Made of Fire and Shadows (ToG and ACoTaR Crossover)

Chapter 5

Rhysand

I smiled as I watched my wife wander around the corner of yet another bookcase. She was totally engrossed by the section of scripts on display, her delicate, pale fingers lovingly caressing each of the spines in turn as she moved down the next aisle. The library brought a sense of serene peace to the two of us– allowing us to become lost between the shelves, amongst the stories, with each other.

It had been one year since the war and the wounds – both visible and invisible – were still raw. Cassian's wings were barely healed although he insisted that they worked perfectly. Elain's PTSD had crippled her almost as much as her seer and abilities; even my immense power stuttered and jolted at times. Feyre was left with some of the biggest scars of all. She acted perfectly normal, yet the mating bond gave me an insight that perhaps Feyre would prefer me not to have. She still mourned my death, even though I had been brought back to her. She was still plagued with nightmares of me slipping away, abandoning her in this world of the living while I resigned myself to that fathomless void. So when my High Lady requested that the two of us spend some much–needed quality time together, I willingly obliged. Any second spent in the presence of my wife was a glorious gift from the Cauldron.

My friends and companions had been warned to stay away during mine and Feyre's time in the library, and any unnecessary disturbances would be severely dealt with. Essentially, if the entirety of Prythian wasn't on the verge of spontaneously combusting then I didn't want to hear a single unexpected footstep.

Feyre looked up from her page her grey–blue eyes piercing my soul, and she sent something down the bond that made me bark out a laugh. Her elegance concealed a hilariously crude sense of humour that never failed to amuse me. A wraith priestess gave us a knowing look before disappearing into a wall.

Closing the small distance between me and my mate, I wrapped my arms around her slender figure and breathed in her scent. This – this was perfect. Just the two of us, with no obligations, no worries, and no disturbances.

There was a crash behind us and we spun around in unison, just in time to see a very worried Cassian running down the stairs. I started forward just as Feyre huffed a sigh of exasperation.

"Cass please remind me are you stupid, or deaf, or both?" I hissed with just a hint of sarcasm, "I thought I told you that there could be no interruptions today. Even if Amren blew up another building, I don't want to hear about it."

"Rhys, this is something that I think you should see." The commander was deadly serious, and Cassian was never serious. Even when it came to explosions. I nodded, indicating for the Illyrian General to continue. "We caught a human girl wandering around the War Camps. She left twelve of my best warriors on the ground, unconscious."

————
Feyre

As soon as I sensed Cassian's thundering footsteps down the library corridor towards them, I knew something was wrong. I hung back while Rhysand chastised his commander, clutching the book I was reading to my chest. I had been enjoying my time in the library: the most recent hidden gem I'd come across was an epic legend about a young queen with unchecked power and an immortal Prince. However, the Queen had just been taken away by an evil sorceress when the writing had abruptly stopped; I'd been about to ask Rhysand about it when Cassian had so rudely interrupted. If the Illyrian male didn't give a good enough reason as to why he'd blundered into our quality time then I was sure I'd go full-on 'Amren' and bite his head off.

I edged towards the two of them just in time to catch the end of a sentence, "... can't take her to Velaris! She's human!" Cassian hissed at Rhys. He shook his head, "That's exactly why she needs to come to Velaris; what do you think Keir will do with a human girl?" My hands slackened at my sides and the ancient tome tumbled to the floor.

"What?" I asked, almost too quietly to hear. Cassian jumped and my husband turned round to face me.

"We found a human girl in an Illyrian War Camp," He said, deadly serious.

"Take me there," I answered, leaving no room for argument.

————

We met Azriel outside the Court of Nightmares, the gargoyles standing sentinel on either side of the gates had intimidating snarls carved into their unforgiving stone features. He had a grim look on his face to match while he filled me and Rhys in on what happened. We strode down the narrow corridors of the Hewn City, descending deeper and deeper into the mountain that had inspired Amarantha's own wicked court.

"There was no obvious signs of injury, the girl didn't seem to be in any pain. She collapsed before I could get any information out of her. Considering there's been no response from her, there is a chance of some injury I haven't been able to detect." He finished just as we entered the dungeons.

"While I was carrying her I could smell blood. She is extremely   malnourished – barley more than skin and bone. As soon as she wakes up I'll ensure that she's provided with adequate food, and a healer is already on the way." Cassian said quietly as he set a brisk pace towards her cell. I had no idea whatsoever how this girl appeared inside an Illyrian War Camp, let alone manage to beat twelve of Cassian's own protégés, but that wasn't the issue at hand. All I cared about at the moment was assessing her condition. I was thrown back into reality when a growl rumbled from the cell directly in front of our small group. Rhys stiffened and held his hand out in front of me. I watched as he put his mask back on, transforming from my beautiful, kind wonderful mate , into the cruel High Lord of the Court of Nightmares. I contorted my face into a look of disinterest and disdain, while both Cassian and Azriel followed suit.

Rhys stormed into the cell and knocked straight into Kier. He snapped his head between the human unconscious on the flagstones and Mor's father. Rhys hissed and got straight to the point. "Who gave you permission to be in here?" He demanded.

"I did," Kier snarled back. I bared my teeth, allowing my canines to elongate slightly as they glinted in the dim light.

Keir understood the threat, and glared as I went to stand at my mates side. It was obvious that Rhysand couldn't be bothered dealing with Kier today because he just said, "Get out," and pushed past him. Kier muttered something inaudible and stormed out. I walked into the gloomy room and used the small drop of fire in my blood to light the remaining torches. My gasp echoed through the chamber.

I had experienced atrocities far beyond what any ordinary person could endure, but what I saw in that cell would shadow me for the rest of my immortal life.