A World Away

51. Comfort

Helion winnowed them straight to the war-tent where Rhys stood waiting. No sooner had they arrived than he hugged Feyre, not letting her go as she wept in his arms. Eve' heart clenched at the sight of pure love that stood in front of her. However, she left, soon followed by the others, to give the mated couple privacy but, not before Rhys gave her a short, grateful nod.

"What was the cost?" Eve asked, once they were out of the tent. Helion gave her a sideways look before answering with a solemn tone, "We won... barely. Cassian is-" Eve whipped at that, stopping abruptly. "Where is he?" she demanded. Helion simply pointed to one of the tents on the west side of the camp. Eve nodded her thanks and left hurriedly, her heart beating at a fast pace.

She entered the tent, her eyes landing immediately on Cassian, lying on the table with a healer administrating medicine. His eyes were fluttering. He looked so, so pale that Eve took a step back, not able to see her friend like that. Everything went quiet as her mind flashed to when her best friend lay like that on the cold hard ground- dead. Taking in a sharp breath, she took another step back, only to be met with a hard wall of muscle- Azriel.

"He is going to be okay," Az mummered to her, placing his hand on her waist to keep her steady. It was then when Eve noticed Mor present in the room. "What- How?" Eve asked, her eyes darting from Mor to Cassian.

"Where were you?" Mor demanded instead. Eve shook her head, "Feyre insisted she had to go... I went with... promised to keep her safe, after all."

"You could have told-" Mor started, her voice raised only to be interrupted by the healer and Az giving her a glare. Feyre and Rhys entered the tent. "How?" Feyre asked, her voice hoarse.

"He wouldn't wait for us," Mor said flatly. "He kept charging- trying to re-form the line. One of their commanders engaged him. He wouldn't turn away. By the time Az got there, he was down."

Eve simply stared at Cassian, absorbing Mor' words. "Will he be alright?" she asked the healer who nodded. "He'll be sore for a few days but other than that, he will be fine." Eve sagged a bit.

It was then when Rhys turned to where Eve stood, her back to Az' chest. "Thank you, for keeping my mate safe and for keeping yourself safe," he said softly. "It was my job," Eve replied to the first part, not taking her eyes off her friend. He is alright, she had to keep reminding herself, her mind going back to Mike.

Az stiffened as he sensed Eve' agony. Pulling her closer, he turned to Rhys. Show me what happened, he demanded. Rhys obliged. By the end of it, Az was equally proud at how Eve protected Feyre and used her wits, at the same time, angry that Ianthe had the nerve to try to hurt Eve. He let few of his shadows go to her, coiling themselves in her hair.

"You are hurt," Az mummered. Eve brushed him off, "it nicked me. And with this new body of a Fae, it will be fine in no time." Before he could reply or protest, ignoring how this new body of hers had come about due to his incompetence at gaining information about Hybern before all went to hell, Cassian groaned.

"That's what you get," the healer chided when his eyes fluttered open, gathering her supplies, "for stepping in front of a sword. Rest tonight and tomorrow. I know better than to insist on a third day after that, but try not to leap in front of blades anytime soon." Cassian blinked, still a bit disoriented.

"How bad?" Cassian asked. "How bad was your injury," Rhys said mildly although Eve noticed the undertone of anger, "or how badly did we have our asses kicked? To answer the second question," Rhys went on, "we managed. Keir took heavy hits, but ... we won. Barely. To answer the first ..." Rhys bared his teeth. "Don't you ever pull that kind of shit again." Eve slowly backed up as Rhys voice sharpened.

The glaze wore off Cassian's eyes as he heard the challenge, the anger, and tried to sit up. He hissed, scowling down at the red, angry slice down his chest. Eve flinched at that. "Your guts were hanging out, you stupid prick," Rhys snapped. "Az held them in for you." Sensing Az tense behind her, she placed her hand on the one he rested on his waist, not caring about the blood that caked his hands. He let her calm him down a bit.

"I'm a soldier. It's part of the job."

"I gave you an order to wait," Rhys growled. "You ignored it." The two seemed to engage in an intense battle of wills and order. "The line was breaking," Cassian retorted. "Your order was bullshit."

Rhys braced his hands on either side of Cassian's legs and snarled in his face, "I am your High Lord. You don't get to disregard orders you don't like." Eve took in a breath at that.

Cassian sat up this time, swearing at the pain lingering in his body. "Don't you pull rank because you're pissed off—"

"You and your damned theatrics on the battlefield nearly got you killed." And even as Rhys spat the words—that was panic, again, in his eyes. His voice. "I'm not pissed. I'm furious."

"So, you're allowed to be mad about our choices to protect you—and we're not allowed to be furious with you for your self-sacrificing bullshit?" Pin drop silence at that.

"You could have died," was all Rhys said, his voice raw. "So could you." And that emotion present in their voices... Eve let go of Az and made her way out of the tent to give them privacy. The others soon followed.

Eve scanned the area in front of her before making her way towards her tent where Nesta stood- unblinking. "He is fine, so is Feyre," she said, coming to stand near her. Nesta nodded once, giving out a sigh of relief. "And you?" Eve blinked at that question. "Am alright, comparatively," Eve said quietly.

Eve opened her mouth once again to tell Nesta if she could do the... scrying but Mor interrupted them, looking at Nesta, "Shouldn't you be refilling that bucket?" Eve stiffened at the tone Mor used but Nesta simply sized Mor up, before going back to her work. "I am going to go help her," Eve said and after giving Mor a pointed glare who huffed, she left.

******

Eve was helping Nesta change the waters when Azriel approached them. Nesta, sensing him, left. Eve stood tall as he came near with a bandage in his hand. She seemed to be doing the same thing he was- sizing the other one up for wounds.

"Just a few scratches," Az offered as her eyes snagged at the superficial cut near his jaw. She nodded and replied, "just a nick. The arrows were of steel and ashwood," Az stiffened at that. Not knowing what to say, he just stood still, observing Eve whose eyes had dimmed.

"Ianthe had it coming," Az said. "Am I horrible for making sure she died horribly?" Eve gulped. Az shook his head, "she deserved much worse. And, you are not a horrible person," And indeed, if it had been Az instead of the Weaver there, Ianthe' scream would have been much more painful and loud.

"I am glad," she said finally, "that you are not hurt." Az smiled a bit at that. Sighing, Eve went and laid her head on his shoulders, taking in his scent. "Let me help clean you up," she said to him; demanding, eyes still closed. Az nodded slowly, not used to someone caring for him like she was now. "The same goes for you," he replied softly.

They stayed like that till Rhys called them to the war-tent. 

Happy reading :)

XOXO,

the amazing author 

Gosh I love the weekends.... don't have to wake up at 6am with only 5-6 hrs of sleep and have 2 whole days to catch up on my work *phew*