Chapter 8

Tamlin was taking me to the glen again, I recognized the path a little The last time I had been too tired to really enjoy anything, falling asleep on him. This time I would stay awake and enjoy this time.

Take a swim in the pool, laze around on the grass, drink and eat to my heart's content. We turned off path and I felt something, something I had not noticed before. It felt like the trees were alive in more ways than one.

This was not the same place, where was here?

There was no pool of starlight, just a brook with a weeping will watching over it. We lounged in the grass, maybe because the first outing did not go so well. I peered at his beautiful grace, his eyes dozing.

They opened, and he smiled lazily. "That willows singing always puts me to sleep."

I looked at the willow. "I thought I felt something. Yet another thing my mortal senses cannot see."

He bushed my hair to the side. "I could make you able to see it, see my world, hear it, and smell it." He sat up. "Taste it."

"And how would you do that?" I sat up next to him.

"Every gift comes with a price."

I chuckled a little. "Tam, I, a mortal, do not have a whole lot to offer you."

"A kiss?"

My cheeks heated and I looked away. I knew one might lead to more and with every dirty thought I had been having. I shook my head. "My mom said kisses lead to babies."

"That is not how that works, but if you don't want to then I can't force you."

I pushed on his arm lightly, but he acted like I had more strength than I truly had as he swayed to the side. "I know that. It was just something she told me to ward me away from swindling boys like you." I held up one finger. "You get one."

I faced him, our knees touching. "Close your eyes." I listened, bracing myself for what was to come. His lips brushed my past both my eyelids. My breath hitched, and I felt myself grinning like a schoolgirl.

The forest around the glen came alive. The birds sang in harmony, a whole symphony of soft music. The trees sang to the tune to the birds. Flicking my eyes open, the world was clearer, richer with color, I could never convey to anyone with words alone.

The magic in the air was like fresh flowers, every soft flower together bringing you into a tranquil bliss. No longer the tang I had been feeling. Magic really was stripped from humans and made to feel repulsive so we would not come near them.

Tamlin radiated with light, above his mask a hint of the face that was hidden underneath. Handsome beyond belief, this was what a true high lord looked like. Beauty, grace, looks to make any women swoon in seconds.

I reached out to touch that beauty. My fingers met the cold mask. It was tragic that this had been here for almost forty-nine years. Crazy to think that all of this happened before I was born.

He was vastly older than me, yet we looked around the same age. It felt wrong. So very wrong that he had to go through all of this. I raised up on my knees, cupping his face. I had thought about this moment for days.

In an instant it was all gone. My eyes roamed, looking for it again. Trying to see past. "Wha- where?"

"I willed my glamour back in place." I frowned.

"Was it because I was gawking?"

"No, to look normal. At least as much as I can with this damned thing on my face. Being a high lord comes with physical markers, ones you can not hide from. Even with my diminished powers."

I smirked. "I suppose if you walked around like that, everyone would look your way. You might make all the females fall."

His hands held my hips. "Now your filling my head."

"I mean it." I closed the distance, lips embracing his. I leaned in further, his hands holding me there. Once I started, I found it hard to pull away. I like this closeness, I liked him. I wanted him. I wanted his curse to end so I could marvel at his beauty whenever I felt like it.

All this feeling all at once, his hands roaming, the kiss deepening into something more feral and needy. His hand slipped down past my skirts edge and every naughty thought I ever hard came crashing in.

Do it, I thought. Lift my skirt, pull me in.

His warm hand skimmed up to the back of my thigh, gipping gently as he tugged it forward. I smiled though kisses as I moved closer, straddling him. My body was moving on its own, and I could feel his excitement as I grinded on him.

He pulled back. "Feyre."

I was pulled back to reality, my eyes dropping. "I'm sorry."

I tried to pull back from him, but his hand that held the back of my thigh kept me in place. A hand lifted my chin, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. "Don't be. If we continue, I won't be able to stop myself."

"Then don't."

A growl came from deep in his throat. I was flipped on my back, his lips kissing every part of my neck. We did the lovers tango in the grass, made our own music like the trees and I enjoyed every second.

Chapter 9

I smiled as I woke up. I peered around, a fairy with bark like skin was moving about my room. That must be Alis in her true for. I edged off the bed. I was close to saying I loved him, I needed to be more careful.

"Good morning Alis, it's nice to see you for you."

"Did something happen to your mind."

"No, my eyes were opened." I spoke as changed and slipped a dress on, the corset on top. I took the book I was currently reading to the table.

There were many in the courtyard, and several in the halls. I had never heard it so busy, I smiled at them all. Waved even to those who smiled back. Those who looked like walking plants or had some kind of animal feature.

It was everything all at once. A lady's tail wagged as I greeted her and wished her well. I strolled into the dining room, Tamlin's eyes drinking me in. Lucian looked between us both.

"I'll bite. What happened for you to float in here like a butterfly."

"Everything. The eyes I thought I was feeling, they were there. The trees I thought hummed, sang. The chirping of the birds morphed into music. It's beautiful, your whole world is beautiful." I took my seat, sitting the book down. Even the food looked different.

I took a bite and my mouth watered like Niagara Falls. I cupped my mouth to keep from drooling and swallowed. "My God, you hid this from me too. I'm about to be so fat." I paused before I took a bit. "Metaphorically of course." I bit down. Embracing the juice of the fruit.

I slid the book in Tamlin's direction. "What's this for?"

I swallowed. "Chapter seventeen was funny, you might find it wildly entertaining." I smirked as he opened the book, he read for thirty seconds before he shut the book and coughed in his hand.

"Yes, I'll finish this silly chapter later."

"Tell me Feyre, If I gave you the moon on a string would you embrace me the same?"

"Oh, well you set that bar awful high. Looks like you won't know until I get that moon on a string." I smirked as I finished my food.

I walked through the garden later that evening, taking in the surrounding area. If this was the world, then I hope to never be glamoured again. Life would not be so worth seeing. I rounded the corner to the fountain peering in the crystal red water.

I blinked; my eyes scanned up slowly as the tendrils of blood trails became thicker. A head had been spiked atop the fountain; face left in a position of anguish. I stepped back, I knew that fairy. He was one of the three that tried to touch me.

I staggered back, turning as I ran into someone. I yelped. "It's me." Tamlin held my shoulders.

"Not autumn court, I don't recognize him." Lucian spoke.

"Neither do I."

I heard Lucian's footsteps in the water, and the squishy sound of the head being removed. "He was branded behind the ear with a sigil. A mountain with three stars."

"Night court."

"Rhysand." I whispered lower than I could here.

"What?"

"I feel sick, I'm going inside." I pulled away from his hands.

"Feyre, I can walk you."

"NO!" I jerked back, holding my arms. "I mean, I will go myself. Okay? Just let me be for a minute."

He knew I was here, there was no other reason to send that specific fairies face here other than to warn me that he knew, and time was running out. Did he realize Feyre was here too? Did he know that long? Did this even happen, I had not looked in a while.

My steps trudged up the bath, my heart beating a thousand miles a minute. I had to look through my notes. Need to see what I put down. I wrote so many things and it was scattered thoughts not so much a time line.

The world was swaying, nothing felt real anymore. My body was on autopilot. He laughed, he had to have seen something in my mind. I thought I had done good, but I hadn't. My arm was grabbed, and I reared back ready fight.

"Feyre." Tamlin's brows furrowed.

My breathing heavy, my eyes turned in. "Not, her."

"Her who?"

"I wish I knew." I pulled from his grip.

I couldn't remember my name, only Anna. The images of her, her smile, her laugh. I could hear it like it happened yesterday. The man, his mask, the gun shots. I pressed a hand to my aching chest; it was wet and sticky.

I looked down, blood on my hands. When I looked up, Tamlin had a crown of blood. My breath caught; throat tightened. It was everywhere. My whole world was turning to blood again.

"I won't win." I murmured, taking off inside. I locked the door to my room, reaching under my mattress for the book of my handwritten notes. I skimmed, trying to find out where I was in this timeline junction. The head, the head, the head. It wasn't here.

I had such fragmented information to what I had thought. The wyrm, Rhysand under the mountain. it was mostly later events. The life and death ones. If she did i could, but did she really survive or was it all plot armor. I took a deep breath. I had this; I could survive. I will persevere.