Chapter 262
Sitting by the window, Elain watched everyone who had crammed into the training square. Most were sitting on the floor, their arms around their knees or those nearby to them. All of their eyes were on where Cassian stood. She would have believed him, Elain decided. If she had have been one of those living here, and he had given an explanation similar to that which he had just delivered to these folk, Elain was sure that she would have believed him, and done whatever he had asked.
That seemed to be the consensus here, too. Even those who had looked put out or irritated earlier now seemed thoughtful, and more than a few looked scared. She understood that too, because the visions from her dream still haunted her. Wondering what she would do if the attack came, Elain looked around the square once more, looking for Lucien. She spotted his vibrant ruby hair within seconds and she couldn't look away. He was looking at the crowd in a way that was similar to what she figured she had just been, and she wondered what he was thinking. Reaching for the bond, she knew that he'd felt her when his eyes, both russet and gold, flicked her way, meeting her gaze across the square. Tilting her head, Elain set her features into a questioning expression, and he dipped his head in acknowledgement.
If the attack came, Elain knew, she would find Lucien and not leave his side until it was over. There was absolutely no way that she was going to risk losing him and then wind up repeating what had happened in that dream. She was going to stick to her mate's side. If they died, they would do it together. She knew that he'd felt her then, somehow gleaned her thoughts, because he frowned and began moving around the edge of the square as he approached her. She watched him come, trying to read his expression, but then he'd reached her and she looked up at him as he brought a hand up to her cheek. Elain let him wrap an arm around her, and she could see several of the nearby Illyrians turn to look at them, wondering what was going on. Elain returned her eyes to Lucien, though, not caring that they were being watched.
"What are you thinking of doing, exactly, Petal?" he asked, voice quiet.
"Staying with you." She breathed, eyes locked on his face. She saw the relief that flooded him then, felt it down the bond, and he nodded.
"If the attack comes?"
"Yes." She nodded, holding his eyes, wanting him to feel her determination. "If it comes… I'm staying with you. I don't want to be anywhere else, I don't want to be separated from you."
"Yes…" his fingers threaded into her hair, and he pulled her head back just a little. "Yes… we will stay together." He told her, "That's the plan." Elain nodded her head, one of her own hands sliding from Lucien's hip, around to his back.
Cassian's plan hadn't seemed that elaborate, and Elain didn't know if he had presented it that way because it was simple, or because he didn't want to confuse or scare everyone in the square. Perhaps that wasn't all that there was to it, but it might have been. It did seem like Cassian to come up with a simple yet effective plan.
"I have to help secure the perimeter." Lucien's hand went under one of Elain's elbows and she allowed him to lift her to her feet. "Come with me?"
"Absolutely." She tucked her clipboard beneath her arm, linking her other through her mate's elbow as she held on to him. A sudden shiver moved through her and she froze for an instant, she thought she had masked it well enough, smiling up at Lucien, but his frown told her that she hadn't. He'd felt it though the bond, that much was clear as he turned toward her, both of his hands coming up to her jaw, lifting her face so that he could see her better.
"What was that?" he asked, "Elain?" he asked when she just shook her head, "What was that?"
"Nothing…" she murmured, "Just a shiver?"
"Are you cold?"
"No…"
He was staring at her, and she could feel his worry and confusion as his eyes moved over her, his metallic eye clicking and whirring as he tried to look for something that was amiss. "What caused it?"
"I don't know." She replied, and that was true. "I'm not cold, and I feel fine… it was just a shiver."
"No vision?" he asked, and Elain shook her head again. There had been nothing that had come with it, no images or feelings beyond the shiver herself. There was nothing that gave any clue, and she continued to shake her head as she looked up at her mate. Lucien's hands slid to her shoulders and she felt him rubbing at her, as if trying to warm her. "You don't feel sick?"
"No, Lucien…" she breathed, trying to reassure him. "It was nothing… there was nothi-" another shiver moved through her, and she shook hard enough that Lucien's hands tightened on her, holding her to her feet. "Oh…" she breathed, a sense of surety moving though her that she couldn't explain. "Oh…" she looked up and met her mate's eyes. "They're coming…"