A Court of Dawn and Midnight

The Broken One

There is a theory in the fae lands that fear is a human instinct.

And if a fae feels fear, then there is human blood mixing in with their dominant fae blood.

Well, if this is true, then Rhys considered himself to be human.

He was panting, terrified of what was happening in his court. Because the creatures were still appearing in massive, overpowering numbers and his fae were dying.

Feyre was gone. He had sent her away as soon as he knew that his court would suffer badly in this battle.

But he was also terrified of what she would do in the Spring Court.

She loves him.

Rhys knew that. And he wasn't naive enough to think that Feyre would have wanted to stay in the Night Court with him.

He wanted her back here, even though it was right to send her back.

Rhys pushed the thought of Feyre out of his pulsing mind and focused on the power surging around him.

He didn't exactly know how Feyre was able to pass through the walls of power he had summoned up. That defense was something he only used in extreme situations and it was designed to block out intruders, but also kill whatever made its way inside.

Rhys looked behind him at the group of fae children that was huddled inside the protection shield he made. They were staring up at him with terror in their beautiful, silvery eyes.

He had to protect the fae children, they were so rare.

And they reminded Rhys of the child that had died in the cave.

The cave.

That was where the creatures spawned from. He had to go to the source to destroy them.

So Rhys secured the protection shield so it would stay up, and he glanced back at the children one last time before he vanished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Feyre," Tamlin whispered onto her chest. His breath was cold.

She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to see him like this. And a sick feeling over came her when Tamlin reached up caress her waist and stomach.

"Tamlin-" She said quietly.

His hands traveled lower.

"Tamlin- I can't."

His body went rigid at her words.

Tamlin pulled himself back from Feyre until there was a large space of open air between them.

"What did he do to you." He said.

"Nothing." Feyre said, referring to Rhysand.

"That's a lie," Tamlin's voice was low. "Tell me."

Feyre shifted away from Tamlin. She felt like she might be sick.

"No, what happened to you." Feyre pushed herself up from the bed, forcing Tamlin to back away.

"What are you talking about." His voice was icy.

"You're eyes," she whispered. "They're not the same. And your skin is pale and you've lost so much weight, Tamlin. You're broken."

Feyre sat on the edge of the bed and Tamlin stood in front of her, staring down at her.

She was afraid of how he would react to her words.

His eyes searched her face before their gaze drifted towards the window that looked out on the garden and the forest beyond.

"It was difficult, after you left."

"Talk to me Tamlin." She said.

He didn't look at her. "What do you want to know, Feyre," he sighed.

She pushed herself off the bed and closed the distance between them.

"What happened to you," she repeated.

Tamlin closed his eyes and sighed again.

"I can't stop thinking about it, about what happened Under the Mountain. And I can't sleep because all I do is dream about you when you were human and how this could have all been avoided if I hadn't brought you to the Fae Lands. None of this would have happened."

Feyre's eyes narrowed.

"If you hadn't brought me here," she started, "that curse would still be on the Spring Court."

"Yes, but at least my Court would be alive. Alive and living under Amarantha's rule is better than having a High Lord with no court to rule over." Tamlin's voice was low. "My court is practically gone now. It was all for nothing."

Feyre's blood began to heat.

"You really think," she said quietly, "that the price that was paid was for nothing? I went through hell, Tamlin. I tore myself apart Under the Mountain. I sold myself to Rhysand for you. I killed innocent people for you."

"Feyre-" Tamlin began to say.

"If I hadn't broken that damn curse, you would still be running around with a fucking mask on your face!" She was screaming now.

"That wasn't for nothing," her throat felt raw now and Tamlin flinched at her voice.

"Look at me," she said.

He turned his face back to her. His expression was blank.

"Don't ever tell me that what I sacrificed Under the Mountain was for nothing. Because everything I did, every horrible thing I did and everything I endured, it was for you."

Feyre turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was furious.

She couldn't believe what Tamlin had said to her. She was blinded by rage as she paced back and forth in the garden.

She knew that Tamlin was devastated from the loss of almost all of his fae, but how could he believe that having a court ruled by Amarantha would be better than having no court at all?

Amarantha had been ruthless. She would have murdered all of Tamlin's fae anyway.

By breaking the curse, at least Feyre was able to save a small amount of the Spring Court.

But Tamlin didn't see it that way.

Beyond her anger, Feyre was also terrified.

What was happening in the Night Court? There had been waves of creatures poring into the village and hundreds of Rhys' fae were dead. And was Rhys even still alive? He had to be, he was the most powerful of the High Lords. He had to be alright.

Feyre inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She didn't want to be here.

She wanted to get as far away from Tamlin as she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! Is anybody else extremely annoyed with Tamlin right now? Let me know in the comments!

As always, thanks so much for reading. You are all so sweet and I love reading your comments.