Chapter 43

Her stomach rumbling, Elain made a face and sat up on her knees in the garden. She pressed the back of her dirty hand to her stomach and groaned. She had had nothing to eat since a biscuit with her quick cup of tea at breakfast, and she was starving. Glancing around at the door to the house, she wondered if there was anything in the kitchen she might grab. If Lucien had been here, he would have brought her something sweet from her favourite bakery by now. The thought made her sad, and she pushed it aside before she began to wonder where he was. Too late, though. As she got to her feet, Elain tried to work out where Lucien would have gone. She didn't think he would have gone back to the Spring Court or to Tamlin. He had been staying with that mortal Queen with the curse before he had come back to Velaris, so perhaps he had gone there. She pushed that thought away with irritation. The mere thought of that woman with her flaming hair irritated Elain, and she roughly dusted her hands off on the skirts of her dress before stalking inside.

Rhys was in the kitchen when Elain walked in and he regarded her with a raised eyebrow after taking one look at her face. "Something wrong?" he asked silkily.

"No." Elain moved toward the cupboard where the biscuits were usually kept. She pulled the door open and pulled out the tin.

"Just want a snack?" he asked innocently, and Elain turned to look at him, leaning back against the cupboard as she yanked the lid off the tin and took a biscuit out.

"I'm hungry." She replied, sliding the tin onto the bench.

"It would appear so."

Elain just looked at him, taking a bite of her biscuit.

Rhys watched her for several moments until he tilted his head, violet eyes following her every move. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

"Where do you think he went?" Elain hadn't meant to ask the question, but it had slipped out anyway. Rhys just nodded, clearly thinking for a moment.

"Are you asking because you want me to find out and tell you?" he asked her, "Or just because you can't stop wondering?"

"I…" Elain bit her lip. "I don't know."

"What would you do if you knew where he was?"

Elain considered. "I…" Would she be able to stay here with that knowledge, or would she go and try to bring him back? She didn't know, so she just shook her head.

Rhys pushed away from the bench he was leaning against and continued to watch her. "If you decide that you want to know, I'll have Azriel find him. Otherwise, Elain, it's best to keep your mind occupied with other things." He paused for a second to make sure she was listening, "Trust me." She watched as he strode from the room before she turned to the biscuit tin again and took another.

If she was to keep busy, then she would have to find a way to occupy her mind, not just her time. She had begun a new book just the other day, perhaps she would bring it out to the garden to read in the sunshine. She could also continue to work on the descriptions of the Night Court flowers she would include in her book. She could do research on some of the other courts that she was yet to visit, so that she would know more about them when she finally got to see them… There were options. It wasn't as if she was without things to do.

Later that afternoon, Feyre and Nesta marched out into the garden and Elain looked up from her spot beneath her favourite tree. Her sisters stood over her, hands on hips and she raised an eyebrow at them.

"Come on." Nesta said, reaching down to grab her hand.

"Come on where?" Elain asked, frowning.

"We're going shopping." Feyre responded. "Just the three of us."

Elain allowed her older sister to pull her to her feet. "Shopping for what?"

"For fun." Feyre replied, grinning.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." Pale eyes moved across Elain's face for a moment, "What do you want to go shopping for?"

"I don't know, this was your idea."

"Fine, we will just see where we end up." Feyre began leading them back inside.

Elain saw Cassian watching them from the sitting room when they walked through the house. He gave her a wink but said nothing, and Elain turned her eyes on Nesta who pretended she hadn't even seen him as they headed out the front door. "So, whose idea was this then?"

"Amren's." Feyre replied. "She said that shopping always cheers her up."

"You think I need 'cheering up'?" Elain muttered.

"Don't you?" Nesta asked, her arm still linked tightly through Elain's.

"Guess I could use some distraction."

Nesta looked at her with calculating eyes. "Food, dresses, or books?"

"Do you mean 'which one first'?" Elain asked and Nesta smiled at her.

"We do have the whole afternoon."

"Books, then."

Elain walked silently between her sisters as they headed for the largest of the bookstores in Velaris. When they got there, she wandered off on her own, perusing the shelves half-heartedly. Every so often someone would pass her with a polite greeting, and Elain would wave and smile in response. She chewed on her lower lip as she walked slowly, her fingers trailing along the spines of the books she passed. Many of them she recognised from Rhys' shelves, so she moved toward the newer releases, looking for something that might be of interest. She had finished the last of the books Lucien had given her that morning, and she had marked several passages she wished to talk to him about. He had been correct in his assumptions, and she had enjoyed every last one of them. Sighing, she wondered when he would return.

"Have you found anything you like?" Nesta's voice surprised Elain who turned to look at her sister. A small pile of books was being held cradled in Nesta's arms, and her sister looked her up and down quickly. "Were you even looking?"

"I… I was." She glanced around the room. Feyre was browsing some shelves across the other side, a small stack already in her arms as well.

"I don't think you're being adequately distracted." Nesta said, and Elain flicked her gaze back to her elder sister.

"I just haven't found anything that has piqued my interest." As the words left her mouth, Elain's eye caught on a prettily ornate golden book nearby. Customs and Features of the Day Court. She picked it up, her eyes moving across the cover, before turning it in her hands and scanning the back.

"The Day Court?" Nesta asked, and Elain nodded as she opened the cover.

"Oh…" She scanned the contents page, "Customs and Traditions, Architecture, Music and Art… Helion…" Elain closed the book with a snap. "Look at that." She said, "Something interesting." She tucked the book under her arm.

"You're interested in the Day Court?"

"Mhm." She wondered if there was anything in the book that Lucien didn't know about his biological father. When he returned, she would give it to him. Perhaps they could learn more about the Day Court before Rhys sent them there.

Elain spent the rest of the afternoon with her sisters. They made their way through various shops, purchasing new dresses and other various luxuries before ending up at their favourite restaurant. In the months following the war, the three of them had made it a habit to have dinner out together regularly, and Elain found that it did ease something within her. She felt easier by the time they returned to the Town House and, after taking her purchases upstairs, she curled up on her bed with the book on the Day Court.

Deciding that she would leave the section on Helion for Lucien, she flicked instead through 'Architecture', looking at the images of majestic buildings with interest. The Day Court looked rather grand and impressive, she decided. She would love to explore it further, and hoped that when they visited, she got the chance. Then, unable to resist, she flicked further through the book, stopping when she found a portrait of Helion. "…wow." She murmured. The High Lord looked pretty much the same as he had in the image Lucien had shown her when they had been in the Autumn Court and, looking at him now, Elain took in his features. He really did have the same nose as Lucien.

Sighing, Elain closed the book and pushed it away. She missed Lucien, she realised. Not even just the aching pull of the bond, but she missed him. She missed being able to speak to him, or tell him about something she had read, and she already could barely wait until he returned so she could discuss those passaged she had marked earlier. Elain missed his sarcastic comments, and the way he would smile at her when she got excited about something she was talking about. Earlier that morning, Elain had found herself focusing intently upon flowers she found particularly beautiful so that she might be able to show him with her mind when he returned, and she really should have realised it then.

Reaching over to the table beside her bed, she picked up the little book he had given her and opened it to the first page. With a careful finger, Elain traced where he had written her name, embellishing it with his fancy handwriting. He had clearly been thinking about he when he had done this, before he had come back to Velaris. Flopping onto her back against her pillows, Elain sighed. She missed him. She wanted him to come back.