A Court of Wings and Secrets

Chapter 2: Everyone Finally Arrives

 The rest of the High Lords and their parties were late. We took out seats around the reflection pool, and Thesan's attendants brought out plates of food and goblets filled with wine. Helion and I sat next to each other, there was an empty seat to my left, awaiting the High Lord of the Spring Court. Helion and I wore the same sharp gaze as we took our time making eye contact with everyone around the table. He stared at Feyre and Nesta analyzing them trying to calculate and make up his mind. I knew that when we were attending to business there would be no joking around or witty banter as there was when we were not. We were here to play a part in a much larger scheme. We took in the chatter around the table. I listened to Viviane relay her love story to Morrigan. Everyone kept the stories light and upbeat.

I felt as the nature around us shifted again, this time it was the water that called out. I lightly nudged Helion with my foot, and gave him the water sign. He set his gaze towards the main doors again, "Tarquin is here." Helion simply stated. He enjoyed being the one in the room with the most information, which often led him to be a cocky ass. "Heard about the blood rubies." Helion smirked at Rhysand, messing with his golden cuff. "That is a story I want you to tell."

"All in good time." Rhysand answered, waving his hand slightly. The High Lord of the Night Court was extremely powerful, more powerful than Helion himself. Not that he would ever admit that. I could sense the shadows radiating off of him, even if there was none on display like his shadow singer. Who seemed to still be analyzing everyone in silence.

Tarquin entered the chamber quickly followed by Cresseida and Varian. Tarquin ignored the Night Court completely and went straight to his chair. I also knew about the blood rubies, meaning that Feyre and Rhysand had been declared an enemy of the Summer Court. Tarquin gave me a small smile, which I returned. I spent a great deal of time in Summer Court during. After I left my father's court I did a lot of traveling throughout Prythian until I ended up in Helion's court.

Helion did not share the same relationship with Tarquin as I did, he rather believed that he was too young and emotional to rule effectively. I disagreed with Helion, I believed that Tarquin made a great ruler, and his vision for what the world could be was beautiful. Tarquin had offered me a place in his court centuries ago, but I turned him down. It was the first stop I made after leaving Spring Court, and Summer was too close.

I felt nature shift again this time it was the leaves that rustled on the trees. Before I could signal to Helion that Autumn Court arrived, Thesan's attendant whispered it to him. I felt the entire room shift. Suddenly the shadows were awake, the water in the pool was uneasy, and the temperature seemed to have dropped. I watched as Morrigan's face instantly dropped from the lovely smile she wore moments ago. As everyone else began to stiffen, Helion and I still leaned back in our chairs, with cool indifference, refusing to straighten as everyone else had. Even if I was slightly nervous myself to see Lord Beron and his sons. I watched Azriel shift slightly, seeming to favor that his back not be towards the door.

Lord Beron entered the chamber followed by his wife and sons. The Lady of the Autumn Court scanned the room looking for her missing son, Lucien. However, her gaze landed on Helion, who gave her a mocking nod. She quickly moved her gaze away from him. While Helion was my best friend I could not understand why he had chosen to crush her. Not only did he hurt her, but he crushed himself as well. He would have gone to war for her, if she had agreed to go with him and to be with him.

Beron refused to meet the gaze of anyone already sitting at the table, rather he turned his nose up and walked to his seat. His sons wore fox-like smirks on their faces as they sized each of us up. One of his sons, Edan, maintained my gaze, and when I didn't refuse to look away his smile only widened, almost like he was bearing teeth. I looked at him showing no emotion, just indifference, which seemed to be cold enough to smother some of the fire in his eyes, so he looked away. "Enough". Eris, the eldest son, told his brothers, and all of them stopped and took their seats.

Rhysand was the one to greet Beron and while no emotion was displayed on his face, I could feel his power move the mountain under us, "It's no surprise that you're tardy, given that your own sons were too slow to catch my mate. I suppose it runs in the family."

Beron lips moved into a snarl as he looked at Feyre, "Mate—and High Lady." I watched as Eris himself looked over Feyre and then to Morrigan, who gave him no signal that she cared. He had also done horrible things to Morrigan a long time ago when her father arranged a marriage to Eris. My gaze was focused on Azriel, he went so stiff that he barely seemed to be breathing, his shadows had even seemed to halt their movement, standing at attention almost. Feeling my gaze he looked at me and held my gaze. He had the most beautiful hazel eyes, I glanced at his hands which were badly scarred with burn markings. His gaze moved over me from head to toe as well, and he seemed to relax a little. Not that you could tell from his face, but his shadows had begun moving again.

Thesan spoke shifting my attention from the shadow singer to the High Lord, "Rhysand, you have called this meeting. Pushed us to gather sooner than we intended. Now would be the time to explain what is so urgent."

Rhysand stared at Thesan and blinked slowly. "Surely the invading armies landing on our shores explain enough."

"So you have called us to do what, exactly?" Helion asked, placing his elbows on the table. "Raise a unified army?" Helion knew exactly what Rhysand was calling this meeting for, he had to act aloof so we didn't seem like we were in cahoots with the Night Court this whole time, even if we were.

I felt it. Another shift in the nature of Thesan's palace. This time it was the slight feeling of grass growing and flowers blooming. "Among other things," Rhysand said mildly. "We—" Tamlin winnowed into the chamber. He looked at the table with all the other High Lords, and he smiled viciously like a wolf.