Chapter 391
"Are we really just going to march right up to that door and saunter on in?" Siv sounded doubtful, and like he desperately hoped that somebody was going to tell him that had been a joke.
"That is my Throne Room." Helion said simply.
"Yes…" Kaii put in, "and it's currently occupied."
"Which is why I'm going in there." Helion smiled brightly at them. "I'm going to be the one occupying it."
Siv and Kaii gave each other exasperated looks and Lucien tried to hide his own smile. "You do not need to come." He told them, and Helion's amber eyes flicked to him. Lucien wasn't certain about the expression that passed across the High Lord's face, but before Helion could voice anything he was thinking Siv had shaken his head.
"Of course we do." The guard said, "Who else is going to watch your back?" Lucien looked from Siv to Kaii and back again. He didn't know what privileges they received being a part of Helion's Court but he was going to see to it that they received a little more once this was over. Helion was smiling at him as if he knew what Lucien was thinking and Lucien just nodded his head for a moment.
"Thank you." He said, looking from Kaii to Siv again. They both inclined their heads in acknowledgement, and the lot of them began inspecting their weapons.
Lucien shifted carefully toward the nearby corner, peering around it at the double doors through which they would walk in mere minutes. He adjusted his sword at his hip, making sure that it was still easy to draw, and then he checked his other blades. Elain was just behind those doors, he could feel her; he could feel her breaths coming quickly and a little unevenly, and he did not like that at all. What had been done to her to cause her breath to catch like that?
"Are we ready?" Helion met his son's eyes and Lucien nodded. The High Lord looked then and Kaii and Siv and his other guards, waiting for acknowledgement from each of them before he drew his own golden curved blade and straightened his shoulders. A small shudder passed though Lucien at that sight. He had seen what that blade had done to the faeries who had gotten in the High Lord's way all afternoon. That thing cut through flesh like melted butter. Perhaps, Lucien thought, it didn't matter how many enemies stood behind those doors, if Helion went though first, he would carve a bloody path all the way up to the throne on the dais. Lucien was perfectly fine with that. If Helion could take care of the mess, it would free him up to get to his mate. He noticed his father looking at him again then, and Lucien lifted an eyebrow in question. "You like this?" Helion asked, lifting his blade, evidently having seen Lucien looking at it. "You must remind me to get you some Day Court weapons when this is over."
"Yes…" Lucien nodded. He would definitely appreciate that, if they were all as sharp and effective as Helion's own blade. "I'll surely do just that."
Helion's face shifted then, becoming more serious and Lucien would have sworn that his dark skin began to shine more brightly. "Very well," the High Lord said, addressing them all then. "When we have stepped through the doors, we will make for the dais as quickly as possible." He told them, "That is the place most easily defended and, as there will likely be more of them than us, that is where we stand the best chance of thinning them out."
"I knew there had to be a plan." Siv muttered, giving Kaii and relieved look. Kaii nodded his agreement, his eyes still on Helion.
"You know your duties." Helion said, turning toward the corridor once more. All of the guards murmured that they did, and they moved to follow him. Lucien listened again to the bond, reaching for Elain. He thought that he caught a brief glimpse of the hall, trying to make sense of it from her point of view. What was it that she was trying to show him?
"Soldiers." He murmured, Helion casting him a questioning glance, "There are about a dozen or so of them right at the doors."
"Excellent." Helion replied, stepping into the hallway and striding for the doors. "They'll be the first out of my way."