I woke up nestled underneath Rhys's arm and wing. I turned around slowly to not disturb him but it was to no avail- Rhys was already awake.
I sighed and pulled myself up to my elbows. "How long have you been awake? And watching me?"
"When did you sleep?" He asked, a smile playing on his lips.
"You didn't sleep?" I asked, shocked.
He laughed and tugged me back down on the bed with him. "I'm kidding, darling. Not long before you woke up yourself."
I rolled my eyes but still leaned in to kiss him on the corner of his mouth- which then turned out to a full make out session as he turned his head so he kissed my lips instead.
"Wait, wait," I said, pulling away. "We're meeting with Ianthe's family today- we can't be late."
"I don't care," Rhys murmured and bent down.
"You might not but I do," I protested.
Rhys being Rhys didn't listen, of course. Sighing in exasperation, I had no choice but to winnow to the other side of the room. He gave me sounds of complaints and a pouty face but didn't push it, instead pulling himself up to the elbows and got up.
I knew I should most probably move and get dressed but I couldn't tear my eyes away. He caught me looking and gave me one of his grins. "Missing something, Feyre, darling?"
I scowled and walked- extremely quickly- to the washroom.
xXx
We didn't travel by the priestesses' magic, instead going to Ianthe's family's house by carriage. Rhys and I had told Lucien and Elain everything through our daemati magic, which they both responded to quite differently. (Lucien being extremely horrified whereas Elain being very curious.)
The house we stopped at wasn't very fancy but instead quaint. The only difference about it other than the other houses we had seen on our way here was that it was the only house on the street, as if the others had been torn down and been abandoned after hearing of what Ianthe had done.
"How many sisters does she have?" Elain asked.
"She never told me, just that she did have sisters and they escaped here during Amarantha's reign," I told her.
We were all silent as we walked up the steps to the house. No priestesses had followed us this time and only the coachman stood witness to us being there. A fae that had Ianthe's blond hair and eyes opened the door and she scrutinised the four of us before stepping to the side, opening the door wider.
She led us to a small room that had two couches and a glass table in the middle.
"Wait here," She said and left without waiting for a reply.
"Well then," Rhys said, flopping onto one of the couches.
All four of us sat at the same couch, leaving the other one for Ianthe's sisters. The fae came back a while later with two others in tow. They all had the same blond hair and eyes and they did sit on the other couch.
"Adonis told us you would be coming here," The fae who had brought us in said. "My name is Calantha and these are my sisters, Fleurette and Saffron, Fleurette being the one next to me. And before you start your own introductions, we know who you are."
"Okay then," I said. Word had travelled about us.
Saffron- there was something about her that I couldn't put my finger on. A certain aura around her that didn't seem right. I could tell Rhys sensed it too.
"Did he tell you we have questions?" Elain asked in that soft tone of hers.
"He did," She said.
"Are you going to talk for everyone or are you going to let your sisters speak too?" Rhys asked lazily.
"Saffron is mute," Calantha replied coldly.
You're very smart.
Thank you.
Who would have guessed that the most powerful High Lord in the entirety of Prythian wouldn't be able to tell if a fae was mute or not?
Did you know yourself?
"Well I'm sure Fleurette can speak then?"
My silence granted him the answer he wanted, proven by the delight and triumph I felt through the bond.
Don't sound so satisfied.
He merely answered with a chuckle in my mind.
Does this answer the certain wrongness about her?
Silence. Possibly Rhys contemplating what he thought.
For some reason, no. I suspect she's hiding a certain power of her own- perhaps a power she uses to communicate with others due to her muteness.
"Why? Do you tire of my voice?" Calantha snapped.
"Callie," Fleurette said softly, placing her hand on Calantha's arm. Her voice didn't fit her appearance- she had sharp eyes and cold features, her posture straight and gaze unwavering. But she sounded soft and petite- the exact opposite of Elain, really.
Calantha relaxed a bit under the touch- but only slightly.
"So, questions. Start talking. Questions only about Ianthe I assume," She said.
"No," Elain said firmly. "I- I want to know what happened to Saffron."
Saffron jumped in surprise at the mention of her name whilst Calantha narrowed her eyes at Elain, although she didn't interfere.
"How do you communicate if you're mute, Saffron?" Elain asked softly.
Saffron shared looks with her other two sisters who merely gave her a slight nod and smiles of encouragement.
I have daemati magic.
There was our answer.
"How did you get your magic? You don't seem very used to your powers," I said.
They only manifested after I was muted.
"Are you going to pry even more into our private lives or are you going to ask proper questions that actually matter?" Calantha asked dryly.
"These are questions that matter," Rhys said firmly. "Knowing and understanding the harshness of what someone has experienced matters."
We both shared a look- and we each knew his words hadn't been meant just for Saffron but for us two and also for everyone in our court and anyone who had gone through as much harshness as we had. If not much worse.
Calantha didn't look impressed, although I could see looks of gratitude on both Fleurette and Saffron's facial expressions.
"If you truly want us to ask you what you deem to be important then fine. Where would you have gone if you had went on vacation in the mortal lands?" Lucien snapped, clearly losing his temper a bit.
Elain shook her head slightly at Lucien in warning whilst Calantha's eyes flashed at the challenge.
"We've never been to the mortal lands, how would we know where to go?" She replied dryly.
"Why do you even ask?" Fleurette said, brows drawing together.
"Well…" I started. "It seems that your sister has gone on a mission to the mortal lands, most probably a mission to help the tyranny she's serving."
At the mention of Ianthe and her working for the enemy, realisation dawned on the three sisters' faces. Ianthe and Hybern, truly working together.
We've always just wanted the rumours of Ianthe working with the enemy to be just that- rumours. And we've always been hoping for someone to say we've been mistaken, that those rumours were never true.
"You were in denial," Elain said slowly.
Saffron's eyes flickered away and then to the ground in answer.
"How- How was Ianthe like when you four were children?" Elain asked first.
"She wasn't always like how she is now, power hungry and extremely competitive," Fleurette told us. "She used to be the most innocent out of the four of us- always kind and the one who was… the happiest."
"What changed?" I asked, in a softer tone now.
"Our parents," Calantha replied bitterly, "They called her kindness a weakness, only because the rest of us showed only a fraction of that emotion. They said that if any of us dreamed of ever being a High Priestess, we would have to be cruel and cold. Ruthless."
"I'm sure they said much more brutal words than those," Fleurette said, raising an eyebrow at Calantha. "Ianthe always wanted so badly to please our parents anyway. That was her downfall."
"In her opinion, I'm sure she would say it was a promotion from where she had been previously," Rhys muttered.
"And your relationships with her? Her own relationships?" Lucien prodded- a dangerous subject.
Everyone she passed either completely fell in love with her or feared her. She never took any villagers to bed- no matter how many wanted her to. She was aiming for higher, more powerful fae.
I felt Rhys tense beside me. Slowly, I stroked the bond between us and felt it loosen and relax on Rhys's side.
Would you like to kill her yourself or would you want me to do it instead?
I felt his amusement and I knew- he knew- that I had placed a bit of humour into the topic at hand to pull him out of his dark thoughts.
"How long did she stay with you guys here at her home?" Elain asked.
"She stayed until she was named High Priestess. It was expected at that time so no one was surprised. Immediately the day after, she was gone, without even a goodbye to her own family," Fleurette said with an icy tone.
"It wasn't her fault, was it? Our parents didn't expect her to say farewell to any of us. They didn't even come with us here, to Vallahan," Calantha said.
Lucien frowned. "If Ianthe had stopped showing any kindness to her family why would she bring you all here to Vallahan, away from Amarantha?"
"It's still family. She obviously still had care in her heart for her own family. What kind of person wouldn't?" Calantha scoffed.
"A person like the one we ran away from?" Fleurette supplied.
"Actually, the only reason Amarantha was made the way she was is because of family. Her sister was killed, you see, and she wanted revenge," Rhys shrugged.
Calantha merely hmmed.
"How powerful is Ianthe?" I asked.
"We never saw her practice. She never showed us anyway, or showed any interest in doing so," Fleurette replied.
"In defence of her, we never showed any interest in seeing her practice her magic," Calantha reminded.
Why are you always in defence of Ianthe?
"What do you mean why am I always in defence of her?" Calantha asked, bewildered.
Every time we talk about what she did wrong or anything like that, you always have to say something else to make Ianthe seem more… like what she used to be.
Calantha's facial features were now a mixture of shock and confusion. "She's still our sister."
"Which Ianthe are you talking about now? The one you knew when we were children or the one who's taken her place now?" Fleurette hissed.
Calantha stared at her two sisters before letting out a bitter laugh. "Everything she did she did for us."
"She's not the eldest, Calantha. You are. You're the one who's supposed to know the right and the wrong in the family, not side with the wrong," Fleurette said.
Calantha stared at Fleurette for a while longer and then stalked out of the room.
The four of us looked at each other before turning back to the two sisters left. They both looked solemn.
"I- I'm sorry for Calantha. She always wanted to believe the best in Ianthe," Fleurette said solemnly.
She still does. She, more than us, knew how Ianthe used to be like, the difference that Ianthe and this Ianthe have.
"She believes the past Ianthe is still in there somewhere," I said.
The two sisters nodded.
In my opinion, that past Ianthe is gone. I think- I think this Ianthe wishes to be the next Amarantha. As powerful as her. As feared as her.
"Don't tell Calantha we said anything like that. She'll be even angrier than she is now," Fleurette warned.
"We won't," Elain assured.
We only got several more questions in before Calantha stormed back in, eyes flashing.
"Time's up. Get out," She snarled, gesturing to the door.
"Calantha," Fleurette snapped, getting up.
"It is. Get. Out," She repeated.
All of us were now standing up, the four of us startled by Calantha's sudden change- but it seemed Fleurette and Saffron weren't surprised.
"It's okay," Elain murmured, her eyes darting between the three sisters. "We'll go."
Lucien and Rhys looked ready to argue. I was too, but not until I saw the challenges and tension darting and flashing between the three of them.
Listen to Elain. I murmured into their minds.
Thank the Cauldron they listened. We were silent as we quickly got ourselves out of the house and back into the carriage.
"What would have gone on after was for the three of them to deal with among themselves," Elain said.
"We got what we came for anyway," I added.
Rhys nodded and Lucien did too, although more slowly.
Family. The core of all of our problems.
