Sorry I'm a nightmare, this took far too long once again. A/N at the end of the story. ACOTAR and all related characters belong to Sarah J Maas.
As I step through the door's and into the High Lord of Spring's rooms, I am immediately faced with him. A stern, ominous figure sat behind the large oak desk laden with papers, his eyes are on me from the moment I step into the room.
The door closes behind me and I am once again left alone with Tamlin. I don't move, keeping myself close to the door should I need to make a quick getaway, but not so far from Tamlin that I could be perceived as a nervous or afraid; it seemed that every lesson my father had taught me about politeness had stayed with me even now.
The High Lord continued to stare, not saying a word, but seemingly surveying me, sizing me up. I hold my head up, lifting my chin and squaring my shoulders, maintaining my composure while showing him he doesn't scare me, even after his appearance in my rooms last night.
At remembering that, his eyes glaring at me from the end of my bed, a slight blush rises in my cheeks and I'm sure he notices, yet he still doesn't speak.
He looks me up and down, as though there is something more he expects to see than the half fae girl in front of him, and as he continues to stare I grow impatient.
'Is there something you particularly wanted, My Lord?' I keep my voice steady, but there is a certain edge to it; Tamlin does not miss my tone.
His eyes narrow as he looks at me,
'I've spoken to General Carrigan and I believe we need to find out more about your power. After..last night I agree there's more to it than just your being demi-fae', there is no emotion in his words, it's all just matter of fact as though he hadn't appeared in my room in beast form last night and then provoked me into using my powers,
'I'm sure you felt the static in the air before you unleashed that blast,' I nodded at this,
'it's the summons that normally comes when I use my powers, yet you somehow managed to take it and call it into yourself and channel it into your own powers,' he continues to stare me down, a slight tone of intrigue in his voice, yet it still remains cold.
'I assure you I didn't mean for it to happen, if I'd have known what would occur I would nev-'
'Carrigan says you intend to help restore the Spring Court?' his question cuts me off, I had thought that he would scold me, want to throw me out of his court for using the High Lord's powers, yet his question had me hope otherwise.
'If I may, my Lord' I bowed my head as I said this, again recalling my father's lessons on propriety.
'then I believe what is best for you, and my court, is to work with me,' I lift my head quickly, in shock at his words,
'If what Carrigan currently believes is true then it is in both our interests that we learn about your powers' I nod in some agreement, though intrigued about what Carrigan has divulged to Tamlin and not told me.
'you'll stay here, work with me and my generals to train and learn what we can, but you must tell no one outside of the council about it. You will stay in the bounds of the Spring Court and serve-'
'I will if you agree to lead and guide the people of your court' it's his turn to snap his eyes to mine in shock. Knowing now that he believes he has some need of me I am emboldened; if he has demands of me so too will I of him.
'I will stay here, I will train, I will study and serve if you, High Lord of Spring, will not hide here in your rooms, but will join your people and lead them', I hold my head high as I feel tension cut sharp across the room.
Tamlin's eyes blaze as the static energy I now know to signal his powers surround me but I don't shy away from it. If last night taught me anything it's that my powers are more than I know, and every chance to learn about them is one I should take.
Like before I feel them around me and call them to me, but not so strongly as before; they ebb and flow into me and I can feel them growing, yet rather than hold them like last night I push them back out of me, channelling Tamlin's powers into my own. I feel the winds call to me and as they blow through the room, knocking pictures of walls and causing the papers piled on his desk to fly around, I see the High Lord, standing strong and tall bore his eyes into me. I let the well of power empty and the wind settle around us, til all that remains are the two of us staring at each other from opposite ends of the room.
He steps out from the behind his desk, yet I still keep my eyes firmly on him as he comes closer to me. When he stops, mere inches away from me, I expect the worst; I expect for him to have changed his mind and to cast me out, after all he is a High Lord and to be dictated to by a half fae half human girl is hardly something he should accept, but he doesn't. He lets out a breath, stops and then 'you need to learn how to summon that yourself'.
I am taken aback, then I mumble 'I did yesterday', he sighs at this.
'so Carrigan and Enoch told me, but from what I hear that was the very least of your capabilities,'
I look at him again, trying to see something beyond the cold reclusive male I've seen in my time here, hoping that he might have truly listened to my request, hoping that he might be more than what people believe.
'come with me,' he quickly moves around me and turns towards the door that leads deeper into his rooms; I stay where I am, eyeing him warily, but when he reaches his door he realises, turns to me and nods in the direction he's moving, telling me to follow.
I quickly move behind him, taking the door from him and passing through. I struggle to keep up with his quick pace, but I try, moving as fast as my legs can carry me and thankful for the little bit of training I had done that had given me strength in my legs. He carries on til he reaches a set of dusty emerald green curtains; it appears as though they once had gold thread woven into them, but it has since faded or being pulled out, leaving some threadbare patches that a slight glimmer of light shines through. He pushes them aside, only enough to reach for handle and twist the key in the lock below. When he's done with the key he pushes the door open and more of the light floods into the room. He stops and turns back to me, moving to hold both curtain and door open for me to walk through. I hesitate before moving past him, giving the hint of a bow as I do. I wait for him to walk through behind me and as he does, he begins to talk.
'as a High Lord my power's come to me directly from Spring itself. I feel it's constant presence around me, but when I want to use my powers, that's when I have to work with Spring,' he pauses after this and looks at me, eyes slightly narrowed and I can tell he's trying to teach me something.
'I have to bring it into myself and feel how it works'
'and how does it work?' I ask, his response is once again stopping and staring at me, as though my question was ridiculous, yet when he struggles to answer I realise it might be that he himself has quite forgotten the intricacies of his powers.
'it's like a pit inside of me, a reserve that keeps refilling, and when I need to I go to it and use it, turning the raw magic into something specific that I want to happen', this is the softest I have heard the High Lord speak.
He turns back around and continues walking, leading me across the meadow where I can see the Generals training in the distance, and onwards to the withered rose garden that I had collapsed in before.
I stop and hesitate, not wanting to revisit that experience, but the High Lord stops just short of it. I catch up to him and stop by his side, turning to look at him, his eyes firmly planted on the building at the far end of the garden.
'since you've shown something of an affinity to destruction, I want you to bring it down,' he almost growls as he says this. My head quickly whips round to look at the building; a beautiful thing, with ivy slowly crawling up it, it seems to be one of the least decrepit things in this court, and yet Tamlin wishes me to destroy it?
'but isn't it-'
'bring it down.'
His words are firm, final, and he doesn't seem to be in any kind of mood to answer my questions. I give him one final look before turning back to the building. His reluctance to speak of it has a million questions running round my head, each and every one of them dying to come out, yet I hold my tongue and seek to clear my mind, focusing instead on calling my powers to do their work. I think back to what Enoch told me and what Tamlin has since taught me of his own powers. If Enoch and Carrigan are correct in their assumptions of where mine have come from, it's only right to believe their similarity to the High Lord of Spring's own.
I search inside myself for the well of power, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I smooth my hands along my skirts, trying to calm myself and clear my mind, to only focus on calling Spring to help me; as I begin to think of it this way I find it within me. My mind now clear I can feel it like a tree rooted deep within me, rather than a well or reserve, I am searching for how deep the roots go, delving deep down below the surface.
The hairs on my arms slowly creep up as the familiar breeze twists itself around my arms, pooling at my hands. As I open my eyes, looking once again at the small building beyond the rose bushes I take a breath and as I let it out, I also let go of the power I am holding in.
I barely take any of it in as the wind grows strong, blowing a gale around both Tamlin and I before reaching the building, destroying it piece by piece. The wooden beams tear away, flying out into the winds and as I continue to concentrate on the power within me I find the earth calling to me too. I reach out to it, giving it freedom also, and in an instant the crawling leaves and strong roots burst forth from the ground, curling around the walls and crushing them in.
I feel my hair blowing around me, and my long skirts twisting in the gale, a clue to the sheer power I hold within.
I keep breathing, in and out, and reaching deeper into the power inside myself til the little house is almost entirely destroyed. I reach out towards it, and wordlessly call the gale and vines back before I lose control of them, curling the wind around so that it lifts the remains of the destroyed building. As best I can, I cast it away, directing it outwards so that it may be reclaimed by nature over time.
With one last breath I calm, dropping to my knees and closing my eyes.
The last dregs of the wind slowly curl around me and as I lean to touch the grass one last small vine of ivy climbs up and around my wrist, gently as though in thanks.
I stay where I am, my dress pooled around me, when I realise Tamlin is reaching his arm down to me in assistance. I tentatively take it, unsure of quite where I stand with the High Lord, and he helps me up. He does not let go of my hand once I am up and stood in front of him, more comfortably close that I have been before. I look up to meet his eyes and realise they too are softer and more contemplative that I have seen them; he opens his mouth to say something, looking down towards the hand he is holding onto, when suddenly the sound of a breaking branch alerts both of us, our attention drawn instead to the treeline beyond. As I turn my head quickly, Tamlin drops my hand and growls; there in the trees is a human soldier, wearing the uniform I would recognise anywhere of my queen.
Without a seconds though Tamlin is transformed, claws out, teeth bared, and launching himself after the man.
A/N:
Sorry, sorry, sorry, a thousand times sorry. I may just have to accept at this point that planning when I write these does not work for me, when I'm not 100% in the story whatever I write just isn't good enough for me to publish!
Chapter 10 and I feel like it's going somewhere now, so it should speed up from here!
Please let me know if you're enjoying SoS, any criticism, reviews, ideas, opinions are always welcome here!
Thank you as always,
laurelbloom