Chapter 374
"It's hard, I know." Helion said, hand still on Lucien's shoulder as they strode quickly up the hallway. Nodding, Lucien glanced at his father, gripping his sword tightly in his hand. "It's hard to walk away from someone you care about, even if it is to protect them."
He heard the words behind what Helion had said, and he knew that his father had needed to do exactly this before. He knew that Helion had needed to walk away from Ashk before in order to protect her. Helion had been forced to leave her in the Autumn Court, act like there had been nothing between them to protect her from Beron. The situation may have been different to this one, but Lucien knew that had likely hurt just as much as this, if not more. At least Lucien didn't need to pretend that he wasn't sick to his stomach leaving Elain behind. He wasn't going to act like it meant nothing to him. "I know it's what I need to do." He said.
"It is a choice you have made." Helion replied, "To take action to protect your family and your home." The High Lord flashed him a perfect smile, "Fire is not good at being idle."
"Elain said something similar to me once."
Helion smiled again. "It is an admirable attribute." He said, "It will make you an effective ruler. It wouldn't do to have a High Lord who would just sit by and watch his Court crumble." Amber eyes flicked his way for a moment, "Look at Tamlin."
"Yes…" Lucien murmured. He had seen firsthand what happened to a Court when the High Lord wouldn't lift a hand to fix what was wrong. Lucien would never be like that. He had walked into that cave with Ianthe because he had been trying to hold things together for Tamlin, and there was no way that Lucien would ever be able to sit idly and watch the Day Court fall. "That will never be me."
"I believe you."
They came to a stop at the end of the hallway and Helion looked at him as the rest of the guard they had brought with them caught up. "Right…" Lucien gripped his sword more tightly. "Where did you want to start?"
"Here." Helion said, pointing at two of the guards. "You two with Lucien." Amber eyes met Lucien's gaze a second later, "You take the east side," graceful fingers gestured at three more guards, "You do the west. I will take the north."
"Meet by the south gate?" Lucien asked, checking that their original plan still held.
"By midday." Helion nodded, drawing himself up to full impressive height. "Do not be noticed, and do not be caught." The High Lord gestured at the two guards who would accompany him and the three of them began to move away. Lucien's heartbeat quickened as a rush of fear moved through him as it occurred to him that Helion was not impervious to harm, and that he might be the one that something happened to.
"Be careful." The words came out of Lucien before he had considered them and the surprised smile that Helion gave him was as warm as the morning sun.
"You too."
"So what are we expected to do here?" Sheera asked as Elain and Ashk sat down on one of the long couches. Elain looked at her friend. Sheera had a book in her lap and was leafing through the pages quickly.
"We wait." Ashk told her, one of her arms coming around Elain's shoulders like they had at the door. Grateful for the comfort, Elain leaned into her. Ashk felt like a mother, and Elain could barely remember the last time that her own mother had hugged her before her death. It was a different type of comfort, one that Elain had forgotten could send warmth throughout her entire body. It was very much appreciated, and very much enjoyed. "We stay here, because this is where Helion and Lucien know we are. They will be able to do what they have to more effectively if they know that we are safe in here."
Sheera nodded, flipping through more pages of the book. "Alright."
"What are you looking at?" Elain asked her friend, while still leaning comfortably into Ashk. Sheera held up the book and Elain was not surprised to see that it was an encyclopaedia of plants that grew in the Day Court. "Do you know them all?"
"I don't, actually." Sheera said, flipping back a few pages and then holding it up for Elain to see. "Apparently this grows in the south of the Court, but I have never even seen one."
"When this is over, maybe we can go and find one." Elain gave her a smile and Sheera smiled back.
"I would like that…" She said, "I was thinking… that the Palace really should have every plant that the Day Court contains." Sheera's green eyes looked between Elain and Ashk. "Don't you think? At least one of each plant that grows here…"
"That seems like a delightful idea." Ashk told her. "There are certainly enough gardens in the Palace for there to be room for such a project."
"I think Helion would like it, too." Elain added and Ashk nodded her agreement. "He does seem the type to take pride in his palace and everything the Day Court has to offer."
"That's for sure." Sheera snickered.
"And that," Ashk said, her hand rubbing Elain's arm softly, "is just one of the reasons that we can rest assured that his plan will work, and this will all be over soon enough. Nothing can stop Helion when he has set his mind to a task."
Sinking more comfortably against Ashk, Elain thought about everything she knew about Helion. She knew that he had rescued Ashk a long time ago, and she supposed that he really must have been quite persistent and set in his decisions as he had managed to stay away from her for so long despite the fact that they had quite clearly loved one another. Resting her head against Ashk's shoulder, Elain took comfort in the fact that Ashk, who had seen quite a few horrible events such as this, seemed to be calm and sure that it would all end soon enough. "Lucien, too." The redheaded faerie said, "He has grown very determined… although he has always known what he wanted."
Elain knew that her mate would do whatever he could, and that he wasn't going to allow anything to stand in his way. She let her gaze drift toward the door, watching the guard Helion had left with them to keep watch and make sure nobody came through that door, and she thought that, just maybe, this all could be over by sunset.