Chapter 35

Elain awoke feeling comfortable and warm and so very rested. It took her a few moments to recognise where she was, surrounded by reds and golds, and then she met russet and gold eyes and she smiled. "Good morning, Petal." Lucien's soft voice felt as warm as his bed and sent pleasant shivers down her spine.

"Have you been awake long?" she asked, her voice creaky with sleep. Lucien's gentle hand came to her cheek, his thumb grazing just beneath her eye.

"Not so long." he answered, before a smile worked its way onto his lips, "I didn't want to wake you."

It was then that Elain realised that his arm was stretched beneath her and she had been using it for a pillow. She felt herself blush, sitting up to free him. He slowly retracted his arm, rotating his wrist gingerly and Elain bit her lip. "Sorry…"

Lucien grinned at her. "No, it's… it's the best dead arm I've ever had." She couldn't resist a soft laugh, but then Lucien had thrown back the covers and gotten to his feet. "As much as I would dearly love to stay in bed with you all day, I think we should find out the result of everything that happened yesterday and then get back to the Night Court. I'm sure Nesta is dying to see you."

"If she knows what happened yesterday, yeah…" Elain would just bet that Nesta would be working herself up indeed. She got to her own feet, sweeping her hair back over her shoulder before looking back to Lucien.

"Meet you downstairs when we're dressed?"

"Okay."

Elain returned to her own room and changed as quickly as she was able. She moved to the mirror by the window and hurriedly pulled a brush through her golden brown hair, staring at her reflection as she did so. She looked as she always did but, she noted, she couldn't ignore the wide smile that she wasn't quite able to wipe off of her face. She was happy, she realised. As wrong as that seemed with everything that had happened yesterday, faeries being slaughtered, and an entire court in upheaval, she couldn't deny the fact that she had awoken today happier than she had felt in as long as she could remember.

Knowing that it was due to Lucien, Elain allowed herself a few moments of thinking about what had occurred in his bed last night. She knew that she had wanted to go to him to feel more secure, and that had been effective. He did make her feel safe, and she knew that she probably wouldn't have gotten much sleep if she had have stayed in her room by herself. He had been more than happy to have her join him, she had been able to feel how keen he had been though the bond, although she doubted he had been aware that he had been sharing various thoughts with her. Telling him straight up that she hadn't gone to him for sex had probably been a good idea, Elain supposed. She had been able to feel how much he had wanted her, and she knew that she had begun to respond to that desire. He had known the limit, though, and she had trusted him to honour her wishes. She had known that he would.

Biting her lower lip, Elain wondered if she would have gone along with where things had begun to head if Lucien hadn't have pulled himself back. She suspected that she would have, and that worried her. She knew that the bond pushed sexual desire along. That was rather the point of it. So, she had no idea if her desire had been her own or if it had been the bond trying to do its job. With a sigh, Elain turned away from the mirror and moved to put her hairbrush in her pack. She desperately wanted to figure all of this out, but right now, she had to get downstairs.

Tamlin was handing Lucien a small note as Elain descended the stairs and found them standing at the bottom. She could feel Lucien's anxiety as he looked from his friend to the note in his hand. "Is this about the Autumn Court?" she asked, coming to stand beside Lucien. He just nodded, his eyes scanning the contents. Relief washed toward her down the bond a moment later.

"Eris has assumed the Throne and is in control of the court."

"And your other brothers?" Elain asked softly. "What of them?"

"It doesn't say." Lucien replied.

"What will he do with Malak?"

"I don't know." Lucien's eyes met hers. "Malak challenged him, and will again. If Eris wants to prevent that, he should have him put to death."

"Not exile him?"

"There's nowhere Malak can go that he will not remain a threat. There's nothing that would stop him building a new force and returning to remove Eris."

"Oh…" Elain wasn't sure how she felt about that. She looked up when Tamlin held a small packet out to her. "…what's this?" she asked, taking it.

"Seeds." He replied simply, then went on when Elain raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you might like to try and grow some of the flowers from the gardens here. I don't know how they would react in the Night Court, but you can try."

"Oh!" Genuine surprise coursed through Elain and she smiled at the High Lord. "That is quite thoughtful, thank you." Tamlin inclined his head and then returned his attention to Lucien.

"No word from your mother?"

"No." Lucien said gently, "But, I have no doubt that she is well." He believed that, Elain realised, and his confidence eased something within her. She had seen the way that Eris had cared for his mother, and she knew that he would have protected her to the best of his ability. The Lady of the Autumn Court would definitely be okay, and Elain hoped that she would see her again.

Before long, she and Lucien had left the Spring Court and they had returned to the Night Court, finding the others at the Town House just before lunch. Nesta had leaped to her feet the instant Elain walked through the door to the sitting room, finding her sister engrossed in some book or other.

"You're back!" Nesta cried in an uncharacteristic display of joy.

Elain hugged her elder sister, giving her a reassuring smile once released.

"Yes. Just now." She watched Nesta's blue-grey eyes move over her in an assessing manner, and she was suddenly very thankful that Lucien had healed her bruising the night before. "I'm okay."

"We heard about the coup in the Autumn Court." Nesta murmured, "And I was worried about what might have happened." Elain saw her sister glance for a moment at Lucien who stood nearby.

"Emissary," Rhysand's voice came from the doorway, "come and make your report."

Elain met Lucien's eyes for a second before he had followed Rhys up the hallway and out of her sight. She had thought to follow, wanting to hear what was said, and help explain if she could, but Nesta had taken her hands and pulled her across the room. "Tell me about it." Her sister said, "I assume you'd like to see your garden, too…"

"I… yes…" Elain did want to see her garden.

Feyre appeared beside them as they stepped outside, and Elain moved forward, checking on the most recent flowers she had planted. When she was satisfied that everything was doing well, she moved to a flowering vine wrapped around a nearby trellis. Since she had been gone, it had begun blooming healthily and, as she traced her finger across the pale purple flowers, she figured that it would need trimming soon. Tomorrow, she decided, turning back to her sisters.

Feyre was smiling at her and Elain moved to hug her younger sister. "How did it go?" her sister asked her, giving Elain a squeeze.

"Well enough, I suppose." Elain replied, "Apart from the obvious." She moved to sit on the stone bench nearby, and her sisters followed her.

"Lucien is filling Rhys in on what happened with his brothers," Feyre said, her eyes focused on a plant nearby, and Elain supposed she was communicating with Rhys. "But, tell us about the rest of it."

"Oh." Elain paused, "You mean Spring?" She smiled widely and Feyre nodded.

"How was Tamlin?"

"Well, at first he wasn't too pleased to have us there. Mostly, Lucien, really."

"As we expected." Feyre put in, but Elain went on.

"They fought…" She thought for a moment about giving them the details of what had happened that morning, but she figured Nesta would blow up hearing about how she had also been hurt, so she figured she would stick to the basics. "Tamlin hurt Lucien, quite a bit. But, he was able to heal and then they talked…" she gave a light shrug, "It was fine after that. He was good about me wandering and he showed me flowers for my book. And he was good when we were trying to get out of Autumn…" Feyre was nodding, but Nesta had narrowed her eyes.

"What, Nesta?"

"How do you know it isn't some trick again?" the eldest asked, "He sold us out…"

"No." Elain shook her head, "I know." She looked back to Feyre, "The Spring Court is so beautiful. I can see how you were charmed by it all."

"It is most stunning." Feyre replied, "I thought you would like it there."

"I used to dream of places that looked like that…" Elain told them, and Feyre smiled again. "Oh, but the Autumn Court." She looked from Feyre to Nesta, "It's unlike anywhere you could imagine, Nesta."

"I'm sure."

"The colours are…" Elain broke off, not even knowing how to describe them, "You need to see it. When it's safe, of course…"

"How was Lucien, being back there?" Feyre asked, and Elain tilted her head.

"He was on edge." She looked at her younger sister. "They taunted him… but… he…" Shaking her head, Elain thought about the way Lucien had restrained himself from reacting the way his brothers had wanted him to. "He didn't give them what they wanted."

"And how were you?" Feyre prompted, grinning at her, "Being alone with him for so long?"

Elain felt herself blush and she dropped her gaze to her knees, adjusting the skirts of her dress smoothly over herself. "I… liked it." She murmured, daring to look up and meet Nesta's eyes. Her sister looked surprised. "He… is…" she flicked her eyes toward Feyre who was still grinning. " He is the most … magnificent… male I have ever met."

"He didn't try anything, did he?" Nesta asked, her voice suspicious. Feyre elbowed their elder sister, but Nesta didn't drop her gaze, staring at Elain expectantly. Elain met her sister's eyes, unwilling to look away.

"He wouldn't do anything I told him not to." She said firmly. Nesta looked satisfied by that answer, but Feyre hid a grin.

"So, what now?" Feyre asked her, and Elain looked up at the sky.

"I suppose we head to the Winter Court next…"

"You want to keep going?" Nesta asked, "After what happened?"

"Yes…" Elain looked back to Nesta. "Checking on the courts would be more important now… and I really want to see the rest of them."

Feyre was still grinning at her and Elain looked up when their younger sister got to her feet. "I'm sure you will." She said, "But how about we all go and have some lunch. I'm sure the others would all be eager to hear about everything going on." Elain nodded, not wanting to be the one to have to tell Mor that Eris was now the High Lord of Autumn. Rhys could have that job all to himself.