𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝟐𝟑

Arya

     For our final task, we were given the clothes we came here with. Feyre with her old tunic and pants while I have my fighting leathers on. We both reeked but I had squeezed Feyre's hand and whispered to her to keep her chin high as we were escorted to the throne room.

The hinges to the door groaned as it was flung open, and the silence of the room felt as if we were walking into our execution day. No one yelled, no chatter was heard, and no sneering happened. It was clear as day that Feyre and I's fate also held their own.

Some of them nodded their heads at me, hope and tears already nestled at the rim of their eyes. If I fail today, their entire life will be doomed.

The queen smiled when we stopped in front of her throne. Tamlin as usual, was on her side, unmoving.

"Two trials lie behind you," Amarantha said, picking at a fleck of dust on her blood-red gown that I was itching to soak with her own blood. "And only one more awaits. I wonder if it will be worse to fail now when you both are so close."

Nobody laughed, only hisses from her guards. Everyone remained silent, even the Vanserra brothers were quiet at our misery, for once. Amarantha glared at them, but when her gaze fell back upon us, she smiled broadly, sickly sweet. "Any words to say before you die?"

"I love you," Feyre said. "No matter what she says about it, no matter if it's only with my insignificant human heart. Even when they burn my body, I'll love you." I can hear the tremble in her voice, I wanted to put a comforting hand on hers but I did not.

Amarantha replied sweetly, "You'll be lucky, my darling if we even have enough left of you to burn." She chuckled before facing me, "Any words from you?"

I slowly tilt my head, "You should be asking yourself that Amarantha." A faux pout emerged on my face, "Oh, but no one cares if you die."

I stared her down and I smiled at the clench of her jaw. "Any words for Feyre, Tamlin?" her voice clipped though she smiled when Tamlin didn't respond. "Rhysand, any words for your sister?" And when nothing left his mouth she turned to us. "Very well then."

A door swung open, my breath hitching at the six figures - three of them with Illyrian wings - with brown sacks tied over their head were dragged in by the guards. With sharp jabs and blunt shoves, the guards forced all six to their knees at the foot of the dais, facing us.

Amarantha clapped her hands, and three servants clad in black appeared at the side of each of the kneeling faeries who had no wings on their backs. A velvet pillow on each of their hands, and a single polished wooden dagger sat on it. Where the metal for the blade should lay, was replaced with Ash.

"Your final task, Feyre," Amarantha drawled. "Stab each of these unfortunate souls in the heart."

Feyre only stared at her, mouth opening and closing. Though, Amarantha only clapped her hands, once again. The four Shadow Wraiths that have been tormenting me appeared, three of them held a long newly sharpened sword, while the fourth one held a velvet pillow. What was sitting on it was a punch to my gut, it was my assassin mask.

"And your final task, Arya," the queen says with a hint of excitement. "Wear your infamous assassin mask as you cut the wings of your innocent people."

I swallow, a flash of Tamlin's father cutting my mother's wings flashing before my eyes. "For you Feyre, since it wasn't a concern the day you killed Tamlin's poor sentinel and it wasn't a concern for dear Jurian when he butchered my sister. And you Arya, I want to see Prythian's greatest assassin who worked for the King of Hybern in action.

"Of course, I'll take your life in exchange, but a bargain's a bargain. Is it not? If you ask me, though, given both your history with murdering our kind, I do believe I'm offering you a gift. Feyre goes first."

I couldn't. I couldn't look at Feyre as she struggled to accept the fate she was brought to. I couldn't stare at the faces of the family members these poor faeries belonged to. So I only stared at Amarantha.

I saw Feyre from the corner of my eye as she picked up the dagger. "Not so fast," Amarantha chuckled, and the guard holding the first knife snatched the hood off the first fae's face.

"That's better," Amarantha said. "Proceed, Feyre, dear. Enjoy it."

I stared and stared at Amarantha, burning a hole in her forehead as the faeries pleaded, and cried, family and friends from the audience begging Feyre not to proceed, but she did anyway. I felt something within my soul crack as I heard the second faerie whisper our parting prayer, but what snatches my attention from Amarantha was Feyre staggering back.

"Not ... not fair," she breathes out.

Tamlin.

Tamlin was the third kneeling faerie.

"Fair?" Amarantha mused. "I wasn't aware you humans knew of the concept. You kill Tamlin and he's free. Then you can have him all to yourself."

"Unless," Amarantha was about to go on when I cut her off. Buying Feyre some time to think, to process.

"Shut up."

"Oh?" the queen tilts her head at me. "I don't think you're in a position to be talking to me with that tone."

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" I let out a dry chuckle. "See, you can't. Because if you kill before we complete or fail our task, you'd die too. And ordering someone else to do it will also have the same outcome. So let me repeat myself .... Shut up."

The entire room was silent as Amarantha and I stared into each other's eyes. Never wanting to back down.

"I love you," Feyre whispered and by the time I moved my gaze to her, the Ash dagger was in Tamlin's chest.

Tamlin cried out as the blade pierced his flesh, breaking bone. The moment of silence was deafening as a faint thud echoed in the room. Feyre yanked the dagger from his chest, examining the nicked tip of the dagger, and turned inward on itself. Tamlin clutched at his chest, his wound already healing.

Tamlin lurched forward but stayed in place as blood continued dribbling out of his chest, he was healing too slowly. The mask still stuck to his face.

"She won," someone in the crowd said. "Free him!"

"I'll free him when I see fit. Feyre didn't specify when I had to free them - just that I had to. Plus, we still have Arya's task, isn't that right?"

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•