A Court of Stags and Night

Feyre

A/N: Hey guys! Geez it's been a bit, hasn't it? I am so sorry for the incredibly long delay. Writing has been incredibly hard for me the past few months for several reasons. The main ones are not having been in the right mindset and work picking up like crazy. Today was my first day off in a while.

But, next month is much less busy, so hopefully that means I'll be able to write and actually get somewhere with this story. I will get it completed, but when is unsure.

For the moment, I hope you enjoy this extremely delayed update and I appreciate your continued support. Better strap in, after this chapter, things begin to pick up.

They returned at dusk with guarded expressions. Whatever they had discussed hadn't seemed to have gone well. Rowan was particularly hard to read, though his eyes betrayed stoic demeanor. They were dark and filled with worry.

Despite being at odds with Aelin at the moment, I understood. If Rhys were in trouble, I'd be concerned for him. And overprotective, though fae males tended to be worse in that regard.

"Aelin, we need to talk," I told her as she passed. Rowan growled, but she placed a hand on his chest, stopping any further argument.

"Fine," she offered coldly. "Morrigan, take care of them, please." She gestured to the rather large court behind her. Turning back to face me, she said, "Find Rhysand, then we'll go to the place of your choosing."

"Aelin," Rowan started, grabbing hold of her wrist gently, forcing her to face him.

She said nothing, but somehow, I realized, they understood each other without need for spoken word. Maybe they could speak mind to mind like Rhys and I could.

Her mate released his grip with a low growl, but didn't further the argument. Aelin turned away with a huff. Mor stepped up cautiously, not wanting to piss off an already testy male. The young Queen offered her a grateful nod and stepped away from the group. Rowan spared her no glance as he passed.

"Manon." The white-haired witch stopped short and glanced at the blonde. "You will be coming with me."

She stepped away from the group and moved to the queen's side without a word.

I summoned Rhys from wherever he was and winnowed us to the cabin in the mountains. No one would interrupt us there unless it was important. And no prying eyes or ears would follow.

We settled in a tense silence. Manon still said nothing, but I could feel the confusion radiating from her at the situation. I found it rather odd that she was chosen instead of Rowan, her mate, which is what I would have done if roles had been reversed.

"What are you planning?" I finally asked, hoping to actually get somewhere.

"Nothing," Aelin answered, picking up her feet to cross them over the armrest of the sofa. "Still gathering information."

I wasn't sure how honest that was, but decided to leave it there at the moment and move onto another topic. "Who was the man that appeared during the meeting?"

The golden band around her irises flared brightly and I feared her magic wouldn't be far behind, but nothing happened.

"Someone from long ago," she replied, her lips forming a snarl. "He made a deal with a god. To what end I'm sure we'll discover soon."

"And Maeve?"

"No one kills her but me," she growled, standing to pace the room. The only true sign she was distressed. "She wants to rule. To stay clear of her valg king husband and his remaining brother. She'll make deal after deal until she's satisfied. These deals will only ever benefit her. And whatever you do, do not let her inside your head. What normal valg can do is nothing compared to the pain she'll offer."

Fine. I wouldn't mind leaving the bitch to the Queen. One less problem we had to manage ourselves. Besides, she seemed to have multiple reasons for wanting to be the one to end her.

I just had one final question that I was desperate for the answer. "And why lie about Rhys being her son?"

She huffed indignantly. "I did not lie about that. He is her son. And she will fight to control him. He's strong and would prove a powerful ally."

I still wasn't sure I believed her, but thought it best to pretend I agreed. "Then how to we stop her from doing that? I won't let him be taken." Not after all we'd gone through together. I couldn't risk losing him again. I wouldn't survive it.

"I'm not sure we can," she admitted softly. "While I have no particular qualms in her taking him—" I hissed at that, but she merely continued like she hadn't offended me. "I don't need any extra obstacles in my way."

"What are you planning, Aelin?" Manon inquired. I'd forgotten she was here, but the tapping of her iron nails were a sharp reminder. "That you haven't told us."

"I need a favor."

We were quiet when we returned. Rowan quickly pulled her into his arms, his anger at least set aside, relieved she was safe. The others quickly questioned her, but she dismissed all of them, reaching for her daughter, who was snuggled tightly in the arms of who I thought was another witch.

Iron teeth snapped together as Aelin drew close, warning her away. The Queen took offense to it and snarled, baring her canines dangerously.

I was shocked that someone would try to keep her from her daughter. Even though I knew she wouldn't risk hurting her daughter, I could feel a fight beginning to brew. And we did not need that at this moment.

"Asterin, hand her over," Manon ordered.

She looked as if she wanted to fight that command, but begrudgingly handed her over. Aelin's hackles were still raised, but all she did was turn away with a final warning growl. Elena squirmed, unhappy with the change in emotions. Rowan looked at them curiously, but she left the room with his child in her arms.

While she was out of the room, several members of her court began interrogating us, wanting answers to whatever conversation we had. Rowan was not one of them, but I could tell he wished to know. I let Manon answer as many questions as I could, but soon, even that wasn't enough.

"With all the lies circling around, we had to get down to the truth," I told them with a sigh. "I understand the need for secrets, but we needed more. You understand this enemy, we don't. We couldn't stay in the dark any longer." I could feel varying degrees of anger and distrust from them. It made me nervous, though I swallowed past it. "She answered nothing she didn't wish to and no harm came to her. This I swear on my life."

They seemed to accept that answer, and settled down for idle chatter until their Queen returned. When she did, the air began to settle. Elena was passed off to a black-haired man I'd yet to learn the name of. I still hadn't learned who most of her court was.

She chatted with her family for a while before meeting Rhys' gaze. A few more growls echoed from her group. It seemed she had told them of his supposed heritage and disliked it as much as she did, but they were quickly quieted by the young blonde.

He vanished in a cloud of darkness as I slipped to her side. Molten eyes found mine. Pain clouded them, but I saw a certain degree of gratefulness behind it. With a sarcastic smile, those emotions faded and we returned to the conversation, which had turned into more of a playful argument than actual discussion.