A Court of Truth and Deceit

Chapter Two - Rhysand

I tried not to think about Feyre and what she had to deal with now because of me as I stared at her sisters. Amren was still mad at me for leaving my mate in the Spring Court's hands. She would glare at me now and then, and I would look away from guilt. I hated myself for it, but Feyre was our only chance in having the upper hand in the war.

I stroked a mental finger down the bond hidden deeply inside us, and a glimmer of love and loving was sent along the bond in response.

We were in my private home, in the mountains, where I had first taken Feyre her first few weeks at the Night Court. Mor had winnowed them here just days before, after Feyre sacrificed herself to the Spring Court. I made myself calm as I felt the talons taking shape. My mate. My queen. The High Lady of the Night Court. A smile tugged at my lips as I remembered how quick she was to say yes to my offer. I trusted her. She knew what she was getting into when she started the act.

"I would not help. Even if I wasn't protecting Elain, I wouldn't help your kind ever again," Nesta seethed. Annoyance surged up in me once again.

"Whether you help the cause, and your sister, is only your choice to make, but let me make it very clear to you," I said. "You, are part of our kind now. You are High Fae, and without Feyre, you and Elain would have been at the mercy of the King of Hybern." Nesta didn't react. Her cold eyes locked into my gaze.

"Perhaps... perhaps we should help." Elain was sitting in a chair next to her sister. She'd been quiet the past minutes, and had faded into the background while Nesta and I had quarreled. "The king of Hybern plans to invade the human territory. Maybe we are fae now, but we shouldn't leave the humans undefended. Not to mention those backstabbing queens." Nesta and I were still locked in a staring contest. "And Nesta..." Elain pleaded. "If you think about it... we're not helping the fae. We're helping the humans." Smooth as silk, I slipped into Nesta's mind. Thoughts churned, flashing before me, and then. A sudden wall smashing into place, sending my mentality flying. A dark chuckle arose in me. Cold as ice, hard as steel. Just like Feyre had said. And powerful, very powerful. Ire flashed in her eyes before she glanced away, and flicked an imaginary piece of lint off the gossamer shirt she, and Elain, were wearing, in typical Night Court style.

"Fine," she snapped. "But Elain doesn't get involved. And especially not with that—that male..." At that, Elain noticeably deflated a little. She had obviously felt the mating bond, and the strange attraction, to Lucien as well.

"Excellent," I said smoothly. "In that case, would you rather stay here? Or I could winnow you to Velaris instead." Nesta cast me another cool glare.

"We'll stay here." Stay here, in icy solitude, because she had become what she most despised, had failed both her sisters, and doomed them to a war. Five hundred years of practice of reading through the masks others placed on their faces, myself included, had me reading through Nesta's easily.

"Then I'll come for you whenever you change your mind, or if there's a meeting." Nesta nodded, the smallest bit of gratitude, while Elain whispered the ghost of a thanks before I became wind and shadow and winnowed back to the City of Starlight.

❋ ❋ ❋

I checked how the city was faring after Hybern's attack a few days ago. The city itself had already been mended, but there were some who still needed healing—the attack had been the first bloodshed Velaris has experienced. And it was my fault. If I hadn't told the queens about Velaris, it would've been fine. I had let my people down.

I materialized into a guest room at my townhouse, where Cassian lay on his stomach on a large bed, his shattered wings hanging limply on his back. The sight of him being so vulnerable made me want to unleash my power, but I held back.