Author's Note: Hello readers both new and old! Thank you so so so much for the 200! reviews! I am so grateful to everyone who has enjoyed this story and who joined my "it took way too long for them to get together" team. I am still working on this (believe it or not) as there are still plot twists to be revealed along with some final conflicts. I am also still working on My Brother's Keeper which is about retelling ACOTAR with Rhysand's sister being alive with him throughout his Under the Mountain experience and beyond. That story can be found in my profile!

I also wanted to promote another work I've been participating in and am VERY excited about: I am apart of a collaboration group that started on Facebook and has begun to publish our prewritten chapters and new ones.

Summary: Hundreds of years after the war, the High Lords and their families have gathered to discuss the plague that is sweeping Prythian when they all mysteriously disappear, leaving their mass wealth of power to their heirs who must come together to stop the evil that's beginning to kill them one by one.

This is an OC driven story with 8 authors and 16 characters and SO. MUCH. FUN. It's similar to a murder mystery locked in a mansion type game!

Please tune in and reeeeeeview!

-This fic is called "A Court of Dreamers" and the handle/profile name is acourtofdreamers.-

XOXO

Thank you all for your readership. I am forever grateful for what this fic and all my followers/reviewers have done for me and my spirit. You are all incredible and kind and inspiring and so so so so generous.

Thank you always.

-Jordan

"Stop it," I said, but the words came out in a strangled gasp as they began herding me toward the line of the trees, toward the darkness. I pushed and thrashed against them; they only hissed. One of them shoved me and I staggered, falling out of their grasp. The ground welled up beneath me, and I reached for my knives, but sturdy hands grasped me under the shoulders before I could draw them or hit the grass.

They were strong hands - warm and broad. Not at all like the prodding, bony fingers of the three faeries who went utterly still as whoever caught me gently set me upright.

"There you are. I've been looking for you," said a deep, sensual male voice I'd never heard. But I kept my eyes on the three faeries, bracing myself for flight as the male behind me stepped to my side and slipped a casual arm around my shoulders.

A sudden cord awakened in my bones stretching through me like I'd never felt before.

The three lesser faeries paled, their dark eyes wide.

"Thank you for finding her for me," my savior said to them, smooth and polished. His voice slowly burned at that cord pulling all the pieces of me together and coiled in my chest. "Enjoy the Rite." There was enough of a bite beneath his last words that the faeries stiffened. Without further comment, they scuttled back to the bonfires.

I stepped out of the shelter of my savior's arm and turned to thank him.

Standing before me was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen and that coil snapped into place, a new creature born within me pulling me to him.

Everything about the stranger radiated sensual grace and ease. High Fae, no doubt. His short black hair gleamed like a raven's feathers, offsetting his pale skin and blue eyes so deep they were violet, even in the firelight. They twinkled with amusement as he beheld me.

For a moment, we said nothing. That cord was burning in my chest and thank you didn't seem to cover what he'd done for me, but something about the way he stood with absolute stillness, the night seeming to press in closer around him, made me hesitate to speak - made me want to run in the other direction.

And yet that cord whispered to press in closer to him.

He, too, wasn't wearing a mask. From another court, then.

A half smile played on his lips. "What's a mortal woman doing here on Fire Night?" His voice was a lover's purr that sent shivers through me, caressing every muscle and bone and nerve. Caressing the cord.

And just like that it dawned on me.

I'd always dismissed the legends as frivolous in comparison to the stories of bloodshed and carnage of the war and the deadliness of the Fae. Romance wasn't exactly something that had piked my interest at the time and yet I'd never forgotten. Elain loved the idea of it. Of the mating bond. My sister retold our mother's stories countless times, hope glowing in her eyes for a love that could even begin to compare to the all consuming, burning bond of Fae mates. Every story had described it the same way: there was a pull and then, like invincible twine, a bond would snap within each person binding them with an unparalleled connection. An infinite, immortal connection.

I was not Fae. I was not immortal. How could this be?

But already I felt the comfort of the pull in my chest reaching across the darkness to this terrifyingly beautiful male.

The drumming was increasing in tempo, building to a climax I didn't understand. It had been so long since I'd seen a bare face that looked even vaguely human. His clothes - all black, all finely made - were cut close enough to his body that I could see how magnificent he was. As if he'd been molded from the night itself.

He was still waiting for my answer.

The cord burned in my chest. I couldn't avoid it. I couldn't fight it. The fire of the bond singed inside me, webbing through my limbs simmering my bones. I was boiling with an ancient magic I didn't fully understand and couldn't bring myself to reject. What was this?

"Who are you?" I asked, knowing I should be finding a way to escape. He was obviously more dangerous than the three lesser faeries he'd saved me from and if I had any sense about myself I would be plotting, lying, and running away. But here I was, holding his steady gaze.

His eyes were wide, but didn't reveal any surprise at my lack of fear in his presence. He prowled closer, slipping his hands into his pockets. "You have some sense of who I am, don't you human?"

I stared into his eyes as deep and endless, as enchanting and intimidating as the night sky above us. The burning grew in my chest seizing the cord in flames.

When it became apparent I wouldn't answer, he chuckled. I thought I felt a tinge of nervousness through the bond. "You're welcome," he said. "For saving you."

I bristled with his arrogance, eyeing retreat. I was close enough to the bonfire, to that little hollow where the faeries were all gathered, that I could make it if I sprinted. Maybe someone would take pity on me - maybe Lucien or Alis were there.

"Strange for a human to be friends with faeries," he mused, and began circling me. I could have sworn tendrils of star-kissed night trailed in his wake. "Aren't humans usually terrified of us? And aren't you, for that matter, supposed to keep on your side of the wall?"

Fear met fire in my belly, fighting for dominance. Should I be running from him? If this was indeed the sacred bond of legends, should I join him?

Did he feel it too?

"I've known faeries my whole life," I lied. "I've never had anything to fear from them."

He paused his circling. He now stood between me and the bonfire - my escape route. "And yet they brought you to the Great Rite and abandoned you."

"They went to get refreshments," I sputtered out, and his smile grew. Whatever I'd just said had given me away. I'd spotted the servants hauling off food, but - maybe it wasn't here.

He smiled a heartbeat longer. I had never seen anyone so handsome - and never had so many warning bells pealed in my head because of it. My senses were overwhelmed with the burning tug, with fear and with interest. Surely this phantom cord couldn't be the real bond. Maybe it was magic. The darkness dragging across him was clear proof of his magic. Maybe this was his doing to me, weakening my defenses before taking the opportunity to… do whatever he wanted to me. But would he need to play mind games? He's a High Fae. I'm just a mortal. He doesn't need to be crafty, brute force would easily squash me. A chill sizzled through the fire in my bones.

"I'm afraid the refreshments are a long way off," he said, coming closer now. "It might be a while before they return. May I escort you somewhere in the meantime?" He removed a hand from his pocket to offer his arm.

He'd been able to scare off those faeries without lifting a finger. I clenched my jaw and exhaled invisible flame through the cord and followed it forward. Though it might have been the biggest risk I'd ever taken, I linked my arm into his. He raised an eyebrow, unsure what to make of my actions. "So you're not a part of the Spring Court?" I asked, willing my mangled breaths to steady their fear and, was that, excitement?

He led us away from the bonfire, every movement exquisite and laced with lethal power. He gave me a lazy smile. "Do I look like I'm part of the Spring Court?" The words were tinged with an arrogance that only an immortal could achieve. He laughed under his breath. "No, I'm not a part of the noble Spring Court. And glad of it," he gestured to his face where a mask might go just before I was about to blurt out a why. I stifled it, along with the tight smile that almost spread across my lips.

I should have walked away from him, but now we were touching and the cord tightened pulling me towards that touch. "Why are you here, then?"

The man's remarkable eyes seemed to glow - with enough of a deadly edge that my steps faltered. "Because all the monsters have been let out of their cages tonight, no matter what court they belong to. So I may roam wherever I wish until dawn."

Before I could stop myself from the death wish I must have I blurted, "And where do you wish to roam?" I could feel the heat rising from the cord filling my cheeks. I should not be here. I should go back to the house. I shouldn't have come out tonight. Tamlin was right to have me locked in my room. But at the thought of my room as my cage, I pushed my fears aside and looked to meet the male's eyes.

He seemed frozen to me - shocked. His steps had halted and we were now off hidden in darkness beneath a canopy of wild, ageless trees. Their trunks ripped through the earth and exclaimed to the sky like no simple tree I'd ever seen in the forest at home. It seemed fitting: this male taking refuge in these trees.

Slowly, his gaze dropped south taking in every thread of my clothes and line of my body before bringing those boundless violet eyes back to my own. It was a low purr that spilled from his lips when he said, "I can think of a place to roam all the way until dawn."

And then I was burning. My body was a pyre, an offering to him as the bond dragged me to him. There were no other thoughts in my head. Lost to me was reality. Lost to me was the vague memories of home, of the Spring Court. Lost to me was every fear that once bit into me about this stranger. This nameless stranger was my mate. There was no other explanation. Unless I was losing my mind, this was real. He was real and I was real and I was bound to him.

He dropped my arm like he'd been burned and took a step back eyeing me cautiously. I could see, even in the darkness, the heaving of his chest. In fact, I could feel it in my own.

"Who are you?" I heard the words leave my tongue as I watched his features glow and hum in the shadows.

He tensed and watched me with wide eyes. His hands slowly curled into fists at his side and his breaths evened out. His shoulders dropped, easing his own coil within himself. His eyes never flinched as they connected with mine. But I knew he wasn't going to answer. He didn't know what to do with me at this point. I felt the gentleness and the urgency through the corded bond between us. He would not hurt me.

So I dared, "Do you feel it too?"

And then he was gone in a whisper of shadows.

The fire dulled inside of me, the cord slackened. Distance spread between us as he disappeared in that magical way.

When I stopped shaking I peeled myself from the black beneath the trees and dragged myself back to the hollow. I was grateful to lose myself in the crowd milling along the path to the cave, still waiting for some moment to occur.

Most of the gathered faeries still wore masks, but there were some, like the lethal stranger, potentially my mate and those three horrible faeries, who wore no masks at all - either faeries with no allegiance or members of other courts. I couldn't tell them apart. As I scanned the crowd, my eyes met with those of a masked faerie across the path. One was russet and shone as brightly as his red hair. The other was - metal. I blinked at the same moment he did, and then his eyes went wide. He vanished into nothing, like the stranger had, and a second later, someone grabbed my elbow and yanked me out of the crowd.

"Have you lost your senses?" Lucien shouted above the drums. His face was ghostly pale. "What are you doing here?"

None of the faeries noticed us - they were all staring intensely down the path, away from the cave. "I wanted to-" I started but Lucien cursed violently.

"Idiot!" he yelled at me, then glanced behind him toward where the other faeries stared. "Useless human fool." Without further word, he slung me over his shoulder as if I were a sack of potatoes.

Despite my wriggling and shout of protest, despite my demands that he get my horse, he held firm, and when I looked up I found that he was running - fast. Faster than anything should be able to move. It made me so nauseated that I shut my eyes. He didn't stop until the air was cooler and calmer, and the drumming was distant.

Lucien dropped me on the floor of the manor hallway, and when I steadied myself, I found his face just as pale as before. "You stupid mortal," he snapped. "Didn't he tell you to stay in your room?" Lucien looked over his shoulder, toward the hills, where the drumming became so loud and fast that is was like a rainstorm.

The bond jerked through my chest and I felt the simple rage bubble through it. Could the stranger from another court see this? Hear this? I couldn't see or hear him… But I did feel things through it. He could probably feel me too. I took a steadying breath letting his anger fuel my own, ready to snap.

"You better be glad that wasn't even the ceremony!" It was only then that I saw the sweat on his face and the panicked gleam on his eyes. "By the Cauldron, if Tam found you there…"

"So what?" I said shouting as well. I hated feeling like a disobedient child. A low growl reverberated through the cord in my chest. He didn't seem to like that either and it encouraged my anger.

"It's the Great Rite, Cauldron boil me! Didn't anyone tell you what it is?" My silence was answer enough. I could almost see the drumbeats pulsing against his skin, beckoning him to rejoin the crowd. "Fire Night signals the official start of spring - in Prythian, as well as in the mortal world," Lucien said. While his words were calm, they trembled slightly. I leaned against the wall of the hallway, forcing myself into a casualness I didn't feel. My chest heaved in burning angst as I summoned control over it. "Here, our crops depend upon the magic we regenerate on Calanmai - tonight."

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my pants. Tamlin had said something similar two days ago. Lucien shuddered, as if shaking off an invisible touch. "We do this by conducting the Great Rite. Each of the seven High Lords of Prythian performs this every year, since their magic comes from the earth and returns to it at the end - it's a give-and-take."

"But what is it?" I asked, and he clicked his tongue. I couldn't hold back the twitch of annoyance with him that went down my nose.

"Tonight, Tam will allow… great and terrible magic to enter his body," Lucien said, staring at the distant fires. "The magic will seize control of his mind, his body, his soul, and turn him into the Hunter. It will fill him with his sole purpose: to find the Maiden. From their coupling, magic will be released and spread to the earth, where it will regenerate life for the year to come."

My face became hot and I fought the urge to fidget. The tether between myself and the stranger was silent.

"Tonight, Tam won't be the faerie you know," Lucien said. "He won't even know his name. The magic will consume everything in him but that one basic command - and need."

"Who… who's the Maiden?" I got out.

Lucien snorted. "No one knows until it's time. After Tam hunts down the white stag and kills it for the sacrificial offering, he'll make his way to that sacred cave, where he'll find the path lined with faerie females waiting to be chosen as his mate for tonight."

"What?" I gasped, hoping he didn't notice my flinch when he said mate.

Lucien laughed. "Yes - all those female faeries around you were females for Tamlin to pick. It's an honor to be chosen, but it's his instincts that select her."

"But you were there - and other male faeries." I felt the sweat bead beneath my hairline, not from the cryptic jealousy I'd meekly expected with the news of Tamlin's actions tonight, but from the realization of what those male faeries wanted from me. They thought that just by my presence, I was happy to comply with their plans. I reached into myself and lightly wrapped myself around that cord, hoping to send a message to the other end. Thank you.

"Ah," Lucien chuckled. "Well, Tam's not the only one who gets to perform the rite tonight. Once he makes his choice, we're free to mingle. Though it's not the Great Rite, our own dalliances tonight will help the land, too." He shrugged off that invisible hand a second time, and his eyes fell upon the hills. "You're lucky I found you when I did, though," he said. "Because he would have smelled you, and claimed you, but it wouldn't have been Tamlin who brought you into that cave." His eyes met mine, and a chill went over me. "And I don't think you would have liked it. Tonight is not for lovemaking."

I swallowed my nausea.

"I should go," Lucien said, gazing at the hills. "I need to return before he arrives at the cave - at least try to control him when he smells you in the crowd."

It made me sick - the thought of Tamlin forcing me, that magic could strip away any sense of self, or right and wrong. But hearing that… that some feral part of him wanted me… My chest tore in two. There had been something building during this time here with Tamlin. I could feel it now, a flirtation that had woven through me like slow growing vines. A part of me perked at the thought of Tamlin wanting me, my body.

But I was still burning, a deep constant blaze that plunged through me eating me whole, devouring me at once. The pull was as strong as any feelings I might feel for Tamlin since he took me from my home over the wall.

"Stay in your room tonight, Feyre," Lucien said, walking to the garden doors. "No matter who comes knocking keep the door locked. Don't come out until morning."

I may roam wherever I wish tonight he'd said. All the monsters have been let out of their cages tonight.

This could be my only chance to find answers. What if this was a spell? A trick of the mind? This could still be a trap - a way to get to Tamlin and the Spring Court. I could be easy bait. But the way he'd looked at me… He was shocked when I'd asked him if he felt the bond too. He had to. We'd communicated through it. What if I had detected his spell when he thought it would be imperceptible to me? Would going to find him lead me straight into his snare?

It was worth the risk, I told myself. I'd rather be chasing answers than locked away, fragile and cowering.

I set off on foot running from the gardens toward the hill. Surely as long as I didn't go near the cave, Tamlin wouldn't smell me. He'd never have to know. The drumming was savage, bleating its message into the night air prickling against the heavy beat of my heart. I did my best to be swift and silent, though I knew there were creatures hiding in the shadows around me as I weaved through the thin, graceful trees that surrounded the grounds hopefully avoiding the bogge.

The drums led me along as I ran through the forest. Exhaustion escaped me somehow, though part of me knew I should have found another horse to make this trip as I had the first time. I was beginning to doubt I would make it to the first bonfire when I felt the tug. It was like a trance, this mystical calling from within that begged me forward, launching me into a realm beyond the grass beneath my feet and the smoky air wafting through my hair as I flung myself through its fog into the beat of the drum.

The music crescendoed into crashing waves as I finally heard the chatter of the gathered Fae. When I reached the edge of the trees, I clung to one, leaning against it to keep myself from collapsing. Panting, I looked around at the crowd, their faces still warped by the glamour in place. They were swirls of color in my vision. I pushed off the tree itching to go into the crowd, to follow the pull of the bond. My feet were leadened and the air dripped on my skin, sticking where it landed and my breaths grew heavy. The tether within me pulled, desperately clawing towards me, begging me to follow it, but I couldn't recapture myself. My movements slowed and I was exposed, the cover of the trees at my back.

This was a mistake. I gasped as the panic reached for me. I took a step backwards ready to turn and run but it was too late. One by one the swirls of colorful Spring Court masks came into focus with the maskless faces from the fae of other courts and they were all looking at me.

The faeries quieted and the beating drums became the only sound. My hand reached to my knives, not that they would do me any good against a horde of fae. Lucien wouldn't save me this time. He was right; I was a fool for coming back. I was asking for death.

Useless human.

A crowd of eager party go-ers to my left parted slowly, their eyes widening. A few took a step back and I did the same. Even if I ran they could all outrun me. I was easy prey. A single male moved through them. Wind whipped around the dark figure glowing in the firelight as power swam around him.

Relief flushed through me when I saw Tamlin's face. The familiar flutter rose and died in my chest all in one moment. His eyes were not his eyes. They gleamed in the night, dark as coal, their embers kindling deep within. Too late I realized they were locked on mine. Too late I realized he was headed straight for me. His clothes once fine, now covered in blood from the sacrifice of the stag. Red dripped from his chin. I stumbled backwards in a frenzied retreat, but before I could fall two strong hands caught me.

A scream tore loose from my lips and ice shot through my veins, but in an instant I knew it was not Tamlin who had caught me. Shadows misted around my skin and my blood became molten, the bond comforting me to step back until I was flat against him.

My mate.