Chapter 213

The Autumn Court was alive with bustling energy that afternoon, and Elain couldn't help but listen to the things said and whispered around her. She and Lucien had chosen a table by the far wall of one of Eris' sitting rooms at which to spend their afternoon, and Elain had quickly realised that much of the Court intended to use the room as well.

The idea had been to sit somewhere public enough so that Nesta and Cassian would be free to join them, yet private enough that Elain might speak with her sister properly. Now, however, the room echoed with the soft murmurings of the Courtiers, and Elain was almost growing tired of it. Almost, she figured, but not quite, as it seemed that the favourite topic of the afternoon was speculation on who the High Lord of the Autumn Court had taken to bed on the evening of Mabon. Nobody, it seemed, had seen him.

"How do they even know he went with anyone?" Elain whispered to Lucien who raised an eyebrow at her.

"He's the High Lord. Of course he participated." He replied, "Besides, Eris has always participated in Mabon."

"With anyone in particular?" She pressed, interested despite herself. Lucien gave a low shrug.

"I don't know." He said softly, "Whoever would have him? Which, is probably just about anyone."

"Into more casual encounters, is he?"

Lucien looked properly at her then, both his eyes, russet and gold, focusing on her. "Why are you so interested, Petal?" he asked, and Elain shook her head.

"I don't know." She replied, "The way that he looked at that lesser faerie when she carried the books from the room…"

"Eris with a lesser fae?" The disbelief was thick in Lucien's voice, and Elain knew that he was thinking about what had happened to Jesminda in that very same hall. Reaching across the table to him, she took her mate's hand in hers. She didn't say anything, but just let him be, let his mind process whatever it was he was thinking about, but she held firmly to his hand, letting him know that she was there if he needed her. Lucien was silent for a while, and Elain just sat and waited.

Letting her own mind wander, she listened more intently to the conversations wafting around her. There seemed a lot of gossip about Eris, as well as the fact that the Lady of the Autumn Court had not yet been spotted by anyone. Elain thought about the last time she and Lucien had seen Ashk, and she doubted that information would be useful to anyone at all. She could practically still hear the sounds coming out of the other female, and she felt her own cheeks heat in response to that.

By the time that Nesta sat down next to Elain at the table, Elain almost didn't notice at all. It wasn't until a strange hush fell over the room that she noticed anything at all. "Elain…" Nesta's voice was soft, and her sister was looking at her with large eyes that Elain was certain saw more than they should have.

"Nes!" Elain leaned toward her elder sister, wrapping her arms around her. "Are you okay?" After several moments, the chatter around the room began again, and more than a few of those whispering made no show of openly watching them. When she could meet Nesta's eyes, Elain held her gaze.

"I am just fine." Nesta said, and the look in those eyes told Elain that her elder sister was very much aware of all that was going on around her. "I hope that you were not too concerned."

"No more than you would have been…" Elain wasn't sure if she meant how Nesta had actually been concerned for her when she'd gone travelling with Lucien, or if she was referring to how worried Elain herself had been when she'd first been with Lucien.

"I hadn't realised that so many would pay attention to the actions of others not even belonging to the Court." Nesta, Elain realised, was already tired of this kind of attention, and she couldn't help a grin. Going anywhere with Cassian was going to be worthy of the Courts discussing their relationship yet.

"Court life." Elain agreed, "You should have heard what they have been speculating about Eris."

"He's their High Lord." Nesta replied, "I… I am not that interesting."

Elain had to disagree with that. Even if one ignored what was interesting bout Nesta alone, she was still the sister of the High Lady of the Night Court, and she was with Cassian, and Elain knew that he often sparked gossip sessions among the women of whichever Court he was in. "Oh, Nes." She grinned, "You are, and so is Cassian."

Nesta looked more than a little put out by that response, and Elain couldn't help but grin.

"I suppose…" Nesta said then, her eyes on Elain. "I suppose that you wish to question me."

"You did question me…"

"Yes, well… get it over with."

Elain gave as soft laugh then and shook her head while smoothing her hair back. "No…" she grinned, "I… I don't think that I need to ask you a million questions. Just… how are you? Are you alright?"

"I am." Nesta nodded, her expression solemn.

"Okay." Elain smiled at her, grateful that Nesta couldn't have visions the way that she could, and grateful that her sister had no way of knowing what she had seen in her vision. She didn't need to ask Nesta a million questions because she had seen enough on her own.