It never dawned on me how much Rhys made me look like a queen. Every time we went somewhere where we would need to put on a show, he would always adorn me with crowns. Today was no different. My crown was simple but hard to ignore. It was adorned with black gems which sparkled as I moved and they were firmly attached in a thick band of rose gold. My dress went with the crown. It was once more just a sliver of cloth covering my breasts, hugging my curves and the gown of the dress was slit in the middle, showing off a hint of both of my legs. The back of my dress showed off my back and swooped downwards in a dark heap, making it look like darkness was dripping down from my back. The dress was mostly black, with several outlines of rose gold around the neckline.
I was dripping with gold jewellery, stars on my ears, arms and fingers and sparkles on the necklace around my neck. My eyes were lined with dark kohl and sprinkled with silver dust with gold eye shadow. My lips were blood red and a faint blush outlined my cheeks. My hair had been styled to fall in light waves on one side of my shoulder, sprinkled through with black sparkles. Nuala and Cerridwen had done a great job with me.
Their spying paid off too. Rhys too, was dressed in a suit made out of mostly black, with rose gold on the cuffs, neckline and a faint sheen of the colour on the pocket of his jacket. His hair had been smoothly gelled back. (A fact I planned to remove later). He, too, had a crown on his head. It was similar to mines with black gems that were also embedded in a band of rose gold. However, his had longer tips and the rose gold was a fainter colour, showing itself only when the light reflected off it. He had a ring of a black star on his finger, fitting the tattoo only I knew he had on his knee.
He gave me a grin when he caught sight of me, winnowing behind me and wrapping an arm around my waist.
"You look absolutely delicious, Feyre," He purred.
Without missing a beat, I winnowed behind him and looped my arms around his neck.
"So do you," I purred back.
He spun around, motive clearly to kiss me but I stopped him with a finger to his lips.
"I don't want my lipstick smudged," I said, smiling.
His eyes flashed with mischief and humour but he backed away, clutching the hand that had been placed at his lips.
The rest came in soon after. True to her word, Nesta was there, dressed in a similar fashion to mines and looking extremely uncomfortable in it. Elain and Lucien were back in the mountain cabin, standing by their words in not coming with us. Mor, Az and Cas were dressed in similar clothes I had seen them in the last time I had been in the Court of Nightmares. Mor winnowed Az and Cas whereas Rhys winnowed Nesta and I to the entrance.
Rhys and I stayed back while the rest walked in, planning to walk into the throne room at a later time. We entered together, side by side. Members of the court not stalking around in the throne room wandered around the many hallways in the underground court, stopping when we passed and looking on with trepidation and lowering their heads. We smirked at those who lowered their heads a few seconds later, increasing fear passing their features.
We heard someone announce us from inside the throne room and took that as our cue to enter. We released our dampers on our darkness at the same time before walking in. In the throne room, another throne had been added, placed next to the identical black throne used from before. With one arm hooked with Rhys's, he led me to the thrones and we sat, him on the left and myself on the right. Our Night Court subjects kneeled, heads down.
I then took note of where our Inner Circle were kneeling. Cas and Az both stood near the entrance to the throne room while Nesta and Mor stood on the other side of the room.
"Rise," I said, my voice ringing through the entire throne room.
They all shuffled to their feet, eyes darting between the two now sitting on two thrones, contemplating what the situation was at the moment.
Keir stumbled in front of us- stumbling at the fact that there were now two he had to bow to, obviously confused. I felt a smirk lighten my features as I happily took note on how he was limping and how some of his bones on his arm and leg still looked terribly distorted.
"Mi… Milord, I-"
"Address your queen," Rhys drawled.
Keir's eyes flickered to me. I smiled wickedly at him in return. Gulping, he turned back to Rhys and then to the ground.
"Milady-"
"Look at me," I commanded.
He did, although his eyes wavered and flickered. "Milady and milord. I- things have changed tremendously since your last visit here, milord."
I nearly scoffed. "Yes, Keir, things needn't be too boring around here."
Keir's head nodded up and down like a retarded seal. Rhys ignored him and we stood up together, ready for him to deliver the speech we had practised yesterday.
"My loyal subjects," He drawled, voice unwavering even as I traced my left hand down his chest, "Consider yourselves lucky you were born into the era you are in now. The Night Court has been your home as long as you have lived and I've ensured you've all managed to keep calling it your home in my rule. Today, I'm pleased to announce someone else who will be ruling beside me as my equal and who will lead all of you in the same way I have. You knew her as the Cursebreaker once, which she still is, but she is also now your queen. Feyre Archeron, the High Lady of the Night Court and my mate."
There were murmurs around the entire room and people looking away from our spectacle on the stage. My hand was getting dangerously low and by Rhys's breath he knew it too. The people clapped and cheered out of obedience for their rulers and possibly fear too. I scrutinised their features, noting out fear and anger in some of them, but mostly curiosity and wonder in the rest.
Feeling a tad bit breathless darling?
I heard his growl that went through the bond.
Feyre-
My hand stopped short on his abdomen, and it travelled upwards and to his wrist, tracing circles up and down.
Ticklish.
The High Lord of the Night Court is ticklish?
Isn't everyone ticklish?
I smirked to myself. Then, my gaze flitted to Keir. He was furious, fuming in the corner.
I gave a saccharine smile to the crowd and without looking at Keir, said," Yes Keir? Something on your mind you would like to say?"
He didn't look very fearful now. I assumed it was because he didn't know what I was capable of- yet.
"I apologise if I'm being very direct, milord, but so soon after Amarantha's reign? Do you not fear what would happen if our so called High Lady takes after the tyranny herself? Because we do. Some of us are still reeling from what happened and none of us want to be under another reign like hers," He spat out.
I cocked my head, heels clicking on the floor as I walked one, two, three steps closer to him. He hadn't yet insulted me directly but this, something that basically entitled me to being an Amarantha 2.0?
I clicked my tongue, shaking my head at me. "If I were Amarantha, you would have been dead the moment I stepped foot in here. And I wouldn't have done the dirty work, our lovely shadowsinger would have gladly done it."
Keir's eyes flickered to Azriel who just stared at him coolly. He quickly looked away and back up at me. "And High Lady? I've never heard of such a thing, only Ladies of Courts."
Rhys answered him for me. "She is no simple or just Lady of the Night Court. She is more than the other Ladies from other courts and much more powerful than even the High Lords of the other courts. Never forget she is the child of the seven courts, Keir. And you would do well to remember your place and refrain from spouting out questions without thinking them through. Your High Lady hasn't yet had the chance of breaking anybody. You being her first would be pleasing to her."
"As I recall previously, you were busy getting us some drinks to quench our thirst," I added.
I didn't give a direct order, nor did I need to. Everyone knew what I meant and what I wanted, especially Keir. He scurried off, tail between his legs.
We walked back and seated ourselves on the thrones once more. I caught Nesta's eye and she gave me a slight nod, one that I appreciated as she had never seen this side of any of us before. I did see a tinge of fear in her eyes, but that was before she broke our gaze and her eyes rested on Cas.
Messengers came before us and they each presented us with problems and situations happening in and outside of the court. Most were in court problems, like how there had been several attacks on Night Court posts outside of Night Court lands. Az had been our key to outside occurrences.
Keir presented us with his own problem he had found. Of course his would be the most discouraging one.
"There have been rumours going around that there have been spies placed in our midst from Hybern himself," He said.
"Do explain," Rhys said.
"I'm certain he's heard of our own spies in the court he's currently occupying and has decided to retaliate in the same way. He cannot get to us through means of armies and I can conclude from that that he's decided to have a stealthy approach to it, placing several of his good men into our courts as spies. These spies would then report back to their base and it would explain the raids and attacks on several of our protected spots around other sites of Prythian," Keir explained.
"A valid explanation, but do you have any proof?" I asked.
His eyes glinted with satisfaction at something. "Yes. We caught one whilst you were away." And he motioned to several guards, who left the room and came back with a female fae writhing in their grasps.
"She was found to be eavesdropping on conversations around Higher Night Court Fae and had been reported to have been delivering messages to an unknown figure," Keir said.
I looked carefully at the female. Yes, I saw hate in her eyes and anger. Anger at being caught or anger at the rest of us for some unknown reason? And behind it all, a tinge of fear.
"Bring her forward," I ordered.
The guards pulled her forward until she was kneeling before us. I didn't want to use my daemati skills on her yet, unless she was being uncooperative.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
She looked up and surprisingly, answered me. "My name is Sibyl."
"And were you spying and eavesdropping, Sibyl? Do you confess to what Keir accused you of?"
She merely spat at the floor. "Why don't you just pry into my mind and find out for yourself? Or are you incapable of doing so?"
I frowned. Was she doubting my powers?
"Come now, Sibyl. Where's the fun in that?" Rhys chuckled.
I smiled at that, another mask. Sibyl snarled and just glared at us. Then, her eyes widened and she trashed and convulsed. I knew exactly what was happening. I felt through the bond when Rhys entered her mind and I knew he was extracting everything he could find out from her, erasing parts of her on the way. I had no choice but to grin when Rhys was finished with her, her glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling. Guards carried the body away, unquestioning.
No one asked what Rhys had found out. That information was classified for his own Inner Circle, or as our people believed, people from his trusted advisors.
We left as soon as all the messengers had delivered their messages and when we had grown bored of the court.
"So what did you see?" Mor asked, perky as ever, utterly different from her persona in the throne room. Nesta was still reeling from what she had seen and had left to rest early.
"Sibyl hadn't known that Hybern would be using her. Hybern wanted her to be caught and killed all along. All that was worthwhile in her mind was a message that had been on constant replay on her mind.
'Do you think yourself to be smart, gaining the cure for your precious queen? I have my own share of queens here and they are steps forward in front of you as you parade around in your little, dainty court. I gave you a chance for mercy once, and one could say that it was a deal to work together. And you refused. There will be war, High Lord. One that will tear your world apart forever.'
Rhys told us the message out loud.
I paused and contemplated it, especially the part about the queens. "He knows we know that the immortal queens and Ianthe have travelled to the mortal lands. He wouldn't be this direct if he knew we didn't know."
Mor scowled at the mention of the immortal queens.
Suddenly, I remembered something that Ianthe had told me when I had thought her to be someone I could trust.
"She still has family in another part of Prythian, Vallahan. I think… I think it's time we paid it a little visit."
AND THAT WAS CHAPTER 15! Ah guys, I am so so sorry I didn't post last week, it was my assessment week and I had been packed with studying every single day. I was rushing to finish this chapter but thank god I already had the storyline in my head. I PROMISE TO POST ONCE EVERY WEEK GUYS!
