Helion Spellcleaver and the Lady of Autumn ; A new start

Part 22

Elain woke up from what might have been the calmest, most relaxing sleep in a long while to a mix of softness and hardness around her. And so much warmth despite the underground level of the chambers. Blinking softly, she shifted a little feeling the weight on top of her more acutely.
The scent of wet soil filled her lungs as she took a deep breath and turned around towards the source of the warmth. Splayed on the bed, one strong arm over her waist the other under her shoulders, head near the crook of her neck her mate slept peacefully.
Her breath caught in her throat and for a moment Elain froze. Her brain was racking through the memories of the previous day. It had been a tiring day, full of events and truthfully she hadn't expected to sleep well since the first night.
Maybe because you slept in Lucien's arms.
Though she couldn't remember Lucien coming into the room or even sharing more than ten words with, throughout the whole evening. As slowly as possible Elain wiggled down so she could get on the same level with Lucien and take a better look at her mate's face. Needless to say, this close the same as from far away he was breathtakingly handsome. Ethereal. Exquisite. A man strong even though he'd faced so much. Though maybe because he'd faced so much.
Softly Elain began tracing the smooth part of his face. Sharp jaw, up to his full lips, the straight nose and-hesitating for a moment she touched the scarred skin under his eye. Its the lightest of touch, barely a whisper. Then she traced his eyebrow and played with a lock of silky hair.
She stared at his face, studying each centimetre of scarred and smooth skin. Then she touched the scar again. From his eyebrow, down to his jaw with a little more press this time. Under her Lucien's arm stiffened. Elain froze than jumped up as if she'd caught fire.
'Oh- oh...I' she stuttered. 'Apologies. I didn't mean to disturb you.'
'Only to invade the personal space of a sleeping man. Never thought you had it in you.'
'Why I- I..' Elain pursed her lips at her mate's sly grin. 'You're the one who came here at night.' Playfully she smacked Lucien's shoulder and when his grin didn't waver, Elain burst out laughing so hard she fell on the bed again. On Lucien's arm again.
'Sorry for invading your personal space.' She apologised when she sobered.
'It's okay. I understand I'm pretty irresistible.' Elain rolled her eyes. 'I apologise for my behaviour yesterday. Last time I was here, I was with your sister, kind off running for my life. So much has happened ever since and it's the first time I've been here and I wasn't in my right mind yesterday.'
Elain chuckled. 'I gathered that much so I don't fault you for that.' She turned her gaze towards her mate. 'Apology accepted.'
'Your apology is accepted as well.' He professed solemnly.
Elain smiled and a serene calmness shone on Lucien's face. A strange feeling was blooming between them, right there pulsing, breathing. Like a lovely flower that blooms with care and love. It scared Elain beyond reason even though she'd known something would spark between them if given the chance. That, and her not coming with him would've been the final hit for Lucien's mental health and reputation. The mating bond truly had a terrifying grasp on them.
'We should get up,' Elain murmured. Lucien said nothing, but stared at her with his ember eye, hypnotising her. And it was working. Elain couldn't seem to move her eyes away from his.
'You're right.' He rasped. 'We should.' His voice made Elain's stomach tingle and tighten in the best way possible. Capturing her eyes for another moment, Lucien got up. Or at least tried to with one arm under Elain. 'Oh sorry-' She tried to get up abruptly and almost bumped her head into his.
'Sorry-' she started again. 'It's all right.' Lucien reassured her and yet the amusement in his voice was obvious.
'You find this so funny, when it really isn't.' Elain got up from the bed and combed through her tangled hair. With a waist length one burst of wind would dishevel them, let alone tossing and turning in nightmare fuelled nights.
'But it is funny. Funny in a very ridiculous way.' Lucien lay on his back, an arm supporting his head. With the unmade bed, and their disheveled appearances they looked like a couple who'd just woken up from sweet sleep in each others arms. Which they had.
'I don't see it.' Elain argued.
'Just look at the whole situation.' Lucien motioned with his hand between them. 'It's ridiculous truly. We haven't spoken this much the whole time we've known to each other. And now were thrown here where the only people we can talk to are, well, only each other.'
'Things don't always go as planned in life, nor do they go by our preferred pace.' A dark shadow overtook her eyes so much so that they looked soulless. But she blinked and it was gone. 'I suppose this is a better way for us to get to know each other.'
Lucien stared at her intently, all previous humour gone. 'I suppose you're right.' He got up from the bed and Elain blushed at the sight of her mate's naked torso. 'This way there is nowhere for you to hide away from me. Here I get to have all my answers to my questions. Because believe me when I say, I respect you lady, I do. And my heart soared through a hundred skies when you told me that you'd like me to court you, but I'm more than the mating bond.' He walked right in front of Elain and softly, raised her chin with his forefinger, so they could see eye to eye. 'Now I'm thinking with my head not my heart and it's telling me there is more to your sudden interest in me than you're showing me. Especially after you had someone else in your heart.' Elain puckered her brows but Lucien continued. 'And best believe I'll find the truth, lady.' Lucien dropped his hand to his side but Elain remained with her head up, locking eyes with his. An unusual fire burned in her eyes. 'Fine, you do that. But I care about you Lucien; I really do.'
Lucien didn't comment on that, but instead now looked more closed off. His face unreadable. After what seemed forever he nodded and turned around to leave. 'Thank you by the way,' Elain called after him. He stopped on his tracks but didn't turn to face her. 'Those nightmares have been haunting me for a while.'
'I was just keeping my promise.' He spoke over his shoulder and disappeared in the bathroom.
~
Lucien walked into the bathroom and turned the water to its highest temperature. His mate was a walking, talking contradiction and last nights events weren't making thinks easier. So much for promising to reject the mating bond. But last night, he just couldn't have ignored her cries, even though now everything was a thousand times more complicated. And truth was that even Lucien wasn't doing that good himself. After he broke down in front of Eris, saying goodbye to his mother and the time spent in the human lands had been all a blur. Finally his heart had started to beat again when Elain opened the door for him yesterday morning but it soon came crashing again when he remembered his promise. And it was easy, so easy to forget it all and get lost in whatever was blooming between them. Just like this morning, mere moments ago.
He couldn't trust Elain, nor his heart and his mind wasn't at its strongest right now. But he'd make it work. Somehow, after everything that happened to him over the course of his life Lucien managed to come out alive. He was just hoping to come out without damaging his heart too much in the process.

The days were slow and so were the nights. Despite the tension between them, Lucien and Elain came to an unspoken agreement that sleeping together was better. The nightmares didn't bother Elain anymore.
Like that went the first ten days of their stay. They ate breakfast in their room, lunch with either Eris or Aurelia and dinner usually with the rest of the Vanserras. Beron wasn't around much, they only saw him at dinner and honestly that was more than enough.
'Are you going to tell me where are we going? You're not taking me to the middle of the forest and kill me are you?'
Lucien's only answer was a sly smile and a wink over his shoulder. 'Nah, I like my head on top of my shoulders thank you very much. I'm just gonna show you the cave where I stayed with Feyre when we left Spring together. Of course before that, I used to go there alone. Hear that?' Lucien stopped in his tracks and silence fell around them. Then Elain started picking up some sounds, a leaf rustling in the wind, rats and squirrels looking searching for their next meal and the relaxing rumble of water. 'There's a river around here.' Elain guessed.
'Yes, just close to the cave, few meters away. Its a waterfall actually.' Lucien closed his eyes and focused on the sound of the water. 'Lulls me to sleep.'
Elain followed her mate and closed her eyes focusing her on her sharpened hearing. 'It truly does,' she responded after a moment of silence. 'Let's go.' Lucien tugged at her hand. Soon enough they reached the entrance of the cave and Lucien spread open his palm in front of him, yellows-orange flames burst from it but they didn't burn his hand. Instead the flames danced on top of his skin. As they walked inside the cave Elain took in the stony walls, and the lone rugged bed. 'Wow, looks depressing.' Elain whispered as if afraid that her voice would disturb the eerie quiet of the place.
'Well imagine how it looked to me and Feyre. On the run, without powers- are you okay?' Lucien felt Elain's hand go cold and hard as stone, her eyes milky white. She opened her mouth and a deep voice that made Lucien feel like a metallic claw was grabbing his insides and twisting them. Elain turned towards her mate and grabbed his arm with unusual strength. 'You have to go,' she spoke holding tightly onto him.
'Elain-'
'Go,' she whispered. But if the voice that had first come out of Elain's mouth had made his stomach quench the whisper almost shattered his heart.
Because it wasn't Elain's voice.
It was a voice he hadn't heard in a long, long time.
A voice he only hear in nightmares. Jasmenda.