Shadows abandon me in my dreams as I'm instead stretched naked on a slab of stone as the guards take their turns with me. The sun burns my skin and the light illuminates my every crevice for all to see. Even as I scream and tug at my silken restraints, they don't budge. A scream rips out of my throat and my eyes flash open to find myself in a very different place than I thought. The bed is covered in silk and satin with enough pillows behind me for twenty more people. Curtains flutter around wide openings; no glass, nothing to open or shut, just open cliffs with dancing cloth on either side. Tasteful furniture dots the room, but my eyes catch on the tub half-hanging on the ledge.

I don't have time to move before I've vomited all over the silk blanket over me. It's not much since there isn't much in my body, but I fold up the blanket before tying it and tossing it towards one of the openings. Unlit candles surround the room, but they aren't needed even when I see a night sky stretching out around me. The night sky. I never thought I'd see one again, but this one is by far the most beautiful I've ever seen. Dots of light line the darkness like a motheaten blanket draped over the sun. It's glorious.

Carefully, I push back the rest of the blankets and look at my feet. They're whole. I wiggle my toes and they all respond easily. My skin is clean and gleaming along with my soft black nightgown. The strength that had been failing me in that rotting palace seems to have returned even though my body is still little more than skin and bones. I slide out of bed and onto wobbly legs that instantly give out. I sigh and tug one of the heavier, unsoiled woolen blankets off the bed. It slithers onto the floor and I slide onto it, then drag myself closer to one of the openings using the blanket as a sled of sorts. I take a deep breath as I look out upon a city of starlight and amber with snow-capped mountains framing the left while the far side holds a crystal sea that shimmers even from here.

Thankfully, it's balmy even with the snow so nearby, but I keep the blanket wrapped around me as I wiggle all my toes again. No matter where I am, even hell, at least I'm fucking warm. I curl into one of the shadows thrown out by the bed overlooking the city and it's only when the sky turns a pale blue do I fall back asleep to avoid the harsh light of day.

I'm jerked awake later by a soft knocking on my door that sounds eerily like the clanking of chains. I take a steadying breath when I realize I'm no longer in that cage, but I also don't answer whoever is knocking. The door opens anyway and reveals two women. One carries food and the other fresh linen. I don't move even when my stomach groans it's need for food. Their eyes look over the room and one wrinkles her nose at the blanket full of vomit, but then they go to work. One makes the bed while the other sets out the food on the bench at the end, then they vanish back from where they came.

I scarf down every last bit of food they brought me before noticing a note whose corner is wedged beneath the water glass. I unfold it while sucking seasoning off my fingers. The food here is delicious, the best I've ever eaten, although part of me wonders if that's because I haven't had a full meal in months. My eyes squint at the artful script on the note as I read it silently.

I'd like to know who is a guest in my home. I'd be grateful if you would attend dinner with me tonight. Your choice, of course. -High Lord

My host seems courteous, at the very least. High Lord means little to me, but it's clearly some kind of important title. Although I'm not sure I'll even be able to walk properly by dinner. Already it's mid-afternoon going by the light that still stings my eyes, so I don't exactly have much time. I set the card aside and push up on the bench to stand. My new legs shake, but it seems this body recovers faster than my human one did. I look at the armoire on the wall and grit my teeth as I make it my target. If I'm going to dinner, then I'll need clothes other than the nightgown I have on. I take one step towards the piece of furniture and manage to stay on my feet, then take another before collapsing in a heap of limbs on the floor.

I sigh with frustration before flinching when the doors burst open. My breathing is fast as I behold a woman with shining golden-brown hair and sharp blue-grey eyes. We stare at one another before she smooths her dusty blue dress and clutches the books in her arms tighter against her chest.

"I wanted to know what the racket was." She says tersely and my heart calms its frantic beating slightly. I know her. Another Archeron sister. "Did you fall?" She asks just as sharply as I push myself into a seated position.

"My..." I clear my throat which feels like sandpaper before trying again. "I'm very weak." I offer her a succinct answer, but she makes no movement. She's perfectly still as any High Fae should be and I briefly wonder to the third sister who I now recall is the girl I tried to save from that pot. What a coincidence that we should all end up here.

"You can't walk at all?" Her brows raise which is the only indication that she's heard what I've said.

"Very little." I return and her lips purse, then she walks into the room. She tosses her books on the bench then offers me a hand which I stare at.

"I won't wait forever." She snaps, but I don't wince at her harsh tone. I'm not afraid of much anymore and the small list doesn't include Nesta Archeron. My hand slides into hers before she tugs me onto my feet and takes my other hand to support me. Quickly, she walks me over to the dresser and makes sure I'm steady before nodding. "Call for help next time instead of making all that noise." She instructs before taking a few steps away from me.

"The girl," I ask and she stiffens. "Is she alive?" The thought of her being thrown in that pile of bodies has my stomach swirling, but then the female nods. A little relief makes its way into my heart.

"You tried to save her." She states with icy eyes roving over me. I swallow and nod as I remember the sudden power that I wielded at that moment. Power that seems to have abandoned me. "Why?" The question is hard and dangerous as if her opinion of me rides on it. If only opinions were of concern to me right now.

"I...I was Made as she was. As you were." There's something between us, between Feyre too, that marks us all as other. Not quite mortal and not quite fae. "I didn't want her to be afraid and I would have spared her that fear if I could have," I tell her with nothing but brutal honesty in my voice. As she stands there I root around in the dresser for clothes before pulling out long black pants with a long-sleeved black shirt. Shadows would cling to me in this and I'll need them tonight. It's a shock when I feel the Archeron sister take my hand and squeeze.

"Thank you." She breathes with emotion finally leaking into her eyes, but then it's gone and she's grabbed her books to sweep out of the room. I blink at her whirlwind, then carefully set the clothes on the counter before facing the bathroom. The tub is so stark against everything else and I can't even look at it without feeling sick. My fingers latch onto another blanket before I slide into the bathroom hugging the wall, then cover the tub with the blanket. A breath of relief leaves me before I take a towel from the sink and get it wet, then rub myself down with it. It's as close to a bath as I think I'll be having for a while.

After carefully changing, I practice walking until the evening. I can manage pretty well by sunset, but when I stand without moving my legs still wobble. It's manageable though and it'll have to do. "Keep your shit together legs," I murmur and take a moment to appreciate the flowing clothes on me. It feels so good to move around freely even if my body is limited. I've no clue if these clothes are appropriate, but then again, I don't exactly care.

I'm starved and while I feel little interest in anything other than food, I'd also like to know whose house I'm staying in. As well as if my stay has any conditions attached to it. The clothes are terribly loose around my skeletal body, but thankfully the pants have strings that I pull tight even as the fabric bunches to fit my body. I pause for a moment in front of the mirror and stare at my reflection.

Instead of meeting Death, it looks like I've become her. My cheeks are hollow, eyes still empty, sunken, and my hair looks more like a hood over a skull than the lustrous curls as they once were. I look away and don't turn back as I head to the doors, then slip out into a long hall. The note didn't exactly say where to go. My hand reaches for the shadows under a large painting for comfort before I'm sucked in. Wind and darkness push and pull at my body as the world spins out of control, but just as soon as it started, everything stops. I blink rapidly and find I'm somewhere else entirely. I stand in front of a different pair of double doors than my bedroom and they're wide open to reveal a long, glass table with many chairs but no one seated at any.

My legs start to wobble at being still so long, so I walk into the room. It's casual, well, as casual as a room can be carved from stone, but the décor is lavish and lived in. Glass doors open out to reveal that same spectacular view that I get from my room and something in me calms as sunset turns to night. A city. I'd never seen a city in my entire life and never dreamed of seeing one. Perhaps I should have.

"Not a terrible sight, is it?" A voice so low and soft breathes and I almost think it's a part of the wind on the mountain for the way it seems to belong here. I spin around and find a beautiful male with vivid, violet eyes considering me from the doorway. "It's not often that guests beat me here." He continues with a soft smile, but those eyes remain sharp and searching as he rounds the table.

"You didn't say when to meet you," I state gruffly with my unused voice. A smirk flashes across his face as he continues taking slow strides towards me. I fight against it, but my legs begin to shake at the predatory look in his eyes. He stops and his brows furrow slightly as he looks me over as if he can smell my fear. Perhaps he can.

"My mistake. I almost thought you'd gone when the maids who went into your room couldn't find you earlier, so I didn't think to send a time." I blink at that.

"I was there." I was quite literally right there watching them the whole time.

"Hm. Those shadows on your shoulders seem friendly. Is there a chance that they hid you?" He takes another step towards me and my knees start knocking together. My eyes look to my shoulders and I do see the shadows lingering around the curls of my black hair.

"I...I don't know," I answer honestly and clench my hands at my side. The doors to my left are still wide open and if he tries to hurt me, then I won't hesitate before flinging myself out into the open air. My shivering legs carry me to the ledge and I force myself to glance outside as if to admire the view before looking back at him. Caution is in his eyes as he looks from me to the shimmering city and his next step is sideways towards the doors.

"No one will harm you here. This place is a sanctuary for many." There's a twinkle in his eyes now that makes me think he's talking about himself. I force myself to remain standing as my mind jerks back to that very first guard in that pit that promised not to harm me, then proceeded to hurt me in the deepest way imaginable. I'd cried during and afterward for many nights. My hands curl into fists. The violet-eyed male doesn't move but remains a table's length away from me even as rage flits through his singular eyes. "We're...no one here is like that. You're safe." I blanch.

"Get out of my head." I snarl and the room shakes slightly with power as it ripples out of me.

"I'm sorry, but certain things are loud even in someone else's mind. Imagine a shield of something around it to keep out unwelcome visitors." He instructs and I have little option but to trust him. My shield is an inky black shadow that writhes and snaps around my mind like dogs on the hunt. "An interesting choice, but effective." He allows with a wicked smirk that has my foot feeling along the edge of the cliff. "How about we start over? My name is Rhysand and I'm the High Lord of the Night Court." He tilts his head as if to signal that it's my turn, but I'm distracted by soft words dancing just out of reach.

Whispers, whispers so quiet they could be wind, leak into my ear as soothing as a mother's lullaby. "Rhysand." They say. "Rhysand, the most powerful High Lord, Amarantha's whore, Valaris' savior, mate to the curse-breaker." Shadows weave in and out of my hood of tight ringlets as I take in their words, then answer the male.

"Kaira Serein." I gift him my name while clinging to the handle of the door I'm heavily leaning against.

"A pleasure, Kaira." He tilts his head to me, but I remain still as stone. "Why don't we sit down before talking? Our chairs are far more comfortable than that old door." I take a breath when he rounds the glass table and carefully walk over to the place across from him. I sit first and watch a small weight leave his chest before he settles as well.

"What is this place?" I ask him softly as he leans back in his chair.

"Velaris. A city in the Night Court." He answers and I start to hear those whispers again but wave them off.

"The shadows...why do they cling to me?" My hand fluffs my hair and shadows leap and dance like fish in a pond at my touch. Rhysand leans his elbows on the table before he answers.

"Whatever Made you, made you into a Shadowsinger. It's something very rare and means that you're stealthier than most. You can also see and feel more than other people or are at least told more by shadows."

"Made," I repeat as the word settles into my stomach. Unnatural. My body seems to say. Wrong.

"Freed." The shadows whisper before I can even sense them. "You were freed."

"Yes. The Archeron sisters other than Feyre were Made by the Cauldron in the place where we found you. How did you get there and how were you Made? Why, perhaps being the most important question." His tone is light and cloying, but there's an intensity behind his eyes that lets me know that a lot depends on my answers to these questions.

"I...there was a Cauldron," I answer and feel my hands begin to shake before I clench them together in my lap. "I was in that place because I made a deal." The barest facts, but honest at least.

"A deal." Rhysand drawls and it's easy to see that he wants more information.

"Yes." I barely breathe as I remember to keep my shields up when the images of my family dead in the snow pass slowly through my head. "I either went with them or died."

"And they caged you." He continues and I nod. "For how long?" My head shakes at this question since I don't truly know the answer.

"What season is it in the mortal realm?"

"The beginning of summer." He answers and my breath catches in my throat. His brows furrow slightly and his eyes flick to my white-knuckled hands clasped in my lap. My hair had grown far too long for only months to have passed. So that means—

"Nearly a year and a half then." I finally answer and feel like I may throw up all over this beautiful glass table. The man swears and I almost believe that he's actually upset by it before I dismiss the thought. No one cares unless they have a personal stake. "Why...why did you bring me here?" My voice cracks on this question and a little of the intensity fades from Rhysand.

"My mate asked me to take you. Feyre." His eyes shine with the mention of her while I blink with shock. "I'd hoped you would tell me the story since she didn't have the time to share it with me herself. Over dinner, of course." He snaps his fingers and food blooms on the table. It steams and sizzles as if it had just finished cooking while filling the room with the sweetest aromas possible. My stomach snarls its fiendish hunger and I don't bother looking ashamed when Rhysand smirks. "Eat your fill, then if you're still willing, I'd like to hear that story."

I end up telling it to him in parts since I know I need to pace myself with my stomach still so unused to eating so much. He barely interrupts and actually seems to delight in hearing anything about his mate. It's hard to believe that the girl I gave those rolls to is now High Lady in a fae court. Nearly unbelievable. Yet here I am eating with a High Lord as a High Fae myself. I hope the gods are laughing, wherever they are.

"Feyre, I...haven't seen her." I broach even though I haven't wandered from my room much. His eyes brighten at the sound of her name even as his shoulders seem to sag with some indeterminable weight.

"She's somewhere else for now, but she's...well." Apparently living, but unsafe, wherever she is.

"Will she return here?" My voice is still so unused and the words still scratch horribly on their way out. The male doesn't seem to care so long as I'm talking.

"Yes. Soon, hopefully." He says and I can hear the longing in his voice. She and this male have something between them. Something warm and all-encompassing like my shadows.

"May I..." I start and put my hands back in my lap to wring them. "May I stay here until Feyre returns?" The question is soft, but there's real desperation behind it. I've nowhere else to go and I'm in a land that I don't know anything about with a new body that's still recovering. Plus, I just want to see her. I want to see what my little moment of kindness may have turned into all this time later. After that...I have no clue what I'll do after that.

"You may stay here as long as you like. Forever, even." He answers instantly and relief swarms my heart so potently that I think I might cry. It seems my information has earned me a bed, at the very least. "We can even help get word back to your family if you like." He offers kindly, so kindly, that I almost don't hear the words as they come out of his mouth. Then they slap me in the face.

"They're dead." The words seem unkind as they slip off my lips, but there's no lightening the ugly truth of them. I push the thought to the back of my mind as I continue to eat and try to be relatively civilized about it rather than shoving every morsel into my mouth. Rhysand is quiet for a while as we both eat as if he wants me to put my attention into one thing at a time. When only half my plate is empty and I can't eat another bite, he stands.

"Well, at least you've turned out to be an interesting guest." He smiles and I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult. "The house and everything in it is yours to do with what you please. If you need anything, just ask. Even if it's only company. Even if you just need to talk." I nod in lieu of a thank you before he half-smiles, then vanishes. Exhausted, I swipe another piece of food from the table before standing and walking out the doors.

"My room, I don't know where it is," I tell no one as I look down either hall. The shadows seem to beckon from every corner, but my head shakes. "I need to learn the layout of the house," I tell them and they shrink, then lengthen towards the right. "Thanks." I bid before slowly ambling down the halls until I reach my room and collapse into my shadowy spot beside the bed to sleep.

*A/N*

Now, to say what we're all thinking; Rhysand. *heart eyes*

First thoughts everyone? Feyre is taking down the Spring Court single-handedly, we love a boss ass bitch, but she'll show up soon. What do you think of Kaira? You know I love hearing from you. ;) It's pronounced Kai with a hard K, then just I, ruh. Kai-ruh. Hope you're enjoying it!