Chapter 140

Elain had only gotten halfway down the next hallway when she heard Lucien hurrying after her. "Elain?" his hand gently touched her arm, and she turned to look at him. He looked horrified, and terrified, and she tilted her head. "That… that was not at all what it looked like…"

"Oh?" She asked, "It wasn't that horrible priestess trying to trap you into accepting her attentions?"

"I… okay, yes…" he blinked and she lifted a hand to his shoulder.

"I am glad she did not succeed."

"Why did you walk away like that?" he asked, and she felt his fingers at her waist, sliding gently over the material of her dress, stroking.

"Because," she replied, swallowing the anger that flared in her once again, "I didn't know what I would do to her if I stood there any longer…" she slid her hand across his shoulder, "As soon as she was away from you, I had to leave…" Lucien's hand slid around her waist to rest against her lower back, warm and steady. Looking up at him, Elain leaned closer, sliding her hand from his shoulder up the side of his neck as she met his eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked him, trying to read the emotions she saw flickering through his russet eye. After what Ianthe had done to him in the past, Elain was unsure how Sorcha's actions would affect him. Lucien nodded, smiling gently at her.

"I am alright, Petal."

Going up on her toes, Elain pressed her lips to Lucien's cheek, smiling when she felt him lift her a few inches off of the ground for a moment before settling her back on her feet. "Good." She murmured, "Then let's return to the others."

"Were you looking for me?" he asked, when she took his hand and walked with him back into the hall.

"I heard your heartbeat suddenly increase in pace…" she squeezed his hand, "And I could feel your anger…"

"So you came running?" he asked, smiling, and Elain glanced up at him.

"Of course I did."

"Nesta didn't follow you?" Elain gave a slight laugh at that and shook her head.

"I had left her and Feyre at our table, and was looking for a pitcher of wine…"

"Oh, she didn't know you left…" Lucien laughed then and Elain smiled at him before scanning the room and finding her sisters where she had left them. "I have a book for the three of you." He went on, and she began leading him across the room. "Several accounts of successful seers who anchored themselves to their mates."

"You wanted to show Nesta and Feyre?" She asked, knowing the instant that she had asked the question, that he had hoped to ease Nesta's mind.

"Yes."

When they reached the couches that her sisters were still sitting at, Elain sank down, pulling Lucien beside her and then grinning at Nesta.

"What's that look?" Nesta asked, tilting her head, her eyes assessing.

"Lucien has something that you might be interested in." Elain said, nudging Lucien into producing the book. He took a moment to flick through it before handing it, open, across the little table to Nesta.

Watching as her eldest sister took the book and settled back into her seat to begin scanning the words before her, Elain smiled. Pride swelled in her, and she took Lucien's hand once again, holding it gently in her own lap. She was so very proud of him for coming up with the correct solution to use the bond to anchor her to him, and she was proud of him for finding the evidence they would need to know what to do. More than that, he had sought to reassure her sisters, knowing that they were unsettled about the whole thing and, as she turned her head to look at Lucien, Elain could see the concern in his russet eye as he watched Nesta read what he had given her. Holding his hand with one of her own, Elain slid her other hand up his forearm to his elbow, meeting his eyes when he turned to look at her. "Thank you." She breathed, and he held her eyes, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Of course, Petal." His thumb traced her knuckles gently.

When Nesta tilted the book to show something to Feyre, Elain squeezed Lucien's hand. "Help me find that wine I was after?" she asked lightly, grinning when he nodded again. She let him lift her to her feet, all courtly and elegant, and she couldn't help a grin when he tucked his arm under hers before leading her across the room to the long table across the far wall currently arranged with small fruit dishes, pastries, and wine.

"This looks good…" Lucien reached for a small pastry, lifting it to his lips and taking a small bite. Elain grinned at the appreciative sound he made while she picked up a small yellow fruit and bit it in half. The sweet juice filled her mouth and she made an appreciative sound of her own while her eyes roved the table for a wine pitcher and some empty goblets. Popping the other half of the fruit into her mouth, Elain froze when she heard Sorcha's voice nearby.

"It is quite shocking, isn't it?" The priestess was saying, her voice not-quite-hushed, as if pretending to try to keep her voice down, but not actually attempting to do so.

"He used to be quite good-looking." Another female voice, that Elain didn't recognise, answered.

"I had actually forgotten about the entire thing." Sorcha said, "Forgotten that she ripped his eye out and did that to his face." Elain's eyes went directly to Lucien, and his expression told her that he could hear Sorcha as well, "Truth be told, I hadn't actually seen it before that curse was put in place and the mask hid everything. And I hadn't seen him at all since the curse was broken and the mask came off. I had no idea how bad it was until he came here… What a waste." Sorcha's voice held a deliberate regretful tone that made Elain's blood boil, "He did used to be very handsome."

When Lucien noticed Elain's eyes on his face, he dipped his head, letting his hair fall to obscure his scar and metallic eye and she took a step toward him. "Lucien…" She felt embarrassment from him down the bond and she spun to the table, picking up another of the soft yellow fruits before turning back to the room. Her eyes swept the room until she found Sorcha nearby and she threw the fruit as hard as she could at the back of the priestess' head.

As an indignant shriek went up from the blonde, Elain seized Lucien's arm and dragged him behind a nearby billowing curtain. Backing herself up against the large window, Elain pulled Lucien firmly to her, adjusting the curtain behind him so that they were completely hidden from the rest of the room.

"Did… you just…" he blinked at her, his russet eye peering at her from beneath his fiery hair.

"So what if I did?" She murmured, reaching a hand up and brushing his hair back from his face, tucking it behind his delicately pointed ear. "She's a horrible bitch." She could still feel embarrassment coming off of Lucien, and his eyes were looking her over, seemingly unwilling to meet her gaze and Elain let out a sigh. Gently, she traced her finger down his scar from his brow to his jaw, watching his face as she did so. "Look at me, love." She breathed, making sure that her gaze was steady when his eyes met hers. "Don't hide your face from me…"

"I…" he let out a sigh, his hands settling warm and firm against her waist as he pressed against her. "I'm sorry. I … forget." She traced her fingers down the scar again, making sure that he could feel the love and affection behind her touch.

"You told me once before," she murmured, "That it wasn't long after it happened that the curse was inflicted upon the Spring Court." He nodded and she continued, "You said that you hadn't gotten used to seeing yourself… seeing this…" her fingers moved gently over the scar, "And you said that you still aren't used to it…"

"My reflection still surprises me sometimes."

"You've said that before too…" Holding his face gently in her hands, Elain drew him down so that she could press her lips to his forehead. "You know that what she said is nonsense, don't you? She's just angry about what happened in the hallway."

"I know… but I still feel…" he gave a shrug, and Elain frowned. "I'm just not used to it."

"Do you know what I feel when I look at you…" her fingers traced his cheek, down to his jaw, "All of you…?"

"I couldn't imagine…" He smiled at her, his tone teasing.

"When I see your extremely attractive face…" she murmured, sliding her hands down his arms as she leaned further back into the window. "I feel all sorts of things…" Slowly, Elain lifted one of her legs, bringing it up to hook carefully around his waist, smiling when one of Lucien's hands slid to her thigh, holding her there. She felt his excitement, and heard his heartbeat increase as he looked at her, raising an eyebrow above his russet eye.

"We are still in the dining hall…" his voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes…" Elain felt a sense of satisfaction at the look on Lucien's face now, and at the fact that she knew that he would be very into this. His reaction had been precisely what she had anticipated it would be, and there was no sense of embarrassment about him now. "And you are so very appealing…"

Biting back a soft groan when she felt Lucien press himself against her, Elain allowed her eyes to close. "You don't want to do this here…" his breath was hot against her ear and she slid one of her hands up the back of his neck into his hair. "Half the Court would have seen us come behind this curtain."

"I know." He was right. She definitely didn't want to have anyone open the curtain on them while doing anything so indecent, but she had known that Lucien would find the idea exciting. As his lips moved down her throat, Elain combed her fingers through his hair, enjoying the heat that was now burning through her. "Should…" she breathed, "go back…"

"Mhmm." Lucien's reply was murmured against her skin, "Nesta has probably finished reading that book…"

"Yes…" the word came out as a sigh, and Lucien slowly released his hold on her thigh, allowing her to lower her leg to the floor.

"To be continued later, then." He told her, his voice low, as he lifted his head enough to meet her eyes. Elain nodded, her hands moving to straighten her dress, smoothing it over herself as she tried to ensure that she looked presentable. Lifting her hand then to smooth Lucien's hair down, Elain let her eyes move over him, taking in his every feature, lingering on his golden eye and scar.

"I look forward to that." She breathed, stroking his hair back from his face again and tucking it behind his ear once more so that it obscured none of his face. Letting her fingers then gently caress his cheek before she lowered her hand, she watched as his eyes closed for a moment before he pressed a kiss to her forehead and reached back to open the curtain. Casually, they slipped back into the room, and Elain snagged a pitcher of wine from the table by the wall while Lucien collected several goblets, before they returned to where Nesta and Feyre still sat, the book still open between them.

"Did I just see you throw fruit at that priestess?" Feyre asked, a wide smile spread brightly across her face.

Elain raised an eyebrow, keeping the rest of her face as neutral as she was able. "Yes." She said simply, pouring the wine into the goblets and then sitting back in her seat, her own goblet cradled carefully in her hands. "I believe you did."