2_-_court_of_mist_and_fury_a_-_sarah_j._maas

CHAPTER
56
Rhys winnowed us to the Illyrian camp. We wouldn’t be staying long enough to be at risk
—and with ten thousand Illyrian warriors surrounding us on the various peaks, Rhys
doubted anyone would be stupid enough to attack.
We’d just appeared in the mud outside the little house when Cassian drawled from
behind us, “Well, it’s about time.”
The savage, wild snarl that ripped out of Rhys was like nothing I’d heard, and I gripped
his arm as he whirled on Cassian.
Cassian looked at him and laughed.
But the Illyrian warriors in the camp began shooting into the sky, hauling women and
children with them.
“Hard ride?” Cassian tied back his dark hair with a worn strap of leather.
Preternatural quiet now leaked from Rhys where the snarl had erupted a moment before.
And rather than see him turn the camp to rubble I said, “When he bashes your teeth in,
Cassian, don’t come crying to me.”
Cassian crossed his arms. “Mating bond chafing a bit, Rhys?”
Rhys said nothing.
Cassian snickered. “Feyre doesn’t look too tired. Maybe she could give me a ride—”
Rhys exploded.
Wings and muscles and snapping teeth, and they were rolling through the mud, fists
flying, and—
And Cassian had known exactly what he was saying and doing, I realized as he kicked
Rhys off him, as Rhys didn’t touch that power that could have flattened these mountains.
He’d seen the edge in Rhys’s eyes and known he had to dull it before we could go any
further.
Rhys had known, too. Which was why we’d winnowed here first—and not Velaris.
They were a sight to behold, two Illyrian males fighting in the mud and stones, panting
and spitting blood. None of the other Illyrians dared land.
Nor would they, I realized, until Rhys had worked off his temper—or left the camp
entirely. If the average male needed a week to adjust … What was required of Rhysand? A
month? Two? A year?
Cassian laughed as Rhys slammed a fist into his face, blood spraying. Cassian slung one