A Solstice Surprise

Chapter Four

Lucien needed to take a walk during the night to clear his head, he couldn’t sleep, so around late in the middle of the night, around three, he decided to go for a walk. Things had been going fine, until dinner. Something happened. He couldn’t explain what it was. But, it was something.

One minute he was perfectly coherent, the next, it was like he had woken from a nap he hadn’t remembered taking. Something was going on. Perhaps Vassa was right, perhaps he should have stayed home, and told Feyre he couldn’t come anymore. The stupid mating bond was taking too much out of him, and he didn’t know how much longer he could go with just surviving around it any longer.

Elain was never going to do anything about it, and that was driving him mad, and he was growing fearful of what could happen if he kept coming to the Night Court so close to her, if she kept refusing to even look at him. He was afraid of what he might do, without even his own control.

Suddenly he saw a lone female stumbling, as if walking blind, and he took a step forward, wanting to make sure she was alright, only to see it was Elain, and he had stumbled back a step, knowing, even if he were to genuinely help her, it isn’t what she would want, so, with the greatest difficulty, he made to start to turn away.

As he did so, he saw that there was a male, who looked about twice Elains size, what appeared to be an ash dagger to be in his hand, going straight for Elain. Something in Lucien snapped. This wasn’t walking away from her walking alone at night. This would be walking away from her potentially getting attacked.

““I would highly recommend you stay far away from the lady, or you wouldn’t have to only deal with me, but you would also have to deal with your High Lord and Lady.” Lucien says, allowing all the danger of an angry mate seep into his voice, as well as all the power he held of being a High Lords son. The air all around the three fae warmed up a few degrees, and brightened up very slightly too, not visible to the two males at all in their stand off.

In the end, the unnamed male who had intended to attack Elain backed off, with an angry remark, before walking off.

Slowly, Lucien turned to Elain, who looked as if she was staring at him, but not seeing him. He had seen that look before, years ago when she had first been made, and he had wondered what it was she had been seeing.

Gently, as to not impose, he announced that he was leading her to her sister, and then he would leave her alone. He apologized that he was the one who had to do it, and then gently took hold of her arm, and placed his other hand between her shoulder blades, slowly walking her the short distance back to Feyre’s River House.

Feyre and Rhysand were both downstairs when the two arrived, both looking confused, so Lucien briefly explained.

“I went for a walk, when I could not sleep, and came across Elain. She seemed to be somewhere else, and someone went to attack her. I stepped in, and led her back here. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will excuse myself before she has a chance to come to and find me here.” Lucien explained, voice uncontrollably getting sad near the end of his explanation.

He started to take the stairs, before pausing and turning around. “In case either one of you don’t believe me, feel free to come up and I will show you ny memory of the events.”

Once again, Lucien missed the look of concern that Feyre and Rhysand shared amongst themselves.