2_-_court_of_mist_and_fury_a_-_sarah_j._maas

I hadn’t realized how close we were standing. “So when you buy jewelry for Amren, is
it to keep yourself in her good graces or because you’re—together?”
Rhys barked a laugh. “When I was young and stupid, I once invited her to my bed. She
laughed herself hoarse. The jewelry is just because I enjoy buying it for a friend who
works hard for me, and has my back when I need it. Staying in her good graces is an
added bonus.”
None of it surprised me. “And you didn’t marry anyone.”
“So many questions tonight.” I stared at him until he sighed. “I’ve had lovers, but I
never felt tempted to invite one of them to share a life with me. And I honestly think that
if I’d asked, they all would have said no.”
“I would have thought they’d be fighting each other to win your hand.” Like Ianthe.
“Marrying me means a life with a target on your back—and if there were offspring, then
a life of knowing they’d be hunted from the moment they were conceived. Everyone
knows what happened to my family—and my people know that beyond our borders, we
are hated.”
I still didn’t know the full story, but I asked, “Why? Why are you hated? Why keep the
truth of this place secret? It’s a shame no one knows about it—what good you do here.”
“There was a time when the Night Court was a Court of Nightmares and was ruled from
the Hewn City. Long ago. But an ancient High Lord had a different vision, and rather than
allowing the world to see his territory vulnerable at a time of change, he sealed the borders
and staged a coup, eliminating the worst of the courtiers and predators, building Velaris
for the dreamers, establishing trade and peace.”
His eyes blazed, as if he could peer all the way back in time to see it. With those
remarkable gifts of his, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“To preserve it,” Rhys continued, “he kept it a secret, and so did his offspring, and their
offspring. There are many spells on the city itself—laid by him, and his Heirs, that make
those who trade here unable to spill our secrets, and grant them adept skills at lying in
order to keep the origin of their goods, their ships, hidden from the rest of the world.
Rumor has it that ancient High Lord cast his very life’s blood upon the stones and river to
keep that spell eternal.
“But along the way, despite his best intentions, darkness grew again—not as bad as it
had once been … But bad enough that there is a permanent divide within my court. We
allow the world to see the other half, to fear them—so that they might never guess this
place thrives here. And we allow the Court of Nightmares to continue, blind to Velaris’s
existence, because we know that without them, there are some courts and kingdoms that
might strike us. And invade our borders to discover the many, many secrets we’ve kept
from the other High Lords and courts these millennia.”
“So truly none of the others know? In the other courts?”
“Not a soul. You will not find it on a single map, or mentioned in any book beyond