Chapter 49

I love Lucien Vanserra. I love Lucien Vanserra. I love Lucien Vanserra. Elain paced back and forth in her room, the thought running through her mind over and over again as she ran a hand through her hair. She hadn't known what to do after Mor had smiled at her and continued up the stairs, leaving her standing there to take in the confirmation of her confession. Needing a moment to consider, Elain had hurried up to her own room where she had begun to pace back and forth.

She supposed she had known, but to hear it confirmed was something else. Letting out a breath, Elain caught sight of her reflection and moved closer to the mirror. Running her hands through her hair had completely messed it up, and she bent to her vanity to pick up her hairbrush in order to fix it. Carefully, she released her hair and pulled the brush through it, smoothing all of the tangles. She had to go back downstairs. She had to find Lucien and tell him. He had to have been wondering why she had hurried out of the dining room without a word, and she didn't want him to think that she had been running away from him. Setting her brush aside, Elain loosely braided her hair once more before turning away from the mirror and heading back downstairs. She had to tell him.

By the time she got back to the dining room, it was empty. Spinning around, Elain tried to remember which of the nearby rooms they would have gone to. She didn't think that Lucien would have gone with Feyre and Nesta to talk to Vassa, and she doubted that he had gone upstairs to bed already, especially without letting her know, so he had to be in whichever of the other sitting rooms had been opened for their use. Moving up the hallway, Elain tried to listen for his heart, letting the bond guide her. She was more than a little pleased when she pushed open a door toward the end of the hallway and found him inside, standing before a roaring fire.

"Everything okay, Petal?" he asked, turning his head to look at her. Elain watched the way the fire made his hair shimmer, looking like molten metal in the flickering light and she smiled.

"Would it not be?"

"You got out of there pretty quickly."

"I had to speak with Mor."

She heard his metallic eye click and he turned to face her properly. "Did you?"

"Yes." Elain crossed the room to him quickly, coming to a stop when he was just out of reach. She didn't know how to do this. It wasn't something you could just blurt out. Lucien's eyes, both russet and golden, moved across her face and he smiled gently at her. She could tell that he knew she had something to say to him and that she was struggling to work out how. When he lifted a hand, holding it out until she placed one of her own in his, she knew that he was going to give her the time she needed to work it out. He wasn't going to push her or try and pressure her into just saying it, and she relaxed a little.

"Do you want to sit, Petal?" he asked, drawing her toward the long couch before the fire. Elain nodded and moved with him, sinking down onto the plush cushions beside him. Lucien lifted his other hand, holding hers with both of his, and he slowly began to massage her hand. Elain let out a soft groan as she just about melted.

"Oh, that's not fair." She breathed.

"What's not fair?" the smirk he gave her told her he knew exactly what he was doing. Elain just met his eyes, lifting her other hand to give to him so he could do the same to it as well. Lucien grinned widely, and Elain couldn't look away.

She watched his face, entranced, as he continued to massage her hands, his own eyes on what he was doing. Lucien's touch warm and firm and Elain found herself inching toward him. He looked up at her when her knee met his and she smiled at him, opening her mouth to say literally anything to him. He grinned at her again, his fingers lacing through hers, and Elain smiled back.

Before she could say anything, however, the door opened again and she bit back a groan. She saw Lucien glance over the couch before anger flashed across his face and Elain tilted her head, looking around at whoever had just come through the door herself. Her heart hit her stomach when she saw Graysen striding across the room. Getting to her feet, Elain backed away from Graysen as he approached the fire. She saw him hesitate when he saw her, and his face went hard, his lip twisting as his blue eyes moved over her.

Lucien got slowly to his feet, and Elain watched him also edge away from Graysen, his russet and gold eyes flicking her way for a moment.

"I… I didn't know you were here." Elain said softly, flinching when hostility was evident in Graysen's eyes when he looked at her.

"The manor does belong to my family…" his voice held an edge that he had never used to use with her and Elain just nodded silently, twisting her hands together in front of her.

"I… know…"

"I'm sure you do." He muttered, and Elain looked at him, wondering what that meant. Hurt lanced through her as her eyes moved over his tall, solid frame, and caught on the disgust on his handsome face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lucien's head turn her way, and she realised that he had felt her hurt.

"I don't know what you mean." She said, looking at Graysen again.

Graysen's lip curled at he looked at her. "She should have told me who was here before I arrived." He said, his eyes looking Elain over from head to foot. She took a step back, finding herself against a table. "I would have gone anywhere else."

"Graysen…" she murmured, not sure her voice would work properly.

"Don't say my name again." Disgust dripped from Graysen's words, and Elain felt tears welling in her eyes. "I don't want to hear you talk at all."

"… don't speak to her like that." Lucien growled, and Elain could feel the barely controlled rage swirling within him. She could see the stiff way in which he was holding himself, and knew that he was very near the edge of losing that control.

Graysen let out a huff, and Elain's eyes went back to him. She watched as he looked from her to Lucien and back again, the sneer spreading further across his face. "So," he spat, "you refused to spread your legs for me, but you have for that?"

Elain went still, but Lucien spoke then. "High Fae are far superior in that regard," his voice held a note of arrogance Elain knew would piss Graysen off, "… and every other regard." Lucien held himself straighter when Graysen sneered at him before blue eyes turned on Elain again.

"It's like fucking an animal." Graysen snapped. Tears fell from Elain's eyes, trailing her cheeks, and she heard Lucien growl in response to her tears. Graysen just smirked at the sound. "You see?" he asked, stalking toward her, "Do you like fucking animals?" he grabbed Elain when he reached her, turning her around and bending her over the table, "But then, you're an animal now, too… I bet you don't care who mounts you."

Flames erupted around them and Graysen gave a startled cry, releasing Elain who scrambled away from him sobbing. She saw Graysen frantically slapping at his sleeves trying to put out the flames which had clung to his coat, before Lucien entered her view. Flames flickered across his hands, licking up his forearms as he advanced on Graysen, and Elain threw herself in front of her mate, her hands coming up to press against his chest.

"Don't…" she breathed, looking up at him. His russet eye burned nearly as fiercely as his hair and he looked confused as he looked back down at her. Elain refused to move, her hands pressing him back. Lucien looked over her head at Graysen again before looking back down to meet Elain's eyes. "Please…" she said, knowing that she had to stop him. Not out of any desire to protect Graysen, but to prevent Lucien from doing something he would probably regret later. "Lucien…" she said softly, "Please… take me upstairs…" His metallic eye clicked and whirred as he frowned and then he nodded, the flames vanishing from his hands.

"Alright…" his voice was barely more than a whisper as he took Elain's hand.

She went with him, allowing Lucien to draw her toward the door. As they slipped out into the hallway, Elain glanced back over her shoulder only once. Graysen still watched them, his face pale and his eyes wide, as his singed coat still smoked gently and, as the door swung closed, Elain realised that she didn't care.