Chapter 265

Elain watched Lucien hold his ground. It seemed to her that he was practically glowing as he fought to hold his shimmering shield before himself, deflecting everything that the Illyrians were throwing at him. He seemed to stand even taller when the arrows stopped, and she watched him ready himself, widening his stance and adjusting his grip on his sword. His eyes, both russet and gold, flicked to her for just a second, and Elain felt him trying to memorise exactly what she looked like. Her heart hit her stomach then, and she realised that things were about to change.

Shadows passed across the doorway and then Lucien swung his blade. The sound of metal on metal was jarring, and Elain's heart jumped from her stomach to her throat. She felt utterly useless, standing there unable to help, while her mate blocked the doorway with his own body.

Cassian had explained the idea behind it, hoping to bottleneck the many attackers, forcing them to come through the limited number of doors. Those doors were to be defended just as Lucien was doing, and Elain understood that this was the best chance they had in eliminating the numerical advantage their opponents possessed, but that didn't make it easier to see Lucien facing them alone like he was.

Similar sounds of battle reached Elain up the hallway, and she imagined that Azriel was doing the exact same thing as her mate in the doorway they had left him in. Her breath caught in her throat when she looked back at Lucien, taking in the focused look on his face, and the lightening way in which he moved, blade flashing in the sunlight. She shook, standing there and not knowing what to do. There was nothing she could do, she knew. Her fighting skills were minimal, and she would only get in the way if she even tried, also the doorway was only big enough for Lucien, and that had been the idea. The best she could hope for was to avoid distracting him, to avoid being a weakness that could get him hurt. Elain thought for a moment that she might have been better off staying inside where she wouldn't be a weakness for him, but she knew that they both would have been distracted by the distance and the uncertainty. They would have constantly been wondering and worried, and that would be have been dangerous. It had been the best choice to stay with him, but she still felt so useless.

Footsteps behind Elain had her swinging back around, almost expecting to see a horde of angry Illyrians charging at them. That was somewhat the sight that greeted her, but these Illyrians were female, and they bore makeshift weapons which even Elain could tell would be no match for the deadly blades the males outside were so adept at wielding. She was too stunned to do or say anything for an instant. It had seemed so impossible only days ago that these females would even consider picking up arms like this, so she was a little impressed, but at the same time she realised that their presence here was not what Cassian had planned for. His defensive ideas relied heavily on the bottleneck, and Elain did agree that that was their best chance. Open battle was not going to go in their favour against these highly trained warriors.

"No…" she breathed, putting a hand out in the hopes of stopping them. They didn't listen to her, however, letting out screams and cries as they approached the door. "No!"

Lucien turned his head just a little, and Elain saw the surprise cross his face, but then the distraction had cost him, and she gasped as one of the Illyrian blades ripped into his shoulder. The pain reached Elain down the bond an instant before Lucien shut it down, keeping it from her and he staggered back a step, throwing his sword up to deflect the next blow. She saw him hesitate in his next movement when one of the females stepped too close, and that cost him as well. The Illyrian immediately before Lucien had struck him, sending him back several steps and then the huge form moved through the doorway, wings spreading wide.

Fear spiked through Elain, watching as Lucien stumbled. The Illyrian struck him again and his sword dropped to the stones with a clatter. Her mate ducked then, and Elain saw him fling a hand out toward the doorway. A faint golden shimmering there told her that he'd thrown a shield over the entrance, preventing any further attackers coming through. They already had one to face, and Elain was struck with disbelief as the Illyrian females surrounded their enemy before leaping. There was much shrieking and screaming as they tried to work out the best way to attack him, but nothing they did was very effective. With one sweep of his arm, he sent four of the females flying, and the sounds they made as they hit the opposite wall and floor made Elain sick to her stomach. She could tell immediately that at least one of them wasn't getting up again.

Outraged screams from the doorway caught Elain's attention next, and she watched with uneasiness as the warriors there battered against Lucien's shield. She could feel her mate's waning strength, and she went to move toward him, skirting around the females who had leaped onto their enemy, some of them clinging to his wings and back. It was a sight Elain didn't think she would be forgetting, when they somehow managed to pull him to the ground, blades flashing as they brought them down into him over and over.

Horrified, Elain watched, forgetting everything else around her for a moment. She heard the shield give way then, turning her see two more Illyrians step through into the hallway. Lucien made a feral sound, and Elain felt a shield go up around her, golden light glittering before her eyes as a savage blade swung her way. She knew that if her mate hadn't shielded her, that she probably would have just lost a limb or her life, and she staggered away. Lucien's hand grabbed hers, and he pulled her away, pushing her behind himself as he sent a wave of flames at the two who had just come through the door. Their screams were louder than anything else around them, and Elain found herself struggling to draw breath.

"We've been breached." Lucien said, turning to push her up the hallway. "Get everyone back into the square."

Moving without even realising what she was doing, Elain began herding the females before her back they way they had come. "Back!" She cried, "Everyone back into the square! Now!" They did as she bid, which surprised her, but within minutes she had gotten them back into the training square, not allowing any of them to slip past her. Lucien had followed behind, sending wave after wave of flames back down the hallway to keep anyone from getting too close.

It appeared that they hadn't been the only ones to fail at keeping their entrance defended. Azriel was retreating into the square as they arrived, and only moments later Feyre appeared doing the same thing, looking more exhausted than Elain could even imagine she had ever felt.

"We can't hold it." Lucien said, and Azriel frowned, his eyes sweeping the square. Elain did the same thing, looking for Cassian, hoping that there was a backup plan and that they weren't all about to be massacred.