Chapter 6: Nessian
**This chapter contains NSFW content
"Do you think they like the cabins?" Cassian asked for the eighty-fourth time in two days.
"They certainly seem to," Nesta answered from the bathroom. She was sincere in her reply. As much as she hated having to repeat her reassurances over and over (and over) again, Cassian had been looking forward to this for over three hundred years. He was nervous, and she would never fault him for that- not after he'd done so much.
Cassian swallowed, "They're spending all their time outside, what if that means they hate the cabins?" He was standing at the window, watching lights flicker out in each cabin as their occupants moved upstairs where the windows were enchanted for privacy.
Nesta leaned against the doorframe, "You designed this place to be mostly for outdoor use in summer. If they were all cooped up it would be unnatural. Besides- Rhys is throwing us a party tomorrow night to say thanks."
"Because he secretly has to winnow everyone to Velaris each night and he's feeling guilty."
Wow, he's impressively paranoid, Nesta raised an eyebrow.
"I can feel the look on your face."
"I didn't say anything."
"I'm omniscient."
She shrugged, "In that case, can you see what I'm wearing?"
Cassian immediately cupped both hands between his eyes and the window to block out anything that wasn't directly in front of him, "Stay away," he warned.
"Why? So you can keep worrying? You didn't come to bed at all last night. You were just pacing."
He huffed, determined to keep his vigil. Mor slipping away to be with Cerridwen shook him, and he was reading every ripple of moonlight on the water as proof that the others were winnowing away.
Still… he'd neglected his wife…
"Are you wearing your mating lingerie?" he couldn't keep the hope from his voice as his thoughts shifted towards Nesta's desire. Cassian could picture the white lace bra and matching panties she'd worn when they first came to the cabins. The panties in particular were his favorite piece of the ensemble.
"Nope." Nesta said simply.
"The fur ones?" Viviane had been a guest at their wedding and slipped Nesta a set of lingerie from Winter (as most guests at the wedding had).
"Nope." She came a little closer.
"The Illyrian chains?" They were meant to be worn across the back of Illyrian clothes since Nesta had no wings to display. Nine blazing red siphons were set into white-gold plates, with her wedding ring holding the tenth. Lately, Nesta had taken to wearing the chains backwards so that the metal barely covered some of his favorite parts. He particularly liked the bar that would sit across her breasts and proclaimed her 'Demon Witch'.
"No chains, but you're closer."
Cassian groaned, "You're naked, aren't you?"
"Yep." She came to her husband and wrapped her arms around him from behind so he could feel her nudity against his wings.
"Stop it," he grumbled.
Nesta moved her hand down to the front of his trousers, where she stroked his rising bulge, "I'll stop when you stop dwelling."
"I want to dwell."
"No."
"I like to dwell." He put his hand over hers- but found himself pushing her to stroke harder.
Nesta snickered, "Well, it feels like this doesn't want to dwell. Besides-" she glanced over his shoulder and across the lake, "All the cabins are dark. There's no one to watch." She made certain her breast grazed a sensitive ridge of membrane when she peeked at the cabins.
"You make a persuasive argument," Cassian murmured. He lowered a hand and curled two fingers up. Nesta adjusted where she stood so that his fingers brushed against the skin of her bare thigh. Cassian tisked and she shifted again with a laugh. As soon as he mound touched his fingertips, his hand came to life.
Nesta inhaled sharply as Cassian stroked his two fingers between her folds. He didn't enter her with them, and avoided her knot entirely. Her hand on his pants and not in them was agony, so he would deliver that to her in return.
She felt his middle finger trace the edge of her entrance almost as an afterthought while Cassian teased her. Nesta flattened her palm along his length and began to rub harder, "You know, if you're waiting to see who gives in first, I promise it will be you."
Cassian snorted, "I'll win, just give up now."
"Oh really?" Nesta stood on her tip-toes and leaned in close enough that her bottom lip caught the edge of his ear when she spoke, "Cassian, I'm so wet. Do you feel it? Can you feel how much your mate wants you?"
"You stop that right now," Cassian warned. "You know playing with my ear is cheating."
"Is it? I'm sorry, but all I can think about right now is how good it will feel when you're moving inside me."
He growled, but joined the game, "Mmm, yeah. It will, won't it? You're so hot and tight, and your taste- I'll never get tired of making you moan with my tongue inside you."
"I want you to come in my mouth, then slide inside of me and come there too. I want to feel your seed splashing against me, filling me-" Nesta swallowed hard and cursed.
She immediately pushed around Cassian and tried not to see the look of supreme victory on his face.
The rule of their game was simple- first one to pounce loses. In the five years they'd been married, this was the first time Cassian had won.
Nesta shoved her mate towards the bed. She followed close enough to tug at the ties and buckles on his pants as he backed up. He let his trousers drop away along with his underclothes before sitting on the edge of their bed to drink in the sight of his wife's naked body.
Her delicious nipples were peaked, and the lips of her sex were juicy, red, and swollen with need.
"We both lose this one," his voice was rough as he stopped Nesta from going to her knees and instead pulled her onto the bed too. She turned away from him and waited for Cassian to lay down flat. Nesta knelt over him carefully, letting her mate pull her legs back so that his wings draped over them. The position brought her head in line with his cock- and his with her delicious mound.
Cassian wrapped his arms around her hips and pulled her down to his waiting mouth. Nesta shivered in anticipation.
The first broad stroke of his tongue made her back arch and goosebumps break out across her body. When his tongue entered her, she clutched his thighs tight and gasped. Nesta let him feast until she was sure she could control herself, then reached down to stroke his cock. Cassian moaned his approval and began to flick her knot with the tip of his tongue.
She couldn't wait any longer.
Nesta braced herself above her mate and opened her mouth around the head of his cock. Cassian's hips began to thrust up immediately, helping her take it as deep as she could stand. She began to suck him as hard as she could, which made Cassian groan into her again and pick up the force of his own attentions.
Before him, the idea of feasting on another man (or male) didn't appeal to Nesta in the slightest. It was strange to her- the notion that a man would enjoy such a pale substitute for real sex. She knew from her romance novels that men enjoyed the sight of their woman kneeling, looking up at them with big innocent eyes as they sucked on their lover's cock… But with Cassian she finally understood the appeal.
It wasn't about the male's enjoyment, it was about hers.
Cassian's moans into her while he licked and bit made her toes curl beneath his wings (drawing out a long groan of approval). He was over five hundred years old- and a warrior as well. He'd taken a few lovers, but one or two night stands were where he'd earned his reputation and honed his abilities in bed. She'd been a virgin when they met- unsure and awkward. But when she first took him in her mouth and tried all those things she'd read about in her books-
Nesta flicked the tip of her tongue across the seam of his cockhead and smiled at the muffled curse he barked into her. All powerful warrior, more experienced than she'd ever be, and yet she could make him beg with her mouth alone. Every phantom roll of his hip, every twitch of his cock- if she could bring so much pleasure to her mate like this, imagine what was possible once she had that cock between her legs.
For Cassian, the appeal of Nesta's sex was more primal. His attentions were making her moan and whimper around his shaft (which always felt incredible), but more importantly than that, the sounds she made told him his female was enjoying herself. Cassian kissed her entrance with as much passion and lust as he would have given her lips. His tongue entered her to taste the evidence of her arousal- and the more juice that arousal produced, the faster he would later be able to slide his cock in.
Not to mention the taste of her.
With previous lovers he'd licked them just because he knew it would bring them pleasure. When he'd first tasted Nesta- his mate- it was something completely different. The taste of her was an aphrodisiac, the ultimate turn-on. Her sweet tang was the greatest flavor in the world, and what it represented- her sincere arousal- made his heart beat just a bit faster in his chest.
So Cassian pulled his mate down harder on his face, nearly smothering himself in his primal urge to taste more, taste deeper. Nesta cried out around his cock as one of his broad fingers slid off her hips to flick the knot between her legs. She was so wet- he couldn't stand to pull his tongue from her again.
But this position wasn't quite right for what Cassian had in mind.
So he stopped resisting the pressure and pull of her mouth around his cock. He focused all of his attention on it, even while his tongue continued to slide through her sex. Her teeth just barely grazed him as her head bobbed, and her own tongue pushed against his shaft with every movement. The vibrations of her sharp, hard moans threatened to send him over the edge.
Though it killed him to do so, Cassian withdrew his tongue and released Nesta's entrance, "Ness, I'm going to come."
Sometimes she stopped at the warning to simply stroke him to orgasm. Her mate's release on her skin was as strong of an aphrodisiac as her taste was to him. It made her burn with need and reminded her of all those times they'd made love before mating- when her body responded with such sensitivity to even the feeling of his saliva on her skin.
This time though, Nesta had a declared plan for the evening, and she was sticking to it. Her movements became faster, harder, as she took him as deep as he could fit. Her moans were louder to send more and more vibrations through him. Cassian felt himself tighten almost to the point of pain before- with a wrenching shout- the dam broke and he began to erupt in Nesta's mouth.
She stopped bobbing her head and swallowed quickly. Cassian barely registered the sensation of her throat rippling around him before he erupted again. She didn't let a single drop escape as his hips strained towards her face.
When his orgasm subsided, Cassian pulled her away from his cock. She wanted to lick it clean- to taste more of him. As dearly as he loved her flavor, she loved his.
He helped her turn around (mindful as always of his wings) until he could feast on her while staring up into his wife's eyes. She braced herself on the headboard and Cassian crushed her mound to his lips once more.
Nesta was panting before his tongue even entered her, her release had been so close before he stoppd. Cassian's nose dug into her knot and when she cried out and bent down to stroke his hair, Cassian reached up to pinch and flick her sensitive, peaked nipples. The attention of his hands sent bolts of pure lightning down to her core, where it was answered with the stroke of his tongue and the grinding of his nose against her. Cassian shook his head and sucked at her harder and harder- until she was shaking and shouting, until only her grip on the headboard kept the world from falling away.
Nesta didn't have to warn him before she came, it felt like was trying to force her body to surrender its release by the force of his mouth against her.
Her thighs clenched around Cassian's head as that peak drew rapidly closer. Nesta grabbed his hands on her nipples to just hold him as every muscle in her seemed to pull towards his mouth.
Cassian's eyes smiled up at her, he bit down on one of her folds, and she was sent hurtling over the edge.
"Cassian!" she shouted his name as everything in her body went unbearably tight and incredibly loose all the same time. Her entire being shuddered as her walls clamped down on the tip of Cassian's tongue- not enough to hold him, but enough to make him smile even more. A torrent of juices coated his mouth, but Cassian only latched on harder to catch every last drop of his mate's release.
He loved it whenever Nesta came hard enough to fill his mouth, and as her mate- he always knew the trick to making it happen. It would exhaust her faster, but she never once complained.
Nesta finished coming and fell back across Cassian's body (mindful of both wings and his once-again erect cock). She was a panting, shuddering, sweaty mess. When Cassian tipped his head far enough to part her folds with his tongue, Nesta shivered and pushed him away. Her body was too sensitive, too fresh from a vicious orgasm.
They were both panting still as she tried to regain some composure, or the ability to move with her shaking legs. She wanted to keep her mate on this bed all night, to claim every inch of him again and again-
-but she couldn't forget her mission.
"Cassian," Nesta gasped, "now."
"Are you sure?" His tone was no longer playful. He knew exactly how long it was before Nesta was ready to go again after such a strong orgasm. Before her body had a chance to recover, her hypersensitive core found his touch too strong, no matter how gentle he might be.
"I need you inside me right now," she gasped. Her body was recovering fast enough this time that it wouldn't be painful, just a bit uncomfortable until they really got going.
"Ness, there's no rush-"
"Put your cock in me right now and don't stop moving until I'm done screaming," she hissed.
He obeyed.
Cassian put his hands back on Nesta's hips and helped her slide down towards his cock. When she lifted her feet over his wings to settle around his hips instead of his head, he didn't miss the flinch she tried to hide. She wasn't ready, not yet.
"Ness, I'm not some sex-hungry male. I won't start until you're completely-"
She rose up and before he could finish his protest, Nesta grabbed his cock and sat down hard on it.
He was right, she wasn't quite ready. The sharp edge of pleasure that tore through her as her mate's cock slid in was a breath away from pain, and what usually brought Nesta to the edge of release only seemed to push her back from it. Cassian put his hands on her hips to at least slow her down, but Nesta swatted them away until she was finally- mercifully- seated.
"Next time we do this, I'm on top," Cassian growled. He wouldn't have let her drop onto him so quickly. In fact, if he were the one on top she wouldn't even have been able to slide him into her.
"Just start moving already," Nesta muttered. They were joined, it would take less time for him to help her body waken to his presence than it would have if she'd let herself recover from her last orgasm.
Cassian pushed her down harder on his cock, securing her as he flipped around and laid Nesta on the bed. His wings unfurled fully as his mate gasped. Her hands instinctively wrapped around his torso, holding him tight to keep him from moving inside her.
"Are you ready to admit you moved too fast?" Cassian muttered in her ear.
"Go to hell."
He licked her neck instead. It wasn't hard or fast- there was no claiming as he'd done as soon as her mound was within range of his tongue- but he was gentle, delicate even. Cassian kissed along Nesta's throat, stroked her sides with his fingers, and murmured soft words into her ear, "Have I told you yet today that you're the most beautiful female in creation?"
Nesta found herself smiling softly. She needed him to be a primal Illyrian right now, but instead of taking his more than willing mate for his own pleasure, he wanted to know that she was alright too. His mouth moved to her jaw and those gentle hands continued to stroke. His touch wasn't meant to arouse her, it was meant to sing her shivering muscles to sleep, to slow her thundering heartbeat a bit and help her relax once more.
Cassian's mouth met hers for the first time that night, and Nesta found herself moaning in approval at the taste that coated his lips. Her release left it there- but they were mates. It was his taste too. Mutual, shared.
His tongue didn't come to play just yet. Cassian covered her lips with his in a relatively chaste kiss. Her lower lip slipped between his- and she claimed his upper lip in the process. When their kiss deepened and Nesta's tongue began to trace against him, Cassian's hands slid down to Nesta's legs. He pulled them open just a little further, then wrapped them around his hips. His hands returned to stroking Nesta's sides, and she found herself moaning ever so softly.
She'd forgotten her mission again… but did she really care? Couldn't it happen another night?
Nesta moaned once more as her tongue found its way to Cassian's mouth. Their kiss deepened, but it never turned hard or fast. His hands ventured up towards her breasts once more, but only to caress, not pinch or flick as he'd done earlier. Cassian traced this thumbs across her nipples and swirled around them. Nesta found herself sighing into his mouth.
Through their bond, he sensed her body waking once more, and Cassian smiled. The next time his tongue pushed into Nesta's mouth, his hips moved forward just enough to rock hers up. Her gasp was low and continued as long as he held himself there before pulling out just an inch. The next time his tongue stroked hers, he slid that inch back in carefully.
What had been an aching fire between her legs was now a slow, measured pulse. It no longer straddled the line between pain and pleasure, but rather turned towards a newer, deeper form of arousal. Cassian felt his mate's approval, but he didn't increase his pace.
If he'd stopped her from lowering herself onto him, Cassian would have entered her slowly, with gentle rolls of his hips that pushed only a few inches in at a time. Since Nesta had forced him in with a single stroke, he took his time now in reverse. He wouldn't just pull out and push his entire length in at once, he would build to it.
Lord of Bloodshed, shadow of the war-god Enalius himself- yet body and mind, he was devoted to making sure his mate was cared for. If she ever felt even a hint of discomfort he would take no pleasure in their coupling.
While Cassian eased out of her bit by bit and kissed his wife with such soft, sweet ease, Nesta remembered their first time together- her first time. Cassian had devoted just as much gentle care to claiming her maidenhead as he did now. He'd sworn the flicker of pain as her virginity ended was the last time he would ever cause her pain- and so far he'd honored that promise faithfully.
"I love you," she breathed onto his lips.
"I love you too," he whispered as he slid into her once more.
Cassian's arms slid beneath Nesta to wrap around her back and hold her against him. Her own hands moved to the base of his wings, where she traced her thumb across the space where membrane met bone.
His entire body shuddered at her touch, but he didn't pick up his speed. His lips brushed hers, his tongue traced the side of her own, but he kept their pace measured. No matter how labored their breathing became, or how much they both began to ache for release, Cassian wanted this to be slow and gentle. With every long stroke, he smiled at the low moan drawn from Nesta.
She listened to her mate's groans, felt his cock twitching inside her, and Nesta continued to stroke the curve of his wing. Her other hand found the matching spot in his left wing and she moved both hands in tandem. Cassian loosed a breathless cry against her lips, and Nesta smiled.
"You know where I want it," she whispered, and kissed him once more.
"I came first last time," Cassian's torturously slow pace was building them both to a release so overwhelmingly strong they knew it would be their last of the night. The slow ones were always enough to utterly ravage them.
Nesta knew he would hold off his own orgasm until he was half-mad with desire. She'd tested it before. He would fight it down with everything in his being so that she could find her own release first. Sometimes they managed to time it in tandem, but both preferred to take turns. They felt more when they could concentrate on their mate's release without being blinded in their own.
She tightened her core around his cock as Cassian slid in deep. When he pulled out again, he didn't come as far back. His shaft was scraping against her knot with each thrust. When he made her come on her mouth, it had been a sharp, peaked orgasm. What he was building her towards now was deeper and stronger. She wouldn't come in a flood of moisture that reduced her to a shivering mess, but it would be the kind that made her toes curl and every last inch of her body feel alive.
Cassian released Nesta's mouth so that she could gasp for breath. He rested his forehead against hers and kept his lips close to gently brush against her own.
"I love you," she whispered again, her voice high. "Cassian-"
He leaned back just far enough to watch Nesta as her eyes fluttered open to meet his own. When she saw the love and tender care in them her back arched and she came with his name on her lips. Cassian kept moving at that agonizing pace, thrusting in slowly as his mate's walls clamped and shook around him, as she rippled along his length and her eyes stopped seeing him for a few delicious moments. He kept thrusting as shuddering pleasure racked her entire body, as even her hands on his wings couldn't concentrate on what she'd been doing.
"Please," she whispered through the tension in her body, "pleasedon't stop."
"Do I ever?" he kissed her again and drove himself deeper and deeper.
Nesta screamed in pleasure at the feeling of him. Every time he pulled out her orgasm began to subside, and with each answering thrust back in it peaked once more.
He counted nearly a full minute before Nesta's shuddering body began to relax once more. She was on the brink of her release ending, so Cassian stopped resisting her own.
Nesta's body abruptly fell loose and that tidal wave of pleasure that had held her so tightly finally moved past, leaving her completely exhausted. She could feel the muscles in Cassian's hips harden, and put every last ounce of strength into her core, squeezing him tight. Her hands returned to his wings to stroke in tandem with his thrusts.
"I love you," he gasped, repeating what she'd said to him.
She claimed his mouth with her own and wrapped her hips tight around him as she felt the first hot splash of him inside her. Cassian groaned against her lips and pushed forward as deep as he could go, until her lower half lifted off the bed. In wave after wave he came, filling her body far longer and with far more than she'd taken in her mouth. His wings were wholly unfurled, as tense and strained as the rest of him while Nesta stroked.
One of his hands slid around to give her breast a hard squeeze before moving up to cup her cheek. Cassian traced the underside of his wife's lips as he cried out and hunched forward again, sending another couple of bursts into her. She moved her own hands into his thick, dark hair and held his mouth to hers. When she rolled her hips beneath him Cassian gasped again and loosed another few precious ropes of heat.
She could feel his racing pulse throbbing through his cock as he emptied himself in her, as that cock began to soften and his moans turned more towards gasps for air. Only when he'd gone fully limp did Cassian withdraw from his mate.
He slipped out of her and both of their bodies ached at the loss of contact. He was acutely aware of the cool air and the too-light feeling of being outside of her. Nesta felt empty and wrong without him inside… but they both knew within a few minutes they would be thankful for the physical parting.
Cassian released her with the hand that still held her back and when he was fully braced above her, she shifted so that he could rise up to curl his right wing back behind him. Nesta rolled to one side and Cassian pulled her close once more- this time to just spoon lightly. He draped a wing over her even as the other stretched out across the rest of the bed. Nesta sighed happily at the warmth, and at the lips that began to trace the back of her neck. Cassian nuzzled her, and while she couldn't return the gesture, she began to stroke his wing lightly. It wasn't the kind of touch that awoke his arousal, but the kind that soothed and comforted.
"I love you," he murmured once more against her neck.
"I love you too," she whispered as the faelights in their room dimmed.
Cassian held Nesta until his pulse slowed, his breathing grew deep and even, and she felt a twitch run through his wing while he dreamed. Only then- only when she was sure he was out cold, did she force herself to move. All her body wanted was to sleep-
-but she had a mission to complete.
Nesta took the time to clean herself up, to wash the scent of their sex from her skin, fix her hair, and don a tunic with loose flowing pants before she slipped out into the night…
—
—
Rhysand woke a few hours after the sun began to rise. He was holding Feyre tight, and he nuzzled the space between her wings. He wanted to wake her too, to share with her the joy that was the new cabin. Even the air was better in this place, and never before had he slept so peacefully.
Someone loosed a sleepy moan as Rhys' cheek nuzzled their wings. That voice did not, however, belong to Feyre- nor did the large, barreled chest Rhys' arm was draped across, or the hand his fingers were intertwined with.
"You rise too early," the voice murmured, "especially after last night." The male's free hand reached back to stroke Rhys' cheek, then hefroze as well.
Rhysand's eyes shot open the same time Azriel's did. The Lord of Night kicked his friend with a shout, sending him spinning away in nothing but the bedsheet wrapped around his hips.
Rhys' shout woke Cassian, who discovered with equal alarm that he was spooning Lucien, not Nesta. Lucien punched Varian, whose head he found nestled peacefully against his neck.
"WHAT. THE. FUCK?!" Mor had been laying on the far side of the raft alone- and someone had dressed her in her training clothes.
As the males (and Mor) woke and realized they were not in their beds and most certainly not with their females, laughter echoed from far away. Rhys was first on his feet, holding his own bedsheet tight around himself as his disoriented mind tried to figure out why he'd been cuddling with his best friend.
Feyre, Cerridwen, Nesta, Elain, and Nuala all stood on the balcony of Cassian's house, laughing themselves hoarse at the panicked males- and female- currently stranded in the center of the lake on a large wooden raft. Rhys tried to launch himself into the air with a vicious shout of rage at their trick- but his wings wouldn't cooperate. Azriel and Cassian had the same thought- and the same problem. Varian tried to transform, but found his magic conspicuously missing.
Like the Illyrians, he could feel his power trying to stir, but it was just out of reach. Their wings were able to open and close as normal, but the muscles required for actual flight were numb. Their innate power also failed them, and even the shadows were silent in Azriel's ears.
Rhysand quickly spat into his hand and sniffed. There was a distinct odor of trefoil- poisonous to humans, but for fae it acted as a suppressant similar to faebane, though its effects lasted hoursinstead of days. Varian, Lucien, and Mor had been given the tea as well- no doubt while under a sleeping spell.
"AMREN!" Rhysand roared. She was the one who dosed the Illyrians with so-called 'time-out tea' every time they annoyed her. Over the centuries she'd hit them often enough to know Rhys took at least three times the dose of the other two before his wings were useless.
"Good morning males, Morrigan." Feyre's voice boomed out over the lake, "You were all just adorable little angels while you slept. We'll cherish that image forever. Today we've decided to play a bit of a game. In ten hours- right on time for dinner- the tea will wear off and your powers will return. Before the sun sets, you have to make it to shore and figure out where we're hiding."
Nesta cleared her throat and Feyre moved the amplifying spell to her, "If you fail to find us before sunset, you lose, and that comes with a severe punishmet." Cassian shouted something, but his voice was lost across the large lake. "What was that Cassian?"
He repeated himself slowly, and Feyre listened carefully to make out the words, "He says…. I want a divorce."
Nesta only laughed, "You have to find me first."
"Good luck," Feyre took the spell back and sent her voice to the males, "There are two rules. Number one- no one leaves the confines of the warding stones. That's to give you six a chance. Rule two- when you arrive for dinner, we expect you to all be clean. We aren't having dinner with dirty, sweat-soaked fae."
"WHY AM I ON THE CAULDRON-DAMNED RAFT?!" Mor's voice roared at the females.
"Because Cerridwen is new to the family and we don't want to pick on her yet." Feyre answered with a shrug.
"I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND, YOU BITCH!"
"I've known her longer than I've known you." Feyre knew Mor couldn't see her, but she stuck her tongue out all the same.
"Feyre?" Amren came to their leader's side and nudged her. When the High Lady turned she nodded back towards the raft, "I think it's time we got moving." Lucien and Varian were throwing their bedsheets onto the raft before jumping into the water. They grabbed the back and began to kick, moving it slowly forward. Rhys' wings vanished (evidently they didn't give him quite enough trefoil) and he tossed his blanket aside to join them. Cassian and Azriel couldn't swim with their wings numbed, but that raft was definitely beginning to move.
"Rhys- everyone's minds are shielded, so you can't use your power to find us. We'll take our hiding spots and not move until dinner time, so good luck."
With that, the females fled back into Cassian and Nesta's cabin, and their game began.
—
—
"I can't believe those evil little monsters did this to-"
"Are you done yet?" Azriel rolled his eyes as they neared the shore. Rhys, Lucien, and Varian were swimming as hard as they could, shoving that raft towards the cabins. It had been fifteen minutes- about ten minutes longer than the trip should have taken them. Feyre tied three anchors to the underside of the raft, and no one had anything capable of cutting them loose.
"I'm not done yet Azriel, because my mate and best friend conspired to drug me and throw me on a cauldron-damned raft!"
Cassian walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, "Mor, you need to calm down."
"NO, I WON'T CALM DOWN, I'M PISSED."
"Well, now you'll be pissed and wet." Cassian shoved her off the raft five feet from shore.
She surfaced with yet another long stream of curses. She was putting Varian's entire army to shame.
"Would you all shut up!" Rhys snapped. The raft hit a gravel causeway. He, Lucien, and Varian pushed it out of the water a ways and crawled onto dry land. Azriel passed each male their sheets to cover up with. Now that they'd reached the shore, Rhys was trying to listen and scent where the females had scattered to.
"We should split up, we'll cover more ground." Cassian was glaring at the cabin windows, searching for any sign of Nesta. When he found her…
Lucien glanced around at the others, "We should each search our own cabins first. Who knows- this might just be some kind of sex game."
Everyone looked at him like he was insane. He only shrugged, "It was the way they said we have to be clean for dinner… Elain and I- yesterday we-"
"I don't want to know," At least three of the males (and Mor) spoke in tandem.
"Fine," Cassian rolled his eyes, "but listen carefully-"
With each he went through the areas in their cabins to watch out for- hidden doors meant to act as access shafts for the plumbing, crawlspaces, storage areas no one even realized existed hidden behind false walls and beneath floors. Nesta knew the cabins nearly as well as he did- it was possible the females had hidden themselves inside the walls.
Rhysand entered his cabin with all the grace of an apex predator. He dropped his blankets by the door and crept forward slowly, deliberately. Feyre's scent wound through the cabin wholly and completely- but it wasn't fresh. Rhys rounded a corner and found a tray on the dining room table. On it was a plate piled high with eggs, toast, and bacon. A steaming mug of coffee and tall glass of pineapple juice flanked a short, neat note in Feyre's handwriting-
'Sorry for the rude awakening. Eat up, you'll need your strength.'
He went to the kitchen, searched the hidden little alcove behind their icebox for any trace of Feyre, and returned to the dining room with a napkin in hand. Rhys chugged the juice and coffee (which did wonders to warm him back up), and piled his eggs and bacon onto the toast. He ate it as he walked through the cabin and hunted his mate.
Rhys' head felt a bit… light by the time he finished searching the first floor. Halfway up the stairs, the world suddenly shifted and he collapsed onto the step. Only a protective barrier behind him kept him from falling down the staircase.
The food was laced with sedatives.
—
—
"I'm going to kill the High Lady of Night," Rhys announced two hours later when he finally dragged himself out of the cabin. He was pale and moving slowly as the world twisted and turned. Cassian, Lucien, and even Mor looked to be in similar condition. Only Azriel (who'd chosen to drink the coffee and juice rather than eat anything) and Varian (who was suspicious the second he saw food supposedly prepared by Amren) were spared. They'd spent the two hours scouring swaths of forest.
"So Lucien, no naked females?" Mor's words were slurred.
"I hate you," he didn't have the energy for a proper reply.
Azriel had the sense to keep his own good fortune quiet. He cleared his throat and looked around the lake, "The females have to be hidden somewhere relatively obvious. Cassian- you built this complex- where outside could provide some kind of shelter- somewhere they would want to be stuck all day?"
Cassian considered it through his haze, "The Illyrian spice garden. It would mask their scents, it's large enough for them to stay in one key location and yet move about, and frankly I'm surprised Elain hasn't gone there already."
Azriel nodded, "Then that's where we go."
"Fine," Rhys breathed, "but we just walk, slowly, and in as straight of a line as possible."
"It will take a couple hours round trip," Cassian warned, "if we're wrong we lose another chunk of time. Maybe we should split into two teams?"
Varian hesitated, then nodded, "Cassian- you take a group to the garden, I'll lead one to the waterfall caves. It'll be more difficult- I can't shield everyone like I did Amren, but they might be tucked away in there. The garden inside is another one Elain would want to see."
In the end Azriel and Lucien went with Cassian while Rhysand joined Mor and Varian in a trek around the lake. Each group had one fully conscious member to help keep the others on track while the rest of the sleeping drugs faded from their systems.
The females had poisoned their males. Whatever game they were playing, it certainly wasn't just a simple case of hide-and-seek. He thought back to Feyre's warning that males who arrived dirty to dinner would face a punishment.
Initially Azriel thought the punishment might be somehow sexual. Nuala was part of Feyre and Nesta's group, if it was anything too bad she wouldn't have joined. However- the drugged food was already more than he would have expected from them. Adding to that the caveat that the males had to arrive to dinner clean and Azriel started to worry about just what was up their sleeves.
He walked out ahead of Cassian and Lucien, taking point on the way down the white gravel path that led deep into the woods. The field Cassian converted from a lumber farm into a spice garden was three miles out, and with two males still recovering from a strong dose of sedatives it was a slow journey. Azriel watched for covered pits, snares, or other traps Feyre's may have set.
That was the weakness of the female team: Nuala, Cerridwen, and Elain were shy, good-natured females who didn't have a joking streak. Feyre had the same wicked sense of humor as Rhys, and Nesta tended more towards teasing than actual physical pranks.
Amren… honestly, her traps might kill someone.
At long last, the scent of cinnamon bark wafted towards the males. They rounded a bend in the forest path and stepped out onto a garden fit to season the food of an entire Illyrian camp.
"It manages itself," Cassian shrugged when Azriel turned to gape at him, "that means I don't worry about working the land. I'm going to sell the extras in Velaris and force them to start a few Illyrian restaurants."
The field had originally been Cassian's source of wood for the cabins- meaning it was massive. The entrance was flanked by cinnamon trees (Cassian's scent before he mated Nesta), and between the endless groves at the back and the incredible lines of bushes, flowers, and berries closer at hand Azriel counted every spice he'd ever even heard of. Cumin, tahini, sumac, thyme, cardamom, sumac, saffron, fenugreek, peppermint, spearmint, clove, aniseed, garlic, parsley, rosemary, chickpeas, teff, semolina, pomegranate, chili peppers, ginger, basil, korarima, rue, ajwain, nigella- Azriel was dizzy just trying to scent it all.
If the females were hiding here, they'd never be able to tell. It was a perfect spot.
"Everything was planted in straight lines along a grid," Cassian pointed to the longest edge of the farm, "walk along that, and you can see from front to back. There's a garden shed behind the trees, they could be hiding out there or just within the forest tree line. We should do a wide search- Azriel along the edge of the plants, I'll be just inside the forest, Lucien a little further in and sniffing for any sign of life."
Azriel nodded and took a step forward-
-straight into the path of the tripwire.
"Shit," Cassian managed to say before light flashed above them and a wall of water slammed down. It flooded the path, and knocked the three on their asses.
Lucien roared as the water pounded them into the ground, then abruptly stopped. Azriel was coughing and trying to shake out his wings before he remembered they wouldn't respond. He staggered to his feet.
"It can't be over," Cassian panted. He stayed on his knees, braced for another wave.
Three seconds later the light flashed once more. The males braced for water-
-and were buried in an avalanche of glitter.
—
—
Mor opted to skit the waterfall barefoot- which at the time felt like a good idea. Without Varian's shields, the ground was slick and water made their passing treacherous. Bare feet gave Mor the ability to grip the stone with her toes as they walked, though once they reached the climbing portion of the trek her plan backfired in spectacular fashion.
Varian grabbed Mor's foot and tapped it as she climbed. She waved him off and just kept pulling herself up, following the path Rhys picked out (which was faster than the one Varian has used the day before). Mor's feet were covered in scrapes, and Varian had been offering her at least his socks since before they started climbing.
Sharp stone prickled at her, and by the time they reached the top Mor had a few gashes in the sides and tops of her feet from where she'd slipped as they grew numb. Varian swore before the waterfall drowned out all communication that it was an easy drop on the other side onto soft grass- but she waited for Rhys to land and wave up at her before jumping down into his arms.
He had magic enough to cast faelights along the alcove and down the path, but Varian still took point. He walked confidently towards the hidden garden.
If they hadn't been drugged, Azriel would have called to his shadows and warned them all about trip-wires.
He stepped on one and dove to the side as something came flying out of the laurel branches along the path.
Rhys realized what it was a split second before it hit the wall beside his head, shattering into hundreds of pieces. He grabbed Mor and hauled the two of them up, leaving Varian behind. When Amren set the trap she hadn't thought anyone would be stupid enough to climb barefoot- and she also had a thin grasp of what 'prank' versus 'attack' might be.
Mor screamed as wasps swarmed the cavern- those who weren't killed when their hive was destroyed. They attacked anything that moved- Rhys, Mor, and Varian. Rhysand couldn't acknowledge the pain of dozens of sharp jabs to his skin. He just carried Mor with an iron grip on the stone and prayed the waterfall mist on the other side stopped their attackers from following.
—
—
If they weren't in so much pain, Varian's team would have laughed themselves half to death at the three sparkly males who staggered out of the woods just as they returned from the waterfall.
Azriel, Cassian, and Lucien were covered in silver glitter from their hair to their toes. They'd been buried well over their heads in the stuff before it vanished- meaning it had found its way into their pants and shirts as well. No matter how much they brushed away, more seemed to come and take its place.
Still, once they saw how the other team faired, they swallowed their complaints.
Mor, Varian, and Rhysand were coated in bee stings, and one of Varian's eyes was almost entirely swollen shut. Rhysand was carrying Mor still- her unprotected feet looked as though they took the brunt of the stings. The wasps followed the group over the waterfall, and only distance could save them. Rhys wanted to jump into the water, but he knew the stinging monsters would only swarm the surface until they came up for air. Halfway across the lake, shouting with every sting, a barrier had finally pushed them away. In that barrier, Rhys sensed Feyre's magic.
Both groups sized one another up and sighed heavily. They'd lost the entire morning and a bit of the afternoon, and all they had to show for it were what felt like a million stings and at least ten pounds of glitter.
Before either team could ask the other any questions, light flashed between them and a small table appeared. It was piled with three blue bottles and a large container of something thick and white. Rhysand let Lucien pick up the note attached to the container.
"Amren didn't tell us about the wasps when we set up. Feyre winnowed to Madja, she said to drink this, then rub the cream on the bites. In half an hour you should be alright. I'm so sorry. Love, Cassian's ex-wife." He handed the note to Nesta's mate.
"Could it be a trap?" they all looked to Rhysand.
"I don't care," he sighed and dipped his fingers into the cream. He rubbed it onto Mor's feet first, then set her gently down in a lounge chair while the potions were distributed and the cream was portioned out.
The silver males offered to help the three treat their wounds, but Rhys sent them over to the lake to try and wash the glitter off first. Azriel dipped his hands into the cool water and watched the cloud of it spread out from his hands. When he pulled them from the water, every last speck of glitter returned.
That was going to be a problem if he was supposed to be clean for dinner.
"This had better end in the best make-up sex of my Cauldron-damned life," Cassian grumbled. He gave up trying to wash and went back to the rest of the group. Everyone murmured their agreement- even Mor.
"Amren has to let me top now." The others looked to Varian. His ears turned red, "None of you heard that, understood?"
"Understood," Cassian and Azriel filed the information away to use against him after their ordeal was far enough in the past that it became funny.
Someone had laid out food for lunch at the dining area- a basic Illyrian dish that Nesta must have prepared herself. Cassian and Rhys were tempted to ignore it, but Azriel and Varian hadn't eaten anything all day. They rolled the dice and took a bite.
Half an hour passed with no ill side effects, so the others tucked into their food. Maybe it was another apology for Amren's trap, or maybe the females knew the males were already plotting their revenge and it was unwise to tamper with any more food. Either way- they were able to eat in peace…
Until Lucien hiccupped and his hair turned purple.
Rhys practically threw his dish away, but it was too late. The enchantments were setting in.
Azriel cursed as his wings became a violent shade of pink. Cassian's wings flashed white and vanished entirely. He screamed and spun fast- knocking Mor into her food when an invisible wing crashed into her. Her hair turned bright red streaked in a rich green that made the other's eyes hurt, Varian's skin turned purple, and Rhysand's entire body- hair, eyes, and skin- were suddenly an obnoxious sky blue.
"I want a divorce too," Lucien whispered. He set his fork down slowly.
"This is Cerridwen's work," Mor growled. "She was showing me an edible dye months ago that could do all of this. We thought it would be a funny costume idea come the next Feast of Souls, that evil wench…"
Azriel huffed, sending out a cloud of glitter.
Rhys considered the ridiculous shade of his skin, "This prank- the dye should wear off before dinner-" he looked to Mor for confirmation, "-so they can't enjoy the sight of us unless they're close." He studied the buildings and forest around them.
In tricking them, the females had tipped their hand.
Nothing moved in the windows or from the forests edge. The raft the females had sent them adrift on the lake in was back away from shore and bobbed along wherever the current chose to take it. No footprints save those of the males (and Mor) marred the gravel or dirt.
"I think I know where they are," Rhysand glared at a random spot on the tree line as though he were sure it sheltered the females. He stood immediately, and the others followed. Azriel fell into line behind Rhysand before being dragged unceremoniously to the back of the group along with Cassian and Lucien- when they walked, the glitter blew off of them and onto both Mor and Varian.
He waved to them all to keep quiet and led them into the woods, then back towards the waterfall. Mor whimpered when she saw their direction. Az reached forward to give her hand a comforting squeeze- glitter be damned- and they followed.
Rhysand circled the lake until he found a small alcove just beside the waterfall. It was out of the worst of the current, faced the cabins directly, and was also the closest part of the lake to the drifting raft.
A raft he distinctly remembered pushing up onto the shore.
They'd all assumed the females wouldn't hide using magic- other than the shield Feyre kept around everyone's minds to stop Rhys from using his power. The females hadn't had any trefoil, however, and none of their rules said they couldn't use their own magic to hide.
While the males (and Mor) walked into trap after trap, the females floated on that raft and enjoyed their day. Rhys could feel only a little magic stirring in his veins, but it was enough. "How much revenge do you want?" he looked back to the others.
"As much as we can get," Azriel growled. He was covered in glitter, and his pink wings honestly hurt everyone's eyes as much as Mor's clashing hair.
"How's Nuala's swimming?"
"Cerridwen will save her," Mor snarled.
Rhys aimed his magic at the raft and launched it towards shore as fast as he could manage.
The screams as Feyre, Elain, Nesta, Cerridwen, Nuala, and Amren were thrown off the back and out of their glamoured hiding place were music to everyone's ears. Nesta was still holding her book when she surfaced, sputtering and enraged. She spun in the water while Feyre and Cerridwen helped Nuala stay afloat. Elain was spinning, trying to see where the males (and Mor) had gone.
Varian was laughing along with the rest- right up until Amren's head slowly broke the surface of the lake and her silver eyes fixed directly on him. She was perfectly still, as though she'd found something to stand on in the water. She couldn't see him through the trees, yet her eyes bored into his very soul.
There was a flash of light, and the females in the lake vanished.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Amren's voice boomed across the lake from the direction of the cabins. "Nuala can't swim yet, why would we put her on a raft in the middle of the lake when you're all out for revenge?"
"Something tells me we should run," Rhysand said.
It was too late.
Tree sap rained down on the entire area, as if the females predicted they'd aim for that hidden little cove by the waterfall. Varian saw the sticky, non-lethal sap and sighed. He hung his head right as feathers exploded from all directions.
Tarred and feathered, almost exactly as he'd predicted.
Cassian, Azriel, and Lucien began to curse as that door in the sky opened once more and another batch of glitter buried them.
Mor pinched the bridge of her nose- then remembered what she was covered in. She took a deep breath and looked to the sky, "They never left the balcony, did they?"
"I'm too scared to check." Rhys sighed.
Varian looked growled, "Three hours to sundown. I vote we just bathe and surrender."
"Not in that order," somehow Azriel managed to look scary despite being pink and shiny, "Surrender then bathe. Or something horrible will happen."
"No hot water?" Lucien wouldn't put it past them.
"Or acid, if they let Amren set it up." Cassian's wings stretched wide now that he could make out their shape thanks to the feathers. He couldn't fly with them, but it'd hurt less walking through the forest dodging trees with his wings stretched than it would to try and pry them open once that sap began to dry.
They trudged back around the lake towards the cabins.
Sitting on the porch were three sketches on Feyre's practice paper- a rough guide before she began to paint: Rhys slumped halfway up the stairs, drooling. Mor's face slammed into her lunch thanks to Cassian's invisible wings. Cassian, Azriel, and Lucien's faces as they emerged from the first cascade of glitter. Varian with his head hung as feathers blasted him.
"Feyre, if you can hear me- we're not friends anymore," Mor growled as she trudged towards her and Cerridwen's cabin.
She could have sworn a soft laugh followed her.
—
—
The sun set at least an hour before their powers returned. The feathered trio spent most of that time in their own baths, trying desperately to remove the sap either with hot water or sheer force. Varian's skin was raw and pink when he felt his magic expand throughout his body. It rolled and settled beneath his skin as though it were stretching after a long rest.
With his powers back, it took seconds to remove the sap. Varian threw on the first clothes he found and trudged out to the fire pit. He could only be thankful that his skin had returned to its normal shade.
"You're in trouble," he glared at Amren when she came around the bonfire.
"You're late," she patted his chest.
Cerridwen practically ran at Mor to embrace her and kiss every fading spot that marked where a wasp had stung her. As much fun as she thought the prank would be, that ended the second she heard her mate's screams.
Feyre approached Rhys slowly, false innocence shining in her eyes, "For what it's worth, you looked adorable on those stairs. It's my new favorite image of you."
Rhys snorted, "Don't worry, I won't kill you. At least, not until I find a way to break the death-bargain." A glint in his eyes betrayed the serious tone of his voice and Feyre kissed his cheek. She whispered a promise in his ear of what was to come after dinner that had him smiling in no time.
"Glitter?" Lucien raised an eyebrow at Elain, "I think I still have some in my hair."
She frowned, "So what you're saying is that even after nearly three hours you can't manage to bathe properly?"
"They've already corrupted you," Azriel said gravely as he took Nuala in his arms. She was the only fae he held totally blameless for the day's headaches.
Nuala bit her lip, "Actually, the entire event was sort of my idea. We were talking about things we could do and I suggested hide and seek… It got out of hand quickly."
"It tends to with these lunatics."
Cassian made Nesta come to him when he arrived. "Last night, did you-"
"Fuck your brains out so you'd go to bed and we could set all those traps?" Nesta smiled wickedly, "Why Cassian, do you really believe I would do such a thing?"
"Ex wife," he grumbled.
"Ex husband."
"Well? What's our punishment?" Rhys crossed his arms.
Feyre glanced to the other females. When they nodded their agreement, she offered a grin, "We decided that in light of certainpranks being a bit-"
"You can say it, she knows she fucked up," Varian grumbled.
"Okay, since Amren went overboard, we agreed that you all worked hard enough to earn the prize."
Rhys considered it, "No, we actually won, didn't we?"
"Did not," Nesta rolled her eyes.
"You harpies said we had to figure out where you were- Mor said you were still on the balcony. Were you there?"
"I don't see how that matters now," Nesta said.
"Look, just because we were too scared to check doesn't mean we didn't figure it out."
"So you admit you're a bunch of cowards?" Amren raised an eyebrow.
"If it gets us some kind of prize after this hell? You bet your ass." Cassian snapped.
Nuala wasn't entire sure Cassian was being sarcastic when he growled at Amren, so she stepped up to try and diffuse the situation, "Why don't we agree to half credit? Then everyone is a winner." Azriel couldn't help it- her sincere worry for everyone's feelings tugged at his heart.
"No- half credit also means everyone's a loser, and by the rules you all set, we won," Mor wasn't stopping until they benefitted from the loophole Rhysand found.
"Fine, you all win, we lost." The females all turned to shoot Cerridwen incredulous stares, "What? You were giving them the prize anyways, what does it matter who wins and loses?"
"You'll figure it out after you're married," Feyre grumbled.
"Well? Come on losers, what's our prize?" Rhys looked so incredibly smug it was an effort to not summon the glitter again.
Elain wanted to give the males (and Mor) their prize. It would diffuse any lingering tension and return things to a sense of normalcy. She put a hand on Feyre's arm to stop any further argument and stepped forward.
"Your prize is a vision I had yesterday afternoon. I'm willing to share the future with you- if that's alright. Um… I need you all standing together if you agree to see it."
Seeing the future- knowing it as clearly as Elain did… The males were moving before they even realized they wanted to. They grouped around Rhys and Mor in seconds.
"If you could all lower your shields, this is difficult enough without breaking in," Feyre took Elain's hand. She would be the one to relay the vision to the other's minds. Seeing what Elain saw or speaking to the group was simple, but doing both at the same time took concentration.
Everyone braced themselves, and Feyre threw their minds into the world they would one day see.
—
—
Rhysand was at the lake with Feyre, in their cabin filled with life, love, and all the sounds of a home he never knew in youth. Two sets of feet thundered upstairs as their sons ran from room to room in a raucous game of tag. Something stirred in his arms and he looked down to find a fat-cheeked, violet-eyed baby girl smiling up at him. His daughter- only a couple months old. She giggled and cooed at him, happy to see her father.
"I'll put her down for her nap." Feyre came in to collect the infant, "You've got training." He always took over in the first few months after she'd given birth.
It made Rhys' heart ache to hand the baby off, but he stood and kissed Feyre soundly, "I love you more each and every day," he whispered.
"You can knock that off right now- I told you I'm not having another one until I'm fifty," she rolled her eyes even as she kissed him back. "Go, shoo. Those kids won't wait."
Rhysand walked out to the porch to find the lake filled with more life and love than he would have ever thought possible. He walked towards the training grounds- towards everything Cassian had built those cabins for.
Azriel and Nuala's twin shadowlings left black mist in their wake as they winnowed mere inches at a time. Rhysand dodged them and laughed. They were perhaps three years old, far too young to do more than glide with their bone-white wings as they waddled about in half-corporeal form. Whenever they stumbled, a ghostly hand would appear to catch them and scoot them on their way- Nuala and Cerridwen's mother acting as guardian angel.
Elain and Lucien's son was holding his newborn brother proudly, showing him off to all of his Illyrian cousins. He had wings made of pure light- a construct much as Feyre's were. He wanted to train with everyone else, and both of his parents were there to watch. Elain reclined in one of the lounge chairs while her body recovered from labor mere days ago. She was radiant, smiling, and Lucien couldn't stop kissing her.
Cassian sat with Nesta on their balcony- decidedly not divorced- and watched their daughter and son (six and four, respectively) race out from the first floor of the house to where Rhysand waited. Cassian would handle combat training later (meaning he ran the kids through the obstacle course before their afternoon naps). He, Rhysand, and Azriel aspired to creating their own Illyrian clan, populated with Illyrian and high-fae alike. The Inner Circle prayed their children would never know war, but they'd be ready if it came.
Cauldron save anyone who tried to so much as hurt their feelings. Already the kids had formed their own cohesive pack. Looking sideways at one earned the ire of all.
Rhysand's sons launched off the uppermost balcony of his cabin. The blue-eyed eldest was only six, but he moved with confidence. He'd inherited his parent's shifting abilities and his mother's artistic soul- his wings were presently a soft pink streaked with silver in honor of his new baby sister. The younger boy was five, closer in age to his sibling than Rhys thought possible for faeries. His wings were a normal black, but soon enough he'd master the shifting ability enough to change color too.
They were showing off in jumping from the house- but no matter how hard they flapped their wings, they lost altitude fast. Rhys caught them with a shield halfway to the training area before they crashed.
A ripple across the lake was all that announced Amren and Varian's son as he swam over. The toddler couldn't form wings at all, but he loved to watch his cousins fly. He arrived on land and a soft flash of light left him with male legs and the upper body of a shark. He whimpered and kicked, trying to force the rest of the change.
Mor, sitting near Elain with one of her and Cerridwen's children on her lap, patted the male on the head and sent him off to his other mother. She walked over to talk the two-year-old through the rest of his transformation into high fae before panic set in.
She and Cerridwen had listened to Amren's warning about the magic of the lake and any miracles it may seek to work. For a long time they chose to remain childless, to bask in their shining, open love. It wasn't until they'd begun babysitting for the Inner Circle that they decided perhaps having children was something they were interested in after all. For six months they winnowed to their cabin each night from Velaris and simply let nature take its course. Eventually, it was Cerridwen who ended up pregnant with twins (just as Nuala and Azriel had). One male, one female.
As Amren had predicted, they weren't half-wraith, half-fae, but something entirely new. It was as if the magic of the lake- that pure, radiant life meant to drive out Amren's dark stain- had found physical form. The twins looked so much like Mor and Cerridwen both that there was no doubt who their parents were, yet they practically bled graceful light into even the halls of the Hewn City. The dark and vicious of the Night Court couldn't stand to look them in the eye, and every flower in Velaris bloomed not towards the sun, but to Mor and Cerridwen's house.
—
—
The vision of a paradise yet to come cleared, leaving Rhys with tears flowing freely down his cheeks. Feyre came to him and wrapped her arms around her mate, "You're going to be an amazing father one day." She kissed away his tears and held him tight.
Varian smiled to Amren and went to cup her face in his hands, "We're going to have a son," he whispered.
"I know, and he's going to be an idiot." She sighed, but the glittering light in her eyes was as bright as he'd ever seen.
Mor said nothing, but went straight to Cerridwen and pulled her into a long, hard kiss.
Elain held Lucien's hands as they both smiled brightly. He didn't question their son's ability to shift, or those blinding wings of pure daylight. All he cared about was his bride, and the gift she'd given him with her vision.
Azriel had his head buried in Nuala's neck to hide the tears that had slipped from his eyes. She stroked the back of his neck and whispered in his ear, promising that their children would only be raised with love and kindness- not the base brutality he'd known. He would be a father their children could be proud of.
"Am I still your ex wife?" Nesta teased.
"My ex-ex wife." He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close.
"That might be kind of difficult for the kids to say when they're so young." She shrugged.
Cassian sighed dramatically, "I suppose we can just ditch the 'ex' entirely then. One cancels out the other."
"That sounds like a plan." She kissed him, and felt him smiling against her mouth.
As the moon rose, the Inner Circle held their mates and watched the water, each lost in that vision Elain had shared. They would spend a million days like this, surrounded by an ever-growing family filled with life and happiness.
In the morning the males (and Mor) would take their revenge upon their mates for their cruel game, but for now they watched the moonlight on the lake and basked in the future they would all share.
Heaven.
Pure, complete heaven.
~The End~