A/N: I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT! Life was being rude, but here it is! I hope you enjoy it. I will try to update soon again.

An hour later found Feyre and myself laughing and enjoying each other's presence. Our war meeting had been simple and I was not in much of a hurry to get back to Tamlin; something told me this might very well be the last time I saw anyone from my home court and I wanted to savor it.

I was in the middle of telling my Lady of one of the many times I had trounced one of my male counterparts, when a harsh knock soundly interrupted us. We both quieted down and looked sadly at each other. We both stood and headed toward the door.

'Be strong, Stellar. I have complete faith in you.' I was sad I would never be able to properly serve my High Lady and I silently nodded my head as Feyre opened her door.

"Tamlin! What a pleasant surprise!"

Only a growl came in response.

Feyre chuckled a little and opened the door further and stepped aside. "Would you like to join us, my dear? We were just discussing boys."

A smirk formed on my face. 'Boys indeed.'

Tamlin's face showed is instant distaste for our topic of choice. "As much as that may intrigue me at another time, I need to speak with Stellar. Alone." The pointed gaze had me rolling my eyes.

"It was a pleasure spending time with you, my Lady. I hope this is not the last time."

"Until next time, Stellar. Maybe we can swap more boy stories?" We both grinned. "I have hundreds more." At that statement, a warm hand slid into mine and gently tugged me out of the room.

"Good night, Feyre. We will see you tomorrow." Tamlin's whole demeanor changed with that one statement and we off on our way.

As we walked through his manor, I found myself seeing myself living here permanently. I imaged all the midnight strolls, being childish with Tamlin and running through the halls, hosting grand parties, the works. It was a far cry from the desolate camp where they tried to clip my wings, where I couldn't honor my family.

A finger brushed against the back of my hand. "What are you thinking about, beautiful one?" I couldn't stop the blush that formed on my face.

"Just the life I could have here and how different it would be from my childhood."

"Will be."

I stopped and started at my mate.

"It will be, Stellar." Tamlin stopped me and turned me to face him. "I will never let you go, not after I just found you, my mate."

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. No one had ever shown this amount of emotions toward me. Passion and love was fleeting in my life and all that remained was contempt and misery.

"I…I…I… How can you offer that when you don't know me? How can you be so sure that we will be perfect for each other when we barely know each other? How…?

"Because when I look at you, beautiful one, I feel like I'm finally home." He carefully grasped my face. "And I know you already because I see myself in you."

"But how?" I was dumbfounded.

"We're mates."

Mates. Was that all it took to turn the world, my world, upside down? Did that sacred bond trump years of abuse and hard work? Was this really something I was allowed to experience? Cauldron. I was so confused.

In an instant, my brain snapped to attention, just like I had trained myself. A moment lost in thought meant a moment to be killed and I had survived. "What of Lady Feyre? Does she deserve to live this life with us? Or will she be able to roam as she wishes?"

And the plan was in mother. It was a simple plan: Get Tamlin to focus on our mating bond and how awkward it would be to have an audience witness the miracle of mating. I knew it was going to be difficult, but it had to be done. I had to free my High Lady no matter what happened to me.

Yet, deep down, I knew Tamlin wouldn't five Feyre up without a fight. She had freed him, freed all of us, and, I knew without a doubt, he wanted to repay her in anyway he could. In that sense, we were both the same: He trying to repay Feyre for freeing him from Amarantha and myself trying to repay Rhysand for saving me from that bloodthirsty war camp.

Debt was not something either of us could forget.

The pained, almost defiant, look in his eyes told me this would be a hard fight. "Stellar, you have to understand that I owe much to Feyre and until I've done all I can for her, I can't just let her go." He gave a great sigh. "But I'll think about it.