Chapter 275

Nesta was becoming more and more antsy. Elain could just about feel the anxiety rolling off of her sister, and she was no daemati and there certainly wasn't any mating bond connecting them, and yet the emotions pouring out of Nesta were as clear as day. Feyre had evidently sensed it too, because their youngest sister was watching Nesta from the corner of her eye while clearly trying to pretend that she wasn't.

Nesta twisted her hands in her lap, her eyes on the shield and sky above them, and Elain just knew that her sister was watching for any sign of Cassian. Their friends had disappeared down the hallway outside the door through which they had exited, and they hadn't been seen since. Elain supposed that they were busy fighting outside the training square, but she also knew that if it had have been Lucien out there, she would be just as worried as Nesta appeared to be. "They'll be okay, Nes." She said, hoping to reassure her elder sister. Those pale eyes turned her way, and Nesta attempted a small smile.

"I'm sure you're right." Her tone suggested that Nesta was not at all sure of that.

"Of course I am." Elain sat beside Nesta. "I'm a Seer."

"Have…" Nesta's back straightened a little, "have you seen that?"

"I… no…" Elain admitted, tilting her head and reaching a hand out to lay atop Nesta's still twisted hands. "I haven't… but… you know them. They're unstoppable." The look that passed across Nesta's face then told Elain that her sister was thinking back to when she and Cassian had been certain they'd both been about to die when Hybern had found them. Cassian hadn't been unstoppable then, and in Nesta's mind, that clearly meant that he wasn't now. "Like he said, he and Azriel have done this kind of thing before. They'll be just fine."

"He should have let us help." Nesta murmured, and Elain thought she might have been able to hear tears in her sister's voice. She rubbed Nesta's arm a little.

"It will all be over soon." She said, "You can tell him off for it then."

"Trust me." Nesta replied, "I will be."

A scuffle by one of the other doors caught their attention then, and Lucien was the first to move across the room to take a better look. Azriel came striding up the small hallway, his blade moving around him, seemingly in and out of the light and shadows, too fast to follow. The Illyrians fell nonetheless, and before very long he had reached the shield, having cleared the hallway of anyone in his way. He gave a small smile to them, and then turned and went back the way he had come.

Cassian appeared in the next hallway, doing much the same thing. He was somewhat louder though, and far more showy in what he did and said. Elain could hear him taunting his opponents, and talking nearly all the while. By the time he had dispatched them and reached the shield, Nesta was on her feet and standing beside Elain as they had watched. Cassian's eyes found Nesta and he smiled broadly at her. "Enjoying the show?" he asked, and Nesta folded her arms.

"I'm rather bored, actually." She replied, "Do you think you could move more quickly and be done with it?"

Cassian's smile became pointier and he gave a mock bow to her. "As you wish." He replied, turning on his heel and disappearing up the hallway again.

Elain smiled, watching Nesta's reaction to that little interaction, but then a wave of exhaustion hit her and she sway a little. Nesta's hand suddenly grabbed Elain's elbow, steadying her.

"Are you okay?" her sister asked, and Elain nodded. She'd just begun to wonder if she hadn't ignored the earlier signs of exhaustion when she realised that it wasn't hers, and she spun to see Lucien sinking onto one of the benches.

"Lucien?" she asked, hurrying across to the bench her mate was sitting on, and sinking down beside him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He replied, eyes closed as he ran his fingers through his long ruby hair.

Elain reached out, laying a hand on his shoulder. She could feel through the bond then, that he wasn't. "It's draining you, isn't it?" she asked, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You've used what the others gave you, and now you're using your own power to hold the shields…" Lucien opened his eyes to meet hers then, and she knew that she was correct. Taking his hands in hers, she held his eyes. "Take from me…"

"No…"

"Lucien…" she leaned into him. "I have plenty… please…" she pushed her desire to help him down the bond. "Let me…"

"Just a little, then." He breathed, and Elain leaned into him, resting her forehead against her mate's as she felt the bond pulse between them. She could feel that thread, as if attached to one of her ribs, and the cord she had wrapped around the both of them. He pulled on it a little, and Elain tried to open herself more fully, allowing him to draw what strength and power from her that he needed. She could feel his forehead, warm against hers, and she slid a hand up his arm to his shoulder. He drew from her for what felt like only seconds and then he stopped.

"Was that enough?" she asked, and he nodded against her. Elain felt his hand in her hair and then he'd brought his lips to her forehead.

"It was."

Elain knew that those words might have been true, but that they likely wouldn't be true for very long. She looked at him when he pulled back, and she was relieved to see him looking a little better. "If you need more…" she breathed, and he stroked her hair.

"I can hold it for a little while." He replied, and Elain tightened her grip on his hand. Hopefully, with Cassian and Azriel out there, he wouldn't need to hold the shields for that much longer anyway.