Cassian under the crown

Cassian pov

I saw something posted about this scene the other day and thought about how gut wrenching it must have been for Cassian to fight the crown ... to see a blade in his hand aimed at his mate. Cassian may be full of swagger but we see how deeply he cares for others ... in many ways I feel like he loves deeper than rhys because he was deprived so much love in his early childhood so craves it deeper in his soul .

This is scene is cassian's pov of the end of the rite , when he's under the crown's control. Spoiler alert for the end of a court of silver flames.

Azriel grabbed Eris, and shot into the skies, the made dagger with them. They had to get it far from koschei yet Cassian could not move.

His mind quieted in disbelief, as his siphoned sputtered out empty and drained of their power almost instantly, he never felt them so cold and dark before. Cassian could hear azriels crying for him to fly from far above every fiber of his muscles felt like it was straining to fly, He could almost feel phantom flaps of his wings but He couldn't move , not even blink. As koschei crooned .

"You can take him now briallyn, you have plenty of time before dawn." Just as Cassian saw her small withered and hunched frame emerge from behind a tree, a golden crown atop her head.... It was a trap... at least Azriels shadows protected him, Cassian made a promise to the cauldron, mother and anyone else in the beyond that when Eris reached the next life with him he would kill him by ripping him into pieces. 

The cobalt of Azriels shield flirted into the edge of Cassian peripheral vision. He prayed again but this time it was for azriel to get the hell out... don't risk it. He wanted to scream at his brother... but his mouth wouldn't move ... pleading with his soul to save his brother...wanting him to go home to everyone they loved he begged to his brother in tormented silence . thankfully before Azriel could do anything Cassian felt koschei power and the familiar twist of the  magic of Winnowing .  He could only hope that Rhys wasn't with Ferye guessing that he was the target . Rhys was the one person alive who could overpower him... with the crown Rhys would have to kill him and he knew the torment that would unleash into his brothers soul but enslaved is never how Cassian would want to live, it wasn't a life, and Rhys knew Cassian would chose death  over being used as weapon by someone else.  Cassian felt the thunder clap deep in his bones and felt the rocks skittering  under his boots as they landed on the craggy rock strewn path of the pass. His heart stopped.

Not Rhys... Briallyn is going after Nesta.  Cassian thought ...My mate, my mates powers... Cassian's chest cleaved from a soul deep pain... the words he Barely heard minutes ago clanged in his ears "I have need of you, Lord of Bastards."  Cassian could feel himself shattering from within.  Everything in him fought to the surface at once, tearing, straining fighting for anything left in his Control.  As he fought the crown the final wisps of winnowing cleared as He scented her first then he saw her. Nesta, his mate... a large Illyrian male was pulling out a knife aimed at her ... he was going to watch his love be killed in front of his eyes, unable to stop it .  Suddenly his arms moved , a knife he kept in his belt came into his vision soaked in blood as the male slumped to the ground.  His head turned to Nesta ... her eyes told him everything he didn't want to think about right now. Standing there bloody blade in hand she looked at him with the same resolve he'd only seen once before from her ... it was the look she had in her eyes as she covered his then broken body with hers as the king of Hybern prepared to end them together . Everything in his body shuttered with unimaginable pain as he extended his hand. The hand she trusted to always lift her up. "Keep reaching out your hand" that's what armen had told him, that's what he had done... it felt worse than any betrayal when her fingers touched his. He saw the pain it caused her to rise, but she rose from the ground  like a queen, the queen of his heart as she folded into him repulsiveness flooded him... not from her touch but from what the crown ordered of him he tried to fight it... to get her out of his touch, he felt bile rising in his throat as her head rested into his chest. He could almost read her mind even without Rhys or Ferye's power .. she looked at him then and saw a hero rescuing her from death, when he could no longer strain against the crown he whispered to his love . " and now I'm going to slit your pretty little throat. '' He watched her eyes widen, scented her fear ... he tried to do anything, blink, wink, flash his siphons, absolutely anything to give her warning .