Court of Shadows (Indefinite Hiatus)

PART 24: RHYSAND

Rhysand forced himself not to slam the door as he exited the townhouse. Charging down the doorstep, he finally allowed the long-suppressed growl to escape his throat.

Feyre's sisters were insufferable. Or, more accurately-- Nesta was. Rhysand didn't think he'd ever met such a singularly hostile and combative person. He could have offered her a potion to turn back time, and he would have been met with a hateful retort and her glaring eyes. Cauldron only knew the sort of damage she would be doing if she were properly battle trained.

As for Elain-- if it weren't for Nesta's vicious guard-like stance every time someone entered the room, Rhysand wasn't sure most would notice the sister's presence at all.

As far as he knew, all the young girl did anymore was sit in her chair and stare out the window. She was quiet and, most days, nearly unresponsive. Rhysand hadn't known her well in her human life, but what he had garnered from their few meetings, the sweet-tempered, bubbly girl was nowhere to be seen.

Between the two sisters, he wasn't sure which was worse.

Though it wasn't their ill-temperedness toward himself that infuriated him so. Nor their reported misconduct toward Nuala and Cerridwen, whom had been seeing to their needs. No, those things he deemed reasonable responses for what had been done to them. For the way their mortal lives had been shattered and upended.

The reason that Rhysand now stormed down the road was Elain and Nesta's blatant disregard for their youngest sister's whereabouts. Once, a couple days after their arrival, Elain had quietly inquired about Feyre, but Nesta had cut her off, denying any interest. Elain had not asked since.

Neither of them had any comprehension of the sacrifices that their youngest sister had made for them. Both in their mortal lives, and presently. Nor did they seem to care.

Rhysand clenched his fists as the townhouse grew smaller behind him. He was already late for the meeting, but his temper was in such a precarious state that he opted to walk rather than winnow. Hopefully, it would be enough to calm himself before hearing whatever intel Az had to share.

Upon returning to Velaris just a few hours prior, Azriel, without much context, had immediately called for a meeting. The shadowsinger had not deemed the matter worth dropping everyone's activities, but he had pronounced it urgent enough to meet at everyone's earliest convenience. Which was supposed to have been five minutes ago.

As Rhysand walked through Velaris, he tugged on the bond. Still no reply.

It had been nearly a week since Feyre's previous note. Once arriving back at the Spring Court, she had kept him rigorously informed about every one of Tamlin's movements, and the note served simply as an update to the state of Prythian's foreign guests. Aside from an idea or two about the situation with the stone, Feyre had no new information. Rhysand had plenty to contemplate as it was.

If the Queen's prisoner, a woman named Aelin, was to be trusted, then the stone and amulet could bring about great destruction. This Queen Maeve was obviously aware of this power, and Feyre's intuitions, which he trusted wholeheartedly, meant that if the Queen gained possession of them, they wouldn't be used to help feed the poor.

After learning Feyre's intel, Rhysand thought that the Queen would make a strong, if not, interesting adversary. As far as he knew, she had yet to display any form of magic or battle skill set; yet, she commanded many fae warriors who possessed shape-shifting abilities and heightened senses, even beyond those of the high fae. Males like that would not follow someone without cause, and Rhysand suspected that the guiling fae queen was much worse than either of them could currently discern. Feyre's descriptions reminded him of an Amarantha who had yet to be unleashed. Rhysand shuddered.