A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)

by Sarah J. Maas

I often wondered what it was like to be that free and so settled within yourself.

So unaware of the true extent of how broken and dark I was inside. How unfit I was to be clothed in white when my hands were so filthy.

“You’re a High Lord—don’t you have better things to do?” “Of course. But none as enjoyable as seeing you squirm.”

“You are no one’s subject.”

You’ve given enough, Feyre. Perhaps he was right. And perhaps I didn’t have anything left to give, anyway.

What could I say to calm those fears, when I was the source of so many of them?

“But I’ll always make time for you.”

That girl who had needed to be protected, who had craved stability and comfort … she had died Under the Mountain. I had died, and there had been no one to protect me from those horrors before my neck snapped. So I had done it myself. And I would not, could not, yield that part of me that had awoken and transformed Under the Mountain.

“I promise I won’t drop you.”

“I’m thinking that I was a lonely, hopeless person, and I might have fallen in love with the first thing that showed me a hint of kindness and safety. And I’m thinking maybe he knew that—maybe not actively, but maybe he wanted to be that person for someone. And maybe that worked for who I was before. Maybe it doesn’t work for who—what I am now.”

I would not be weak again. I would not be dependent on anyone else.

“You do what you love, what you need.”

“I needed not to be dead when I agreed.” “You needed not to be alone.”

“You are my salvation, Feyre.”

“Did you enjoy the sight of me kneeling before you?”

Thank you Lord for the existence of Rhysand 🙏🏻

I would not be weak, or helpless again. I would not, could not be broken.

“There are good days and hard days for me—even now. Don’t let the hard days win.”

Life is better when you’re around.

I’d never had such food—warm and rich and savory and spicy. Like it filled not only my stomach, but that lingering hole in my chest, too.

“You sent that music into my cell. Why?” Rhysand’s voice was hoarse. “Because you were breaking. And I couldn’t find another way to save you.”

I’d much rather you licked my wounds for me.

RHYSANDDDDDDD 😩

“There’s the Feyre I adore.”

“But I find myself unable to resist the temptation. The same way you can’t resist watching me whenever we’re out. So territorial.”

“He locked you up because he knew—the bastard knew what a treasure you are. That you are worth more than land or gold or jewels. He knew, and wanted to keep you all to himself.”

It’d just been a relief to think that for a moment, he might have been as lonely as me.

“What got under my skin,” Rhys said, his breathing a bit uneven, “is that you smiled at him.”

“To the people who look at the stars and wish, Rhys.”

“To the stars who listen—and the dreams that are answered.”

You are good, Rhys. You are kind. This mask does not scare me. I see you beneath it.

“I will kill anyone who harms you,” Rhys snarled. “I will kill them, and take a damn long time doing it.”

“I love it when you look at me like that.” The purr in his voice heated my blood. “Like what?” “Like my power isn’t something to run from. Like you see me.”

Maybe it would be hard for a while, but … maybe it’d get better.

“And if he had grabbed me?” There was nothing but uncompromising will in his eyes. “Then I would have torn apart the world to get you back.”

And through that merciless, unyielding rage, I decided that if Rhys was not alive, if he was harmed beyond repair … I didn’t care who they were and why they had done it. They were all dead.

“I wonder if some part of me knew what was waiting for me. That I would never be a gentle grower of things, or someone who burned like fire—but that I would be quiet and enduring and as faceted as the night. That I would have beauty, for those who knew where to look, and if people didn’t bother to look, but to only fear it … Then I didn’t particularly care for them, anyway. I wonder if, even in my despair and hopelessness, I was never truly alone. I wonder if I was looking for this place—looking for you all.”

And I wondered if love was too weak a word for what he felt, what he’d done for me. For what I felt for him.

His eyes were radiant like the stars I’d painted once, long ago.

“Feyre Cursebreaker, the Defender of the Rainbow.”

And so Tamlin unwittingly led the High Lady of the Night Court into the heart of his territory.