A Court Of Hate And Passion (ACOTAR Fanfic)

Chapter 3

Tamlin

I follow her, a few paces behind her to try and follow her. I have no doubt that she knows I'm here, but she hasn't tried to stop me yet. I continue to follow her out into an open spring meadow, before stopping her horse with the just a shift in her weight.

She is definitely an experienced rider.

She dismounts and steps onto the lush grass, looking up at the sky. I dismount, and come up behind her, silent as I watch her take in the sky.

"Where are all of your people?" She asks out of the blue, acting as if our previous conversation hadn't happened.

"That's none of your fucking business," I snap, though I'm sure she already knows the truth.

That was a sensitive topic for me and seeing as she has already called me out on being the asshole I am, I really don't want to talk about it.

"Do you not want to talk about it because you are embarrassed or because you are ashamed of what you did?" She asks, turning to face me with a raised eyebrow.

"It has nothing to do with you," I growl, my nails starting to elongate as an uncontrollable rage takes over.

"Of course, I already know, but do you?" She asks, tilting her head to the side while regarding me as I fight to control my shift.

"Shut the fuck up!" I snarl, causing a soft smile to spread across her face.

"You want to know what I think? I think you are ashamed of what you did, because you knew it was wrong, but continue on because of the coward you are, and that haunts you, constantly. You hate being weak and afraid, and that's why you go after the helpless girls, to hide how weak you are inside. You show people a mask, not the real you, and I think that is why Amarantha chose to curse you and your court with wearing those masks, because in all of your years of living, you've never showed anyone the real you..."

"You know nothing about me," I whisper, suddenly losing my will to fight, the rage rushing out of me.

"That's not true. I know that your father and brothers pressured you into helping them kills Rhysand's mother and sister, ending your friendship. I know that you never wanted your title, but when your father and brothers were killed, it went to you. I know that you went to Hybern for revenge, and to try and regain your pride by taking back Feyre when she escaped. I know..."

"Enough," I bark, flinging myself at her, shifting mid stride.

I tackle her to the ground, letting my beast take over, as I claw at her. She makes no move to stop me, only allowing me to hurt her without uttering a sound. After a few seconds I jump off her, horrified at myself. She waits a few seconds before climbing to her feet, her leathers torn and dangling in strips while her skin bleeds. Her tattood skin, now stained red, shows through the rips in her clothes, showing off the impressive ink and tons of ugly raised scars.

She looks at me with sad eyes, causing my heart to ache as I shift back into a fae. I stare at her as she stares at me. Why didn't she fight back? Why did she let me hurt her?

"You are afraid of the truth," she comments, before she turns away from me and climbs her horse.

She lets out a hiss of pain as she gets up, her face pale when she spins her mount back around to face the estate. She kicks her horse on, leaving me in the meadow with my horse and a section of blood stained grass, her scent all over it.

My whole body physically hurts, driving me to my knees as I clutch my chest. What is this? Why am I in so much pain, she didn't even lay a finger on me! I feel my heart cave in, as if someone smashed it in their fist.

What have I done?

Sharun

"You are afraid of the truth," I tell him, hating how my pain seeps into my words.

Not my physical pain, but the pain in my heart. I know what he is to me. I know he can't control himself, can't control his fear, and selfish ways, but he's mine.

Not fighting back is the first step in getting him to realize it. I hate this. I hate not being able to claim my mate, to kiss him whenever I want, but I have to wait. I also hate how much of an asshole he is.

I don't want him while he's sorting through his own problems, and trying to get over loosing Feyre, even if he didn't love her anymore. It was a blow to his pride, and he's trying to deal with it.

I turn away from him, not wanting to show him too much emotion. I may have worked for the King of Hybern, but that was not voluntary. I'm not an evil as people seem to think, though they have every reason to believe it.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, before mounting my horse and galloping past him, ignoring the painful expression on his face. Let him deal with his turmoil for a while.

As soon as I make it back to my room, I slam the door shut, locking it behind me. I let out a sigh, before moving into the massive bathroom. I strip down and take in my new injuries. There were deep claw marks covering my whole body.

I go under the sink and dig through the salves before coming up with a salt paste. I spread it into my wounds, hissing as they burn. I want them to heal, but leave a scar. I want to always remember that Tamlin attacked me, and I always want him to remember, so that he learns not to do it again, because next time, I won't hold back even if he is my mate.

Tamlin

By the time I finally make it back to the house, it's dusk, having spent most of my time out in the meadow, not wanting to face Sharun, knowing I hurt her. I didn't want to face her until I got myself together. There's this awful feeling inside me that just won't go away.

It's as if I abused an injured animal and my whole being was telling me that I was an awful person and a dick for doing something do bad.

I leave my horse in the stable before making my way into my estate, hating how empty it feels without my servants and maids there. I need to fix this, I need to bring back the people of the Spring Court.

I make it to my study, grabbing a pen and paper, prepared to right a letter to all seven of the high lords, telling them to inform my people, that I'm ready to bring back the people and house them once again.

I have to swallow my pride and apologize to my subjects to get them back, but it's worth it. I cannot, and will not let my court slip away because of me.