A Court of Sacrifices and Salvation

CHAPTER II

Freshly picked jasmine flowers float lazily around me in the steaming water. A bath never fails to calm my nerves, especially one as such. Laden with salts and oils to ease the tension.

The view from my open air bath in the House of Wind isn't half bad either. Bordered by trellises of jasmine, the sparkling city of Velaris is bustling below, and the first few stars in the evening sky are making their twinkling appearance above.

With a pruned finger from spending the better part of my afternoon in the bath, I gently brush one of the innumerable jasmine flowers in bloom. The silky white petals contrast with my tanned skin. A pang shoots through my heart. Rhysand would be so overjoyed to see and smell the flourishing flowers. He never voiced it, but I knew the fragrant blossoms reminded him of his late sister and mother.

I clearly recall the story Rhys's sister, Rhiannon, told me of when their mother had them help her plant the flowering vines. Her violet eyes would glimmer with glee as she eyed how much the jasmine had grown. Though she would gaze proudly at her family's hard work in front of her, her eyes would glaze over with nostalgia while recalling that younger version of herself and Rhysand.

Another ache shoots through my chest at the thought of never seeing Rhiannon and her mother again. This is why I had to do something to help Rhysand. Though it has been a slow process, we were both able to heal after his mother and sister passed. I don't think I could survive losing him though; it would break me completely. If something happened to Rhys, there would be no hope of putting the obliterated pieces of my heart and soul back together again.

Another jolt happens, yet this time I'm stationary in the heated water when it comes.

Red. Red is all around me aside from the pale tone of flesh . Not my own, but another's. My eyes shut and teeth clash animalistically as I kiss someone hard with lust and passion. It's not love fueling this passion, but rage, humiliation, and hatred.

My calloused fingers graze the soft and supple flesh of another being. Feminine moans laced with desire infiltrate my ears. I open my eyes again, but try to keep the animosity out of them as I look down at a naked Amarantha beneath me. I realize suddenly that I'm once again in Rhys's mind, taking in all his senses and emotions. Confusion and panic creep up. My eyes roam over all the red. So much red. From Amarantha's bedsheets, to her hair, to the gauze canopy around us, every damn thing is red.

"Why did you stop, Rhysand?" Amarantha's voice pulls me back and has me noticing that the worry and alarm I'm feeling are not just my actual emotions, but Rhys's too.

Just as I was abruptly pulled into his mind, I was also ripped from it in the same fashion. I'm breathing heavily and in the bath once more. This time around, it's not as much of a shock, but rather my heart hurts. Knowing what Rhysand is going through simply to keep Velaris and us – his Inner Circle – safe fills me with guilt. Yet, it also fires up my motivation to start acting and moving forward with a plan. A plan to help those under Amarantha's rule, especially my High Lord.

With renewed vigor, I lift myself from the bath with shaky legs and proceed to mull over my game plan. Calanmai was in just a week. As a large celebration is held at the Spring Court, it would be advantageous to go and collect any snippets of information.

I sigh heavily as I wrap a plush indigo towel around my athletic, yet curvy frame. As I begin combing the knots out of my white hair, my mind runs through every potential outcome it can come up with if I attend Calanmai for information. Not if though, but when I attend. Even if the others in the Inner Circle did not agree, I could no longer sit idly after the two instances I spent in his mind today. We are down to the last several grains of sand slipping through the hourglass and I feel a stirring in my soul that I have to act upon.