Chapter 367

Following Lucien into the library, Elain had been just about to tell him that he should put Sheera down in one of the chairs, and then take a seat in another when she realised that they were not alone. Lucien had come to a sudden stop, and she'd felt him reaching for his power down the bond, gathering it within himself. She knew then that there was another threat, and she shrunk closer to his back. He liked it when she was tucked behind him because it was easier for him to protect her that way. She gripped the knife in her hand, and then she peered around him to try and see who was in the library with them.

There was a row of chairs and shelves, erected like some kind of barrier in a semicircle around the entrance to the room, and she could see at least three figures were crouched behind it. Lucien put a hand out, holding her behind himself when she began to move around him, trying to see better. "Elain, no…" he breathed, a note of warning to his tone, and Elain shifted back behind him just as movement caught their attention. Helion appeared behind the hastily built wall, and Elain couldn't help a sigh of relief. Lucien did the same, and Elain noticed him sag a little, no doubt feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Lucien…" the High Lord said, lifting a chair bodily out of his way as he made a hole in the wall through which he approached them. "Are you unharmed?"

"I'll be fine." Lucien said, gripping his father's arm when the High Lord reached out to him. Elain watched them hold one another for a moment, amber eyes on russet and gold, and then Helion had turned toward her.

"How do you fare, Elain?" One of his large warm hands reached out to her, resting carefully on her shoulder, and she could read the concern in him almost as easily as she could read Lucien.

"I'm alright." She told him, smiling gently, before she looked back to her mate. "Lucien needs to heal, though." Helion turned quickly back to his son.

"Is this true?"

"It's just a little thing…" Lucien replied, "It won't take long." Elain wanted to believe him, but she knew that he was prone to playing down things that he thought would worry those who might care for him, or who he cared for.

"Through here…" Helion guided them back through his little wall, and Elain watched Lucien lay Sheera on a large couch before he took a seat on another. Helion replaced the furniture in his wall before he joined them by the couch. Elain sat beside Lucien, unable to take her eyes off of him. Even if she hadn't been able to feel him down the bond she would have been able to tell from his face that he was still in pain.

"Lucien…" she breathed, laying a hand softly on his knee. He reached down and took her hand in his, holding it carefully as he rested his head back against the couch. "Are you healing yourself?" she asked, and he hummed his confirmation, eyes remaining closed. She could feel his power moving through the bond, and it comforted her to know that he would be better soon.

"What happened to him?" Ashk's soft voice asked, nearly startling Elain who had not even noticed the red-head approach them. Glancing around the rest of the room then, Elain realised that she hadn't noticed the others in there with them. Helion and Ashk appeared to have taken up hiding with a handful of other fae, most of whom Elain did not recognised but when she took in their uniforms, she took to be a part of the High Lord's personal guard.

"We… had some trouble with a few fae on the way up here." She said, "He healed me and Sheera, but he hasn't finished his own healing yet…"

"Who?" Helion asked, and there was thunder in his voice that Elain had not before heard from him.

"I did not know them." Elain said, her eyes going to the High Lord, "One was telekinetic…"

Amber eyes turned hard until Elain thought that they resembled yellow chips of ice. "I think I know who you mean."

Satisfied with that, Elain looked back to Lucien. His face had relaxed a little, and she was pleased that his expression looked less pained. "Lucien killed two of them, but the third got away." She said, "He probably returned to the Throne Room and has told them all by now that we were up here."

"Don't worry about that." Helion said, before turning to a couple of fae in uniform. Elain didn't bother trying to listen to what they were saying, she could focus her attention on nothing but her mate. She could feel the heat moving through Lucien now, knew that he was still working on fixing whatever it was that was wrong with him, and she scooted closer to him on the couch, leaning against his side and soaking as much heat up as she could.

Ashk sank down on the floor at her son's feet, one of her hands with long graceful fingers moving to rest against his leg as her russet eyes were fixed firmly on his face. Elain gave her a small smile before she returned her own eyes to her mate's face. Lucien's lips quirked in a smile for a second and he said, with humour in his voice, "Staring at me won't help me heal any faster…"

"No," Elain said gently, unable to help a smile of her own, "But it does me good anyway…"