Chapter 256
Her eyes scanning the sheet, Elain nodded in satisfaction. As far as she could tell, everyone had moved off into their correct groups and had found where they were meant to be. She had just spent the last little while listening to Feyre and Nesta talk to their first group, checking names off her list, and now Elain strode back up the street, her eyes sweeping the shops she passed. It had seemed as if every female still here had turned up for Cassian's discussion that morning at sunrise. This, Elain figured, was a good sign. If they were all keen to learn and take control of their lives, then Cassian and the others would more easily be able to make a difference for them. If most of them were there and ready for that, they would be met with less resistance.
Most. Elain squinted at a few of the shop windows. Most, not all. There were still some who stood behind counters or peered out from windows and houses up and down the street. There would always be those who resisted change, and clung to the way that things were as that was the way they had always been. Change was scary, Elain knew that. She thought of all the changes she had gone through in the last two years, and it was almost staggering. She couldn't blame those who lived up here for being afraid of changes that outsiders brought, especially as they had to be under such stress already with what had been happening to them. She just hoped that those who wanted to do something about it would be enough.
Wondering what she should do for three hours until the groups were due for a break before rotating to their next activity, Elain glanced again at her sheet, before looking up and heading for the training square. She was curious to see the kinds of training that Cassian, Azriel, and Lucien would be giving to the groups they had.
As she passed the buildings which had burned the day before, Elain's gaze slid up the mountain into the landscape surrounding them. It was rocky and harsh, with the grasses and bushes spindly and sparse. Despite this, there were plenty of places to hide while watching the town beneath oneself, and Elain couldn't help but wonder if there were eyes on them now. Those Illyrians could have easily returned and have been sitting up there as her eyes swept the rough land, and she wouldn't have seen them. The thought made Elain shiver. If they had so easily been able to get in and out of the place yesterday, lighting that blaze, then this place really wasn't safe.
Quickening her step, Elain headed for the training square. She would feel safer being closer to Lucien. At least that way, if something happened, they would be together, and she wouldn't be worried about him. They could defend one another, and whatever happened to one of them would likely happen to the other. She could face whatever it was or would be, as long as they were together.
Elain could hear metal on metal before she even got into the training square. She did not expect to find Lucien and Azriel going at one another with swords, and she stopped mid stride, her eyes widening. Staring, shock coursing through her, Elain felt her mouth open although no sound escaped her. Their fighting styles were strikingly different, that was apparent to Elain, even though she was aware that she knew nothing about fighting or swordplay, or anything of the sort. There was variation in the give and take, the back and forth between the two males, and Elain found herself unable to breathe as she watched.
It took Elain quite a while before she even noticed Cassian on the edge of it all, his voice low as he spoke to his small group of females, pointing out this or that that Lucien or Azriel had done, or giving critique here and there. Managing to shake herself, Elain moved around the edge, until she stood somewhat behind the group of females, but still with an excellent view of what her mate was doing.
He was a magnificent creature. Smiling as she allowed her eyes to move over Lucien appreciatively, Elain felt pride swell within her. Her mate was utterly astounding and she suspected that, even if he hadn't been her mate, she would have found it impossible to drag her eyes away from him. He moved in the morning sunlight with such lithe grace and ease, his movements almost catlike as he danced back and forth, sword glinting as it met with Azriel's over and over while that red hair shone like molten metal. If Lucien reflected the sunlight, heat and brightness radiating off of him, then Azriel absorbed it. The morning light seemed to hit the Shadowsinger and go nowhere, somehow almost disappearing into him. It was such a stark contrast that Elain took a moment to try and understand what she was seeing, but then Lucien let out a soft laugh, evidently amused by something that had happened in their back and forth, and Elain's eyes went back to her magnificent mate. Nothing she had ever seen was as radiant as Lucien, and Elain doubted that she would ever see anything as utterly beautiful as he was again.
When Cassian called for them to stop, both Lucien and Azriel did so immediately and without hesitation. They stood side by side, panting and smiling, and Elain knew that they had enjoyed themselves immensely. She looked again at Lucien, allowing her eyes to move over him appreciatively, from his powerful legs and thighs, up over his stomach and chest, past those broad shoulders that she so dearly loved to cling to. When she reached his face, she found his eyes, both russet and golden, already on her, and he was smiling widely as he watched her. Elain knew that he was all too aware of the fact that she had been ogling him, and she felt herself blush. If anyone else had looked at her, she knew that it would have been apparent to them as well. With a shrug, she pushed that thought aside. So what if someone had noticed her looking at her mate? He was her mate, and he was hers to look at. He was extremely attractive, and she knew that she would be looking at him like that for the rest of her life. Others would look at him too, she knew that, and with a flare of jealousy moving through her, Elain eyed the women sitting nearby, trying to tell if any of them had their eyes on her mate. They were all looking at Cassian, however, and she knew that they were all very eager to learn whatever it was that he was about to try and teach them.