𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚎(𝙰𝙲𝙾𝚃𝙰𝚁)

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖊

"It went well, I take it," Amren said when they arrived home. She and Eve had stayed behind, along with Eve's youngest daughter, Johanna.

     Cassian gave her a look and trailed after Rhys. Rhys sat on the rim of the fountain, forearms braced on his knees, staring at the moss-flecked flagstone between his feet.

"If you're out here to brood, Rhys," Amren said from her perch on a little bench, "then just say so and let me go back to my work."

"The humans wish for proof of our good intentions. That we can be trusted."

"Feyre wasn't enough?" Eve challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"She is more than enough," Rhys said with that deadly calm. "They're fools. Worse—frightened fools."

"We could depose them," Cassian suggested. "Get newer, smarter queens on their thrones. Who might be willing to bargain."

     Rhys shook his head. "One, it'd take too long. We don't have that time. I thought of the past few wasted weeks, how hard Azriel had tried to get into those courts. If even his shadows and spies could not breach their inner workings, then I doubted an assassin would."

     The confirming shake of the head Azriel gave Cassian said as much.

"Two," Rhys continued, "who knows if that would somehow impact the magic of their half of the Book. It must be given freely. It's possible the magic is strong enough to see our scheming. We are stuck with them."

"We could try again," Astraea suggested.

"Let me speak to them," Evelina said. "let me go to their palace—"

"No," Azriel said. Evelina raised her brows. "You're not setting foot in that human realm."

"Azzy, I am quite capable—"

"No," Azriel said again, refusing to break her stare. His shifting wings rasped against the back of his chair. "They would string you up and make an example of you."

"They'd have to catch me first."

"That palace is a death trap for our kind," Azriel countered, his voice low and rough. "Built by Fae hands to protect the humans from us. You set foot inside it, Evie, and you won't walk out again. Why do you think we've had such trouble getting a foothold in there?"

"If going into their territory isn't an option," Feyre cut in before Evelina could argue. "What proof can be offered?" Rhys lifted his head. "Who is—who is this Miryam? Who was she to Jurian, and who was that prince you spoke of—Drakon? Perhaps we perhaps they could be used as proof."

     The heat died from Mor's eyes as she shifted a foot against the moss and flagstone.

     But Rhys interlocked his fingers in the space between his knees before he said, "Five hundred years ago, in the years leading up to the War, there was a Fae kingdom in the southern part of the continent. It was a realm of sand surrounding a lush river delta. The Black Land. There was no crueler place to be born a human—for no humans were born free. They were all of them slaves, forced to build great temples and palaces for the High Fae who ruled. There was no escape; no chance of having their freedom purchased. And the queen of the Black Land."

"She made Amarantha seem as sweet as Elain," Mor explained with soft venom.

"Miryam," Rhys continued, "was a half-Fae female born of a human mother. And as her mother was a slave, as the conception was against her mother's will, so, too, was Miryam born in shackles and deemed human—denied any rights to her Fae heritage."

"Enough, tell the full story another time," I cut in.

"The gist of it, girl," Amren said, "is that Miryam was given as a wedding gift by the queen to her betrothed, a foreign Fae prince named Drakon. He was horrified, and let Miryam escape. Fearing the queen's wrath, she fled through the desert, across the sea, into more desert, and was found by Jurian. She fell in with his rebel armies, became his lover, and was a healer amongst the warriors. Until a devastating battle found her tending to Jurian's new Fae allies—including Prince Drakon. Turns out, Miryam had opened his eyes to the monster he planned to wed. He'd broken the engagement, allied his armies with the humans, and had been looking for the beautiful slave girl for three years. Jurian had no idea that his new ally coveted his lover. He was too focused on winning the War, on destroying Amarantha in the North. As his obsession took over, he was blind to witnessing Miryam and Drakon falling in love behind his back."