Females were very rare in the night court's ruling family as it was, all either die young or end up forgotten in the abyss of history.
Rhysand ever thought he'd have to father one of these, in fact, he did't believe he even deserve to be a father, u...
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Hallucination, shame, guilt, pain, more pain
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Elayla was so very much screwed, that much she had concluded way before she dared to open her eyes and deal with the terrible headache that threatened to split her in half.
The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't home. But in the place that once was, she saw the walls painted a dark blue.
It smelled almost the same, looked almost the same, it felt like waking up from a long night of sleep only to find out that the last five decades hadn't happened at all.
She felt a hand press to her forehead, rough and hesitant. "You're up." Rhysand's voice said quietly, making her eyes snap up to his.
So much for wanting to spend a peaceful morning after last night's fiasco.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a split second. "What happened?" Elayla croaked out tiredly. "My head hurts too much."
"Concussion. Nasty one at that. Nadja says you should stay in bed a few days."
Shit. Of course it had to be concussion.
She tried to sit up, but he forced her shoulder down.
"Stay. Down." He commanded. "I'm not joking Elayla."
"I'll go rest at home." She argued. She didn't remember much of how she ended up there, but she hated it.
"This is your home." He said. "Your things have been moved anyway, and the apartment is sealed for now."
Wht. The. Actual. Fuck?
"You didn't dare." She pushed up to her feet, fighting the nauseous feeling that clawed up.
"Elayla, sit down." He sighed exasperated.
"Maybe when I know why the fuck my stuff got packed behind my fucking back." She gritted her teeth.
"Maybe because you went and got yourself into a fight and almost died in the process." The High Lord snapped.
"What I do or do not do in-" She scowled at him, but her head turned, and she almost fell down.
"Easy there." He caught up on her. "Just sit down, Layla. Please." His voice cracked as he led her back to bed
She didn't like having him in her personal space one bit, didn't like him barging in and out of her life however he pleased.
Once she stepped into the small room, where very little of her touch could be seen, he grabbed her jaw and turned her face, staring at the purple bruises bloom on her skin.
"I'm sick of this, Elayla." He said, his voice tired and angry and frustrated. "So tired of this game, Nightingale."
The nickname killed her inside, a dagger twisting in her very soul. She took a deep breath. He sat beside her. "I'm not playing games." She pulled away. "What do you want now?"
"What do I want?" He scoffed. "What do I want? I want you to man the fuck up and look me in the eye for once."
The harshness in his tone startled her. "I don't like looking at the eyes of liars." She snapped, the venom dripping from her tone.
"You can call me a liar all you want, Elayla. I'm still not letting this ridiculous play go on." He clenched his hand. "You're still moving back home."
"This place is not my home." She answered. Looking back at her life, she knew how much of a lie that was.
"As your High Lord, your home is wherever I decide." He said, long gone was the reluctant affection he tried to show.
His voice was of the High Lord that survived Amara- her wrath and tricked everyone into finding a way out.
"And as your father, your home is with me." He said quietly.
Gods, she wished that was true, prayed it was as simple as that.
"Cauldron, how can you be so entitled and clueless ?" She groaned. "I can make my own decisions by myself. I'm not a child anymore."
"I get to be whatever I want to be. How can you be so bitter?"
That question made her go silent, opening her mouth then closing it.
How could she be that bitter? Maybe because she was born like that, maybe because life poisoned her.
"That's what I thought." He said, standing back up. "We're going to solve whatever mess this is, and there's no Hel you can throw at me to make me back down."
"You and your male arrogance will get you killed." She bristled.
"Good that I have an heir to succeed me, then." He shrugged. "Now, rest. Talk later."
