Chapter 254

The smoke was thick and stung Elain's eyes as she tried to get everyone to stay in the street. Several buildings were on fire, and a line had formed to pass buckets of water from the well to the fires in an attempt to put them out. Out of the corner of her stinging eyes, Elain could see Feyre standing before the flames of the largest fire, trying to wield her magic in battling the heat and flames. Elain could see that her sister was making a difference, and she returned her attention to what she and Nesta were trying to do.

Having seen Lucien, Cassian and Azriel disappear out past the edge of town, she was convinced that it would be best to keep everyone away from the potential dangers. The Illyrian females at first did not take kindly to Elain and Nesta trying to tell them what to do, but after several minutes of reasoning, and the fire spreading to another two buildings, things in the street became desperate and chaotic enough that they were all too busy to argue. Just about everyone was now actively trying to help put the flames out, but the smoke only thickened. Elain choked as the wind whipped it past her, forcing it into her mouth and up her nose. Nesta's arm came around her, and they both turned out of the wind, Elain's eyes squinting to see as far through the smoke as she could in the direction her mate had run.

If whoever had lit these fires was out there, then they were a potential threat, and the thought that Lucien had gone running straight toward them unsettled Elain. She knew that Lucien was a skilled fighter, and he had weapons on him, he always did, not least that lovely sword he was so fond of. However, she didn't know how well he would do against a possible horde of Illyrian warriors. It would be a mistake to trust that he would come out of that scuffle intact. Elain bit her lip at the thought, rubbing at her stinging eyes with one hand as she tried to resist a noise of distress.

Opening herself to the bond, Elain tried to search for Lucien. She could still hear his heartbeat, which she knew was a good sign, as so far it wasn't altogether too quick or out of the ordinary. Down the bond she could sense a little anxiety, and some determination. This suggested to her that they hadn't found whatever they had been looking for, and that relieved Elain a little as she figured they would be returning any moment, and she could stop worrying.

Returning her focus to the fires, Elain and Nesta moved to help join the lines, hauling buckets of water back and forth. The acrid smoke was everywhere, thick and oily, but after a while their efforts began to pay off and the flames receded. Elain wiped the back of her dirty hand across for forehead, her eyes going back to the end of the street. Her heartrate increased when she saw several silhouettes moving through the smoke, wings casting shadows, even in the dim light. She had thought, at first, that it was her friends returning and she went to move toward them, eager to find her mate. An instant later, however, she realised that those wings did not belong to either Cassian or Azriel, and her breath caught in her throat. She'd frozen, halfway through turning to head their way, and one of her hands reached out to grab Nesta by the elbow. Her sister's posture went rigid when she had turned to look at what Elain was focused on, and one of Nesta's free hands reached out in front of Elain, preventing her from moving any closer to the shapes coming out of the smoke.

"Elain, get back…"

Elain just watched as the Illyrians drew closer until she could make out at least five of them at the edge of the street, looking into the town and watching everyone putting out the last of the fires. She could feel her pulse quicken, her heart beginning to thunder in her chest, and she knew that it was panic rising in her. They had done nothing to teach those here how to defend themselves yet, and she knew that if those Illyrians decided to walk through the camp and take whatever they wanted, that it was unlikely they would be able to stop them, especially with Cassian, Azriel, and Lucien out in the hillside.

Panic moved through Elain, hot and blistering, as she tried to work out what to do. She felt a questioning tug down the bond, and then Lucien appeared a few feet away having winnowed into the street. He looked at her, and she could see his metallic eye trying to focus on her face as he strode toward her, concern evident on the rest of his face. He stopped mid stride however, clearly having read something on her own face, and then he twisted around to see what she was looking at. When he saw the Illyrians, Lucien's back went straight and he spun around, his stance widening into a ready pose, sword now in hand, as he put himself squarely between Elain and Nesta, and the threat at the end of the street. Elain went to take a step toward him, but Nesta pulled her back, grip iron around Elain's wrist.

"Lucien, don't…" Elain said, loud enough that she knew her mate could hear her. He didn't move, however, although she knew that he wouldn't. He wasn't about to go charging off to fight, but he would fight if the threat came any closer, endangering them. Elain couldn't breath as she stood there, just watching. She dreaded the moment those Illyrians would come closer, because she knew that her mate would come off second best if he had to defend against the five of them, and that was even if she could see all that there were. Elain swallowed thickly at the thought that there were likely more of them out there, hiding and just waiting to come down and join their friends when the time was right. "Lucien…" she breathed, wanting to move toward him again, but Nesta still held her wrist tightly.

Behind them, others had begun to notice what was happening and, as the last of the flames were extinguished, some of the Illyrian females began to gather. Elain could hear the murmuring behind herself and Nesta and she glanced over her shoulder to see groups forming as they watched the end of the street. The fear and anxiety coming off of them was almost palpable, and Elain knew that Cassian had been right. They all needed some serious work in order to squash that fear and build confidence.

Lucien's heartbeat quickening in Elain's head made her spin back around to look at him, and she could see him readying himself an instant before Cassian and Azriel descended out of the smoky sky, landing between Lucien and the Illyrians coming their way.

"Are you boys lost?" Cassian's falsely bright voice carried easily to them up the street, and the murmuring behind Elain stopped as everyone tried to listen to what was being said.

"We… saw the smoke." The closest Illyrian said, and the lie was evident in his voice. "Thought we might come to see what it was all about."

"Well, you can see that it's under control." Cassian replied, "You can go about your day…"

The low, mocking laugh, that came back at them made the hairs on the back on Elain's neck stand on end. "Maybe we'll come back and check on how things are later…"

"You do," Cassian warned, and all traces of false humour were gone from his voice now, "and you'll be the ones who need checking on."

"You plan on moving in?"

"Does that matter?" Cassian drawled, and the Illyrians who were becoming more and more clearly visible as the last of the smoke was whipped away by the wind, made a show of looking past the males facing them, their eyes roving over the groups of Illyrian females standing in the street.

"We will probably find the place more hospitable when you're on your way home…"

"Unlikely." Cassian's voice was nearly a growl now, and Elain saw Azriel eyeing his friend, and adjusting his stance a little, as if expecting Cassian to suddenly attack. "I'm telling you that you'll never find this place or those in it hospitable ever again, and if you come back here, I'll see you put into the dirt."

"Oh, all of us?" There was mocking humour in the retort, but Cassian gave a cold laugh.

"All of you."

There was a murmur of annoyance from the males at the end of the street, and Elain watched them adjusting their wings uncomfortably as they looked at one another before they all suddenly leaped skyward. Within seconds they were gone, and the tension in the street eased a little. Nesta released Elain, and Elain hurried toward Lucien, reaching him as he sheathed his sword, and she pressed herself into his side, relief flowing through her as he wrapped his now free arm around her waist, holding her to himself.

"I'm glad you didn't attack them." She murmured, shuddering a little when she felt his lips brush against her forehead lightly.

"I have no desire to die, Petal." He said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice, his attempt at humour to deflect from how serious the situation could have gotten. Looking up at him, Elain tightened her hand around her grip on his shirt.

"That's good to know, love."

He smiled at her, nodding. "Come on," he said, turning her and moving toward Cassian, Azriel, Nesta, and Feyre who stood nearby.

"Will they come back?" Nesta asked, and both Cassian and Azriel nodded.

"They will." Azriel said, "We need to move forward with our plans…"

"We're ready." Feyre said, "Let's get it happening."