Tethered to the Starlight: A Court of War and Starlight

Chapter 2: Feyre

The chocolate cake appeared on my bedside table. Rhys is right, it'd do me some good to put some meat on my bones, to ally myself against Tamlin. For the month that I had been at the Spring Court, any strides forward in my physical appearance quickly reverted to a depressing state. Sliding the fork into the decadent dessert, the sight almost too much. When the cake made contact with my mouth however, I was greeted with another spell of my vomiting spells. Sprinting to the bathroom, I emptied what little was left in my stomach into the porcelain toilet.

Someone had thrown open my bedroom door and began to pad toward my bathroom. Flushing my toilet quickly, I leaned backwards and slumped against the clawfoot bathtub. Throwing up my mental shields, in a last ditch effort, I managed to deplete all of my energy.

I could feel Rhys slamming against the mental wall, trying to force a hole into my thoughts.

What you don't know Rhys is your greatest protection.

My heart begins to beat in an ever quickening pace, my panic reaching an apex of no return.

I can feel Tamlin's eyes on me, can feel the concern in them. As he kneels beside me, I clench both eyes shut even further pushing for sleep. Maybe if I were lucky, sleep would finally take me.

Tamlin was breathing heavy against my neck as he moved his hand to feel the temperature that I am sure was raging through my blood.

"Feyre," he sighed, "What am I going to do with you?" He began to lift me into his chest and I dared not make a move. He finally laid me back in my bed and left me to my own thoughts.

Until Alis appeared.

"You rotten girl, I know you're awake."

Opening one eye tentatively, I saw her standing at the foot of my bed with both hand perched confidently on each hip.

"Why did Tamlin get you?" I spit, knowing she wouldn't be offended at my obvious opposition to care and closed my one eye.

"I don't know- maybe the fact that you were supposedly unconscious in the bathroom. And that you were burning up," she said with a sneer.

Snorting, I finally looked at her. "Well I mean considering that I vomit everyday and cannot keep food down, sure I'm going to burn up."

Moving to sit on the end of the bed, she knit her brows in worry. "Feyre, can you at least try to cooperate with me for a few minutes? That is all I ask."

Nodding, exhaustion finally beginning to creep into my bones.

"When you came back here a month ago, you were glowing. I hadn't seen you so strong and happy in a long time. You had determination in your eyes. You had that fire that this court has missed."

Reaching for her hand I tried to reassure her. "Alis, it's me. Just a me that isn't feeling well."

Shaking her head she abruptly got up and paced. " No, Feyre. You had the look of someone who was in love. Someone who had found her, dare I say, mate."

"Don't be ridiculous Alis-"

"Oh shush you," an order I didn't dare disobey. "Your glow, it is still there. I catch it occasionally when you seem lost in thought or when you are cooped up in this room while Tamlin traipses around the grounds."

How does this woman read my movements so well?

Panicking slightly, I tried to divert the conversation away from her accusing glances. "You know I like to paint. You know how passionate I get."

Her eyes seemed to narrow, focusing on my own lying, blue grey eyes. "Feyre, let me be frank- you were meant to change. I couldn't stand to let you suffer that day, as you curled into darkness.

"But do you know why I let him take you that day?" Shaking my head apprehensively, she pulled me into a hug. Her voice became muffled, "Because, I knew you needed to indulge yourself in an adventurous flame that hadn't been put out."

Leaning into her for support, I finally let the sobs overtake my body. They came heavily and violently. She ran her nimble fingers through my stringy hair, humming peacefully. We remained that way for several moments, the middle aged woman consulting the newly High Fae young girl.

Breaking away from the embrace, she scanned my face and tucked a stray hair behind my pointed ear. "Alis?" I sighed, leaning into the hand caressing my ear.

"What about you-I mean the Spring Court...I mean Lucien said Tamlin hadn't been the same since I disappeared."

"That," she said pointedly, "is for another time." Wiping away any stray tears from my cheeks, she added, "let's get you cleaned up, too. Can't have Lord Tamlin suspecting anything."

"Why are you helping me, Alis?" The hesitation in my voice blatant.

Chuckling deep and passionately, she swatted me playfully on the backside. "Well, Feyre Cursebreaker, someone once helped me in a time of need. And I think she had and still has very good intentions. I would trust her with my life."