Chapter 535
"Is that Eris?"
"It is…" Lucien tilted his head as he and Elain strode up the hallway toward the dining hall the next morning. They had thought they would be late as the hallways were generally empty, but Lucien watched as Eris seemed to pace back and forth in front of the doors as if waiting. "I thought breakfast would have begun…"
"I think it has." Elain replied, "I can smell the pastry…"
Flicking a grin at his mate, Lucien then returned his eyes to his brother. Eris had noticed them approaching and had come to a halt before the doors, waiting for them to reach him. "Good morning…" Lucien eyed his brother almost warily.
"You are allowed to just walk in, you know…?"
"Yes." Eris murmured, slanting his eyes at the doors for a second. "I… know."
"Then why are-" Lucien broke off when he realised that Eris had been waiting for them. Was his brother trying to avoid a continuation of the discussions last night. From the sound of Tarquin's laughter from within the dining room, Lucien supposed he had been right. Eris had wanted to enter the room already engaged in conversation so that the other High Lords would not be able to trap him. "Where's Nera?"
"She is already inside." Eris replied, straightening himself and fixing his Courtly mask in place, all emotion suddenly gone from his face. "Our Mother claimed her before we even got here." Clearly Ashk seemed to think that had been necessary.
"That was nice." Elain commented, and Eris nodded his agreement.
"Well," Lucien linked one arm through his mate's and slid the other through his brother's. "let us get something to eat. We have a long and exciting day ahead of us."
"I am certain of that." Eris had stiffened a little when Lucien had linked his arm through his brother's but he did not pull away. Lucien smiled widely as they pushed through the doors to the dining hall, and he knew that everyone inside was instantly watching them. He led his companions to the table, pulling up some empty seats for them and he sat down trying to look like he was unaware of the attention they had received. Eris was looking calm and almost bored, and Lucien really was impressed with his brother's ability to conceal his thoughts and emotions. He had certainly never been as talented at that as Eris had, and it had always gotten him into trouble.
Every High Lord in the room was watching them, and Lucien knew without a shadow of a doubt, that they had been waiting for Eris to arrive so that they could continue to tease him as they had the evening before. It seemed that his brother had been right in that regard and his decision to wait by the doors had been practical. Letting his eyes wander up and down the table, Lucien found Nera sitting beside his mother, as Eris had said. She looked completely unconcerned and unbothered, and it seemed that Ashk's protection was as effective as he had hoped. It seemed as if nobody had said a word to Nera that had made her uncomfortable and, upon looking back to Eris and finding those amber eyes also focused up the table, Lucien knew that his brother had come to the same conclusion.
"They will stop." Lucien said, and Eris raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, eventually."
"We are immortal." Eris replied, "I doubt I have the patience to wait the centuries for them to grow bored with me and move on to something more interesting."
"We are immortal." Lucien repeated with a grin, "You had better develop some patience."