𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝟐𝟒

Arya

     Amarantha silenced the crowd before the murmur grew louder, "Go on," she nods at the Illyrians. "Mask first."

I take a hesitant step towards the mask, flashes of the King of Hybern saying those words. The feeling of fighting it, fighting the commands he gives me. The insanity it brings me as I kill day in and day out while I scream at my head to break free.

My shaky hands pick up the silver mask, my thumb running along the edge of it, old crusted blood falling onto the ground. The blood of my last victim is now about to be washed away by new ones.

I swallow the lump in my throat as I place it on my face, fitting to every contour and crease of my structure. They fit as if I was born to wear it.

Mother, please forgive me for what I'm about to do.

"We don't have all day, Arya."

Gasps echoed in the room as my knife pierced the edge of Amarantha's dress onto the ground. "I said, shut up," I growled at her as I snatched the first sword.

The Shadow Wraith pulled the hood off the first Illyrian. A female whose wings hadn't been clipped, but now succumbed to losing it as a whole. Tears were already rolling down her cheeks as she stared up at me her chin trembling.

"Please forgive me," I whisper to her.

"If my wings are what I need to give up for you to be a step closer to freeing our people, then I will gladly accept it," she responds with conviction, such contrast to her tears and pain.

I carefully moved behind her, closing my eyes as I knocked onto her mental shields.

I will take your pain away, but you have to scream as if you feel it.

With her slight bow of head, I took a deep breath and brought the sword over my head slicing her right wing clean off of her body.

I froze momentarily as her blood sprayed all over me, soaking every inch of my face.

"You will forever be the monster I've turned you into, Arya," the King of Hybern whispers.

A sob left the Illyrian female as she trembled, "Please just finish it." I didn't wait another moment as I brought the sword down again, the second thump of wings landing at my feet.

I chuck the bloody sword at Amarantha's feet. I grab the second sword and the Shadow Wraiths reveal an Illyrian male. His eyes were kind, shining with honey hazel, reminding me of my mates' hazel ones. I whisper into his head the same words I've told the Illyrian female.

Rhys I plead into his mind. Desperation to stay above the surface leaking out of me.

You are doing this for his family to be freed. He whispers back.

I lift the sword above me, suddenly feeling as if the sword itself weighs all the grief I'm currently feeling. With a whimper, I sliced his right wing and without skipping a beat, I've cut his left wing as well.

I pant heavily as I stare at the two sets of wings in front of me.

How will I ever face my people? My mother's people.

I look up at Amarantha, chucking the second sword at her feet, my heart tightening as I hold the third.

"You've been playing games this whole time and I think it's my turn," I tell her and she only raised an eyebrow, daring me. I swirl my fingers and clouds of purple were then scattered around the room. Amarantha's sister being butchered in replay for everyone to see.

For Amarantha to watch.

"You've taunted me, Feyre, and everyone in this room and now it's time for me to reverse it on you. Consider this mercy because this is nothing compared to what you have made all these faeries endure for the last fifty years."

"You bitch!" She yells.

"Oh, I almost forgot," I snap my fingers and the screaming of her sister bounced the walls of the room.

"I will kill you all!" She raged as she struck Feyre to the floor.

"I'm going to make you pay for your insolence," Amarantha snarled and a scream of pain erupted from Feyre.

"Breathe," I whisper to the third and final Illyrian. I quickly and painlessly cut her wings off. "I will fix this, I promise you," I whisper to her.

Then the room erupted in chaos, everyone instantaneously regaining their power.

"Admit you don't really love him!" Amarantha yells at Feyre before slamming her onto the floor once again.

"Hands off," I growled sending her flying across the room in one blast. The wall she landed on cracked under the weight of power. I was about to roll aside as she sent a power towards me only for the ball of energy to zip past me and hit Feyre.

I send another blast of purple at her and she meets it halfway with her own. "You are all pigs and I will laugh seeing you all dead."

The wind gets knocked out of my lungs as she pushes her power further onto me.

"Love," I heard amongst the chaos. "The answer to the riddle ... is love."

I faltered on my feet and that one second of distraction cost us all as a clear crack of Feyre's spine sounded. I throw a shield around Amarantha and me without a second thought, shielding the others from attacking her.

"How does that feel, Arya? Another person you care about is dead. Dead because of you. Just like your mother." Rage unlike any I've ever felt before bubbled in me.

A blast of power comes at me only for my own to fight against it. Clashes of Amarantha's power and mine bounced off the shield, my power hissing. I send purple smoke crawling inside her mouth, running down her veins as I see them turn purple.

Let me out. A whisper of darkness swirls in my head.

One particular strike of hers sends my head bouncing off the ground, crimson liquid running down my neck and face in an instant.

"Arya! Collapse the dome!" Rhysand yells. "Kill her! Feyre is alive, she's alive."

Amarantha whirled her head in disbelief at the news and I ran up the dais snatching one of the swords and hurled my body in front of her, slicing her stomach open.

"That's for Feyre."

I watched as she fell on her knees and I sliced her exposed back. 

"That's for me," I growled. 

She lurches forward, falling onto her hands. I lift the sword above my head one last time before bringing it down her neck.

"And that's for Prythian."

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