A/N: Thank you to any readers who are still out there for your patience. This has been one crazy summer, filled with work and writer's blocks. I didn't mean to abandon this, I just didn't know what to do. However, I still have many things to do to these characters, so let me announce that the hiatus is OVER!

Chapter 6

Lucien was cold, and he was tired. He had made the journey from Tamlin's manor in the Spring Court to Velaris many times before, but he always managed to forget how rutting cold the Winter Court was. He had been traveling for 3 days now. Maybe it had something to do with his father in the Autumn Court, but he had never liked the cold. He smirked. Maybe that was why he stayed with Tamlin even after all this time.

He pulled his coat closer to his shoulders and continued walking. As cold as it was, he was going to his mate. The thought of her made him smile. She had been so quiet at first. She still acted so cold towards him, sometimes, even after 50 years. On some visits, she did not want to talk to him at all, and there were some where she seemed to glow. No matter what, to him, she was beautiful. He chuckled as he thought of how forward he had been at first. It wasn't right, but he had been full of all the emotions that come with the bond. He knew now that she did not mean him any harm. She simply needed space. But sometimes she was wrong.

He shuddered, only this time, not because of the chill. Every night since he left, he had woken up in a terror. Their mating bond was…unique. As a seer, she often saw visions of the future. In time when she experienced strong emotions during these, he could see them as well. And what he had seen in his dreams scared him far more than even that sister of his mate's could.

…

Feyre considered for a moment. She turned to her sisters helplessly. "Honestly, I have no clue. They look so similar to me."

Nesta gave one of her darkest scowls. "Obviously, they are different. Look at them. How could anyone say they were the same?"

Elain glanced up from her book. "I prefer the one on the left."

Feyre sighed. One week to the ceremony, and still no ideas on the bouquets. Everyone seemed to have opinions, but she was just tired. Of course, she much preferred the help of her sisters to…Ianthe. Even thinking that name filled her with disgust and rage. She smiled fondly as she remembered destroying that witch's hand.

"What are you thinking about?" Elain's words snapped Feyre out of her memories. Even now, she still though of Elain as the more delicate sister, and hesitated to tell her.

"Do you remember what I told you about that horrible priestess in the Spring Court?"

"Of course." Nesta snorted. "I would have liked nothing more than to smash her brains in." Elain nodded. They had their fights, of course, like any family, but the sisters still felt the need to protect each other.

"Well, she, ahem, 'helped' the wedding planning before I, well, before I loved Rhys." Elain rolled her eyes. She had heard Rhysand and Cassian tell the story of their heroic bravery in rescuing her sister many times. Only Azriel had told her the truth about them waiting for the most dramatic moment before entering.

Nesta was more skeptical. "I still can't believe you let that help. You really should have called us, then, too."

Feyre laughed. "Well, because of her, I called out over the mating bond to Rhys, so everything turned out all right in the end, I think."

Elain got up from her chair and moved to the dining table with her sisters. "Yes, yes, we know that. Now, why were you laughing earlier?"

"Well, um, have you seen her hand since then?"

Nesta scowled, even thinking about that thing made her blood boil. She took a deep breath, though. She wasn't supposed to fight anymore, not for a while, anyway. "Yes, she says it's from some sort of climbing accident. A rock fell on her hand, or something."

Feyre grinned. "You could say it fell, I guess. It fell from my hand. It fell from my hand ten times!" The sisters couldn't help but laugh over that. Days like these were precious, days where they could tell stories and joke and laugh. While the others continued talking, Elain's heart felt heavy. She knew these days would not last.