The Princess & The Lord

Part 25

Nyx dropped his arm from the blinding light and searched between the falling rain. The grey clouds had covered the sky, blocking out the sunlight. Aelin and Rowan stood to his left as Rhys landed to his right.

There were no signs of shadows or darkness, but knelt on the black soot, Elena was hunched over still crackling with lighting. Her shoulders moved up and down quickly as she continued to breathe heavily. She looked up and them with lightning ablaze in her eyes-pleading for help as the rain continued to fall.

Nyx slowly walked closer to her. There was a shuffle in the snow behind him as Rowan and Aelin moved to follow, but Rhys held out his hand. "She's too volatile right now," his father said quietly. "She won't hurt him. Every instinct in her body won't let her hurt him."

Nyx was sure of it. That's why he continued his path directly towards her without hesitation. She had so much power running through her veins- and she hadn't even tapped into the keys, but she would never hurt him.

"Elena," Nyx breathed quietly as he knelt before her in the snow. He reached to take her hands but she pulled back. She looked up at him, her golden hair slick with rain clung to her cheeks.

"I-I saw something in there," Elena said. The lighting continued to crackle around her as the rain poured down harder. "It was unbearable." Elena whispered as she closed her eyes lightly.

"Elena, whatever it is, we'll face it together." He said surely as he offered her his hand. Elena locked her eyes on his hand as if she wanted to reach out and take it, but she held back.

Elena's stare grew solemn as her eyes shifted to his face, "This we could not face together."

Nyx slowly reached out and stroked his thumb against her check, wiping away the rain, "We will find a way. It's you and me against the world." He smiled at her. A small crackle of lighting ran down his hand. Nyx could feel something inside him stirring at the power- something awaken.

Elena grabbed his hand with her own as he helped her to her feet.  He wrapped his wing right around her to shield her from the rain. She was shaking as the power continued to writhe through her body. Her jaw chattered against her teeth as she looked up to him, keeping her eyes locked on his.

He met her every step of the way. Being her strength when she felt weak. Steadied her when she was uneasy. He never looked away.

The gray clouds pulled back revealing the blue sky and the sun streaming between the rain. Elena finally looked away from him when Aelin wrapped her arms around her daughter. Rowan stood behind, a hand resting behind her head.

"You were reckless, Elena," Aelin said as she pulled back. "Reckless and arrogant and stubborn-"

Rowan cut her off, "But also brave and fearless and resilient, fireheart." Aelin looked up at her mate and her gaze softened

"You had us so worried," Aelin said. Elena's teeth continued to chatter. Aelin pulled Elena back in for a hug. Elena's hands had a faint golden glow to them as her palms were placed on Aelin's back. Nyx wrote it off as a lingering daylight still flowing through her veins.

The other High Lords had winnowed back to the Winter Court Palace, trying to reel in what had just happened-what now plagued their world. The wyverns landed on the snow as Lysandra and Gavriel shifted back to their human forms. Aelin's court gathered around her.

"You should have let us help you, Elena. We are a court, we make decision together," Aelin said.

Aedion spoke, "I don't know why you're surprised." He said with a smile "She is your daughter, Aelin. She did exactly as you would have done."