A Solstice Surprise

Chapter Fourteen

Feyre walked into the dining hall, ready for dinner, still thinking over what Elain had said earlier. Was she right? Had she put her sisters aside for everyone and everything else lately? Had she made her sisters feel like she didn’t care? She had thought things were fine. Things were getting better with Nesta, so why had Elain felt like she didn’t care? Feyre did care.

Whatever it is you are feeling uncertain of, I suggest you do not allow it to show on your face. This was your idea, this will take confidence. Show confidence. Rhys had come down their bond and told her.

Feyre nodded. Their guests would be here shortly, so she should make sure she was looking like this was the best course of action.

A knock on the door, caused her to turn around, and she found Mor there. She was sure she had asked for the house to be empty this evening, knowing it would be an important night, and the Lady of Autumn requested no one else know. Only those she permitted.

“Mor, we’re about to have dinner, can it wait?” Feyre asked, looking towards her friend, whom she had started to think of as a sister years back.

“N. It can’t.” Mor had responded, urgency in her voice. “Earlier, before I realized you both were back, Lucien came, wanting to check in on Tamlin, as he normally does. Make sure nothing is going on there, keep any peace there can be. Whatever he does when he checks on Tamlin. He said he had time before he had dinner with you, and asked me if I could winnow him to the Spring Court, so I did. He seemed he needed to do something after sitting around doing nothing for a few days. He was supposed to meet me again two hours ago.” Mor explained.

The realization settled in on Feyre, and with a quick glance, she noticed that the same realization had settled in on Rhys as well.

“I figured he went to the wrong meet up spot, so I checked the other one, and he wasn’t there either. I went to look at his human’s home, they haven’t seen him since he came here. The Spring locals haven’t seen him. They also haven’t seen Tamlin in either form for about two weeks. I dropped Lucien off six hours ago, so he could do work, as he usually does. He is no longer in the Spring Court.” Mor said, looking between Feyre and Rhys.

Before Feyre had a chance to respond to Mor, there was more talking. This time the person hadn’t bothered knocking. “Feyre, I thought you said you didn’t plan on having Elain here at all for this dinner.”

“I don’t”Feyre said, before looking to see who was speaking now, only to see her oldest sister, followed by Cassian who looked to have lost an argument on whether the two should come here or not.

“Well, she isn’t at your townhouse, so I went to look for her, only to find out by some of the locals that she was helped here by a—” Suddenly the atmosphere around Nesta had changed, as her eyes had filled with a cold burning flame. “Shorter male with red hair. An Autumn Court type male. Shorter. Not Eris or Lucien.”

Feyre could see danger in her sisters eyes, but was still too confused herself to be angry herself.

That happened to be the moment when Eris Vanserra, and his mother walked into the room as well.

“What’s going on? I thought there wouldn’t be many people here for dinner?” The Lady of Autumn had asked, as she made her way into the room, confused herself, at the extra people in the room. Only she and her son weren’t the only ones to have just arrived.

Coming in from the outside, at the back of the Dining hall, walked the High Lord of the Day Court, Helion. Helion, alongside Lucien, would have been the only two during dinner, who did not know what the meaning of dinner was. But it seemed there would be no dinner. Not yet any way.

“I know you don’t like the grand entrances Rhys, but I couldn’t help myself. Besides, you really didn’t give me much of a choice, with such little time to prepare for this meeting. So, I told them to be good out there, but I can’t promise they—” Helion had stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed first, Eris, but then that Eris’s mother was with him. No Beron in sight, just, the Lady of the Autumn Court. Something Helion had not been prepared for in the slightest.

Perhaps it was the stress of the situation. Perhaps it was worry for her sister. Perhaps it was just how bizarre this had just become, but what she had meant to send through the bond to Rhys, Feyre ended up speaking out loud, and didn’t realize it until she had received a multitude of different reactions.

“So what I’m gathering is this. I’m supposed to bring a son and father together, as well as reunite an epic love, now that its safe this family can be together finally. But instead, that son went missing, doing a routine job in the Spring Court, checking on its High Lord who hasn’t been seen in weeks. My sister who is also missing now, sounds like she’s been taken, by someone from the Autumn Court. It sounds like its connected, since the two of them are mates, even though they’re both stubbornly stupid and wont do anything about it. I guess dinners cancelled.”