Chapter 455

Elain had always thought that Ashk was stunning. The thought went through her mind at least once every time she saw the redheaded female, and it went through her mind now as Ashk swept across the garden toward them. Beside her, Lucien sat a little straighter, a smile lighting his face as he too watched his mother approach.

"Helion did tell me you were out here for lunch…" She said, moving into the shade of their tree.

"Were you looking for us?" Lucien asked, pausing for a moment. Elain felt concern flicker through him and down the bond, and his eyes turned serious, "Is something the matter?" he went on, "Has Eris done something?" Heat emanated from Lucien, and Elain could feel it as strongly as if a small sun at behind her.

"No, of course not." Ashk waved a hand, pushing that suggestion aside. "He's still here insisting that he be sure that I am alright."

"I also kind of think he's on holiday with Nera…" Lucien said, tone low, and Elain couldn't help a smile. The mere thought of Eris taking a holiday made her want to laugh. The idea was almost ludicrous. But then, she reasoned, how else would he be so free to be able to spend time with his lover? He would not have that kind of freedom in the Autumn Court where all eyes would always be upon him. Upon both of them, really. Eris' Court may have been different to Beron's but change of a larger kind often took generations to come about. It would be a while yet before the High Lord taking a lesser faerie to his bed did not cause a stir and whispering.

"He is certainly not rushing to return home." Ashk agreed, and the smile in her eyes was all too apparent. Ashk did not disapprove of her eldest son's relationship it seemed. Elain figured that the older female was probably just happy that Eris had found someone to take joy in, to find love with. Ashk clasped her hands together, her eyes moving around the garden as she took in the work which had been completed that morning. She paused as she looked at the ivy covering the stone wall, tilting her head so that her red hair cascaded over one shoulder. "Tamlin has been put to work, I see."

"He may have contributed." Lucien agreed. Ashk smiled, nodding as she turned back to them.

"This appears to be going well." A slender hand gestured at the rest of the garden. "Are there further plans for Tamlin to get everything else growing well?"

"If Sheera releases him." Elain replied, unable to help the small smirk she gave the older female. "She took him into the city to her shop. No doubt he is making sure that every plant in that place is the most vibrant of its kind in the city."

"She will make a great profit." Ashk nodded sagely.

Behind Elain, Lucien stretched a little, and she could still feel his heat. "It's probably the most honest work Tamlin has done in decades." Glancing over her shoulder at him, she could read the slight regret at having uttered the words, and she did not miss the way that his eyes shifted down and his lips pressed together, as if wishing he could have kept the jap in.

"That will be why he is here, then." Ashk said, her voice gentle. "He would not have come otherwise. I also doubt he would have let Sheera take him off for work in her shop… if he were not willing to help where he could."

Nodding, Elain agreed with that. This idea seemed to fit with what Tamlin himself had told her earlier. She did believe that he had come to help, and to make amends with those he thought he needed to work with. Lucien would have been fairly close to the top of that list, she knew. Leaning back against Lucien, Elain smiled when his hand came to rest on her thigh, fingers stroking her gently.

Against her back, and in her head, she could hear Lucien's steady heartbeat. That rhythm quickened, and she felt him come to attention when Helion strolled into the garden, followed closely by Eris and Nera. Lucien's hand on Elain's thigh went still, and she could practically feel his blood pounding through his body. Something was happening, she knew. It was clear by the way the others approached. Lucien's grip on her tightened, and his anxiety washed though her, mixing with her own.