Chapter 341

Lucien was vaguely aware of the others his father had sent to further investigate the property they had identified. He knew that Helion wanted them to look around the place and, as he sat atop a flat rooftop and eyed the street, he could spot some of the High Lord's soldiers moving here and there among the long shadows. He watched them for a moment, trying to figure out what they were doing, but then his gaze returned to the building he had been told that Elain may be in. Something in Lucien shifted and his focus on that building narrowed. Instantly, his heart quickened its pace and his blood began racing through his veins, taking its fire with it. Everything in him was pushing him to leap off the roof upon which he stood, race across the street, and into that building. If his Elain was in there, then he wanted to find her. He would rip that building apart room by room if he needed to.

He paused, about to move, when the large double doors at the front of the building opened. Stepping forward then, hoping for a better view, Lucien watched several people come out of the door and into the street. He recognised most of them. They were members of Helion's Court. Not knowing what he was seeing, Lucien tilted his head, his hand moving to his sword. Were these some of the Courtiers who had been taken with Elain, or were they part of the group who had taken her? He moved to the edge of the roof, his eyes tracking them across the street. They moved quickly, and in a tight pack, and Lucien was just about ready to jump down and follow them for some answers when his eyes caught on the building again and something stopped him. Now that he was here, possibly so close to his mate, he wasn't about to turn and walk away without getting there in and finding her.

Nobody was holding him back now. Nobody was holding him down on the floor and forcing him to watch as somebody he loved was killed. Nobody had Elain in front of him while he couldn't get to her. He was free, and he had the ability to get down there and into that building. He had the ability to get to her, and he would.

Watching as the door closed behind the two fae males, Elain got back to her feet. That was the door that they also needed to go through, and she wondered how much time she should allow for the two of them to get far enough away that they wouldn't be seen. Twenty seconds? A minute? She didn't know, and so she turned her eyes on the rest of the kitchen. It appeared that the two males had been making a snack and Elain allowed her gaze to sweep the rest of the room.

"Do you think we should lock the door we came though?" Tisia asked and Elain raised an eyebrow. That did indeed seem like a solid idea. Whoever had been coming up the hallway wouldn't be able to catch them, and it would decrease the chance of someone coming up behind them as they looked for the way out.

"Yes…" She agreed, nodding.

Tisia got to her feet and moved gracefully across the room, locking the door quietly. "How far from the exit do you think we are?" She asked, looking back around at them all. Elain met her pretty green eyes and gave her what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

"Closer than we have been." she said, gesturing at the door they were to leave through. "Shall we keep moving?"

"Let's do it." Eria followed Elain to the door. "I cannot wait to get out of here and back to the palace. Helion is going to be so pissed when we tell him…"

"What do you think he will do?" Noor asked.

"Kill anyone involved." Amala muttered, and Elain wondered if that were true. She could definitely see Helion metering out punishment, especially after what had happened to Sorcha, but she didn't know if she could see him just killing everyone. Perhaps, though, he would.

Out in the hallway, Elain considered the two options before her. Both the left and right passages looked the same, and neither gave any indication as to which lead outside. If she had still had access to her seer abilities, she might have a way of deciding with a little knowledge, but she had nothing and so she had to guess. Turning right, Elain led the others that way without so much as a word. They followed.

They walked for at least twenty minutes, choosing turns left or right here or there, until Elain caught a scent and stopped in her tracks. "What is… does anyone smell that?"

"It smells like smoke." Tisia murmured.

"It is." Ashk said simply. Elain glanced at the older female and then began walking again, this time a little quicker. Was it her imagination, or was it now hot in here? Was the smell getting stronger? What if she couldn't find her way out and they all died from breathing in that smoke?

"What do we do?" Tisia asked, and Elain spun to face her, to face them all. They had followed her and she had lead them here.

"We need to find a way out." Elain said, knowing that were obvious. "A door, or a window to the outside…"

"As the smoke thickens," Ashk said, "We need to stay together. Don't let one another get lost…"

Elain glanced at her and nodded. That made sense. Perhaps they should all hold hands, or tie themselves to one another…

"…where's Amala?" Noor asked, and Elain blinked and looked at them all again. Then she counted.

"… She was just here." She said, glancing both ways up and down the hall.

"I have not seen her since we came out of the kitchen." Tisia said softly, "… Did she… go another way?"

Elain shook her head, not having noticed when Amala had disappeared. The smoke grew thicker, and she choked back a cough. They needed to move.