Chapter 376

When his back hit the wall, Lucien grunted. His sword clattered to the ground, and he struggled to draw breath, his lungs protesting. Siv flew past him, tackling the faerie they had come across while Lucien staggered back to his feet, coughing, and hoping that his lungs would cooperate enough for him to breathe. He bent, grasping his sword and lifting it from the floor, moving forward as Kaii expertly slit the throat of another Courtier. Lucien watched Kaii's face, reading the disgust and contempt there as the Courtier fell to the ground, blood pooling from the gaping wound of his ruined throat.

A sickening gurgle echoed up the hallway and both Kaii and Lucien both turned their attention to Siv who had dispatched the other faerie and now kicked the body over onto its back as he glared down at it. "Fucking traitor." Siv muttered, carelessly stepping over the body and then grinning at Kaii. "Nice work, I saw that move you pulled…"

"What can I say?" Kaii flicked his golden hair back from his tanned face. "I have the skills others only dream of."

Siv snorted, wiping his blade off before sheathing it, and Lucien couldn't help a smile. He had thought earlier that these two had not shown any bravado or ego, but now he supposed they were comfortable enough with him that he was privy enough to see it. He liked that. Siv flicked a honey coloured glance at Lucien and gave another grin, "Well, I suppose Lucien must dream of those skills because that piece of shit got the jump on you pretty quickly…"

Chuckling, Lucien nodded. He hadn't even seen that faerie coming. "What can I say?" he replied, "Won't happen again…"

"Not your fault." Siv admitted, clapping him on the shoulder good-naturedly. "You were certainly the target. They didn't even pay us any mind until we came at them."

Lucien had noticed that, and he nodded silently, wondering if all of their encounters were going to be like that. He wouldn't be surprised if they were. He knew that whoever was in charge of this coup wanted him dead and out of the way. He posed a large problem for them in claiming the throne. All of their cronies likely had orders to kill him on sight. He was, he realised, very thankful for Siv and Kaii and their impressive skills. He would likely need them to help keep him alive.

They had gotten through the East Garden with no problem at all. It had seemed as if nobody had been around, at least not that they had seen, and they had been fortunate enough not to run in to anybody else down the warren of corridors across the east wing. That was, until these few had found them. Lucien looked out of the window at the sun which was still rising over the city and he drew a deep breath with relief that his lungs were now agreeing to take air. The sun was casting the city in a firely amber glow, and he found himself wondering if this violence was contained to the palace or if it had spread into he streets and the rest of the city yet. Would it? He wasn't entirely sure. He supposed that if it went well enough inside the Palace, that it would be expected that the citizens of the rest of the Court would follow suit and just accept whoever next claimed the throne. Would the Day Court fae be that cooperative? Lucien wasn't sure about that. This was a place of learning, and a place of thinking. The faeries here had brains and ideas, and those were not easy things to squash. He doubted that those here would go submissively. Helion did not rule sheep.

"Let's move." Kaii broke into Lucien's thoughts, and Lucien turned away from the window to look at the two guards who waited for him.

"Do either of you have any idea who organised this?"

"The coup?" Siv asked, and Lucien nodded. "Couldn't say." The guard replied, dark hair shining in the morning light filtering through the window Lucien had stood in front of. Siv's honey coloured eyes held an amber spark that Lucien read as anger. "There have been lots of members from different families, usually old families, who have been expressing all kinds of dissent lately."

"Yeah," Agreed Kaii, "The High Lord is welcoming strangers and favouring them over his own Court, The High Lord is handing the Court over to Autumn, The High Lord has claimed… well, you… as Heir and the bloodline will be ruined… the Heir's mate isn't true fae…" Kaii broke off, as if embarrassed.

"It's all pure shit." Siv said, "But those have been the complaints right enough. Many have said them… so… this could have been anyone…"

Feeling sick to the pit of his stomach, Lucien tried to keep his emotions off of his face. He had hoped that he would be accepted here, but if so many held opinions like the ones Kaii had just told him, perhaps he would never be truly welcomed here. "Do…" he cleared his throat a little as it suddenly felt tight, "Do they really think Elain is somehow … lesser?"

"Don't' know if they think she's on the same level as the lesser fae," Siv shrugged. "That's the gist, though."

"They think because she was made Fae by the Cauldron that she's not good enough to be the mate of the Heir?" Lucien tried not to clench his teeth. He'd heard it before. Beron hadn't thought she was good enough to be his mate. Or, rather, he thought that Lucien was stooping beneath his station again by being with her. He thought that Lucien was inadequate because his mate wasn't born fae. Lucien's blood heated in his veins. Anyone who so much as breathed insult in Elain's direction was going to taste his anger.

"Don't worry." Kaii told him, hand coming down on Lucien's shoulder. "It isn't the opinion of most of the Court at all, and we will find out who is behind it soon enough."

"Most of the Court like Lady Elain," Siv agreed, "They like you both…" Lucien looked between them, eyes going from one to the other and then back again. He was still working to keep his face devoid of any kind of emotion, and he lifted a hand to rake through his hair.

"Let's go," he said.