Chapter 370

Lucien knew that his heart had quickened its pace when Elain approached them, and he knew by the falter in her step that she had heard it. The uncertainty he felt from her then made him question why she had faltered however. Did she think that she wasn't welcome to join the discussion? He reached a hand out to her, taking hers in his and pulling her carefully down into the seat with him, his arm winding around her waist. He wanted her to know that she was a part of this, and her input was more than welcomed. She still felt stiff and uncertain and he glanced at her face to see her eyes on Helion.

"We are discussing our options, Petal."

"I thought you might be." She replied, voice soft.

"What are your thoughts on the matter?" Helion asked, and Lucien felt Elain sink back against him, a little more relaxed and less rigid than she had been when she had sat down.

"Well," She said, chin lifted slightly, "I don't know what you might have considered…" her brown eyes swept the room, "but I would have thought you would be thinking along the lines of taking back the Throne Room…"

"That would be the eventual goal." Helion replied, nodding and giving Elain a small smile. Lucien's father's amber eyes flicked to Lucien and then around the library before he continued, "We are unsure how many of them there are, though." Lucien felt Elain nod, as he kept his own eyes on the High Lord, "So we were thinking that our first step would be to try and eliminate as many threats as we could before taking on that… unknown."

"You mean with your guard?" Elain's head nodded in the direction of several of the High Lord's guard standing by the furniture wall.

"Yes."

"We thought," Lucien told his mate, "Small groups moving through the palace would be more likely to be unnoticed."

"We were noticed." She said, head turning and eyes seeking his. Lucien met her gaze.

"Mhm." He nodded slightly, "But the guard are highly trained. Also, we were dosed with faebane… and the effects of that have worn off."

"You're going with them…"

He paused before he answered that. Whatever expression worked its way onto Elain's face then was difficult to read. It looked somewhere between dread, and resignation. Lucien reached for the bond as he tightened his arm around her waist. "I am the Heir…" he said, able to feel the worry clearly down the bond now. "This is our home. The place we will have our younglings and raise them. I cannot sit by while this happens."

"I know that…" her voice was hesitant, and Lucien noticed out of the corner of his eye both Helion and Ashk rising to their feet and moving away. He was not embarrassed to have this conversation with his mate in front of either of them, but he appreciated the consideration behind them allowing that space and privacy. "I'm sorry that I'm no fighter…"

"What?" he was surprised by that statement as the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Feyre would be able to fight with you. To go with you… to actually help. Nesta would too…" She frowned. "I'm no help." A gentle hand waved at the room, "Not even with this or in making a plan. I wish that I was."

"Elain," Lucien said, fingers sliding up her arm to her neck and then her cheek, bringing her face around so that he could meet her eyes. "I have never wanted you to be a fighter. I have never wanted you to be anything other than you are. You were not meant to cut things down and destroy them. You are not someone who does that. You are someone who helps things grow, to flourish. You are a healer." Her cheek was soft beneath his fingers, "And what do you think this Court will need when the fighting is done?"

She blinked at him, gaze unwavering. "To grow back…" she breathed, and Lucien nodded.

"You will be exactly what is needed to help it then." His fingers slipped around the back of her neck. "You will help it grow, and it will thrive… for years to come. And when our younglings are running around this palace happy and safe, we will know it is because we both played a part in making it that way."

This was what he had wanted, Lucien realised in that moment. A home. A place that he would be safe, and that he would be able to keep his family safe. That it would be a place that he had helped make so lit something within him and he felt that fire burn. Elain smiled at him then, her own gentle hand smoothing his arm as she looked at him.

"You'll be going in the morning, then?" She asked, "With the rising of the sun?"

"Seems like a good time for the High Lord of the Day Court to kick some arse." He replied, and her smile brightened.