Chapter 268

Feeling overwhelmed, Elain tried to block out the sounds of the pounding and the sobbing and the open crying that was echoing around the square. Her whole body hurt and, as Lucien knelt before her, she tried to work out if she was actually injured. There was blood on her legs, and she frowned as she looked at them but, after a few seconds, she figured that she had simply scraped her knees when she had fallen and it wasn't that bad. Lucien lifted her hands, turning them over, and Elain saw that she had skinned the palms of her hands too. Her mate ran his fingers gently down her arms, over her uninjured skin, and then he lifted his gaze to hers.

"Petal?" he asked, "Are you hurt anywhere else?" his eyes, both russet and gold, held hers, and she bit her lip as she tried to work out where the pain was coming from.

"I don't think so…" she replied.

"Here…" Lucien lifted one of his hands again, laying it against her arm and she felt heat beneath his touch. "I can fix it up…"

"Don't." Cassian said, his voice sharp. "You're going to need to save your energy."

Lucien went rigid, his eyes flicking up to look at Cassian, and Elain thought she heard a soft snarl slip from her mate. "She's hurt…"

"It's just a few scrapes and bruises." Cassian replied, "She will be fine. We are going to need every drop of power you've got…"

Elain could feel Lucien's reluctance to leave her bleeding and in pain. He hadn't lifted his hand from her skin, but the gentle heat had stopped. She watched him as he just stared up at Cassian, his eyes narrowed, and she could just about see his brain ticking over as he considered what the Illyrian had said. "I…"

"Every drop." Cassian repeated.

Lucien did snarl then, low and dangerous, and Elain reached out to gently touch his shoulder. Those eyes snapped around to her and she could see something primal moving behind his russet eye. "Lucien, love…" she whispered, leaning closer to him. He leaned into her then, and she could feel him breathing her in. She ran her fingers over his shoulder, knowing that her scent was helping to calm him down. "I'm alright…" she breathed, pressing her lips to his cheek. "Like Cassian said, it's just a few scrapes." She felt him press his face against her throat, still breathing her in deeply, and she ran her hand down his back, knowing that touch was helpful in his efforts to control this side of himself. He was struggling against instinct, a primal urge to do something when she was hurting. Elain knew that she might be able to use that. "You can heal me later…" she whispered, her lips against his ear, "Cassian is right. You need your strength now… I need you to protect me…" He stiffened at those words, and Elain looked around the square, her hand still moving against his back. "We're still in danger…" she went on, "They could get in here again… and you need to be at full strength." She thought about the fighting he had already done, both outside and in here, and she closed her eyes. "Well, as string as we can make you…"

"I'm strong enough." He breathed, and Elain nodded, her hand tracing up and down his spine. "I'll keep you safe…"

"I know." She told him.

He lifted his head then, meeting her eyes once more, and Elain gave him a gentle smile. "And I will heal you afterwards…"

"Yes." Elain smiled more widely, bringing her hand to his cheek and laying it over his scar. "I look forward to that…" His eyes moved over her once more and then he had pushed himself to his feet.

"I assume you have a plan?" he asked Cassian who tilted his head.

"In theory…" The Illyrian lifted a hand to the back of his neck, his eyes thoughtful and the others all shifted as they waited for him to elaborate on what he had been thinking. "We need to use the shield…"

"We… are… using the shield…" Azriel said slowly, confusion clear in his voice.

"As a weapon." Cassian amended. "We need to use the shield as a weapon."

Unsure she'd heard him correctly, Elain just watched Cassian for a second. Lucien tilted his head, that familiar thoughtful expression Elain was so fond of making its way across his features while Azriel frowned and looked back to the doors, watching as the Illyrians out there continued to beat against the shield. Nesta sank down onto the bench next to Elain, her eyes on Cassian as well, and Elain could just about see her sister's brain trying to imagine what he had just said in practice. Feyre moved around them though, biting her lip, with interest clear on her face.

"What do you mean, Cassian?" The High Lady of the Night Court asked, and Cassian turned toward her.

"I've not seen it done." He said, his words coming out in a rush. "But I've heard of it… and it makes sense…"

"Explain." Feyre's voice was calm, collected, and Cassian nodded.

Lucien listened as Cassian explained his idea for turning the shield into a weapon. He understood the concept, and he thought he would be able to manage the skill behind it. The idea was to channel power into the shield and then push it further, just as he had pushed his magic into that Illyrian before and turned him into ash, he would push that magic into those trying to get past the shield. In his mind he would be able to rake through them, leaving nothing but ashes behind.

Of course, Lucien thought, that was the theory behind it. He had not done anything like that before, and he was only still just grasping control of the magic he had inherited from Helion. What would happen if he could not do it did not bare thinking about. Cassian had been right, though. He would need all of his strength to be able to contribute to this. It wouldn't have taken much to heal Elain, he knew that. Her injuries were shallow and surface level, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to heal her at all later if they didn't manage to defend this place and they all wound up dead. Oh, but how the sight of her blood made him ache.

Elain got to her feet then, and the slightly vacant look in her eyes drew his attention. He reached out, his hands grasping her arms gently, as he looked at her face "Petal?"

"Mmm…" Elain leaned into him, wrapping those arms around his neck as she went up on her toes. Lucien allowed her to press closer, sliding his own arm around her waist as he felt her lips brush against his ear. "You are going to be very good at using your Day Court magic." She whispered, and Lucien felt a shiver move through him. "Trust it." He nodded and she released him, her gaze shifting to where a large group was still huddled by the far wall.

"You join them." He told her, brushing a lock of hair back from her face and over her shoulder. "Keep them calm…"

"Yes." She nodded and her eyes focused a little, "I'll do that."

As Elain walked away, Lucien turned his attention to Cassian and the others once more. Feyre was asking for specifics on how Cassian thought this was to be done, and they were trying to understand the practicalities behind it. Conversation drew to a halt then, when shadows passed overhead and they all looked up to see that half of their attackers had taken to the skies, coming to land on the shield above them as they seemed to swarm over the building, looking for any way in they could find.

"Cauldron boil and fry me." Lucien muttered, looking up at the dozens of Illyrians now smirking down at them through the shield above.