Battle Scars

The greenhouse talk

Eris was waiting for them in the Spring Court- the very same court Eve wished took a turn for the better. None of its citizens deserved the desolation and uncertainty of the future they were now facing.

Rhys had winnowed them in and left just as quickly but Eve had not dared ask him what was wrong- not when she had enough on her mind already; enough to occupy her for months on the end.

"I hate this place," he muttered, flushing. Eve snorted.

"You know, Mike hated them too."

Cassian's eyes whipped to hers, wide open. She did not blame him; this was the first time she was talking of him to anyone but Cassian was the easiest from everyone else to talk with. "I found a small poem from him last night," she whispered, "he did not want to be mourned as much as he wanted to be celebrated and honoured," her lips almost formed an amused smile. Cassian squeezed her hand. "Anyway," Eve exhaled, "he was allergic to roses. Hated them."

Cassian smiled a little at that, "We could've started a club against them." Eve chuckled, "you should have seen him during Valentine week. Gods, he used to go around wearing a mask and carrying deodorants."

"He is probably laughing at me now," Cassian said. "Oh, he is," Eve confirmed, "but more like a sympathetic laughter." "Probably."

They went silent again.

"Eris is late," Cassian sighed. They'd been waiting ten minutes.

"Do you think he's coming?"

"He's likely sipping some tea, enjoying the fact that we're here, waiting for him. He'll enjoy the thought of making me wait."

"He's a bastard."

"Are you talking about me, or the brute beside you?" a deep, smooth voice said from the shadows of a budding dogwood.

Eris dressed as immaculately as Rhysand, not a strand of his long red hair out of place. But though Eris's angular features were handsome, no light shone in his eyes. No joy. Eve knew that look, had seen it in the mirror.

"Hello, Eve." She glared at him and Eris's mouth quirked upward. But the expression vanished as he turned to Cassian.

"I hear you have something to tell me regarding my soldiers." Cassian crossed his arms. "Good news and bad news, Eris. Take your pick."

"Bad. Always the bad first." Eris's smile was full of poison. Eve agreed to that logic.

"Most of your soldiers are dead." Eris only blinked. "And the good news?" "Two of them survived." Eris's face showed a range of emotions: rage glimmering in his eyes, displeasure in his pursed lips, annoyance in the fluttering of a muscle in his jaw. As if countless questions were racing through his mind. Eris's voice remained flat, though. "And who did this?"

Cassian grimaced. "Technically, Azriel and I did. Your soldiers were enchanted by Queen Briallyn and Koschei to be mindless killers. They attacked us in the Bog of Oorid, and we were left with no choice but to kill them."

"And yet two survived. How convenient. I assume they received Azriel's particular brand of interrogation?" Eris's voice dripped disdain. "We could only manage to contain two," Cassian said tightly. "Under Briallyn's influence, they were practically rabid."

"Let's not lie to ourselves. You only bothered to contain two, by the time your brute bloodlust ebbed away." Cassian sucked in a breath. "We did what we could. There were two dozen of them." Eve kept silent, knowing this was something the both of them needed to sort out before she interfered with her support to Cassian.

Eris snorted. "There were certainly more than that, and you could have easily spared more than two. But I don't know why I'd expect someone like you to have done any better."