Chapter 422

When Eris got to his feet, setting his goblet on the low table by his chair, Elain looked up and resisted a yawn. The High Lord of the Autumn Court stretched, and several pairs of eyes turned his way. Evidently even though faeries like Tisia thought he looked a little scary, they still liked to look. Eris seemed not to notice, and ran a hand through his red hair. "Probably time for me to say 'Goodnight'." He smiled at his mother and then Elain, bowing his head a little. "Nera is, no wonder, probably beginning to question where I am."

"Is she here?" Elain asked, surprised. "I did not see her at dinner…"

"Ah…" Eris actually looked a little sheepish, "She opted to remain in the room…"

"Why?" Elain asked, frowning, "She would have been welcome at dinner…"

"Yes…"

"Is it because she is lesser fae?"

Eris' expression was tight as he lifted his chin a little. "Likely."

"That is no reason for her to not come to dinner… Nobody would have said anything…" Elain could feel her blood beginning to pump a little quicker. She wasn't entirely sure that was true, considering the kinds of things Sheera had overheard about herself, but at least tonight everyone was thinking about other things and she doubted that Nera would have been very high on the list of interests or topics of conversation. She blinked then, noticing that several females were still watching Eris, and she reconsidered her last thought. Perhaps Nera would have been the object of jealousy and ridicule after all. Perhaps others would have looked to gossip and scandal to distract themselves from the horrors of the day.

"I did not lock her away." Eris said simply, "I did tell her I would protect her from such things, but she did not want the attention." He said, "It was her choice to remain. I would not force her to come if she did not wish to do so."

Looking at his face, Elain nodded. "I do believe you." She told him, and he straightened a little.

"Has she eaten?" Ashk asked, and Eris nodded again.

"I had a plate sent to the room." His amber eyes moved over the two of them again. "I will see you for breakfast."

"Goodnight." Elain said, watching as he turned and strode from the room, leaving several disappointed Courtiers in his wake. Having clearly noticed this, Ashk sighed heavily.

"Even his reputation has not deterred those kinds of females." The redheaded faerie said, tone regretful.

"He is a High Lord." Elain said, making a face. "I imagine that blinds many."

"They think that would make it worth it." Ashk told her, "Beron's reputation for bloodthirst and cruelty was accurate. Those females have no idea what it is like to have to endure a male like that. High Lord or not."

"I suppose they likely have no experience of such males…"

"They probably think that Eris is like Helion, only the Autumn Court has pretty trees…"

"He's not like his reputation claims though, is he?" Elain was only partially aware of the things others had said about Eris. She had heard tales from Cassian, and Feyre had told her about Eris' history with Mor. The Eris she had come to know had seemed quite different, however.

"Ah…" Ashk tilted her head. "Eris played the game to survive." She replied after a while. "Much of his reputation was crafted by his own hand. He is, of course, capable of things others would shy away from." Elain remembered the charred mess she and Lucien had come across in the hallway in the Autumn Court, the remains of some male who had accosted Nera. "He has had to maintain that reputation for centuries."

"You don't think he would be… cruel… do you?" Elain asked, "To… Nera? Not like what I assume Beron was like to you…?"

"I do not." Ashk said softly, "Eris saw much of what Beron did, and he did his best to shield me from it when he was old enough and able. I have seen him with that faerie… He will not be like that with her." Ashk lifted her chin in the direction of the females who had been watching Eris leave the room. "They do not know that, however. They only know what his reputation claims."

"Whose reputation are we talking about?" Lucien asked, sinking down onto Elain's couch with her, and sliding one of his arms around her waist.

"It seems Eris has some admirers among the Day Court." Elain leaned into her mate, listening to his heartbeat, feeling it within her own body.

"I had noticed that." Lucien made a face. "Does something need to be done…" Down the bond Elain could feel Lucien's unease, knew that he was thinking about Ianthe when the Priestess' pretty face flashed through his mind and down the bond to her. She didn't think he had intended to share that image, but she saw it and she shuddered. "They're no doubt eyeing his bloodline and throne…"

"He is a High Lord." Ashk said softly, "They are in all the Courts, females like that, and they are harmless."

"Not always." Lucien muttered. Elain rubbed her hand across her mate's back, wanting to get his mind off of any horrible memories going through his head.

"Nera is here." She told him and he raised an eyebrow, looking down at her. "She's in Eris' room."

"Well, isn't that interesting?" he smiled, "He brought her all this way and kept her hidden?"

"Her choice." Elain replied, "She didn't want the attention accompanying him to dinner would bring her."

"Yeah, can't blame her for that." Lucien agreed, turning his eyes on his mother. "Did you know he was bringing her?"

"No." Ashk leaned back in her chair, "I have heard nothing about her since I came here."

"Hmm…" Lucien tucked Elain into his side, looking down at her, appreciation in his eyes as they moved over her face, and he smiled. "I wonder if they are mates…"

"Would it have happened by now?" Elain asked, and Lucien smiled again.

"No way to tell." He replied, "It doesn't happen for everyone immediately like it did for us… some take years… decades…longer…" his fingers came up to the garnet necklace she still wore at her throat. "Some couples spend forever together anyway, waiting for the bond, and it never comes…"

"I hope they are." Elain said softly, "Eris and Nera… imagine it. A High Lord and a lesser fae female…"

"Yes…" Lucien said, a shadow moving through his russet eye. "A Vanserra and a lesser fae female at that." She knew that he was thinking about Jesminda then, and Elain's stomach twisted. Lucien's expression changed then, and he tightened his hold on her, pressing a kiss to her temple as he did so. "It would set tongues wagging."