Chapter 245

"When did you decide this?" Elain asked, sitting on the low stone bench in the garden with Nesta and Feyre after breakfast had concluded. Everyone at the table had continued to avoid one another's eyes for the remainder of the meal and conversation had been somewhat stilted. This both amused Elain and frustrated her.

"Not long ago." Nesta said softly, chewing her lower lip. "He asked a while ago, and I have been trying to decide…"

"I think it's a good idea." Feyre said, nodding sagely. "The camps are something else…"

"It would be nice to see somewhere that Cassian speaks about so often…" Nesta twisted her hands in her lap.

"It will probably help you understand him a little more as well."

"Most likely."

Elain watched her elder sister look around the garden, her light eyes thoughtful, and her posture as perfect as always with her straight back and shoulders squared. "Are you looking forward to it, Nesta?"

"I…" Nesta made a bit of a face. "Yes and no…"

"Why?"

"It will be nice, I think, to go somewhere with Cassian…" Pale eyes met Elain's then, like you did with Lucien. Elain understood what she meant. It had been a huge step forward in her relationship with her mate, being away from everyone else, just with him. "But… the Illyrian camps…"

"Ah…" Feyre nodded.

"What about them?" Elain asked, frowning. She knew that the camps were rough, but not a whole heap other than that.

"Let's just say they're not the most romantic of places…" Feyre told her. "They're harsh…"

"In what ways?" Elain asked, "The training?"

"Remember it is a place to turn younglings into warriors." Nesta murmured, and Feyre nodded again. Elain looked from one to the other, trying to take in the full implications of those words. She had known that the training camps would have to be some aspect of brutal, but she didn't think she would fully comprehend what Feyre was evidently aware of without having been there.

"You'll have to tell me about them when you get back…" She said, looking once more at her elder sister. Nesta glanced up from her hands to Elain and gave a small nod.

"I will."

"And how long are you staying for?" The High Lady of the Night Court asked Elain.

"Oh…" Elain twisted a piece of her hair in her fingers. "I… a couple of days? Is that alright?" she bit her lip as she met her younger sister's eyes. "We can go if it's an imposition?"

"Go?" Nesta asked.

"To the Day Court."

"Is that your home now?" Feyre asked, raising an eyebrow, and Elain thought about it for only the briefest of seconds before she nodded.

"Lucien will be the High Lord someday…"

"And will you be the Lady of the Day Court?" Nesta asked, "or will you be the High Lady?"

Elain looked at her sisters. Both of them were watching her silently, and waiting for her answer to that question. She didn't have an answer, though. She hadn't thought about it. It was something that needed to be properly considered, and then discussed with Lucien. Elain didn't know what his preference might be, although she rather thought he would be supportive of whichever she preferred. There was also the Day Court to consider. Rhys had been able to name Feyre High Lady because he knew that his Court would be behind his decision and she had no idea how supportive of such a radical idea that the Day Court might be. Although, considering Helion, she suspected they may be fairly progressive.

"I… I don't know." She eventually said, voice soft, frowning gently. "We haven't talked about that…"

"You should talk about it." Feyre replied, "There may be things that need to be in place before that happens…"

"… Helion may live forever…" Elain replied, "He could live for another thousand years…. And he will be High Lord for that time…" The current High Lord was evidently in peak physical condition and, if nothing happened to him, then he would keep the throne.

"This is true… so if something happens to him it will likely be unexpected, and so everything will need to be ready." Nesta placed her hands together carefully in her own lap, her eyes shifting from Elian to the pretty purple flowers growing nearby. "You should be sure."

"I suppose you're right." Elain replied, wondering how she might bring that conversation up with Lucien. "I'll talk to him about it when we get back to the Day Court." She looked at Feyre, "Did you know that Ashk is the new Emissary for the Autumn Court in the Day Court and she lives there now?"

"Oh…" Feyre sat back in her chair in evident surprise, "I knew she was one of Eris' emissary… I didn't realise she'd made the move on a permanent basic."

"Yes." Elain smiled, her gaze sliding to Nesta who actually grinned back. "Isn't it wonderful?"