2_-_court_of_mist_and_fury_a_-_sarah_j._maas

the corner, watching. Perhaps they’d remained outside in the snow. I wouldn’t put it past
Cassian and Azriel to be now flying the grounds, inspecting the layout, making wider
circles until they reached the village, my ramshackle old cottage, or maybe even the forest
itself.
Nesta looked the same. But older. Not in her face, which was as grave and stunning as
before, but … in her eyes, in the way she carried herself.
Seated across from me on a small sofa, my sisters stared—and waited.
I said, “Where is Father?” It felt like the only safe thing to say.
“In Neva,” Nesta said, naming one of the largest cities on the continent. “Trading with
some merchants from the other half of the world. And attending a summit about the threat
above the wall. A threat I wonder if you’ve come back to warn us about.”
No words of relief, of love—never from her.
Elain lifted her teacup. “Whatever the reason, Feyre, we are happy to see you. Alive.
We thought you were—”
I pulled my hood back before she could go on.
Elain’s teacup rattled in its saucer as she noticed my ears. My longer, slender hands—
the face that was undeniably Fae.
“I was dead,” I said roughly. “I was dead, and then I was reborn—remade.”
Elain set her shivering teacup onto the low-lying table between us. Amber liquid
splashed over the side, pooling in the saucer.
And as she moved, Nesta angled herself—ever so slightly. Between me and Elain.
It was Nesta’s gaze I held as I said, “I need you to listen.”
They were both wide-eyed.
But they did.
I told them my story. In as much detail as I could endure, I told them of Under the
Mountain. Of my trials. And Amarantha. I told them about death. And rebirth.
Explaining the last few months, however, was harder.
So I kept it brief.
But I explained what needed to happen here—the threat Hybern posed. I explained what
this house needed to be, what we needed to be, and what I needed from them.
And when I finished, they remained wide-eyed. Silent.
It was Elain who at last said, “You—you want other High Fae to come … here. And …
and the Queens of the Realm.”
I nodded slowly.
“Find somewhere else,” Nesta said.