𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 ━━━ ✧ ⋆ （ acotar ）

✧ ˚ 𝐱𝐢. 𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

✧ ˚ 𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐄 woke up the next morningㅡand so was Feyre, if the especially large smile she gave Tamlin when they entered the dining room was any indication at all. He and Lucien blinked at them in confusion, noting the way the younger of the two was practically skipping, but they offered them polite greetings nonetheless.

Still a bit embarrassed by the knowledge that Tamlin would have tried toㅡto claim her, Asteria chose the lesser of two evils and sat in the seat next to Lucien, who froze mid-bite as he stared at her. She'd rather drown in any residual tension between them than accidentally meet Tamlin's eyes. She startled slightly when Feyre joined her at her right side.

"You two look... refreshed," Lucien said, half-russet eyes flickering between the sisters. They shared a glance, before shrugging. "Sleep well?"

"Like a babe," Feyre answered with a false grin. He opened his mouth again, probably to ask Asteria the same thing, but his gaze caught on something on her neck.

"What is that bruise?" Lucien demanded. Asteria's eyes snapped toward Feyre, leaning forward to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, there was a deep purpling swirling at the base of her neck. It looked like aㅡ

"Ask him," Feyre pointed her fork in the High Lord's direction. "He did it."

Asteria's eyebrows shot up, both she and Lucien looking between the two rapidly. "Why does Feyre have a bruise on her neck from you?" he asked, his voice tinged in amusement.

"I bit her," Tamlin said, not pausing as he cut his steak. "We ran into each other in the hall after the Rite."

Asteria blinked, turning to her sister. "I didn't hear you leave the room."

"You slept like a rock last night," Feyre smiled slightly, genuine satisfaction flashing in her eyes.

It was true, Asteria realized. She hadn't had a single nightmare that night. No wonder she was in such a great moodㅡshe'd actually gotten a peaceful sleep for once.

"She seems to have a death wish," Tamlin went on after a pause, eyeing the two of them. His grip was tight around his knife. "So if Feyre can't be bothered to listen to my orders, then I can't be held accountable for the consequences."

Asteria's mouth fell open slightly.

"Accountable?" Feyre echoed, pressing the palms of her hands flat against the table. "You cornered me in the hall like a wolf with a rabbit!"

Lucien propped an arm on the table and covered his mouth with his hand, his russet eye bright. Obviously, he was getting a kick out of this.

"While I might not have been myself, Lucien and I told you both to stay in your room," Tamlin said calmly.

Asteria winced. She hadn't told Feyre that he'd ordered them to stay in their room. Even if she hadn't been asleep at that time, Asteria had completely forgotten about it by the time she returnedㅡnot that they'd even bothered to ask her to tell Feyre.