the door, seemingly unable to do anything but watch the events unfold.
"I did," Rhys said, his voice a pained sob as he broke down completely. "I did forget."
Feyre reached out to Cassian for support as they watched in shock as their fearless leader was reduced to a fit of tears as if her were a small boy.
"I'm so sorry, Ella. So sorry," he choked out as he held her tighter to him. "I didn't mean to... I couldn't stop him from-
"Shhh," her voice wobbled as she soothed him even as tears streamed down her face. She pulled back to look at him with a sad, watery smile and brushed away his tears. "You found me, Boggy. That's all that matters now."
"I never should have lost you," he whispered back, cradling her face so delicately between his hands as he studied her features. Feyre let out a little sound of distress as they watched her mate with another female.
Azriel suddenly felt like intervening, although he couldn't say why exactly. He told himself it was due to the stricken look on his High Lady's face that pushed him into action, but that wouldn't have be the whole truth of it. He didn't take the time to process it, but he didn't like the thought of Rhys embracing this strange female.
He left most of his shadows behind so as not to frighten her as he stepped forward. He approached the hugging pair, meaning to get things back on course and try to get her chains free so that Rhys could return to his mate and they could all get the hell out of here and back to Velaris.
He stopped just beside Rhys when a pair of bright, tear-filled green eyes looked up and caught his.
Azriel stopped breathing as he felt his chest constrict and then expand as he gazed at the heart-shaped face, streaked with tears and a sad, relieved smile playing on her lips. He felt himself sway slightly as he gazed at the female. She was all he could see, all he could hear, and somewhere inside his chest he felt a thread start to unwind from around his cold heart and reach for hers. Felt as it wrapped around her and pulled tight, growing stronger as it bound the two of them together, their fates twining as they became one soul in that instant, shaking his foundations and everything he thought he knew about life. It all seemed so silly now, because it was clear that the only important thing in this wretched world was... her.
"Oh, not him too," he heard a male voice say from somewhere behind him, but he didn't care, all he knew was the striking female before him. She was the most exquisite thing he had ever laid eyes on. He felt the need to pull her into his own arms, be the one to comfort her in her pain, and that thought drew his attention to Rhys.
Another male.
This female was his, and another male was holding her naked form to his chest. His naked female. A deep, rumbling growl forced its way up Azriel's throat and his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Step away from my mate."
