Chapter 378

Before anyone could react, several faeries came through the door and into the library and Elain had barely blinked, taking that fact in, when the guard Helion had left them was on the floor, bleeding out on the large plush rug in the entry. She froze, struck by the sheer speed and violence of what she had just witnessed, and Ashk had moved into action before Elain's brain even caught up with what was happening.

"Get behind me." Ashk's voice was low and one of her arms pressed Elain back away from the door. "Go, Elain." Ashk said over her shoulder without turning to look at her. "I'll distract them. Go. Hide."

"Where?" Elain asked, glancing at the shelves. She didn't think there was anywhere to go.

"Wherever you can." Ashk had moved in front of Elain, blocking her view of the entrance and what was happening there. She heard Sheera's protests, but then Ashk had pushed her back and she found herself stepping into action.

Ducking behind the closest shelf, Elain half crouched as she moved along the aisle, looking for somewhere she might hide. Who had known that they were up here? She might have thought that their discovery could have been accidental, but the way that those doors had been thrown open and their guard had been dispatched so quickly suggested that it had been extremely deliberate. They had known exactly who they were looking for and that meant that somebody had told them.

Reaching the end of the aisle, Elain tried to peer around the end to see what was happening. She knew without doubt that Lucien never would have betrayed them. He would not have told anyone where they were no matter what was done to him. His heartbeat in her head was still steady, and she didn't think that anything bad had happened to him which was a comfort, but she wondered who had betrayed them. Elain did not think that Helion would have, which left, she supposed, the guards. The idea that one of Helion's personal guards could have been a traitor didn't sit well with her, but she supposed it was no different to other members of his Court having done this to begin with.

"You will get your hands off of me." Ashk's voice was low and held the promise of violence, and Elain crouched lower, bracing herself with her hands on the floor to see through the lower shelves. She could see the bottom of Ashk's dress as she was marched across the room, and then she saw Sheera come to stand with Ashk. Several other bodies moved around them and Sheera pushed closer to Ashk.

"Where's the other one?" Someone demanded, and he was met with silence. Elain flinched when Sheera's shriek pierced that silence and she crawled into a better position, trying to see what was happening. One of the males had Sheera by the arm and was hauling her across to the window. "You know where she is, don't you?"

When Sheera shook her head, muttering "I don't know who you're talking about," Elain felt a rush of affection for her friend. "It's just the two of us… and the one you killed…"

"We know that's not true…" the male who still had hold of her pushed the window open, "So, you're going to reconsider your answer… and if I don't like it, you might just find yourself getting a whole lot of fresh air." He paused then and then chuckled, "You know, I think that you might just land in one of your little gardens. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Sheera was silent and Elain shivered as dread moved through her. Biting her lower lip, she shifted back up the aisle a little. There was no way she could stay hidden here while her friend was thrown out of a window.

"Why don't you address your questions to me?" Ashk commanded.

"Because I'm sure you would have no problem lying to my face." The male voice replied, "The Autumn Court is well known for being cutthroat and vicious. Lying is nothing for you."

"What an interesting take." Ashk sounded deadpan as Elain had ever heard her, and she just knew that the redhead had an expression on her face that could stop the sun in the sky.

"Maybe we just skip the games and find her ourselves." Elain saw the male make a gesture to others she could not see from her position and then there was movement all around the room. Her heart skipped a bit and she felt as if it had jumped into her throat. She needed to move or she would be found. Sitting back, she glanced around her. There was nowhere for her to get out of sight in the aisles of books. Her gaze caught on the curtains by the corner of the room. If she could get there, she might be able to slip behind them and avoid being seen. Elain had only just decided to go for it when someone grabbed a handful of her hair. She shrieked as she was pulled upright, reaching above herself to grip their hand and try to lessen the pain on her scalp.

"Found her." A rough voice called.