AN: 

Sorry to interrupt, dear readers, but I'm very pleased to announce that ACOB has won Second Place in the Fanfiction genre of the Nouvel An awards [hosted by @marina_swampert] !!

I also have a note at the end about my appalling upload schedule, so please read on for that announcement x

*

"He what?!"

Heat rose immediately to Fiona's cheeks, unbidden but not unwarranted. She stiffened as passing shoppers paused by the pair, squawking in the middle of the Palace of Thread and Jewels. "Bella-"

The Illyrian's eyes were wide as saucers. "Are you telling me Xander kissed you?"

Fiona sent a silent prayer to the Mother, feeling the stares of the onlookers burn hotter than a Summer Court Sunday on her back. "No, that is not what I'm telling you," she hissed, steering her friend off the cobbles toward a tailor's storefront. "I thought that was where it was going, but..."

Bella leaned back against the glass with a knowing look. "But then he did a Xander," she finished, sympathy flashing in her grey eyes. "I should've known."

Fiona's confusion was momentarily diverted as a set of shimmering ballgowns in the shop nextdoor caught her eye. This was what they were here for - among discovering Fiona's bare wardrobe, Bella had frogmarched her down to Velaris proper to hunt out a suitable dress for their visit to the Hewn City. But as her attention snagged on the swathes of glimmering fabric and accompanying jewels within the store, Fiona found it something of an effort to focus as her friend went on about the Prince and his aversion to romance.

"He does this thing, Fiona-" she was saying, her fingers gliding over racks of crushed velvet capes. "He seizes up in the heat of the moment, remembers he's supposed to be this silent second son who looks but never touches."

That sounds about right, grumbled Fiona internally.

"For all his gentlemanly manners, my cousin can be a right useless sod," Bella sighed, prompting a surprised snort. "He just needs a bit of a push sometimes. He won't go unless he's given a clear signal, if you catch my drift." She offered Fiona a wink as she choked on her chuckle.

"I wasn't trying to say that I-" she spluttered. "Well I- Look, I'm not interested!"

"Right," she smirked. "And I'm the Queen of Vallahan." Her gaze wandered to a particularly flamboyant shirt, turning to admire the embellishment...exposing a pair of thimble sized bruises on her neck in doing so.

Fiona leaped at the opportunity the bruises presented her. "And what about you, hm?" She teased. "What rugged hunk gave you these?" She seized Bella, trying to hold her in place for a better look at the lovebites, barely catching a glimpse before the warrior shrugged her off.

"Someone from Rita's."

"And does this handsome stranger have a name?" Fiona batted her lashes with coquettish glee, following her friend over toward the rows of lace and straps that made up the lingerie section. Bella looped a finger through a scarlet garter belt and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure you could call her handsome," she replied, running her thumb over the material. "Though she did have rather broad shoulders."

Fiona blinked once before frowning. "You mean...it was a woman?"

Bella's smile was gentle, the kind you might give to a toddler working their way through an especially tricky puzzle.

"Oh." The word felt thick in Fiona's mouth, stupid sounding. "Right."

Her friend's smile waned. "Does that change your opinion of me?"

"What? Oh- no, no of course not!" She hastened to recover herself, moving quickly to Bella's side as she dropped the lingerie. "Please don't think that, I'm just surprised! I've never met anyone who...I've never met anyone who's been with a woman before," she explained, suddenly desperate not to lose her gaze, trying to erase the doubt she'd put there. "It's not something that really happens in the Autumn Court."

To her relief, Bella's smile returned, warmer than before. "Well, it's a lot more common in Velaris. But I understand your...surprise. The Illyrians tend to be far less tolerant, in my experience."

They moved between the aisles of underwear toward some of the most scantily clad mannequins Fiona had ever seen. 

"I just prefer the company of woman. That's all there is to it." Bella concluded, eyeing a set of undergarments that consisted of little more than a few black strings. 

Fiona looked between the mannequins, trying not to blush. "So, when you said Riordan wasn't your type..."

A beaming grin split Bella's face. The two girls broke out giggling, ducking behind the mannequins when the shop owner finally grew irritated enough to seek them out. "Come on." Bella grabbed her hand and tugged Fiona out the door. "You still need a dress...and I think we've outstayed our welcome here."

*

Before they knew it, the fated evening had arrived. Azriel received intel that Keir had left the Court of Nightmares, which sent the Court of Dreams into a panicked kind of frenzy. With only hours to prepare before they were due at the Hewn City, Bella insisted the girls get ready in the townhouse together - though Fiona saw it for the thinly veiled ploy that it was, designed to calm her nerves before she came face to face with her uncle once again.

She entrusted the details of her hair and make up to Bella as usual, lighting and extinguishing flame from the candle on the dresser while the Illyrian swooped her hair into an updo. Watching her work was mesmerising; every strand Bella touched turned to ashen blonde, colour bleeding from her fingertips as she paled each ringlet with careful precision.

In the end, they had agreed it best for Fiona to be physically disguised. The thought was that Eris would be much more likely to see through a glamour than scent the magic of individual micro-transfigurations lingering on her nose, jaw, hair and eyes. And by the time Bella had worked her magic, Fiona knew they'd been right. Without her trademark fiery hair she was already less recognisable, and the ashen tint that sat upon it didn't shimmer strangely the way her full-bodied glamours had in the past. 

She made the rest of the changes herself, feeling a strange, fizzing tingle beneath her skin as she altered the very contours of her bone, adding tiny flecks of colour to her complexion and small scars to mark it. The tailoring required far more concentration and skill than a glamour, but the result was worth it. 

Descending the stairs into the townhouse foyer, she delighted in the looks of surprise emerging on the faces of her fellow courtiers. Gabriel even did a double take, clearly wondering who on earth this stranger was walking arm in arm with his cousin.

"Impressive work, ladies." Cassian grinned as he approached the pair of them, scanning all the minute, foreign details now clouding Fiona's countenance. 

Bella beamed back at her father. "She looks good as a blonde, doesn't she?"

"I prefer the red." Xander appeared from behind Cassian with a smile, his violet eyes lingering on the slope of her hips beneath the satin dress the girls had chosen. Though it was far more revealing than anything Fiona had worn before, Bella had insisted. The Hewn City would expect nothing less, she promised - though now, wilting a little beneath the heat of Xander's gaze on her bare legs, she wished she'd protested a little more.

Bella snorted as she too noticed Xander's attention. "It's not her body, numbskull."

Xander's eyes snapped back up, the wry twist to his lips disappearing instantly. The mask descends again, Fiona sighed silently. Bella was more right than she realises.

"We should get moving," remarked Rhysand, his trademark casual grace replaced with a clenched jaw and anxious, fidgeting fingers. "We don't want anyone to see Eris before we do."

The High Lord cleared the distance between him and Fiona in one sharp stride, studying her disguise with an intensity that made her struggle not to look away. Once satisfied, he waved a hand over her shoulder, the sweet perfume of magic blooming in the air.

The others gasped as a pair of gargantuan black wings sprouted from Fiona's back, talons and all. She made to test them and frowned, finding she couldn't make them move at all, didn't even know what muscles to pull.

"They're not real," Rhys explained, sensing her confusion. "It's a glamour, but it's worth the risk. Eris won't look twice at another Illyrian, especially one by Nyx's side."

"By whose side?" Her gaze snapped to the door as Rhysand's eldest stepped into the foyer. 

With one hand behind his back, the heir to the Night Court took a deep and dramatic bow as all eyes fell upon him. Fiona couldn't help but feel he was enjoying it, sure that he could taste the spark of horror that flared in her chest upon seeing him. The nauseating rhythm of his sycophae powers thrummed once again in her mind, an echoed memory of what had happened the last time she'd had to spend more than a minute by his side.

"Good evening all." Nyx's purr was velvetine as ever, though the smile he fixed Fiona with was anything but feline. "Is that you under all that magic, Fiona?" He cocked his head to one side, barely disguising a grin. "It's always a pleasure to see you."

"Fiona will be accompanying Nyx tonight, playing the role of escort." Rhys checked his watch, nervous energy making his toe tap against the carpet.

"But- why?" Fiona stuttered.

"We need a reason to have an unfamiliar face in the meeting room," he answered. "Eris will be suspicious of anyone he doesn't recognise. This set up makes the most sense."

Fiona glanced across to Nyx and immediately regretted it. That cheshire smile made the nerves in her stomach curdle like sour milk as she fumbled for an excuse. "What about Diana?"

Rhys looked up, clearly surprised at her protest. "Eris has never met Diana." Violet orbs flitted between her and Nyx. "We keep private affairs private within the Night Court." He seemed to consider her a moment before shaking off his concern. "We don't have time for this. Fiona and Nyx will arrive as a pair, Cassian will remain by my side and Xander and Bella will flank. Azriel-"

He turned to the shadowsinger, who had been standing so silently in the corner that Fiona hadn't noticed him at all. Azriel materialised a little more solidly as the room's attention turned to him. "Stay in the shadows." Rhys ordered, managing a nervous smile. "Eris doesn't need to know this meeting is important enough to be attended by my honoured spymaster."

"Oh, but your Lord General is no big deal," grumbled Cassian. Rhys gave him a pat on the back as the three of them linked arms, looking over his shoulder with a curt nod to the others. "We'll see you down there." 

The three Illyrians were enveloped by a deep violet haze just as Rhysand's wings disappeared from the back of his perfectly tailored suit.

"Well, now that the grown-ups are gone, shall we have some fun?" Nyx seemed to be having a hard time suppressing his glee at Fiona's clear discomfort, the rest of them stewing in the tension. But evidently she wasn't the only toy he wanted to play with; as he snaked an arm around her waist, his eyes slid straight to Xander, letting slip a low chuckle as he watched his brother's jaw lock stiff. 

"Come, Fiona," hummed Nyx, turning her toward the door. "Let's go and see your uncle."

*

They winnowed into an empty hall, roughly cut from the grey mountain rock in jagged arches that drew sharp-edged shadows in the torchlight. Along the walls were carvings of brutal scenes, great hulking beasts and the silhouettes of Illyrians, immortalised in stone beside creatures of wicked smiles and bared teeth. Fiona's eyes remained glued to the hideous images even as Nyx steered them through an imposing set of doors and down a claustrophobic hallway, where they were flanked by yet more violent artwork stencilled in stone.

"I once wondered where you had hidden the Night Court from the stories." Fiona murmured as they passed an empty room, iron shackles and deep red stains flashing briefly in the flickering light. "Now, I realise it was here all along."

Though Bella and Xander's footsteps on the marble behind did something to relieve Fiona's pounding heart, the faint, warbled screams that drifted up from further beneath the mountain did not. She didn't give herself time to wonder how such bone-chilling sounds were loud enough to reverberate through hundreds of metres of rock and earth, and chose instead to focus on her lazy, languid movements, practicing the arrogant ease of a Hewn City inhabitant.

Nyx's gaze was like a cold spot by her side as he watched. "You make a good Nightmare courtier."

"I learned from the best," she fired back, coldly. "Your cocky strut fits in quite well down here." 

Moments later, they found themselves standing at the threshold of a grand, torchlit ballroom packed with the denizens of Keir's court. The sound of distant screams faded beneath the strange, jaunty music to which the various ladies and lordlings danced, their dresses all tapered precariously low - the hands of their counterparts wandering even lower.

At the end of the ballroom lay a dais, raising a jagged throne on which perched the High Lord of the Night Court - only he wasn't Rhysand. The fae who sat upon the throne wore Rhysand's crown, his hair and face and his tailored satin suit. But his smile - sharp as a knifepoint - and the look of glorious boredom pooling in his sloped eyes was as foreign to Fiona as the face she wore herself. He was flanked by Azriel and Cassian, standing a respectful step behind, though even they were not themselves beneath the mountain. The shadowsinger and the Prince of Bastards had taken their places, hardly a glimmer of their true selves to be found in the steely glint of their eyes and swords.

Fiona followed Nyx's lead, trying not to oggle at the writhing courtiers around them, many of whom hastened to bow as Rhysand's sons passed by. Their father stood from the throne as they approached, and without a word they descended the dais. Azriel faded into smoke and shadow as the clan was ushered through a set of doors into an adjoining room with a long, coffin-shaped table.

At the end of which, sat Eris.

It was a testament to her upbringing that Fiona managed to look him in the eye and stare right through him without so much as flinching. Eris looked tired, worse for wear from what she assumed had been weeks of searching his woods for her. Or had he even bothered searching at all? She resisted the urge to storm across the room and ask him, instead tightening her grip on Nyx and bowing into his side in what she hoped was appropriate consort-like behaviour.

Reminding herself of the mission, of their purpose in this wretched place, gave Fiona the willpower needed to remain apathetic as Rhysand closed the doors with a flick of his wrist, taking his place at the other end of the table.

Eris eyed the posse of Illyrians and heirs gathered behind him. "I didn't realise this would be a family affair." Fiona's breath hitched as his gaze slid over her - and passed on to Nyx without pause.

Rhysand shrugged, the gesture somewhat short of casual. "You brought your family to my court last winter. I thought you'd like to see some of mine."

"Yet rumour has it you still have one of mine." Eris replied, grinding the words out through gritted teeth. "How is my niece these days?"

"Really, Eris," Rhys chuckled. "Surely you've grown sick of blaming me for your runaways by now."

"If she isn't with you, then where is she?"

"I'm not having this conversation again. I didn't invite you here to barter strays." The High Lord's tone sharpened. "I invited you to explain why my steward has been visiting your court."

Eris looked momentarily stunned, before he bit out a cold laugh. "It's not my problem if you can't keep track of your subordinates. And I don't have any obligation to report to you about what goes on in my territory."

Rhys cast his gaze to the floor in feigned disappointment. Those long, thin fingers of his began to bend, and as he formed a claw several of the chairs along the table bent in on themselves, the wrought iron squealing sharply in protest.

"I'll ask again." Rhysand's voice had dropped to a dangerous octave. "What did you and Keir talk about?"

Eris seemed to be assessing the danger the High Lord posed him, his gaze passing calmly from Rhysand to Cassian to Nyx. He leaned back slowly in his chair, a flame flickering to life on the tip of his finger. "We talked about a great deal many things." Eris passed the flame from knuckle to knuckle and thumb to finger as he spoke, as though they were only discussing the weather and not the turmoil of kingdoms. "He's been whispering to the Winter Court that you stole their bride. For your son." Eris revealed, immediately switching his focus to Xander. But if he was expecting a reaction he was sorely disappointed - Rhysand's secondborn was still and silent as ever, refusing to give even an inch of advantage to the Autumn Lord.

"I'm not in the business of stealing brides. Not anymore." Rhys' smile was saccharine. "And, like I said, I've no interest in rumours of nieces and strays."

"Perhaps you should," Eris fired back, straightening in his chair and extinguishing the flame. "You've summoned me here for something of an interrogation-" he paused to glare pointedly at the small hoard of Illyrians behind him. "-at a time when the Night Court has more enemies than friends."

He stood suddenly from his chair, the unpleasant scrape of iron sounding against the polished marble. "It's not my job to keep your courtiers in line." Eris stared long and hard at Rhys, as though willing him to lash out. After a tense pause, he spoke again. "I don't entertain any friendship with Keir, and I told him as much when he came knocking at my door. But you should consider treating your friends with a little more respect," he snapped, shooting daggers at the gathered Night Courtiers. "Otherwise next time I might be much more interested in what your steward has to say."

Rhysand stood abruptly to call him back - but not before Eris' parting smile had turned to scarlet haze, dissipating in the cloying underground air as the mangled melange of screams and laughter came floating back into earshot, taunting them with the High Lord's absence.

*

AN:

Hello again, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I wanted to apologise briefly for my erratic upload schedule, however unfortunately it's not coming to an end anytime soon :(

I'm in my final year of uni, and am currently amongst exams, essays and the middle of my dissertation, so I don't have time to be writing and editing much at the moment, much as I wish I could.

What I hope to do is upload as and when I can, but it is very unlikely that I'll be able to regularly post once a week. Please bare with, and apologies for the disruption! When it's all over I'll have a lot more time to focus on this project and will hopefully be able to close it up by the end of summer!

Endless love and gratitude to my regular readers as always x