"So. Shall we call you Princess Adrianna now?" Cassian asked with a dorky grin.

I scowled and pointed my chicken-laden fork at him. "I already told you no."

"Be careful, Cassian. You'll make the princess angry." Azriel said with a sly grin and nudged me with his elbow.

I went to say something sassy to him when Cassian snorted and said, "Listen, you now have Rhys as your father-in-law now. If anyone should be careful it's you."

Mor snorted and Feyre and Rhys looked easily amused as Azriel's face went as red as my hair.

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "It could be worse, love." I said with a small giggle, and looped one of my arms through his.

He grumbled something under his breath and continued eating.

"So, to clarify a few things with you two." Mor said and pointed at Rhys and I. "You and Ravenna had a thing, even though she was engaged to Hybern and was Beron's mate."

Rhys nodded solemnly. "Ravenna and I were friends first. I didn't know about Hybern. She went to me first, and then moved on to Beron where they felt the mating bond, but she left him anyways for Hybern." Rhys said and frowned. "I never knew it was possible to do that. Ravenna's father had red hair. I learned later, after Azriel found Haven alive and that he was a spy for her, that she has since married Hybern and only kept ties with Beron to ensure he joined her new husband in the coming war."

"So that must mean Ravenna was already pregnant by the time she got to Beron." Feyre said.

Rhys nodded. "Yes. And then I found her during The War with a baby." He glanced at me.

I nodded. "Well, then that leads us to now. Should I tell Lucien the truth?"

"You have no choice other than to do so now, girl." Amren said. "You made a deal with him. He deserves and should know now, especially because it inadvertently concerns him."

I nodded. "That's true. I'll contact him when I can." I finished my meal, then stood and said, "I'm going to go for a walk."

"I'll come with you." Feyre said, standing quickly and she kissed Rhys' cheek before coming around to join me.

I smiled and nodded. I looked back to Azriel and he merely nodded for me to go on, a small smile on his face.

I turned and Feyre and I headed for the balcony and I turned to her, hand out, and she took it and I picked her up as I jumped off the sill, my wings flicking out as I flew us down to Velaris.

"You've made lots of progress with flying." She said.

"Thanks. I've had some good teachers." I replied.

"You think Azriel would train me to fly?" She asked. She was referring to her shapeshifting abilities she got when she was Made in the Cauldron Under the Mountain.

I nodded and said with a small smile, "I'm sure he would."

Her arms tightened around my neck somewhat and she said, "Will me becoming your High Lady make things different? I know it must be strange with the discovery of Rhys as your real father, and all. I just want us to still be friends."

I looked at her. "No. If anything, I'd be more protective of you than I already am. You'd be my High Lady, and I'd like to see anyone try and dishonor your name again as long as I live. We'll never stop being friends, Feyre."

"You'll come with me, then, right? To the Spring Court."

Rhys' plan. I had almost forgotten about it. "I don't know what he wants me to do yet. Things changed. And I suppose I could, but what of Lucien? He'd see through me and any disguise."

"I think he'd see through me as well." Feyre said honestly. "He's always been observant. More so than Tamlin, even. You could go under the guise of another prisoner."

"Az would hate that. It would break him." I said softly. "I don't know, Feyre. Maybe. I'll think of something. It would mean he'd have to be in on the plan, and Rhys was very clear he didn't want anyone from the Inner Circle to know other than me."

"What if I spoke to Rhys, and we got Az involved? Or, you come to Spring Court after Hybern. I know I need to do this, but I don't trust anyone down there, even if they don't know anything of me and why I'm really going to be down there."

We arrived in Velaris and I slowed, pumping my wings and landing lightly on the cobblestones, setting Feyre down and folding my wings. A few faeries stared at us as they passed.

I looked around at the city around me. If I left with Feyre, how would that affect this place? Here? My home. Her home. What about Az, Cas, Rhys, Mor, and Amren? They handled fine without Feyre and I for five centuries. Surely they'd be fine if I went.

I froze, an idea suddenly coming to me. "Feyre, I have an idea! What about-"

I broke off as a thunderous boom shook the streets under our feet.

My eyes widened as shouts, crashes, and screams sounding from the citizens far away. Feyre and I locked eyes.

Velaris was under attack.

"Feyre! Get to the townhouse, now!" I said, drawing my swords.

"No. I'm staying here to help." She said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving. If I'm to rule some day, I'm going to protect them."

"Feyre, Rhys is going to kill me if I don't get you to safety." I said seriously.

She smirked. "You're his heir. He won't kill you." She then winnowed out of sight before I could stop her.

I cursed and reached down the bond and found Azriel. Velaris is under attack! We need help!

I'm coming. He replied immediately.

Suddenly, Rhys appeared with Cassian and Azriel and he looked to me, violet eyes flashing. "Where is Feyre?"

"She insisted on helping rid Velaris of the invaders because it was her home." I said, hoping he'd understand.

He looked at me for a long time, rage hardly concealed, and I noticed Az was watching him like a hawk. What was he going to do? Rhys was his High Lord. My father. He would t hurt me.

I sent shadows to squeeze Azriel's hand in warning and his hazel eyes lifted to meet mine, the blue of his Syphons slowly fading, but not completely.

"Dad." I said and Rhys stopped, frozen as he called him, looking at me. "Trust us. Let's go save our home, ok? We can scold her later."

I looked to Azriel and he jumped into the air, me shooting up after him as we dissolved into shadows and appeared down the street as Hybern soldiers swarmed into the streets, shadows flickering off our wings and limbs likes smoke.

And that's when I saw who was leading them.

Ravenna, my mother, on a black horse, a sadistic grin on her face as she locked eyes with me.

I landed on the cobblestones, and Azriel landed next to me, sending my mother a hate-filled glare.

"Adrianna. So nice to see you again, and so soon, might I add. One of your friend's human queens told me all about where to find this place. Though, of course, I had no issue finding it since I am Illyrian. I can blend in." She smiled sweetly at me and stopped the horse several yards away.

I straightened and said, "You're a liar, mother."

She laughed. "Am I? Do tell more, my dear."

"Hybern is a lot of things, but my father is not one of them. You both should understand something very, very clearly, as well." The silver Syphons on my wrists began to glow as I called forth my power. "I will never join you."

In an instant, shadows launched at the soldiers she had behind her and turned to sharp spikes, impaling the dozen men gathered behind her. They fell the the ground in heaps and pools of blood.

Ravenna whirled her horse forward to face me, snarling, and yelled, "You insolent child!"

I raised a hand, cutting her off, and said darkly, "If anyone is insolent it's you. You promised you'd have the Meridians killed. I got to them first. You were supposed to be my mother, yet you sold me into prostitution. You disgust me. Perhaps you can join your damned spy in prison."

Ravenna dismounted and slapped the horse's flank, sending it bolting off in the opposite direction. She drew her sword and stalked towards me, Azriel stiffened next to me. I watched as he lifted his hand, blue Syphons glowing as shadows appeared and trapped her, wrapping around her arms and legs and wrenching the sword from her grasp, as if they were alive.

"You attacked my mate once. It will never happen again." Azriel said coolly, a calm tone and demeanor, even as his hazel eyes burned with a deep seated rage.

"Where should we send her, Adrianna?" He asked me, not taking his eyes off of Ravenna.

I looked at her evenly and said, "Let's let my father deal with her. She is Illyrian, after all, and should answer to her High Lord for her crimes."

Ravenna's face paled, and that's when I saw it. That utter devastation. She knew I had dug through her lies. Had danced around the idea she tried to plant that Beron could have been my real sire, and came to the conclusion she didn't want me to come to.

******

The battle was won, Feyre winning the day. And Azriel and I took our prisoner to Rhys and tossed her at his feet.

She looked up at him, wings flaring behind her slightly as she smirked. "It's good to see you again Rhys." She purred.

Rhys wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I'm afraid, Ravenna, this isn't going to be a pleasant meeting. At least not for you." He narrowed his violet eyes on her and she looked away from him. "You have committed many crimes since I found you that day on the battlefield. If I had known what you were that day, I would have taken Adrianna and left you for dead." He snarled.

Ravenna smirked. "She would have been seen as a bastard. Your pride would never let you do that. That's why you let me keep her and do what I want."

I clenched my fists and Azriel's shadows curled around my wrists and hands, squeezing comfortingly as I stood rigidly watching the scene. I took comfort in the gesture.

Rhys glanced at me, then looked back at Ravenna and said with a snarl, "Adrianna will be more of a ruler than this world has ever seen, bastard or no. She has more courage and dignity than anyone. And you will now suffer for hurting my daughter as you did, not once, but twice, until I've gotten every last shred of information about your husband from your damned skull. Take her to prison."

Guards swarmed Ravenna and dragged her away, the doors slamming shut. I stood rigidly staring at the floor.

"Adrianna, are you alright?" Rhys asked and I looked to him.

"Did you really mean all of that?" I asked softly. "About me, just now? You want me to rule?"

A lazy smile crossed his face, but pure honesty shown in those violet eyes. "I have no doubt that this world will be seeing more than just one powerful High Lady in the centuries to come."

My eyes darted over to Feyre, and we merely smiled to one another, amusement dancing in her silvery blue eyes.

******

Hello readers!!! I'd like to come on here with an Author's Note, and provide a minor trigger warning as well.

I feel like I should make this announcement since a few readers have asked me about something absent from this fanfic: sex. Sarah put sex in her books, and from what I've heard, ACOSF is super steamy. So why isn't it here?

To put it simply, and to explain something, I was assaulted during the time I was writing this story, and reading the ACOTAR books about two years ago. As you can probably assume, these books were majorly triggering, and this book was as well. So, I stopped writing it for a while to give myself time to heal. I still am healing, and haven't even finished ACOWAR yet. Reading sex isn't something I have an easy time with anymore, and sex has never once been something I ever planned to write or will ever write.

I'm saying this mostly because I want you to understand that I am a person, a 21 year old girl still in college, and dealing with sexual assault is different for everyone. It's partially why Adrianna is the way she is, and why Az is the way he is as he helps her. I also believe that love is something that should be present before sex is even thought of or entertained. That love is not sex; sex is a result of love. And I hold to that view as a Christian.

So, this fanfic will be different from most other ACOTAR fanfics on here, and I'm ok with that. I'm honestly astonished, overwhelmed, and thankful for the amount of reads this story gets, as well as the votes and comments. I smile so big whenever I see them pop up on my notifications ❤️

I want to portray in this book, a few things...

1. You can heal, and if you've dealt with SA, you're not alone, you're not weak, and your worth has not decreased. You are still you and no one can take that from you, even if every part of you feels violated. You are still you. It was not your fault and never was. ❤️

2. Love, true love, is something that is more than intimacy or physicality, although that is definitely a part of it. God made sex too, after all! Love is selfless, and it is caring, sweet, and sometimes silly. It's protective and holds no record of wrongs and forgives. That is love.

3. I'm not here to shove my beliefs down your throat, because that's not how you share the Word anyways, lol. I merely want to share with you my thoughts and why there is an absence of sex in this book.

But yeah. I just wanted to give that announcement. We'll be wrapping up ACOMAF in the next few chapters, and I have a cool plot twist planned (hardly surprising at this point lol). If you are also struggling with the things I am, know you can reach out to me if you need anything from prayer or someone to talk to or advice.

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you in the next chapters! ❤️

Love always,
~Cora Knight xoxo