All Things Wild and Beautiful

2. A New Assignment

The artwork above is not mine.

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Voices echoed around the table as everyone filled their plates with food. Fenrys found himself wedged between Lorcan and Aedion, which was proving to be somewhat uncomfortable. Fenrys pretended not to notice the scowls that Lorcan kept throwing at him. He was unhappy about something, and it wasn't hard to guess what.

Aedion elbowed Fenrys between the ribs, lowering his voice as he asked, "What did you do to piss off Lorcan this time?" His Ashryver eyes, akin to Aelin's, twinkled as he smirked.

"I broke a dummy and left it glued together the last time he was here," Fenrys replied. "I couldn't tell you what happened when he found out. You'd have to ask Aelin, Rowan, or Elide."

Aedion shook his blonde head with a chuckle. "You are a menace."

"You try taking orders from that prick for over a century."

"No, thank you."

Fenrys smiled, but it soon faded. Lorcan had been a cruel bastard while they served as Maeve's blood-sworn, but how much of that was him protecting himself? How much of it was Lorcan doing what he could to protect the rest of them? And jealousy, Fenrys thought. I suppose there's that too.

Lorcan had fancied himself in love with Maeve, and even offered himself to her several times. Maeve just laughed and sent him away, before summoning Fenrys to her chambers. He wondered how many times Lorcan had directed his jealousy at Connall, before Fenrys returned and took his brother's place.

That was how he wound up blood-sworn to Maeve. When he and Connall first went to Doranelle at the age of thirty, Maeve saw them and coveted them at once. Fae twins were rare, and more powerful than most. Fenrys rejected the blood oath and was instead selected for an elite fighting force. Maeve sent his force away and Connall swore the blood oath while he was gone. His brother then began serving Maeve behind closed doors.

When Fenrys returned and discovered the truth, he too swore the oath, with the stipulation that Maeve would leave his brother alone. He took Connall's place in her bed and remained there until he broke the oath for Aelin. Connall had always resented him for it, although they still cared for one another deeply. It made Fenrys' role even harder, knowing that he was protecting his brother, who didn't want protection. His actions had caused a rift between them that never quite healed, and now, never would.

A foot kicked his shin below the table. Fenrys looked up, catching Aelin's eye. She blinked three times. He recognized the code. They had developed it while Aelin was being tortured by another one of Maeve's blood-sworn, Cairn, and Fenrys was forced to watch, trapped in his wolf form.

Aelin blinked again, three times. Are you all right?

He blinked once in response. Yes.

Aelin pursed her lips, her disbelief obvious, but she didn't question him further. Instead, she turned to Rowan and the male beside him. Vaughan glanced at her, but offered no verbal acknowledgment. His dark eyes glittered warily.

"Do you think Vaughan will take the oath?" Fenrys asked, leaning towards Lorcan. Not the smartest move he'd made, but curiosity was getting the better of him.

"How would I know?" Lorcan huffed.

"You've known him longer than I have. You claim to have memorized all of our habits, qualities, and disadvantages. You're able to make an educated guess on the matter." Fenrys leaned forward, meeting Elide Lochan's gaze. "What do you think, Lady?"