And I'm back with another feysand fic! Trying to be a little more angsty, less light hearted this time which is new for me as I mainly saw my previous fic (the snowball) as just a light fluffy fic. Sorry if it's not as good as my regular style!

"We need to keep moving." Cassian said grimly, shooting an apologetic look at his high lord who had just readjusted his extremely pregnant mate against a tree.

"Feyre needs more rest." Rhys insisted.

"Our inability to winnow means we can't move quickly Rhys, whatever beasts have been unleashed on us now can't be far behind." Mor spoke softly.

Behind Rhys, Feyre heaved herself to her feet, her long flowy dress in shambles as it protruded over her rounded stomach. When Rhys made to help her she waved him off. "I'm okay, I can keep going." She said, lightly kissing Rhys on the cheek when he looked about to protest.

"The smoke's getting thicker. I can go scout out how much of Velaris was damaged?" Azriel asked, seeking his high lord's permission to melt back into his shadows, back towards the pillars of smoke rising from their home.

Rhys nodded. "See if anyone still needs help and evacuate them with us if you can."

Azriel melted into the shadow of a nearby oak tree disappearing quickly. Flying had proven useless with their legion of Illyrians who had all been cut down quickly by some of the beast's magic and they hadn't dared try flying since.

Rhys turned back to his family, trying not to notice their various scrapes and bruises from the recent fight which nearly hadn't allowed them to escape the city. "If we can get to the mountains and find shelter, we may be able to replenish our magic enough to send for help from another court, Tarquin would be our best bet."

"What are we standing around for then? Let's go." Feyre said determinedly, setting off through the trees.

When Mor brushed past Rhys he grabbed her arm gently and whispered in her ear, "Watch Feyre. She's trying not to let it show but she's struggling. I can feel it through the bond."

Mor nodded and went after her friend, wrapping an arm around her back as if to seek comfort, but Rhys could see Feyre gladly shifting some of her weight to his cousin as she stepped over a large tree root.

Cassian limped behind Rhys, being supported by Nesta who insisted Cassian needed help despite his grumbling protests that he was fine. His foot dragged along the ground as his thigh muscles were too ripped and damaged from a large gash to allow him to lift it or put weight on it properly.

Rhys only remained grateful that at least Feyre's other sister, Elain, had been away with Lucien at the time of the attack. Feyre was already stressed out enough over the fate of the Velaris civilians who hadn't managed to evacuate in time, let alone the welfare of her closest friends and family.

Rhys had been so happy when Feyre had told him over a private dinner one night that she was pregnant, but now with all the danger they were in, Rhys couldn't imagine anything worse. While Feyre had already reminded him several times mentally that she wasn't due for at least a few more weeks, it didn't stop him from worrying.

By midday the sun had reached its peak, hovering relentlessly over them. Sweat dripped freely from foreheads, down necks and backs. Feyre's loud, and heavy breathing the loudest of them all. Mor had been joined by Amren in supporting Feyre the last hour when it became obvious that Feyre was weakening.

Rhys signaled for them all to stop. Feyre sank gratefully to the ground, not caring where she sat, beginning to massage her lower back.

"I don't hear any sound of pursuit." Cassian announced.

"Not yet, you mean." Amren muttered under her breath.

"We needed to stop anyway." Rhys countered. "We're still waiting to hear back from Azriel."

His friends looked at him knowingly as his eyes crept back to Feyre. Rhys made his way over to her and sat gently beside her, an arm gathering her to him. Feyre made a contented noise against his chest as he began rubbing small, soothing circles across her lower back.

Rhys knew that the extra weight of carrying their child hurt Feyre's back and made her swelling feet ache, so he did his best to rub and massage the pain away for her at night, even if she tried her best to not complain, telling Rhys it would all be worth it in the end.

"I could always carry you?" Rhys asked delicately.

Feyre only huffed. "You need to save your strength in case…" In case whatever had destroyed half their city finally managed to catch up to them Rhys didn't need to add.

"At least let me carry you for an hour?"

"Both me and the baby are fine, I promise. We can make it to the mountains in the next few hours if we leave soon." Said Feyre.

"What if Rhys just flew you there quickly, keeping low and out of sight?" Nesta asked.

"No." Both Rhys and Feyre said in unison.

"We don't know how this thing operates. It managed to take down in minutes every single trained Illyrian in the sky. An entire legion. I won't risk Feyre or the baby." Rhys said determinedly.

"So we keep walking?" Mor suggested.

Rhys gripped Feyre around the waist to help her to her feet this time, easily pulling her up without her having to strain herself. When Mor and Amren came forward to support her Rhys waved them off. "I've got her."

It was another hour before Azriel returned with a grim report that half of Velaris was still burning and that the monster was nowhere to be seen. Rhys swore under his breath, "Can you try and make it to Tarquin? Ask him to send help and someone to winnow us all out while our magic is depleted."

Azriel was already moulding himself back into the shadows at his feet, when Feyre let out a low moan from behind Rhys and a sharp pain came crackling down their bond.

Rhys whirled to see her bent over with her hands on her knees, bracing herself. "What is it?" He asked, his voice cracking with worry.

Feyre waited a few breaths before pushing herself back up, a forced smile on her face. "Nothing. It's fine." She said too quickly. "The baby just kicked a little too hard, in a place that shouldn't be kicked." She added when Rhys only continued to stare hard at her.

"Feyre you don't need to pretend everything's fine if you're in pain." Cassian interrupted. "We don't want to put you or the baby at risk."

Feyre of course knew this. Knew that if she made a complaint about her aching, feet, calves, back, neck, or practically every part of her body, her friends would stop to help her. She knew that all she had to do was mention to Rhys about the sharp stabbing pain rising in her abdomen and he would immediately let her rest.

But Feyre also knew the danger they were all currently in. Being chased by a dark and dangerous creature with little magic of their own or place to hide. Her friends would not allow her to put herself, or the baby at risk, but she also wasn't willing to risk the lives of her friends over a little discomfort of her own.

"I'll be better when we've found a safe place to rest for the night and we're out of danger." Feyre said soothingly, placing a hand on Cassian's arm reassuringly.

So the group continued onwards until dusk began to fall just as the landscape began changing, tilting upwards as more rocky terrain appeared, replacing the leafy foliage of the forest floor.

"I'll start looking for a cave for some shelter." Amren offered, seeing Rhys glance uneasily between Feyre and the nearby slopes that would offer safety.

It wasn't long before she returned with news that there was a cave just up ahead, but it was a steep climb.

Mor and Amren took an arm each from Feyre as they began their climb upwards. Rhys moved ahead, searching for the least treacherous route, calling out directions for both Feyre and Cassian who had begun to lean more and more heavily on Nesta as adrenaline from the fight left him and his senses returned to normal.

Amren called out that they were nearly halfway when a roar erupted behind them from the forest, making the trees tremble and the ground shake.

"It's picked up our scent." Mor whispered in horror.

"Quickly!" Rhys urged them. "If we can get to the cave we can pool our leftover magic enough to put up some spells to hide ourselves."

Their pace doubled as the angry growls of the monster sounded out behind them.

The climb had gotten particularly steep when Feyre began stumbling, feet slipping down rocks that normally wouldn't have caused her any problems. Rhys swung around after her third stumble and barreled down towards her where she hung limply between Amren and Mor.

"I'm carrying you the rest of the way. You'll slip and take out Cassian and Nesta behind you if you're not careful." He said sharply, fear making him sound colder than he had meant to.

Feyre sighed gratefully as he held his arms out to her. She reached up to take his hands, her foot lifting onto the boulder he stood on above her. With one foot up, she strained to bring the other up too, stretching upwards, when suddenly she doubled over, nearly falling if it hadn't been for Rhys's strong grip on her forearms.

"Feyre!" Rhys cried out, pulling her up to hold her in his arms.

When she finally managed to look up at him her eyes were wide with pain and fear. "I think the baby's coming." She whispered.