A Court of Lightning and Shadows

Eighteen

Briar was sitting on the opposite side of where Mor and Feyre were seated, Mor still asleep. She didn't know how she slept through Briar and Feyre's conversation.

Briar smiled at Nyx, who was sitting on the ground while playing.

Out of nowhere, she felt a sharp pain in her lower back. Briar frowned her brows together as she let out a wince in pain.

"What's wrong?" Feyre asked.

Briar shook her head, "My back hurts." she said.

The pain started getting worse as she finished the sentence. Briar fell to her knees in front of the chair, grabbing her back.

Feyre walked towards her, lifting her shirt. "There's nothing there." she said.

The pain lessened, but she still felt it. "It felt like I got stabbed."

Mor woke up, looking confused as she saw the two sitting on the ground.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Feyre eyed her.

"I'm fine, really." she stood again, sitting down on the same chair.

Mor stood from the couch, looking at the time. Her eyes widened. "I need to go. I was expected somewhere." she said, hurrying out of the room.

"Say hello to Emerie for me." Feyre yelled at her. Briar looked at her.

"She's seeing Emerie?" Briar asked.

"I don't know if you were supposed to know that."

She picked up Nyx. "You need to sleep, little bat." she said to her son. He grabbed her face with his small hands.

Briar laughed at them.

Feyre turned, "You sure you're alright?"

Briar nodded again, "I don't know what it was. I don't feel it anymore." Feyre gave her a nod.

"I will be back in a minute."

Nyx waved to Briar while Feyre walked out of the room. Briar waved back to him and smiled.

She walked through the hall, opening the kitchen door when she heard the front door opening. A hard sound echoed through the hall.

Briar walked towards the sound and found Rhys holding an unconscious Azriel, his arm around him to keep him from falling.

Briar's eyes widened, but she immediately helped him.

She didn't dare ask what happened.

There were multiple arrows in his wings and Rhys's hands were covered in blood. Azriel's blood.

"Help me get him to a room."

They walked into Azriel's room, laying him down on his bed. Rhys walked out of the room, "I'm getting Madja. Tell Feyre I'll be back." Briar nodded at the High Lord.

She looked back at Azriel, his tan skin now pale. His wings were drooped over the edges of his bed.

She didn't know what to do. The only thing she could do was wait. Pulling the arrows out wouldn't do anything good.

She pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down on it, grabbing Azriel's hand, which was also covered in blood.

Feyre came walking into the room, "Rhys told me what happened. He got attacked. He will be back with Madja." she said.

Briar nodded. She didn't notice any other injuries beside his wings as she scanned him over, "Is he injured anywhere else?"

Feyre nodded, "Rhys said he got stabbed in his lower back."

Briar's eyes widened, "On which side?" she asked quietly.

"On his left side." Feyre said, unsure why she asked.

"Why did I feel like I got stabbed in the back on that exact place?" Briar asked.

Feyre looked like she figured something out, "I-..."

She was cut off by the healer walking into the room, Rhys following her.

"He got attacked by your father and brother." he said. Briar felt guilt fall over her.

"They fired arrows at him and stabbed him in his back. They pulled the knife out and left him to bleed out."

Briar only looked at the High Lord, blinking the tears away. Her father and brother were monsters. If she had never lied about her bleeding, this wouldn't have happened.

"It's not your fault, Briar. Don't blame yourself." Rhys said, standing next to her chair.

"Will he be okay?" Feyre asked from behind her.

"Yes," Madja said, "but he lost a lot of blood. I'll take a look at the wound, if you give me some privacy."

Rhys grabbed Briar's shoulder, motioning for her to follow him.

The three of them sat down around the fireplace. Feyre and Rhys were talking mind to mind, Briar could feel it.

Luckily, Nyx had slept through it all.

Rhys had told her about what happened. About the man they found screaming and what he had seen in Azriel's mind.

Turns out, her father and brother were planning on going somewhere.

Feyre and Rhys snapped out of their thoughts as Madja entered the room.

"I closed the wound, it was deep. If you'd found him a few minutes later it would've been way worse." she said. "He's still asleep. I got all of the arrows out. He is not allowed to fly for a few weeks. I will check on him in a few days."

Rhys and Briar stayed silent, both of them not really happy with the information.

Feyre walked over to Madja, thanking her and walked her out of the house.

The silence between Rhys and Briar became uncomfortable.

Rhys broke the silence, "He went for your brothers head."

"Good. It's a shame he's still alive." she said.

Rhysand looked at her, "When did he start?"

Briar froze and swallowed. "When I was 17." she said softly, avoiding the High Lord's eyes.

His eyes turned sad, realizing what her brother had done to her for so many decades.

"It wasn't everyday. Only when he was angry or couldn't find a whore."

Rhys flinched at the last word. "I'm sorry." he said. "I understand you, Briar." Briar looked at him. "Feyre told you about under the mountain, right?"

Briar nodded. The High Lady had told her everything, from the day Tamlin took her till the last day of the war.

"Amarantha made me her personal.. whore. Well, I didn't get paid for it, but it did... help me with a lot of things." he said. Briar didn't know that she and the High Lord shared such experiences.

"She used me whenever she liked to. I did it to keep everyone safe." he said.

"I understand what you felt, what you still feel."

Briar could feel the tears falling down her face, she hadn't even realized she was crying.

Tears were also prickling in Rhys's eyes.

She walked over to him and hugged him tightly, something she hadn't done in forever.

But it felt safe.