#RoRSoD

[thatbitchydonutcollector]

The Rose of Regret and the Sting of Desire

Part 3

Nessian Mini Series- Mainly Angst/Eventual Smut

Note: Thanks so much for beta-ing @darlingfireheart (😘). This is quite the filler chapter some may say. But I truly, truly love the duo (haha no spoilers) that I explore in this part. Much is planned, and you must be patient for the slow burn. There will be much more Nessian confrontation in the next part (which is already in the works). Without further ado, enjoy! 🌿

Word Count: 1,343

After more than a day of scouring the House of Wind, Nesta finally shrugged on her cloak and decided to brave the stairs leading down to the base of Velaris.

It was nothing like the human realm.

Where she grew up, full of dull colors and starving lands, people had one hand on their weapon and their head turned in paranoia. The human realm was merciless. The human realm let her and her sisters starve while not even batting an eye. But here...

...there children running in the streets. There were townsfolk walking with smiles on their faces and plentiful baskets of food on their hips. There were people laughing. Playing. Grinning.

These people were happy.

And now Nesta understood what lengths her sister would go to to protect this place of shimmering stars and joyous people.

Her feet carried her slowly, taking her time in searching the grounds before her. A female, twirling with a basket of roses on her arm, gave Nesta a smile as she passed. She stopped on her feet, searching Nesta’s face and frowning accordingly. She handed out a pale white rose to her.

“I have no money for this,” Nesta said dully.

The girl beamed and just searched her face. She saw the uneasiness in Nesta’s expression. She saw the longing.

“There is no cost.” The girl chimed simply. “I hope your day brightens.”

Was her facade that translucent? Nesta asked herself as her nose inhaled the sweet perfume of the blooming bud.

Nesta kept walking until she reached the Sidra. She heard the steady thrum of its current, and the sloshing cacophony of where it thrashed against the bank.

Her head bowed, Nesta sped up her pace. And she knew exactly why her feet wanted to walk faster. She knew exactly why the sound of choking waves almost made her sick to her stomach.

The feeling of water filling her lungs engulfed her. She remembered the way it burned like wildfire inside her and the way she gasped for air on the tiles of Hybern as she expelled it from her system, scorching like razor blades leaving her body.

The first thing she smelled in her new body was her-- Cassian’s blood seeping across the tiles towards her.

Nesta put a hand to her stomach, suddenly overwhelmingly nauseous.

She groaned as she caught her breath.

The raging storm inside her was screaming. She was better than this. So Nesta Archeron stood up tall and continued her search through the streets of Velaris with a white rose in her hand.

The sun was setting by the time she made it to her destination.

Rhysand’s townhouse.

She climbed the few steps and knocked heavily at the door before her. Something inside her churned, slightly hoping that he wasn’t home. Hoping he was off doing High Lord-ly things without his mate by his side. Waiting a few moments, Nesta sighed and turned on her heel eager to leave.

Nesta Archeron had so many questions, and the only prick she knew who would have the answers was Rhysand. But despite herself, she was scared of what he would tell her… of what it would mean.

Just as Nesta cleared the steps back towards the direction she came, she heard rustling inside the house and the door cracked open.

He looked awful.

She remembered what he looked like when he was meeting with the Queens back home. Regal. Kingly even. His head high, his back straight, and his mate by his side. Rhysand was nothing of what she remembered. There was stubble on his cheek, his hair was an untamed mess, and there were dark circles under his eyes as he looked at her.

She saw him try to stand taller, but she was not a fool. With Feyre spying in Spring… Rhysand was in shambles.

He said her name with a hoarse breath, then promptly cleared his throat.

“May I come in?” she sighed.

With a glare at her, Rhysand opened the door for her to follow him in. “What brings you to my humble abode, Nesta?” he goaded.

“I need to ask you something.” Nesta glanced around his townhouse. There were maps spread haphazardly over the large kitchen table, there was a notebook open with maddened scrawl and pencils exploding across the room and onto the floor.

“Oh?”

She suddenly felt the urge to leave. Feyre was out there, in the clutches of their enemies and she was going to ask about unimportant, much less dire things. She chuckled to herself and Rhysand raised his brow.

“May I ask what’s so comical?” his face was unamused.

“Nothing, I--” she paused. “Nothing.”

A moment of silence passed between them.

“Why are you here?”

“To ask--”

Rhys cut her off with a snarl in his voice. “Then ask it.” He still hated her. That much was apparent. For failing Feyre. For letting her youngest sister starve. She hated herself so she supposed it was valid that Feyre’s mate hated her as well.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. “How did you know… that Feyre was your mate?”

His eyes widened. “You came all the way from the House of Wind to learn about Feyre and I?”

Nesta tensed. She felt stupid, silly to come this far to ask the male that hated her guts in such a time. Gods, she was so rutting stupid. Nesta started towards the door. “You know what, nevermind. I’ll just--”

“No, wait.”

She paused.

“I suspected for a long, long time.” Rhysand said grimly. “I had dreams of her even when she was still living in the mortal land. When she crossed over into Prythian it was like a veil being lifted.”

Nesta’s hands were shaking and she gripped the rose tighter. Maybe in rage or in fear, she couldn’t tell. “Yes, all that with the dresser drawer and the dreams but how did you know?”

“Why are you asking this, Nesta?” He knew damn well why she was asking. She just stared at him.

With that rutting smirk on his face, he continued. “When she was revived by the High Lords, after all the chaos died down and I was alone with her… when I smelled her and saw her in that body, I knew. It was like… her being high fae heightened the bond between us. I had suspected for a long while, but that was the moment I knew. It’s like a tether. A string tied between mates that connects them.”

“When did Feyre realize?”

Rhysand’s eyes darkened. “I kept it from her. For months when she was in the Night Court with me. The Suriel told her in the end but she came close to realizing it on Starfall.”

Nesta nodded, turning away from him. She was calculating precisely, taking in everything between her and Cassian. “And when one of you is hurt or in distress?”

“I’d do anything for her. To comfort her. To make her feel better. I’d slaughter my way to get to her, the only thing stopping me is her decision in the matter.” Rhysand studied her face. “But you already know how this works, don’t you?”

She turned back to him, his face had no smirk, no arrogance or hatred. “What do you mean?” Nesta said, but they both knew it was a lie. They both knew exactly why she came here.

“You just needed validation.” Rhysand said plainly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nesta gave Rhysand one last look and then opened the door back to the streets of Velaris.

She was down the steps before she heard his voice again. “Nesta,” She turned with heavy eyes to look at her sister’s mate. “He’s been through a lot, and so have you. He’s a good male.”

Nesta met his gaze as he leaned on the doorframe of his home. Pained and broken. “I know.”

Nesta trekked all the way to the Sidra and watched as the white rose fell from her grip and was swallowed by the current of the maddening river.

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Tagging: @my-fan-side @fck-tamlin @darlingfireheart @beetwixxt

[thatbitchydonutcollector]

RoRSoD Part 3 is in the Works!

Catch up: Here

It’s been a while, but new motivation has surfaced.

🌿