If Rhysand's mother Aithusa and younger sister Rhiannon survived the attack by the Spring Court and were at his side along with the Inner Circle for the coming centuries. Also featuring a backstory on the relationship between Rhys' parents, young Rhys, Cassian and Azriel getting up to various shenanigans, as well as some Court of Nightmares fix-it.
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He felt it, then. A golden, unbreakable thread forming between him and the wretched Illyrian girl bound to a whipping post. At the sight of the knife heading for her wings, Morcant lost control for the first time in centuries. Lethal darkness erupted, misting the Illyrians restraining the girl into nothing.
Stunned, scared, the crowd hastily parted to let the High Lord walk over to the whipping post. The girl looked like a cornered animal; terrified, but she snarled as he drew closer. Morcant grabbed her jaw, tilting her head up to look at him, to get a good look at her. She had Illyrian features, rough-hewn and rugged, rather than the fine, polished beauty of a High Fae, though there was a kind of wild charm about her.
The bond snapped in place for her then. Those dark brown eyes widened in shock and a sudden, terrible understanding as they met his own.
The murmur of the crowd rose as they began to sense the bond too. Morcant only had eyes for her, however, wretched though she was. She hadn't looked away from him either, swallowing once, before fixing a tight, almost wry smile on her face.
"Aithusa," She held out a filthy hand for him to shake, spitting a globule of blood over her shoulder and tossing her dark curly hair out of her face.
The famously cold High Lord of Night couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter at her nerve. He shook her hand - which, he noted, was trembling despite her boldness - rather than offer the customary courtly kiss on the back of the hand.All Rights Reserved