To The Ones Who Can't Dream

chapter 70 - I'd Much Rather Eat You

     "Ugh!" Seren huffed as she stepped on the hem of her dress for what felt like the hundredth time.

      Feyre winced, "I just think if we wear what they wear, they'll see us as a little bit more approachable."

      Seren gasped and looked at Feyre, "You're telling me these mortals wear this daily?"

      Cassian snickered from the other side of her. She stomped on his foot so quickly that nobody else saw. "Hey!" Cassian narrowed his eyes on her.

      She rolled her eyes, "You try wearing this ridiculous dress before you start laughing at me."

      Cassian opened his mouth to shoot back a reply but Rhys interrupted them all, "Let's go, we're almost late."

      Hiking her skirt up high enough for everyone to see her boots, Seren trudged over to Rhys. He offered her his arm, "I'm sure all the human women would be jealous of your outfit."

      He winnowed them to the wall that separated Prythian from the human lands. The whole group walked through the gap and then Rhys winnowed them to the front steps of what Seren assumed was Feyre's sister's manor. Following the plan they had discussed, Rhys, Seren, Cass, and Az stayed invisible via Rhys's magic.

      As Feyre knocked on the door, Rhys bent down to whisper in her ear, "Darling, you look beautiful in anything you wear."

      Her stomach flipped and her chest got warmer. He can't keep doing this! Every time she thought she was over him, he would somehow hook her again. It was as if she gravitated towards him. Like a moth to a flame. She had never had that deep of a connection to anyone before. Not Amren. Not even the being she had followed into battle because she thought what she felt was love.

     She had been just a teenager. One who dreamed of someone loving her. She had been young and dumb and it had ended with thorns tattooed on her forehead. A sign that she was owned. But she wouldn't make that mistake again. She refused to be manipulated by love again. When she was forced to bow before the boy she thought loved her, she made a promise to herself. She would never let anyone into her heart again.

     Her whole body stiffened and she stepped slightly away from Rhys. She still had to touch him to remain invisible but she wanted to put space in between them. She knew Rhys picked up on her movements and was probably confused. But she didn't need to explain herself to him. She didn't love him and he had made it perfectly clear that she was his second-in-command and friend, nothing else.

     The door swung open and Seren could see two humans standing in the doorway. The one with sharp features and a glare stood in front of the other one as if she could protect her from us. From what Feyre had told her, she was almost 100% sure that she was Nesta. The other peaked her head out from behind Nesta. She had a soft face with an innocent look upon herself. Yep, this was definitely Elain.

     "Nesta, Elain, it is so nice to see you again," Feyre said timidly.

     Nesta's eyes roamed over Feyre's new fae body, before dropping to the ground. Shit, there were four extra pairs of footsteps in the snow.

     Nesta narrowed her eyes and looked around as if she may be able to spot the rest of them, "Who's with you?"

     Feyre sighed and Rhys chose that moment to release the invisibility on them. Elain let out a shriek but Nesta didn't react at all. Instead, she eyed all of them individually as if she could pull open their skin and see what flaws they all held. When she had examined them enough, she stepped aside and opened the door wider in invitation.

     They all walked inside and Elain led them to the dining room. Seren could smell the fear radiating off of her as she walked. All of them sat at the table. Nesta at the head, with Elain and Feyre on either side of them. Cassian sat next to Feyre and directly across from Seren, who had Az and Rhys on either side of her. When Nesta began passing around food, Seren kept her plate empty. She wouldn't eat any of the food anyways.

     As soon as Feyre took a bite, Seren could tell that the food was unappealing. Feyre choked it down though. The boys were doing slightly better with not showing how bland the food tasted. But Nesta saw everything, "Is this common human food not up to your fae standards?"

     "Oh, um," Feyre started.

     Seren cut her off because she could tell Feyre was about to make some sort of excuse, "Human food is different from the food in Prythian. The food has much more flavor because fae have more tastebuds than humans."

     Nesta sneered at Seren, "So that's why you aren't eating?"

     Seren gave her a grin that was filled with warning, "I don't eat food per se. I would much rather eat you."

     Elain's face turned slightly green and she cowered in her chair. On the other hand, Nesta looked almost intrigued by Seren. But she wasn't stupid. She knew how to recognize danger. Hence why she was gripping the arms of her chair so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
The rest of the dinner passed in relative silence. After an appropriate amount of time, Elain excused herself and went up to bed. "How many rooms will you need?"

     Nesta directed her question at Seren.
She thought that slightly odd since Nesta knew Rhys was the one in charge. Seren glanced at Rhys and he answered for her, "Three would be enough."

     With a nod, Nesta stiffly began walking up the stairs. Cassian grinned and followed right behind her. Seren could tell that Cassian had been having fun sparring with Nesta all night. When Nesta led them into the hallway and pointed out three doors next to each other, she departed without another word. "So three?" Azriel questioned.

      Rhys nodded, "Feyre can have her own, you two can share, and I'll share one with Seren. We need to discuss some tactics for our meeting tomorrow with the human queens."

     It was slightly odd that Rhys wanted to share a room with her but she shrugged it off. When all of them opened the doors to the rooms, two of them had one king sized bed and the other had two queen sized beds. Cassian ran to the room with two beds and jumped on one of them, "Dibs on this room."

      Feyre shook her head but walked into one of the rooms before shutting the door. "Just like old times," Seren said as she walked into the other room with one bed.

AN: Seren's dress

Seren's boots