Chapter 93

"No!" Elain surged forward when Tallan kicked Lucien as he tried to rise. Yelping when Connal yanked her back by her hair again, she could only watch as Tallan lifted his foot to press down on Lucien's bloody shoulder, grinning when Lucien gave a pained cry. "Don't!"

Tallan pressed his weight down on Lucien, groaning beneath him, and Elain watched as her mate's hands wrapped around his brother's foot and ankle, trying to lift it. Tallan's amber eyes flicked up to look at Elain, and he grinned. "Are you ready for a show?" He pulled his sword from its sheath, looking back down at Lucien who could not get out from under him. Elain could hear Lucien's heart, already beating too quickly, and as her own began to match his rhythm, she began to panic.

"No… No!" She struggled against Connal, unable to break his hold on her as she grew hot and her pulse began to pound in her ears. Suddenly she turned and, like she had once seen Cassian show Nesta, she struck Connal in the throat as hard as she could. He red-headed faerie released her instantly, staggering back as he spluttered, and Elain turned and ran at Tallan, throwing herself at him.

She had the brief flicker of thought, telling her that what she was doing was ridiculous, but she ignored it, desperation to save her mate driving her and a savagery she'd never known before pushing her to disregard her own safety and anything her head was telling her. Elain collided with Tallan, who was apparently caught off guard, and they both fell into the dirt. Elain was slightly surprised, and more than a little impressed with herself, for a second, but then that second ended when Tallan wrapped a hand around her throat and hauled her to ger knees. He dragged her away from Lucien, her feet kicking through the dirt and rocks scratching at her as she struggled to get free from him. She couldn't even scream with his hand so tight around her throat, so she just stared at Lucien as he managed to push himself up, his own russet and gold eyes locked on to her face.

Tallan came to a halt and pulled one of Elain's arms around behind her back, forcing her to her knees again. She kept her eyes on Lucien, through the hair that had come loose from her braid and was falling into her face. He was watching her intently, a low snarl ripping from him as he forced himself up and Elain saw when his eyes widened again as they flicked away from her. She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her when Malak came into view and Lucien surged to his feet, but Malak hit him with a blast of flame and he threw himself to the side to try and avoid it. Elain gasped again and Tallan twisted her arm up higher behind her back, releasing her throat to grab her other arm and twist it to join the first.

Before Lucien could get to his feet again Connal and Malak were on him, dragging him forward and pinning him down on the ground. Connal just about sat on Lucien's back, trying to keep him down while Malak laughed, his grin wide upon his nasty face. Whimpering when Malak laughed again, pulling a long curved blade from his belt, Elain tried twisting away from Tallan, but he only yanked her arms higher and she let out a pained sob.

"Get your hands off of her!" Lucien's voice was low and feral, and he struggled against his brothers, trying to get up off the ground. Elain could feel his panic and desperation and, an instant later, he met her eyes again. "Elain…"

Malak lifted his blade and Elain let out a shriek. She wasn't about to watch Lucien be killed, not while she still had breath in her. Throwing her head back, she heard a satisfying grunt from Tallan and he took a step back, pulling her with him. He released one of her arms, throwing her forward then and Elain managed to catch herself with her left hand before she sprawled in the dirt. "Bitch…" he muttered, as his grip on her other arm tightened for a moment. Elain had barely lifted her head, wondering what he was about to do before Tallan broke her arm. She heard the snap, loud and shocking, and then she heard herself screaming.

Lucien let out a roar, and Elain was vaguely aware of Connal falling into the dirt as Lucien managed to get to his feet. Tallan had seized her hair then, however, yanking her up to her knees. He pulled her head back and she saw his face, a little bloody from where she had hurt him. He grinned at her and held up a large silver blade for her to see. Unable to move, Elain could only watch as he lowered it, bringing it to her throat as he pushed her forward again. She was surprised he hadn't cut her, but she sucked in a sharp breath all the same when he pressed the blade to her skin as she held herself braced with her good hand in the dirt. "Oh, Lucien…"

She was whimpering in pain, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she cradled her broken arm to herself. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away, trying to see through them. "Let her go!" Lucien's voice was firm, and Elain tried to look up to see him.

"Drop it, or I cut her throat…" That was Tallan, and an instant later, Elain heard the distinctive sound of metal hitting rock. She wiped the back of her good hand across her eyes, blinking again as things came into focus. Lucien had his hands raised, his eyes firmly upon her, as Connal and Malak took hold of him and forced him to his knees once more. Tallan laughed then and Elain drew a sharp breath when his blade pressed against her throat.

"Look, you have me…" Lucien's voice was soft, but she could hear the fear behind it. "I'm the one you've always hated… you don't need to hurt her."

"Don't need to…" Malak agreed and Elain caught the look he gave to Tallan over her head. "But… it is fun."

"No…" She whimpered, as Tallan leaned over her.

"Didn't get to see those tits last time we saw one another." Malak said mildly, and Elain remembered when he'd gotten hold of her in a courtyard in the Autumn Court and Eris had pulled him off of her. "Let's have a look…"

Tallan ripped what was left of her dress from her shoulders and Elain whimpered again. If she hadn't been cradling her broken arm to her chest, the dress would have fallen off of her, completely exposing her to everyone. A feral snarl ripped from Lucien and he began struggling against his brothers again. "Don't…"

"Little small, but not bad…" Malak laughed, using his foot to push Lucien back down, "Bet you like it just the same, don't you, little brother?"

Lucien snarled again, and Elain tried to cover herself. "Of course he does." Tallan muttered, "That's why he'll feel this…" Tears welled in her eyes again when Tallan grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her head back once again and his blade came back to her throat. She could see Lucien struggling as both Malak and Connal restrained him.

Fear slid down her spine, and she realised that Lucien's brothers were never going to let them go.

"Elain…" Lucien's voice was suddenly soft, "Look at me…" his russet and gold eyes were trained on her as he continued to try and struggle against his brothers, "Just look at me…"

Images of the vision she had once had of what had happened to Jesminda on the floor in front of Beron's throne flashed through Elain's mind. The faerie had been forced to kneel while Lucien was made to watch, his brothers holding him down just as they were now, while her throat had been cut right in front of him. Elain went cold.

"Lucien…" she held his gaze, the terror in them was clear, as he tried to get to her and realised that he couldn't.

"This feels familiar, doesn't it?" Malak chuckled, and Elain knew that this had been exactly what he had planned. No part of this was coincidental.

"Look at me, Petal…"

"I'm sorry…" she breathed, her breath hitching when Tallan's blade knicked at her throat. "I'm sorry I was too late…" Regret flooded her. Regret at the fact that she hadn't accepted the bond yet. They had not been properly mated, and she was going to die, they both were, without ever properly knowing what that would have felt like.

"It's okay… It's okay…" Lucien shook his head, the look on his face breaking her heart.

"Lucien…" She choked, swallowing the tears threatening to overwhelm her. She blinked them away, wanting to be able to see him. "I love you."

Malak kicked Lucien forward, and he tried crawling, still trying to get to her. "Don't look away." He told her. "Just look at me…"

"Oh, you want to look at one another?" Malak sounded amused and he strode past Lucien in the dirt toward Elain. "Why don't we all do that? Get a good look?"

"No…" She flinched away from him, then screamed when he grabbed the wrist of her broken arm and pulled it away from her body, ripping the dress from her a moment later.

"One last look…"

Elain's vision swam with the pain, and when she could focus several moment later it was to see Lucien on his feet. He gave an enraged roar and threw himself at Malak, and Elain saw that Connal was lying prone in the dirt not too far away. Tallan's hand tightened in her hair, and he began dragging her through the dirt and away from the right and Elain clawed at his hand with her good one, trying to get him to release her. She struggled against him, listening desperately to the sounds of Lucien grappling with Malak, wanting to know what was happening while Tallan forced her around so that she couldn't see anything.

The breath was knocked from her lungs when he threw her to the ground, and his weight pinned her an instant later, holding her in position. She felt the cool bite of his blade at her throat once again and she gave a pained cry when his hand squeezed roughly at one of her exposed breasts. "Is that the best you've got?" he asked, his grin inches from her own face as he loomed over her, "I know you can scream better than that…" his hand moved to grab her broken arm and she couldn't bite back her shriek. "Do you remember?" Tallan murmured, as the sounds of the fight nearby continued on, "What I told Lucien I would do to you when you first visited the Autumn Court?"

"I'm going to have a nice hot ride between her thighs…"

The words echoed through Elain's mind, but she shook her head. "No."

"I'm sure I can remind you." His hand went back to her breast while the other pressed the blade more firmly against her throat. She shrieked again when she felt him push a knee between her legs, forcing them apart.

"No… get off me." She tried to get out from under him, roll away, but could get nowhere, "Get off me!"

"Scream all you want…" he grinned at her, "I kind of like it."

Elain knew that she shouldn't, she didn't want to give him what he wanted, but she couldn't help it. The scream bubbled up within her, rage and terror and everything that was swirling around that had no release. Screaming was all she could do, unable to move and unable to stop him. So she screamed.