A Court of Blood and Glory

The Mortal Queens

Feyre

The week passed quickly, and even though we had tried to organise the High Lords meeting location, every idea had been rejected. Every location except Under the Mountain, because no High Lord wanted to set foot in another Lord's territory with the war brewing.
When Rhys found out about the location he shattered a table, as he had wanted to never set foot in there again, especially after meeting Tamlin there.

I shared his opinion on the location, but we were willing to go under the mountain for Prythian.
We had arranged to meet eighteen days from then, and as we walked up the lawn of my father's house I wondered whether we should have asked for longer.

I knocked on the door, and it was swiftly opened by Nesta, who stared at me in disgust, but let us in.

I was joined by Azriel, Amren and Rhys, with Cassian and Mor opting to remain in Velaris. We had all dressed up to meet the queens. I wore a similar gown that I wore when meeting Tamlin, but the dress was straighter, the neck line higher, and I wore a crown of stars, twin to the one Rhys was wearing.

Rhys wore a black tunic, but it had no decoration on it, and black trousers. He had tucked his wings into his back, but they were still visible, as Rhys hadn't wanted to place a glamour over himself; he wanted to be honest with everyone about who he was.

We entered the foyer of the mansion to find Elain on the staircase, her eyes also on me and my ears. No matter how much they saw me, no matter how much they interacted with fae, I didn't think they would ever like our kind.

"How are you, Nesta?" I asked my sister, determined to diffuse the tension in the room.

"Fine." She said, her answer short. She didn't elaborate, and turned her back on us to enter the drawing room, her back straight and chin high.
"It is good to see you, Feyre, but Nesta worries too much about what the villagers will think." Elain tried to smile, but I could tell that she also shared Nesta's view on fae.

"Thank you, Elain. Where would you like us to go?" I said, trying to be polite, but I had some help from Rhys, who placed his hand on my back to calm me.
We walked into the drawing room, a pot of tea already laid out, and sat down on the sofas.
Rhys sat with his hand on my knee, something that Nesta sneered at, and tucked his wings in behind him.

"I could have sworn that you had different wing when we saw you last." Nesta said to Rhys as he stiffened.
"Yes, I did, but a run in with another High Lord meant that I lost my wings. These are metal."
"They are very beautiful." Elain remarked, stopping Nesta from saying anything further.
We sat in silence for five minutes before we heard a knock on the door, and Nesta left to greet our guests.

The five mortal queens entered the room, and they took the seats opposite us, no book in sight.
"Well met, your majesties." Rhys said, opting to use formalities. "We have brought you our proof that we are not the savages you thought." And as he produced the orb from shadows, the queens lent forward. "This orb will show you Velaris, the city of starlight. It is a city within my lands, one that I have tried hard to protect."

The queens only nodded, none of them making a noise as Rhys showed them our city, no longer a secret.

They remained in silence as they watched, the orb showing them Velaris from Rhys's view if he was flying. Once they saw the city Rhys put the orb away, and the eldest of the queens spoke.

"That was all very nice, and we are grateful that you showed us, but we have decided not to give you the book, as we still believe that you are not to be trusted." Our shock showed on our faces, and it was Amren who voiced her opinion.
"Why would you refuse to give it to us when the only other option is the destruction of your lands?" She almost growled at them, but managed to reign herself in, her silver eyes like daggers.
"We will take that risk." Was her only response, before they stood, leaving the room in silence.
We almost called after them, but I noticed a small package on the chair of the youngest queen, and grabbed it quickly, undoing the brown paper to find the other half of the book, freely given to fae by a queen that wanted to protect her lands.