Chapter 491
Nesta found them in the hallway, and Lucien shifted to the side, allowing Elain to walk freely beside her sister. "Feyre and Rhys are leaving after dinner." Nesta said, and he watched Elain nod her head in acknowledgement of that piece of information. She had told him that she thought she and Feyre would be okay, and that they would move past the strange tension that had built between them, but he knew that the conflict weighed heavily on his mate. She loved her sisters, and he could feel the sadness in her that a rift of sorts had opened between them. He was glad that Nesta would be staying, and that was a feeling Lucien never expected in relation to the eldest Archeron sister.
It would be good for both of them, Lucien figured. It would be good for Elain to have her sister here while she settled into the routine of their lives here in the Day Court. It would be good for her to be able to share that with Nesta, as it would build connection between her past, her family, and the new life that she would build here. It would also be good for Nesta in that she would ease her mind about Elain, and see that Elain was okay here; that she was happy. Nesta would also get to see that building a new life in Prythian, as High Fae, was not only possible, but a good thing. It was an opportunity that Nesta herself had, if only she found the place to which she wished to belong, and she hoped that Nesta would be able to see that and realise the potential for herself while she was here.
He smiled when he saw Elain wrap an arm around Nesta's slim waist, and the two of them strode side by side, steps matched with one another. It would be nice, he thought. It would be nice for Elain to have a member of her family here to enjoy this time together while he got to have his own family. Everything was beginning now, it was exciting, and he was pleased that she would get to share that with Nesta, at least for a time.
Feyre and Rhysand stood by the entrance to the dining hall. Both had clearly bathed and dressed for dinner, and they both looked rather more regal than Elain had expected. They looked, for all intents and purposes, like the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court. Irritation flashed through Elain at that realisation, and she resisted rolling her eyes. There was entirely no reason for them to have dressed that way, as nobody else was dressed even close to that formally. They didn't dress like that when they went to dinner at home, but then she realised that they were not at home now. This was not their home; this was her home. Having been to the other Courts now, she knew that some of them were rather more formal than Helion's Court, especially when it was not an informal dinner for his family. Elain knew that this dinner was intended to be informal, but perhaps Feyre and Rhys had not. Perhaps, she reasoned, they were attempting to be respectful? She didn't know, but she knew that she had to try to find other conclusions that would lead to less conflict between her and her younger sister.
"We thought we would wait…" Feyre said, pushing away from where she had been leaning against the hallway wall. "There are others inside. We can hear them."
"Dinner has not yet been served." Rhys added.
"Helion would have given the instruction to wait for us all." Lucien put in and Elain slipped her hand into her mate's as they approached the door. She could feel his pleasure, and knew that he was happy by the simple knowledge that his father would have thought to make sure he was at dinner before the food was served. She could tell that Lucien felt cared for by that action, and she could tell that it was something he was unfamiliar with. She smiled when he squeezed her hand and his metallic eye clicked and whirred as he looked down at her, and then up and around the dining hall when they passed through the doors. She was still looking up at him when his expression changed to one of surprise, and he smiled an instant later. "Nuan?"