“Why.”
“Because it is not polite to ask—and they are afraid.”
Amren held Nesta’s stare, and my sister did not balk. Did not flinch.
“We are the same, you and I,” Amren said.
I wasn’t sure I was breathing. Through the bond, I wasn’t sure Rhys was, either.
“Not in flesh, not in the thing that prowls beneath our skin and bones …” Amren’s remarkable eyes narrowed. “But … I see the kernel, girl.” Amren nodded, more to herself than anyone. “You did not fit—the mold that they shoved you into. The path you were born upon and forced to walk. You tried, and yet you did not, could not, fit. And then the path changed.” A little nod. “I know—what it is to be that way. I remember it, long ago as it was.”
Nesta had mastered the Fae’s preternatural stillness far more quickly than I had. And she sat there for a few heartbeats, simply staring at the strange, delicate female across from her, weighing the words, the power that radiated from Amren … And then Nesta merely said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Amren’s red lips parted in a wide, serpentine smile. “When you erupt, girl, make sure it is felt across worlds.”
A shiver slithered down my skin.
But Rhys drawled, “Amren, it seems, has been taking drama lessons at the theater down the street from her house.”
She shot him a glare. “I mean it, Rhysand—”
“I’m sure you do,” he said, claiming the seat to my right. “But I’d prefer to eat something before you make us lose our appetites.”
His broad hand warmed my knee as he clasped it beneath the table, giving me a reassuring squeeze.
Cassian took the seat on Amren’s left, Azriel beside him, Mor grabbing the seat opposite him, leaving Lucien …
Lucien frowned at the remaining place setting at the head of the table, then at the blank, barren spot across from Nesta. “I—shouldn’t you sit at the head?”
Rhys raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care where you sit. I only care about eating something right”—he snapped his fingers—“now.”
The food, prepared by cooks I made a point to go meet in the belly of the House, appeared across the table in platters and spreads and bowls. Roast meats, various sauces and gravies, rice and bread, steamed vegetables fresh from the surrounding farms … I nearly sighed at the smells curling around me.
Lucien slid into his seat, looking for all the world like he was perching atop a pincushion.
I leaned past Nesta to explain to Lucien, “You get used to it—the informality.”
“You say that, Feyre darling, like it’s a bad thing,” Rhys said, helping himself to a platter of pan-fried trout before passing it to me.
I rolled my eyes, sliding a few crispy pieces onto my plate. “It took me by surprise that first dinner we all had, just so you know.”
“Oh, I know.” Rhys grinned.
Cassian sniggered.
“Honestly,” I said to Lucien, who wordlessly stacked a pile of buttery green beans onto his plate but didn’t touch it, perhaps marveling at the simple fare, so at odds with the overwrought dishes of Spring, “Azriel is the only polite one.” A few cries of outrage from Mor and Cassian, but a ghost of a smile danced on the shadowsinger’s mouth as he dipped his head and hauled a platter of roast beets sprinkled with goat cheese toward himself. “Don’t even try to pretend that it’s not true.”
“Of course it’s true,” Mor said with a loud sigh, “but you needn’t make us sound like heathens.”
“I would have thought you’d find that term to be a compliment, Mor,” Rhys said mildly.
Nesta was watching the volley of words as if it were a sporting match, eyes darting between us. She didn’t reach for any food, so I took the liberty of dumping spoonfuls of various things onto her plate.
She watched that, too.
And when I paused, moving on to further fill my own plate, Nesta said, “I understand—what you meant about the food.”
It took me a moment to recall—to remember that particular conversation back at our father’s estate, when she and I had been at each other’s throats over the differences between human and Fae food. It was the same in terms of what was served, but it just … tasted better above the wall.
“Is that a compliment?”
Nesta didn’t return my smile as she speared some asparagus with her fork and dug in.
And I figured it was as good a time as any as I said to Cassian, “What time are we back in the training ring tomorrow?”
To his credit, Cassian didn’t so much as glance at Nesta as he replied with a lazy smile, “I’d say dawn, but since I’m feeling rather grateful that you’re back in one piece, I’ll let you sleep in. Let’s meet at seven.”
“I’d hardly call that sleeping in,” I said.
“For an Illyrian, it is,” Mor muttered.
Cassian’s wings rustled. “Daylight is a precious resource.”
“We live in the Night Court,” Mor countered.
Cassian only grimaced at Rhys and Azriel. “I told you that the moment we started letting females into our group, they’d be nothing but trouble.”
“As far as I can recall, Cassian,” Rhys countered drily, “you actually said you needed a reprieve from staring at our ugly faces, and that some ladies would add some much-needed prettiness for you to look at all day.”
“Pig,” Amren said.
Cassian gave her a vulgar gesture that made Lucien choke on his green beans. “I was a young Illyrian and didn’t know better,” he said, then pointed his fork at Azriel. “Don’t try to blend into the shadows. You said the same thing.”
“He did not,” Mor said, and the shadows that Azriel had indeed been subtly weaving around himself vanished. “Azriel has never once said anything that awful. Only you, Cassian. Only you.”
The general of the High Lord’s armies stuck out his tongue. Mor returned the gesture.
Amren scowled at Rhys. “You’d be wise to leave both of them at home for the meeting with the others, Rhysand. They’ll cause nothing but trouble.”
I dared a peek at Lucien—just to gauge his reaction.
His face was indee
d controlled, but—a hint of surprise twinkled there. Wariness, too, but … surprise. I risked another glance at Nesta, but she was watching her plate, dutifully ignoring the others.
Rhys said, “It remains to be seen if they’ll be joining us.” Lucien looked at him then, the curiosity in that one eye unmistakable. Rhys noted it and shrugged. “You’ll find out soon enough, I suppose. Invitations are going out tomorrow, calling all the High Lords to gather to discuss this war.”
Lucien’s hand tightened on his fork. “All?”
I wasn’t sure if he meant Tamlin or his father, but Rhys nodded nonetheless.
Lucien considered. “Can I offer my unsolicited advice?”
Rhys smirked. “I think that’s the first time anyone at this table has ever asked such a thing.”
Mor and Cassian now stuck out their tongues at him.
But Rhys waved a lazy hand at Lucien. “By all means, advise away.”
Lucien studied my mate, then me. “I assume Feyre is going.”
“I am.”
Amren sipped from her glass of blood—the only sound in the room as Lucien considered again. “Are you planning to hide her powers?”
Silence.
Rhys at last said, “That was something I’d planned to discuss with my mate. Are you leaning one way or another, Lucien?”
There was still something sharp in his tone, something just a little vicious.
Lucien studied me again, and it was an effort not to squirm. “My father would likely join with Hybern if he thought he stood a chance of getting his power back that way—by killing you.”
A snarl from Rhys.
“Your brothers saw me, though,” I said, setting down my fork. “Perhaps they could mistake the flame as yours, but the ice …”
Lucien jerked his chin to Azriel. “That’s the information you need to gather. What my father knows—if my brothers realized what she was doing. You need to start from there, and build your plan for this meeting accordingly.”
Mor said, “Eris might keep that information to himself and convince the others to as well, if he thinks it’ll be more useful that way.” I wondered if Mor looked at that red hair, the golden-brown skin that was a few shades darker than his brothers’, and still saw Eris.