Un palais d'épines et de roses

"I love you," I said. "No matter what she says about it, no matter if it's only with my insignificant human heart. Even when they burn my body, I'll love you." My lips trembled, and my vision clouded before several warm tears slipped down my chilled face. I didn't wipe them away.

He left me, and I took a gasping breath, not realizing I'd been holding it.

Not realizing that I craved his warmth, his nearness, until he was gone.

"Why?" I asked.

He knew what I meant, and shrugged. "Because when the legends get written, I didn't want to be remembered for standing on the sidelines. I want my future offspring to know that I was there, and that I fought against her at the end, even if I couldn't do anything useful."

I blinked, this time not at the brightness of the sun.

"Because," he went on, his eyes locked with mine, "I didn't want you to fight alone. Or die alone."

He was exactly how I dreamed he would be.

He smiled at me, his entire face alight with that quiet joy I had come to love so dearly, and he brushed my hair aside. I savored the feel of his fingers on my skin and raised my own to touch his face, to trace the contours of those high cheekbones and that lovely, straight nose—the clear, broad brow, the slightly arching eyebrows that framed his green eyes.

What I had done to get to this moment, to be standing here... I shoved against the thought again. In a minute, in an hour, in a day, I would think about that, force myself to face it.

I put a hand on Tamlin's heart, and a steady beat echoed into my bones.

We sat atop its crest, and I hid my smile as Tamlin put an arm around my shoulders, tucking me in close. I rested my head against his chest while he toyed with the flowers in my garland.

In silence, we stared out over the rolling green expanse.

The sky shifted into periwinkle, and the clouds filled with pink light. Then, like a shimmering disk too rich and clear to be described, the sun slipped over the horizon and lined everything with gold. It was like seeing the world being born, and we were the sole witnesses.

"Dance with me, Feyre."

"Really?" I turned and found my face mere inches from his.

He cracked a lazy smile. "Really." As though I were nothing but air myself, he pulled me into a sweeping dance. I barely remembered any of the steps I'd learned in childhood, but he compensated for it with his feral grace, never faltering, always sensing any stumble before I made it as we danced across the spirit-riddled field.

I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world.

There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,
And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.

At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,
But I bless all those who are brave enough to dare.

By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,
But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.

For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,
When I kill, I do it slow...

"The Night Court does what it wants," Tamlin said. "They live by their own codes, their own corrupt morals."

"They're all sadistic killers," Lucien said. I dared a glance at him; he was now perched on the heron's stone wing. I looked away again. "They delight in torture of every kind—and would find this sort of stunt to be amusing."

Standing before me was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

Everything about the stranger radiated sensual grace and ease. High Fae, no doubt. His short black hair gleamed like a raven's feathers, offsetting his pale skin and blue eyes so deep they were violet, even in the firelight. They twinkled with amusement as he beheld me.

For a moment, we said nothing. Thank you didn't seem to cover what he'd done for me, but something about the way he stood with absolute stillness, the night seeming to press in closer around him, made me hesitate to speak—made me want to run in the other direction.

He reached for something at his side and tossed it to me. I had to fight to stay in the saddle as I fumbled for it—a jeweled hunting knife.

"I heard you scream," he said as I examined the blade in my hands. I'd never held one so finely crafted, so perfectly balanced. "And I hesitated. Not long, but I hesitated before I came running. Even though Tam got there in time, I still broke my word in those seconds I waited." He jerked his chin at the knife. "It's yours. Don't bury it in my back, please."