Chapter 6: The Harsh Light of Day
-Rhysand's POV

This was a monumentally bad idea. For all parties involved. Violet had made some arguably questionable decisions in her time, but this had to be one of the worst. Rhysand couldn't see any good coming from his sister seeing Tamlin. But it was her choice, and who was he to question how she confronted her trauma. A trauma that had been rearing its ugly head as of late.

She had been having nightmares for weeks now. That of course was only on the nights that she decided to stay at the river house. She was sneaking out every other day now. Rhys didn't know where she was going in the middle of the night. She always left after they had gone up to bed, and she was back home before the sun rose. Violet either thought he didn't notice, or she didn't care. On the nights she was gone, she came back looking somewhat well rested, so he never asked about it. The other times Violet slept at the house, the noises coming from her room were… Unforgettable. Rhysand would never erase those sounds from his mind. Raging screams so earth shaking, that the high lord was certain the camps could hear them all the way up in Illyria.

He wasn't sure what plagued her more. The memories from her past or the uncertainties of the future. The meeting with the high lords was only three days away. It seemed as though the impending meeting was gnawing away at her the closer it got. Regardless, she insisted on going no matter how many times he offered her an out. Everyone had agreed to meet in the Dawn Court again. It was the most central meeting place after all. All of the high lords had responded back saying they would be in attendance including Tamlin much to his disbelief.

Rhysand heard Violet giggling from upstairs. A surprising, but not an unwelcome sound. He found himself following the noise all the way to his bedroom where he cracked open the door to see Feyre kneeling in front of a mirror helping his sister alter a dress. He noticed there were other clothes and fabric scattered all around them. Clearly, they had been at this for awhile.

"This is dress is absolutely gorgeous Feyre. Thank you for helping me."

"I'm glad you like it. I'm not exactly a seamstress."

"Nonsense. You did a fantastic job." Violet said twirling in the mirror to view the intricate lace design on the back. "Are you sure you won't come to the meeting with us?"

"Yeah, I think it's best if I sit this one out. Tamlin tends to react… badly whenever I'm involved."

"Yes, Helion told me briefly about your history. I'm sorry." Violet said grabbing one of Feyre's hands.

"It's alright. It all turned out for the better." She replied with a smile. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you came back to Velaris, you could have seen anyone. Rhys or Azriel? But you came to me first? Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I had a multitude of reasons. At first, I was curious about you. I had spent the last two years hearing all these stories from Helion about the legendary human turned fae who had freed all the high lords, and captured my brother's heart. But mostly, I felt a sort of connection."

"A connection?"

"Yes, we're a lot alike you and I. We both were in eerily similar situations with one single variant."

"Which is?"

"You survived Tamlin. And I didn't." Violet uttered with a look of admiration on her face. "You've done a lot of amazing things is this world Feyre Archeron, but that is the one that captivated me the most. I think the better question is why not you?"

The high lady stood there awkwardly not quite sure what to say.

"You don't have to say anything." Violet professed.

Both of Feyre's brows raised in surprise. "How did you… are you a daemati as well?"

"Yes and no. I'm not nearly as skilled as Rhys. I can hear other people's thoughts and speak mind to mind, but that's about the extent of it. I always had an easier time picking up on emotions rather than specific thoughts. I'm what the history books would call an 'Empatie'."

"An Empatie?"

"It's an ancient word for empath. It allows me to read everyone's emotions around me, and if I so desired, I could control them."

"You can truly control emotions?"

"Yes. I could make anyone feel anything I chose from unbridled happiness to paralyzing fear."

"That seems… dangerous." Feyre spoke carefully. "Though I suppose I could see how it could be useful in certain situations."

"Evidently, Tamlin's father thought so too. I originally believed that was the reason he was so keen on me marrying his son. I'm assuming he thought he could use me for his own gain."

"So, what happened?"

"The same thing that always happens. I-" Violet's eyes shot to the entrance of the room. "You know brother, it's rude to eavesdrop."

Rhysand opened the door the rest of the way, and leaned on the frame. "It wasn't my intention to eavesdrop. I just didn't want to interrupt." His sister raised a brow at him, but said nothing. "You look beautiful Violet."

She did a twirl in the dress. "Well, I have your mate to thank. She's the one that made it. I think our mother would have been impressed."

"With her dress making skills?" Rhys laughed.

"With everything." She smiled at Feyre.

The day of the meeting had finally arrived. All of the high lords sat at the giant marble table that resided in the top level of the Dawn Court Palace. Each of its occupants had a drink in their hand. As if that would truly prepare them for what was about to happen. Naturally, Thesan sat at the head of the table with Tarquin sitting at his left, Rhys on his right, and Cassian standing guard at his back. Beron sat on the other end of the table with a smug look at his face like his position there made a god damn difference. Eris and the other sons of Autumn Court were standing behind him. His wife was suspiciously absent as was Kallias's mate Viviane, but that was for more personal reasons. They had just had a daughter a few months after Nyx was born. Kallias sat to Beron's right with Tamlin sitting on the other side of Kallias next to Tarquin. The high lord of the Spring Court had been staring at the empty chair that was wedged between Rhysand and Helion for a few minutes before speaking.

"Is your mate not coming?" He asked in a bored tone.

"No, not this time."

"Why not? I thought she was your 'high lady'. Shouldn't she be here?"

"She is my high lady, but she had more important things to do today. Like looking after of our son." Rhysand shot back.

Tamlin tensed slightly, and opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it. Thesan cleared his throat from the other end of the room.

"Are you going to explain why you gathered us all here Rhysand? If not, I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Don't we all? I'm sure that you all have better places to be at the moment, but I summoned you here for one simple reason." Rhys leaned back in his chair a bit. "There has been a development at the Night Court that I thought you should all be made aware of."

"What sort of development?" Kallias inquired.

Before Rhysand could answer, the main door of the hall slammed open.

Authors Note: Empatie (Em-paw-tee-ay) is the Romanian word for Empathy.