Chapter 604

Gripping Lucien's arm around her waist tightly, Elain tried to push her fear aside. She supposed that some part of her mind had considered that Vassa had already tried her binding magic and that had been the reason for the bond feeling so weak, but to hear Lucien talk about gaps in his memory flooded her with terror. So many thoughts about what Vassa might have done during those gaps in memory threatened to overwhelm Elain, and she clenched her teeth as she forced herself to focus on Helion. He would know what to do. He would fix this.

"How long," Helion said, eyes on his son, "have these gaps been occurring."

"Just today."

"And your vision of Vassa in the apothecary?" Amber eyes turned on Elain.

"This afternoon."

"Alright." Helion got to his feet. "There is some sort of web around Lucien." The High Lord got off the table and approached. "It is faint, but I can see it without effort. I think it's only fair to assume that the mortal queen did this once you returned to the castle."

"Web…?" Elain echoed, watching Helion observing Lucien closely.

"That is the best way to describe it." Helion said absently, "A net, perhaps… it is sloppily done, but that only makes it less predictable. It would be this which is dampening the bond between you."

"It is binding magic?" Ashk asked, her eyes also on her son. Helion nodded.

"An attempt at it."

Turning, Elain looked up at Lucien. "Can you not feel it?" She asked, and he shook his head. "Does it not pull you to her? Like the bond drove us to one another?"

"No…" he said, looking down at her.

"That is probably what she intended." Helion told them, "But she is unskilled and unused to working with magic like this."

"Then what does it do?" Elain asked, and it was Lucien who answered her.

"From what I can tell," he began, "It dampens our bond… and other than that it only seems to have any effect when Vassa is present. I don't remember exactly, but the fact that I was dancing with her at all seems to suggest it makes her more agreeable to me…"

"Or makes you pliable to her well." Ashk murmured, and Lucien nodded his head.

Anger flared in Elain at that. She had images of what she had seen in her visions of Lucien with Ianthe. She saw him chained to a tree, pants undone, she saw him forced to walk into that cave with her for Calanmai, and she closed her eyes tightly. The fact that Vassa would resort to robbing Lucien of his free will ripped away any sympathy Elain would have felt for the mortal woman. She had tried to understand her, tried to feel sorry for the woman who had found herself enamoured with a handsome fae lord she'd thought returned her affections, but now she was just some bitch who had tried to force Elain's mate into a situation he'd not wanted and would never agree to.

"Before Vassa is dealt with," Elain all but growled, "How do we get rid of her spell? This… web…?"

"I cannot feel it…" Lucien said gently, "So, I cannot shake it…"

"You can remove it?" Elain turned once more to Helion. "You can get rid of it?"

Helion was looking again at Lucien, his face serious. "I… can remove what I can see…" he said after a moment, "But, again, it was sloppily done, and so other parts are likely to remain unseen. I think the best course of action would be for me to remove most of it… and then, Elain, you use the bond to go deeper and cut away what remains."

"I don't understand." Elain looked at Helion, eyes wide.

"Use the connection between you. It will strengthen again once I remove most of the web. Some of it will have attached itself to Lucien inside, in his mind. You will have access with the bond. When you see it, you will understand."