All of a sudden, I was surrounded by enemies.

I clenched my jaw and drew my other sword. The human dress I wore I had manufactured so if I ripped off the skirt, I would be able to fight easier, as I had my fighting leathers on underneath.

I lifted the blades and glared at the beasts, two snarling giants that bared their teeth at me. There were two Fae as well- Hybern soldiers.

"Take her- alive- and meet me at the rendezvous." Ravenna- my mother- hissed, then disappeared, winnowing away before I could stop her.

The first monster charged with a savage roar and I leapt into the air, slashing my blade through the monster's throat and it fell to the ground in a heap, choking on its blood as it died.

A soldier lifted a crossbow and fired a bolt at me and I dodged it, only coming face to face with the second monster. It roared in anger, a piercing screech that made me flinch as it lunged at me, mouth of fangs open and claw stretched out.

A sudden pain burst through my right wing as a crossbow bolt went through the membrane.

I cried out and managed to duck away from the monster and it landed hard on its face.

I swung my sword arm and launched the weapon through the soldier's chest.

I then spun and caught the blade of the second soldier with my second one.

He grit his teeth and pushed me back, sending his foot into my jaw and sending my head whipping to the side. I stumbled back, dizzy, and managed to lift my sword to block his attack, but failed to catch the monster.

It lunged and I braced myself, but wasn't prepared for the pain as the beast's jaws locked onto my shoulder.

I screamed, fumbling with my sword and managed to get my hands on the beast's sides and set the creature on fire with a glow of my Syphons.

It released me and fell back with pained screaming as it burned.

The soldier turned to me, and I slowly got to my feet, my left arm hanging limply at my side.

Tears raced down my cheeks and the man didn't charge, but lifted the crossbow. And fired.

The bolt stuck into my right thigh and I stumbled back and fell to one knee as he charged for me.

I glared and raised my hand, and tendrils of pure black shadow shot up out of nowhere and impaled him and the body of one of the other monsters.

A strangled cry left his lips and the shadows vanished and he fell on his face, dead.

I collapsed, then, my wing sagging, my nose bleeding and face throbbing. My shoulder hurt like hell, but I could move my hand, at least. The bolt was sticking from my thigh.

I fell back against a tree, tears racing down my cheeks in pain, fear, anger, and betrayal.

I didn't know what to believe.

Suddenly, a familiar tightness on my ankles made me open my eyes in relief. Tendrils of shadow curled around my ankles and a voice came down the bond, with feelings of overwhelming fear.

Adrianna! Adrianna where are you?!

I clenched my jaw and just thought hard about the location I was in.

I was losing too much blood. My eyelids were getting heavy.

I barely registered Azriel and Rhys in front of me as Azriel picked me up.

The last thing I remembered was Rhys' mortified expression as he looked at the carnage before everything went black.

******

I woke up stiff. I was in a bed, that much I could tell. I was in pain, though. A lot of it.

I laid on my side, head on a soft pillow.

I felt my arm and shoulder wrapped tightly, as well as my leg.

I opened my eyes to see the room was empty, but the door was open. I lifted my head slowly from the pillow and looked around, immediately regretting it and dropping my head down again with a groan, feeling as though it was stuffed with cotton and being hit with a mallet.

Suddenly, small hands grabbed onto one of mine. "Adrianna?"

I opened my eyes again to see Feyre. A healthy Feyre. She wasn't pale anymore.

"Feyre?" I asked hoarsely.

"Oh, thank the Mother. You've been unconscious for two weeks!" She gasped, gently moving a hand to my forehead.

"Two...weeks?" I asked hoarsely, trying to sit up again. She gently pushed me back again.

"Yes. You lost a lot of blood. Rhys and Azriel and the healers stayed up all night when you got back to keep you stable. The monster who bit you was poisonous and your shoulder was infected. Your wing is better now, but your leg and shoulder needed more time. Your face was black and blue." She frowned at me, squeezing my hand tightly. "What happened?"

I frowned. "I...it's a lot to explain." I said softly. "Two weeks, huh?"

"Yeah. Azriel hasn't left your side once. He only left just now because Rhys told him he needed to eat something and forced him to take care of himself."

I frowned, then reached down the bond. Az?

A few moments later, he appeared in the doorway, staring at me with wide eyes.

Feyre stood and squeezed my hand once and left the room, patting Azriel's shoulder as she passed.

I sat up as much as I could and he came over to me and I wrapped my right arm around his shoulders tightly and pulled myself up into a sitting position.

His arms wrapped around my waist and he just held me tight and peppered kisses on my face. He moved a hand to cup my cheek, and I leaned my face into his hand.

"Who did this to you?" He asked softly. There was a darkness in his hazel eyes as he looked at me intently and seriously.

I reached up to hold his hand to my face with one hand and whispered, "Hybern."

"Hybern? How?" He asked, stiffening all over.

"Well, it wasn't him literally. It was...Ravenna. Uh, his wife, I guess. She summoned two soldiers and they had these monsters. She ordered them to take me alive to Hybern. I fought back. I don't even know how I'm still alive."

"Because you're strong and more powerful than anything thrown at you." Azriel said and kissed my forehead.

I closed my eyes and just laid my head on his shoulder and stretched my other leg across his lap so I could get closer to him.

"Azriel?" I asked quietly after a moment.

"What is it, my love?" He asks.

"Ravenna...she, well, she escaped. But she told me something and I need to know if it's true." I pulled away to look at him and he looked at me. "She said she was my mother. That she sent me here to the Illyrians to keep me safe. That Rhys found out about me and chose to try and get me on his side to use against Hybern...my father. I...she said you all knew about this. That I shouldn't trust any of you."

He was silent for a long time. His hand dropped from my face. "I...this is a lot to take in. What do you believe?"

"I've been kept in the dark about things before, so I guess I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case again." I looked up at him and frowned. "Did you...did you know any of that?"

He shook his head. "No. No, I did not. And I am being truthful. If I knew she was your mother, I would have been encouraging you to wait for me. Wait for me to go with you after Ravenna. If I had known she was anything more than a spy, my love, I would have gone with you." He says seriously.

I smiled a little and said, "Perhaps I need to speak to Rhys about this, then?"

He frowned. "I guess so. I don't know why he would keep that from you. Are...are you alright?"

Strangely, I didn't feel scared or nervous or even angry. I just felt...surprised. "Yeah. I guess I'm just still in shock about it all."

He nodded and kissed my head. "Would you like to try and stand?"

I nodded and pulled the covers back from my legs and he stood to help me stand, arm on my waist and other hand gripping mine.

I got to my feet and looked down at my bound thigh and said after a moment of silence, "If what Ravenna said was true about me, Azriel, and Rhys was actually trying to use me against Hybern all along, as bait or whatever else, I'm afraid the High Lord might lose my trust."

*******

Hey!!!!! Sorry I fell off the grid for so long! 😭 College is crazy and I've been changing majors and between that and some personal issues and health problems, I lost almost all time to free write and write this story! I hope you enjoyed two updates (chapters 24 and 25) and I'll try and write more soon!

All my love,
~ Cora Knight xoxo