Chapter 24

Striding into the dining hall, Elain tried not to let her jaw drop too much at the grand opulence of the place. Everything was a gorgeous warm colour, either red or orange or a really delightful rich brown that she quite admired. The windows were hung with a heavy velvet that added to the mute hushness that she realised she had found quite peaceful since they had arrived.

Eris and Beron were the only ones in the dining room and both turned to look at Elain and Lucien when they came through the door. Elain spared only a fleeting glance for them before her eyes moved on to more. She noticed that their dinner wasn't on the table that Eris was seated at, but rather there were dishes of endless various foods set along a low table by the far wall. Evidently, one was to select what they wished to eat and take their own plate to the table. This surprised Elain, as it seemed far more formal than she had expected. A moment later, however, she had considered Beron and his sons, and determined that they all seemed to relish control rather significantly and so perhaps it wasn't all that surprising that they would prefer to select their own food rather than have someone else put it down in front of them.

Moving toward the grazing table when Lucien's hand settled against her lower back, Elain tried to ignore the way she could feel Beron's eyes following them closely. When Lucien had picked up an empty plate from the stack at the end of the table and handed it to her, Elain felt him jump as his father spoke. "Lucien, come here. I wish to speak with you."

Elain watched him straighten his shoulders before he turned and strode across the room to the High Lord. Able to feel his apprehension through the bond, Elain tried to busy herself by turning back to the table. Letting her gaze move up and down its length, she tried to take in all of the options available to her. Even the colours were pretty. There were more reds and oranges, with generous amounts of crisp whites and soft greens. Elain picked up several grapes and set them on her plate as her eyes moved further up the table. She took in the roasted almonds and the autumnal fruits. There looked to be figs and pears and Elain took a selection of each. Even further along, there looked to be a selection of meats, but before Elain could get any closer she was surrounded by large bodies.

"Elain…" A rough voice came from directly behind her and she froze.

"Are you feeling better after earlier?" A different voice from her left. Nodding, Elain tried to keep her face neutral as she felt a flash of anger and fear from Lucien across the room.

"I am…" She turned her head to meet the amber eyes of one of Lucien's brothers.

"That's good to hear." The voice from behind her again and, when Elain realised that she couldn't move in any direction as three of them were blocking her on all sides, she nodded.

"Have you tried some of this?" She turned to meet another set of amber eyes on her right and was greeted with a vulpine grin before the tall faerie set some strange looking cheese on her plate.

"I… I haven't." She replied, jumping slightly when one of them set a hand against her hip, moving her up the table. She could feel Lucien straight up burning with anger now, and she focused her gaze on the table before her. Not knowing what to do, Elain leaned forward and collected several pieces of apple, gasping when the male behind her pressed against her as he reached over her to select a fig.

"That's good…" he breathed in her ear, before he dropped some sort of glazed meat onto her plate. Elain looked at it doubtfully, trying to shift away from him, but she had nowhere to go as she was firmly against the table now. Unable to move, Elain just stood there as the three faeries surrounding her continued to pile various food onto the plate she was holding, their hands moving and sliding over her as they did so. Across the room, she could hear Lucien's heartbeat thundering quickly, but also Beron's deep voice as he continued to speak at an unhurried pace. The frustration coming out of Lucien was palpable, and Elain could feel his desperation to get away from Beron so that he could come and interject himself between her and his brothers, but the High Lord was clearly not done with his spiel.

Not knowing what to do, and not really wanting to turn and meet the gaze of any of the huge solid males around her Elain shuffled as subtly as she could toward the end of the table, hoping that they would release her when she got there. It would be ideal, she figured, to get free before Lucien managed to escape from Beron and exploded. His brothers had done nothing more than touch her and make her uncomfortable, and she suspected that it had all been entirely for their brother's benefit. They hadn't done anything that would excuse the reaction they were trying to work him into, and if Lucien did anything at all it would be him that Beron would punish.

Reaching the end of the table, her wrist hurting from the weight of her overladen plate, she jumped in surprise when she just about walked into Eris. The other three brothers paused, and then stepped back from her.

"I think she has enough food." Eris said flatly, reaching out and lifting half an orange from Elain's plate and taking it to his own lips.

Elain blinked up at him before realising that she was free of them now, and she hastily walked away from them just as Beron seated himself at the head of the long table. Lucien met Elain halfway across the room, his gentle hand brushing her shoulder was more of a comfort than she had expected. He took two more steps and swiped another empty plate from the stack before returning to Elain's side and guiding her to empty seats at the dining table. When they were seated a healthy distance from Beron, Elain began redistributing the ridiculous amount of food from her plate to Lucien's empty plate.

She could feel him wanting to ask if she was alright, but knew that he didn't want anyone to overhear so she gave him a small smile. After several minutes Lucien seemed to relax until one of his huge brothers sank down into the chair on Elain's other side while two more sat down opposite them. Turning her head, Elain looked at the faerie now sitting beside her, recognising him as one of the brothers who had held Lucien down on the ground while Jesminda had been killed. Hard amber eyes met her gaze and he gave her a wicked smile.

"Are you enjoying the Autumn Court, Elain?" His voice almost sounded like dried leaves scraping across stone in the wind and Elain resisted a shudder when Lucien gave a clearly audible snarl.

"You will behave in a civilised manner while at this table." Beron snapped, "I don't know how it is in the Night Court, but savages are not welcome to dine here."

She felt Lucien struggle to leash his temper, and the smirks from his brothers suggested they knew what he was trying to do as well. Eris got to his feet when Ashk entered the room and Elain watched him stride across the room to help her collect a plate before returning to the table with her and making sure that she had everything she needed before he resumed his seat. Beron had watched the whole thing with a sneer.

When cold fingers brushed her wrist Elain jumped slightly, looking back up to the male grinning beside her. "The Autumn Court, Lady?" he asked, his eyes sliding past her to Lucien as his smirk widened.

Shifting her wrist away from his hand, Elain just nodded at the question. "Yes, it is most beautiful."

When she felt Lucien shift in his seat, she glanced at him. He was clearly struggling to leash his anger, and she could see the tension in the hand he held flat on the table, muscles clearly taught with his effort to contain himself. Elain slipped her hand under the table and into his lap, taking his other shaking hand in hers. His eyes slid toward her, surprise clear on his face. She just looked back at him as she felt him cool as his fingers wrapped around her hand and a wave of thankfulness reached her down the bond.

If Lucien's awful brothers were going to continually try to bait him into doing something to threaten the alliance the entire time they were here, things were going to be even more complicated than Elain had first thought.

Author's Note:
Let me know what you're thinking!