Chapter 253
Standing by the wall, Elain watched the Illyrians arriving at the training square. There was murmuring among them, and she tried to read the mood among the group. It seemed to Elain that many of them were curious, and more than a few of the females looked wary, as if suspecting something was going happen that they were not going to enjoy. Elain did not blame them for that, considering the raids they were frequently enduring.
The females grouped together, arms reaching for one another and clasping on, holding as they waited to see what they had been gathered for, and what Cassian wanted. Elain held her arms crossed across her chest while she watched, aware that many pairs of eyes were being directed her way. It was clear that the Illyrians weren't entirely comfortable with several High Fae showing up in their midst, but Elain hoped that Cassian would be able to calm them and give them something to work toward.
Azriel appeared then, stalking along the side of the square as he made his way toward Cassian. Elain was surprised by that as she had rather thought that the Shadowsinger would have preferred to hide in a dark corner, rather than be where the centre of attention was about to be. He stood beside Cassian however, and soon enough the muttering around the place began to quiet as all pairs of eyes shifted to both Illyrians. The mood shifted then, and Elain watched as everyone settled. She could easily see how ready they were to listen to these two, and the trust there was evident. The sway that Cassian and Azriel held here was actually impressive, and Elain found herself holding her breath as she watched the scene before them.
"This may work." Nesta said, coming to stand beside Elain. "Look at the way they're listening…"
"I noticed." Elain replied, "They're already interested in what they have to say. That would have been half the battle."
"Indeed." Nesta leaned back against the wall, Elain beside her. It was obvious that Nesta's gaze was firmly upon Cassian as he began speaking, addressing the audience, and Elain couldn't help but watch her sister. She had never seen Nesta like this, so enthralled with someone. It was actually fascinating.
When Lucien came to stand on Elain's other side, she gave her mate a smile, before returning her attention to what Cassian was saying. He had gone over the camp's need for everyone to defend themselves in order to deter those coming down in the raids, and now he was outlining how they were going to go about getting everyone ready for just that. Azriel seemed to be taking notes beside Cassian, jotting down everything that his friend was saying, and Elain smiled to herself. No doubt all of the talking between the two had resulted in Azriel getting no definite plan from Cassian who would have clearly insisted that his general plan would work out. It would have been necessary now, however, to note exactly what he was saying to those who had come to hear him in order to keep things from getting confusing.
It seemed to be as Elain had recalled from initial discussions. Cassian had told everyone that they would be broken into small groups of no more than ten and then over the next few days, rotate through several training sessions with himself, Azriel, Lucien, as well as some time with Nesta and Feyre. There had been some murmuring at that last part, but nobody had outright objected, and so Cassian had continued talking. Elain had returned to looking around the square, trying to memorise some of the faces in order to better be able to manage her job in keeping everyone where they should be, when a low murmuring at the back began once more.
That murmuring began to spread, growing louder as movement began to spread as well. Elain stood straight, Nesta and Lucien doing the same beside her, as she scanned for whatever seemed to be the problem. It took several moments, but then the smell of smoke filled her nostrils and her mouth dropped open. "It's smoke…" She murmured as those at the back of the square began running.
Within seconds the panic and action had spread through the crowd and everyone was moving. Elain followed the others out to the street, coming to a stop when she could see several of the buildings at the other end of the little town emitting thick curling black smoke. Feyre shot past her then, and it took Elain a second before she ran after her sister. She knew that Feyre had some water magic, and that her sister would at least be able to do something constructive to assist with putting the flames out, but she had no further thought as to how to help until she noticed Cassian, Azriel and Lucien running past the burning buildings and into the surrounding landscape. It was then she wondered just how those fires had started, and she turned to Nesta to get her elder sister to assist her in keeping everyone else within the boundary of the town.