Back at the Night Court, the Inner Circle takes up room in the main sitting area, all lounging around, still in their formal clothing. Mor is once again the center of attention as she rubs her arms uncomfortably. Azriel's arms are crossed, despite Gwyn linking one of her arms in his. Rhys and Feyre sitting on the edge of the sofa, looking more than a bit peeved. Cassian holds Nesta close and nuzzles her neck, unable to help himself even in the most serious of situations.

Eris had joined them, only upon the insistence of Rhys. Mor supposes it's time for the entire truth to come out, and for nothing else to be in between her and the rest of the family. She had told Eris that she would tell them, she just wishes that it hadn't come out during a Winter Court party. Unfortunately, Amber had parted from Mor, deciding it was best for her and Eri to speak with her family in private.

Eris glances at Mor, and she looks away, unable to make eye contact with him as he speaks first.

"Alright, I guess someone must speak first and I'll have to be the one to do this. It's not a secret that you all hate me for what you believe I did to Mor all of those years ago, and I have let it happen. I let it slide because I know that none of you knew the truth. Back then, it was imperative that nobody knows, especially since we were both trying to get out from under the whole thing."

Azriel growls at him but looks at Mor. "You let us all believe a lie for five hundred years. A lie that did not have to be kept from us."

Mor snaps then, unyielding and irritated. "Yes, it did. It did have to be kept from you. From all of you! I wanted to live my life the way I saw fit. I know that all of you take mate bonds seriously, I know that all of you had wanted one for years and to you, it's the best thing ever to be blessed by the mother in that way, even before you all knew you had mates. So not only did I not want to offend any of you by telling you that I had a mate that I didn't want, but also because as you now know, I was in the closet and very clearly not ready to come out of it. But no, Eris never hurt me, he helped me escape to taint myself with Cassian, and he didn't touch me when Keir dumped me there because if he had, I would have been forced to remain there under Beron's rules. Beron would have tied me to that fucking marriage bed if we had a mate bond scent. So that is why Eris couldn't get near me. But he did tell the guards to leave me in that clearing, where he knew that you would find me, Az."

Azriel's features soften a bit and he looks down, clearing his throat. Gwyn rubs small circles on one of his hands.

Eris looks at Rhys. "That is the truth. The real truth. Mor and I may be mates, but I was the only person who knew she preferred women. I only knew because she had to tell me why she didn't want to remain my mate. I accepted it. And, I speak for myself when I say this, but every time we had made fun of or spoke ill of or sneered at each other, it was an act. We had to pretend we hated each other to keep the truth from coming out. We couldn't be in close proximity to one another or the mate bond would have been scented. I know that you wouldn't have forced Mor to be with me, and you wouldn't let any harm come to her. But I had my own life to think of as well as Mor's. You all know how Beron is. If he knew I had a mate, and that it was the woman I was supposed to marry, he'd find a way to force it for politics. I can't have that getting in the way of myself becoming High Lord. He would use it against me. He would use it against you."

Rhys grumbles. "This is why he should have been ended years ago."

"You know I don't disagree. But despite his tendencies to harm his family and others, that's not seen by anybody else. Therefore we need a reason to rid Prythian of him. The moment something goes wrong, or he makes a wrong move to the detriment of this continent, I will have a reason."

"And you think you can take him out by yourself?"

"I think I have enough pent-up rage at my father to span centuries, Rhysand. You don't want to underestimate me."

"I just think that any grown male who is in the habit of being punished by his father, won't be able to end him."

Mor puts a hand on Rhys's arm and Feyre does the other. "Rhys, let it go."

Eris sneers. "Whatever you think you know of my court, Rhysand, you do not."

Gwyn swallows and steps forward tentatively, addressing Rhys. "High Lord, I know that you and I don't know each other very well. But I think he has a point. My mother's father was from Autumn, and he rejected her and my grandmother. Under Beron's reign, there is not much room for negotiation, especially when it comes to enemies and lesser fae. I only know what my mother had told me, but the tales were not happy ones. As for my own father...his identity may be unknown, but I would not be surprised if he also hailed from Autumn which would be why he never came to claim me or Catrin. We cannot presume to know everything that goes on in Courts we are not a part of. But this is why I am honored to now be a part of the Night Court. I have blossomed here thanks to Nesta and Cassian and Az."

Rhys glances at Gwyn and sighs, resigning as he looks at Eris. "I may not know the ins and outs of the Autumn Court, but I know well enough that its function has not served Prythian or its own people well since he came into power."

"We all know that. But the land chose him, you know as well as anyone that magic chooses the most powerful. Not the kindest, not the best ally. Simply the most powerful of the next generation. I'm lucky that I was chosen at birth. Or so my parents have said. So despite what Beron wants, he knows I will be heir. He may talk out of his ass and claim he can take it from me, but we all know that he can't unless he kills me."

"Well, that's always a possibility and I wouldn't particularly enjoy losing an ally."

"How kind of you", he scoffs. Turning to Gwyn, he looks over her mysteriously. "You mention hailing from Autumn, but I've never seen you before. Granted, I don't know every single member of the Court, but I've seen most around. How did you end up living in the Night Court? Gwyneth is it?"

Azriel steps in front of her partially and protectively, intertwining their fingers. Gwyn kisses his hand and looks up at him with a look that says 'I'm okay'.

Cassian talks to Rhys in the background, and he and Nesta take their leave to fly home. Feyre kisses Rhys's cheek and goes to check on Nyx in the nursery and to pay the nanny.

Gwyn squeezes Azriel's hand softly and turns to Eris. "As I mentioned, my mother's father hailed from Autumn. When he was a child, he rejected her and her mother, my grandmother. She was er—she was part river nymph and part lightsinger who hailed from the Spring Court. She seduced a High Fae Autumn male and they had my mother. The nymphs in Spring refused my mother because she looked and functioned as a High Fae female, and the Forest House in Autumn...well, her father wanted nothing to do with her because she was part lesser fae. So she was sent away to Sangravah Temple between the Spring and Autumn territories to grow up with the priestesses there. She learned from them and eventually became one herself. When she was of age, she participated in her first Great Rite; the one they held at the Temple, not the Spring Calanmai celebration which is separate. Um, anyway, she told my sister and I that she was chosen as the maiden for a High Fae male, and my twin and I were conceived from the union."

Eris's heart begins beating out of his chest as he glances down at his fiery locks, then back at the young female's. 'No, it can't be. It's impossible. She wouldn't have...but...I told her—and to protect them...'

"You have a twin?"

Gwyn shifts on her two feet uncomfortably. "I did", she whispers. "Her name was Catrin. She was killed when the temple was attacked. I-I made it out thanks to Mor and Azriel but I was severely attacked as well...so that's when I was taken here and took refuge in the library working with the other females who have been through atrocities. Only within the last couple of years have I come out of my shell thanks to Nesta and my other friend, Emerie."

Aziel steps forward. "That's enough questioning. Can't you see it upsets her?", he growls annoyedly. "I won't have my mate getting upset because of your sick curiosity that has nothing to do with you or your horrific court any longer."

Eris swallows hard, his eyes locked with Gwyn's as he sees a soft familiarity within them. Before he even knows what he's saying he blurts it out. "What was your mother's name?"

Azriel starts to get in his face, but Gwyn grabs his elbow, pulling him back. "Az. It's alright. Really", she says softly, stepping in front of him.

Gwyn swallows and takes a breath. "Her name was Marina."

Eris feels himself stop breathing and the world begins to spin. 'Marina. His love. His maiden. His everything. It can't be. Wouldn't she have told him? Maybe not, maybe to protect them...oh, gods...'

Gwyn bites her lip and goes over to him, similar freckled faces looking into one another. "Eris, are you alright?"

Az grumbles and crosses his arms, stopping himself from grabbing Gwyn and pulling her close the way his bond begs him to. He's always seen Eris as the enemy and it won't ever be easy to let that go.

"Marina", he chokes out.

It's the first time Azriel has truly seen him shaken up and his brow furrows curiously.

"Yes, that was my mother's name", Gwyn repeats. "Do you know who my father is? My mother—she told us that he wouldn't accept us. That it was futile to search because she didn't know who he was."

Eris shakes his head and rubs his face with his hands, before slumping into the closest chair. "Marina", he murmurs again. "Oh, gods."

Gwyn tears up slightly, leaning down to look at him more closely, the curve of his nose all too familiar and the shape of his chin and mouth the same as Catrin's. A hitched breath escapes her. "It's you."

Azriel goes over and helps Gwyn up, wrapping his arms around her middle. "What? Gwyn what are you—"

"She's right", Eris chokes out. "I-It's me. I'm—oh, gods", he mutters. "I'm her father."

"No", Azriel blurts out. "No, she...she's way better. She's incredible. She's strong and fierce, and she's fearless. She is nothing like you! You're just a coward! You're a prick!"

Eris looks at them both, tears threatening to spill. "I have no doubt that she is."

Tears fall down Gwyn's face as she holds Azriel's arms around her. "You never came. You never came to claim us when news of our birth spread around the Spring and Autumn Courts."

Eris shakes his head. "I didn't know. I didn't hear of it. I swear to you. And as horrible as this situation is, she lied to keep you safe."

Gwyn clenches her jaw. "What do you mean she lied? My mother was not a liar!"

"Gwyneth, she knew who I was", he says softly. "In fact, we quickly fell for one another that night. She knew all there was to know about me. Which also meant that she knew all about Beron. And I had made her promise me that once I left she would never come after me. That she would never want for more because it would get her killed. I don't know how much you know about my brother, Lucien. But he loved a lesser fae and our father...he murdered her viciously in front of him just because she was lesser. I loved your mother."

Tears rush down Gwyn's face as everything she's ever believed collapses. Rhys gapes before politely bowing out to give them space to talk things over.

"I loved her, Gwyn. Which is why I told her that when I left, we could never ever be in contact again. I could not risk her life. I wouldn't. Loving me came with a death sentence that I would never impose on her. I saw what losing Jesminda did to my brother, and there was no way I could go through that with Marina. She understood, as hard and as heartbreaking as it was to leave each other for good. She understood that nobody could ever know about us, especially not while Beron lives. But she would leave notes. Just small life updates. Small hidden notes close to the border each month that I would go collect. It was the only part of her that I could cling to. One month the notes stopped. I-I went to the temple and a priestess told me that she had died. I gave her up so that she could live, and I wasn't there when she took her last breaths", he says brokenly. "They never mentioned that she had daughters. I know that she kept you and your twin from my knowledge for your safety. Because Beron uses anything I know against me at times. I know that now...and the truth of your existence died with her. Her last note was cryptic, and I never got to see her to ask about it. If I had known...I don't know that our lives would have been any different. Protecting you and your sister would have been the priority the same way she had done so."

Gwyn cries into Azriel's chest. Azriel just stares, completely motionless, unable to believe what he's hearing.

"You never got to meet Catrin", she sobs softly, rubbing her arms. "She was so curious all the time. She always wanted to know. And this just feels like yet another milestone that I have to live through without her."

Eris swallows hard and looks down. "I wish I had known. Maybe things would have turned out differently."

"But maybe they wouldn't have", she sniffs, wiping her tears from her face as she gently breaks away from Azriel's hold.

"You said you loved my mother."

"I did. Gods, I did, Gwyn. She's the only female I have ever loved in my lifetime so far. I loved her so much that I had to lose her to prove that."

"I think—I think she would be happy to know that we have finally met", she whispers. "If she truly loved you as fiercely."

He tears up again and looks into his daughter's face. It's such an exact mix of his and Marina's that he can't help but wonder how the hell he hadn't noticed earlier. "I think she would have. Tell me, please...h-how did she die?"

Gwyn looks down at her hands and fiddles with her fingers. "A minor Hybern attack. It was years before the major one. Soldiers came by one of the services, and they were disguised as normal Spring and Autumn citizens. She was one of the singers for the service that day. During the performances, they took out weapons and began slaughtering those closest to them. One of them was in the front row, closest to her...", Gwyn chokes out. "She didn't suffer, it—it was too fast. Catrin and I were young, only around eighteen. Eight years later they launched the major attack. Most of us were killed, the rest of us were raped", she says, her voice getting quiet and more tears falling. "They beheaded my sister in front of me when she refused to tell them where the kids were hidden. Then when I refused to tell them where they were hidden I-I suppose they thought that breaking me would earn better results than doing the same as they did to her. But it didn't. I would have suffered more for those babies. Luckily...Morrigan and Azriel came. Az saved me from them." She looks up at Azriel lovingly. "I think a small part of me knew he was my mate when he didn't make me feel uneasy like all the other males."

Gwyn holds her chin high. "Anyway, they thought they had broken me forever. But they did not. I had the choice to stay shielded and afraid or to make my life my own. To prove that I am strong enough to overcome. And I did. Emerie and I won the Illyrian Blood Rite. We are Carynthians, Valkyries. I train every week to get stronger. I refuse to be that victim again."

Eris clenches his jaw. "You let my daughter go through a dangerous, deadly Illyrian male competition of endurance? After all she had been through to survive already?", he growls at Azriel.

"Hey, we did not encourage them to do so, they were kidnapped by Briallyn. She was after Nesta and took all three of the girls. We did not allow them to compete, Eris. Do you think we would have been so stupid if we didn't think they were ready? Which, by the way, we didn't think they were."

Gwyn steps between them and crosses her arms. "Hey! Stop! I get that you two don't get along, okay? But can you please at least be civil? For me? Whether you like it or not, Eris is my father, and Azriel is my mate. So if either of you want to get along with me, I suggest you try hard to remain civil."

"Eris—uh, father...listen, they did not put us in the Blood Rite, and that's not their fault. Briallyn is evil and tricky. However, we still won, so we are not just weak females and I'm offended you'd automatically treat me as such, despite the Court from which you are bred."

"Az, the circumstances were dire, and my mother clearly lied to me to keep me safe from Beron. Eris didn't know about me, and I want to give him a chance to be the father that I never had growing up. Not only for myself but for Catrin, and for my mom. I need you to respect that."

Both males hang their heads a bit at the petite redhead. Azriel speaks up first.

"Beron is still alive Gwyn. Your mother sacrificed a lot to keep you safe, she purposely didn't tell Eris about you because you'd become his weakness. Now you are. And if he ever finds out—"

Gwyn cups his face. "You can protect me. And Eris can protect me. I have many people who care for me now. I am blessed by the mother to have all of you."

"That isn't the point. If Beron wants you, he—he has his reputation for a reason Gwyn." Azriel seems visibly shaken and Gwyn hugs him tightly, pressing her lips to his. Eris looks away and grimaces.

"Out of everyone in Prythian, he had to be your mate? The Mother has a twisted sense of humor", he grumbles.

Azriel parts from her lips softly, his eye fluttering open again as he peeks over her shoulder. "Me? The mother gave her you as a damn father."

Gwyn sighs. "Enough, you two. I really don't want to have to play mediator between you both. Gods, you're worse than children with your bickering."

Eris sighs. "I'm sorry."

Az raises an eyebrow, having never once heard Eris apologize for anything. "I am too." He pulls her close and nuzzles her neck as she giggles softly.

"Az, can I have a moment with Er—with my father?"

"I don't want you alone with him, I don't trust him as far as I can throw him."

"Well, I do." She looks into his eyes, that ferocious and determined gleam within the deep teal. "Please? You may not trust him, but trust me." She leans forward on her tiptoes and kisses his ear. "Plus, I still have my dagger strapped to my thigh under this dress, and you've taught me well on how to use it shall the need arise."

Azriel shudders and holds her waist, looking down at her, a newfound hunger in his eyes as she smirks.

"Now go", she nudges him. "I'll come find you when he leaves, okay?"

"Okay", he mumbles, kissing her softly once more. He straightens up and sends a glare to Eris as he disappears into the kitchen. His shadows continue to twirl around Gwyn as she rolls her eyes.

"Not you guys spying for him. You go on too. Shoo, you naughty things."

The shadows seem to whine as they brush against her skin tickling her softly before floating away into the kitchen.

Eris takes a breath and shifts on his feet awkwardly. "So..."

"So...you're my father then."

"It would appear so."

Gwyn looks at him, a slight wonder in her eyes. "I don't like that my mother lied to us. That she had this epic, albeit short love story and buried it inside of her heart. But hearing the full story, I can understand why she did so. Despite understanding it, I still feel cheated. Cheated out of time. Out of a father when I was young, when...when Catrin and I were young. And it will never be okay to me that she never got to meet you. Honestly, it will never be okay to me that she's gone. I carry that grief and that pain with me every single day, knowing that for some reason I lived and she didn't. And our mother didn't", she whispers sadly.

Eris tears up. "I wasn't lying when I told you that I loved her. That we exchanged notes. I actually have a chest at home filled with letters from her. They are coveted to me. And now...", his voice goes soft. "Now so are you. I never imagined I'd have children. Especially a grown child", he chuckles weakly and rubs his neck.

"I never imagined I'd ever know who my father was so, I suppose we are both thrown." Gwyn shyly wrings her hands.

Eris takes a shaky breath. "I can't believe Marina had my daughters", he sniffs. "This is crazy. In a good way. And I don't want to be insensitive, but I hope it's okay if I grieve for Catrin too..."

"Of course. She was your daughter as well. In fact, she was more curious about you than I was as a kid. I know she would be so happy right now", Gwyn says, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"I wish more than anything that I could have known her. But I hope that I can hear about her from you. I hope that going forward we can maybe have some semblance of a familial relationship. Of course with Beron still living, I would not risk you so it can't be too often. But...you're my daughter Gwyneth", he breathes out. "I want to know my daughter."

Gwyn sniffles. "Can I give you a hug? I've heard you're not really the cozy type but um...I mean, it's okay for you to say no."

Eris's eyes widen slightly but he nods. "No, yeah. Of course, you can. I'm not the warmest person to others. But I think that you'll find I'm much more tolerable with people I care for."

Gwyn chuckles softly and goes over, hugging him lightly. Eris wraps his arms around her and strokes her hair soothingly as if it's an automatic response.

Her shoulders loosen from being tense and she takes a shuddered breath. "It's like everything I've been searching for my entire life has come to this moment. And I feel safe with you."

Eris tears up and tries to blink them back. "I'm glad. Because I will keep you safe. No matter what. Now that I know you exist, I would do absolutely anything for you, Gwyn. I know you're grown but...you're still my girl." He sniffs. "I'd do anything to keep you safe. And as much dislike as Azriel and I have from our past, I know he will protect you too. That I know at least."

She nods and looks up at him, smiling softly before slowly pulling away from the hug. "We have the same nose and freckles and hair."

Eris smiles shyly. "We do. Your hair is a bit darker, but I definitely see our similarities."

"I wasn't expecting to meet my father tonight. It's surreal."

"I know the feeling. This is...wow."

"I hope I'll see you again soon...dad", she whispers shyly.

Eris can help the grin or the blush that spreads across his face. "I hope I'll see you again soon too. I should get going and let you er...enjoy the rest of your evening. But don't enjoy it too much", he cringes a bit.

Gwyn giggles and snorts. "This is going to be a bit weird for a while. I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Gwyneth. Tell your uh, friends that I needed to get home."

"Bye, Dad. I will", she smiles.

Eris nods his head politely and winnows out of the River House. Gwyn takes a deep breath and grins to herself, the reality sinking in as she goes to seek out her mate.