#the universe dumping the world's most unhinged human in Rhys's lap is my favorite dynamic

[rosanna-writer]

WIP Wednesday

Back on my canon divergence bullshit for Feysand Week! What if the dining room scene in the first book went a little differently?

"I hardly believed it myself when Lucien told me—a High Lord and a human girl are hardly equally matched. That mechanical eye of his doesn't lie, but I thought it was a trick nonetheless. You and your mistress, forcing me into a war with the Night Court if I dared attempt to save my lands." I'd hoped they'd both forget I was there, but Rhysand turned and stared at me again. Really looked, as if he were searching for answers written in my eyes, my face, my body. I raised the knife, though I knew it would be no use against him.

An invisible, talon-tipped hand pressed its way into my mind. I couldn't move. Against my own volition, my muscles went taut, and the knife dropped from my hand and clattered against the floor. One swipe of those mental claws and who I was would cease to exist. And I could feel them rooting around in my mind, flipping through my thoughts and memories like the pages of a book. Everything laid bare to him, no matter how private or personal. I would have vomited if I had enough control over my body to do so. "Leave, Rhys," Tamlin said. "You can do this elsewhere." "Tell me who she is," Rhysand demanded, a slight frantic edge to his voice. The first crack in his cool demeanor. "Feyre Archeron is your mate." The talons in my mind stilled but did not release their hold on me, and Rhysand's eyes widened in pure shock. Tamlin grinned wolfishly. Like he'd just delivered devastating news to his worst enemy.