A Court of Heart and Fealty | Rhysand

Chapter 61: The Fall

Chapter 61: The Fall

Wiping her eyes, Galadriel let Rhysand help her to her feet. With a flicker of her hand, the heels—as beautiful as they were—disappeared, leaving her bare feet against the cold stone of the balcony. As the blur in her vision disintegrated, she took in the emptiness of the red mountains hovering over her. The great expanse of the balcony which had been congested merely hours ago was now abandoned, a desert of stone and wind.

Velaris had fallen asleep too, even the usual golden eyes of the hundreds of windows that peered back into the late hours were dark, like a shadow had blanketed the land. Blinking slowly, Galadriel tilted her head to the sky to see if any more of the spirits were still migrating, but even the stars, usually bright and silver and eternal, were dull. So far, far, far away. A chill travelled down her spine.

"Cold?"

She snapped away from the low voice, but upon only seeing Rhysand, she was more startled at the fact that she had forgotten he was there. "A little," she replied, and he shrugged off his black coat to hang over her shoulders, leaving him in his white undershirt that was unbuttoned to his chest. Her eyes traced the edges of his Illyrian tattoos. "How late is it?"

Rhys gave a straight smile. "Probably close to three." Three bells? Starfall had started at ten and lasted a near two hours. What had he been doing while she slept?

Rubbing the side of her face, Galadriel strode up to the railing, looking down over the edge to the foot of the mountain. The air was neither cool nor warm, a numb touch against her face. "It's never felt so...still before," she murmured. "Is it always like this after Starfall?"

"Rhys doesn't like you standing so close to the edge."

For the second time, Galadriel's muscles jolted into action. Azriel appeared out of smoke and air from beside her, his lips downturned and the frown accentuated by the darkness of the night shadowing his features. She forced a smile and rolled her eyes. "Rhys has never had a problem with a little risk-taking," she told him, shooting a firmer smile over her shoulder toward her mate. Behind him, Cassian too, emerged from the veiled night. He was wearing his leathers which struck her as odd as she keenly recalled him in a well-fitted shirt and trousers earlier in the evening. Looking back to Azriel, she tilted into his shoulder. "I think you're the one with the problem."

"I thought you might listen if you thought it was coming from him," said Azriel.

"I'm hardly in danger of falling on this side of the barrier," she pointed out. "Even without wings." With a grin of taunt, Galadriel hiked up the skirt of her pearl-rose dress and hooked one leg over the barrier. A glimpse below on the other side was enough to have her stomach warbling. Still, she gripped the barrier and grinned at the Illyrians, swinging her feet around. "I know you'd catch me if I fell."

Rhys grinned back. "Might let you fall a little first."

Mor appeared from the shadows next, arms crossed over her naval. "Azriel," she called sternly. The shadowsinger gave Galadriel one last look before turning and joining Mor on the far side of the balcony.

Cassian surveyed them with a careful and cautious eye before deciding to venture after them, leaving Galadriel alone with Rhysand once again. He sauntered forward, eliminating half the space between them. "Are you going to sit there all night or are you going to jump?"

"Is that what you want?" she inquired, brows raising. Gripping the barrier, she lifted her other leg, bending forward enough to swing it in a slow, dangerous show out behind her. Her left foot joined her right on the small space between the floor and the railing, hands firmly plastered across the top of it. "Do I not make your heart race enough doing other things?" The hands stuffed in his pants pockets were a testament to how little worry he held about her precarious position.