A Court of Flame & Shadow - Eris x OC

The Court of Futures Past

Vel woke up in a bed of silken crimson sheets and duck-feathered pillows. The scent of cedar and crackling fire wrapped around her like a soft embrace. It was a struggle to turn her head to the side, stiff bandages were holding her neck in place, but she managed to turn her upper body enough to look around. In a chair next to the bed, Eris was dozing softly, head resting on a fist. With his features softened by sleep, he looked nothing like a High Lord. Yet, the flames in the hearth seemed to move to the rhythm of his breath.

When Vel stirred, Ruby shot up from her spot at her feet and padded over the silken covers to lick her face. Eris woke with a start a second later, then he was instantly hovering over her, fussing over her bandages, straightening her neck. As he held a glass of water to her lips, Vel realized that her mouth felt like a desert.

"How long have I been asleep?" She could barely recognize her own voice, rough from disuse.

"A week," Eris said as he adjusted the covers, tucking her in.

"A week," Vel repeated.

"You woke up a few times while I was trying to heal you. But you were thrashing too much, I had to put you back to sleep." Eris looked almost guilty as he said it. "I managed to heal two of the vertebrae higher up, but the lower fracture..." He swallowed thickly.

As she flexed her fingers, Vel noted that he had been holding her hand as he slept, the spot on the bed still warm and dented. Her hands trembled but moved, muscles screaming in protest, but her legs ...

She couldn't feel her legs. Her toes.

She was only vaguely aware of the soft material caressing her thighs, of Ruby's paws pressing into the bed at her side.

Panic, slow and icy, crept in.

"Did the healers ... say anything?" Something shifted in Eris's face that she couldn't quite decipher. Right. He had been the one to heal her. Where were the Autumn Court's healers?

"Did anything— Is the Autumn Court—?" Vel didn't even know what she was asking. Had they been attacked? Did one of the other courts think to profit off of the instability Beron's death would bring? Her thoughts churned with worry. Eris stared at her face for a long moment, as if taking in every detail.

"The court is fine. I'm sure Lysander is taking good care of it. But I don't trust any of the healers. They were all loyal to my father, I wouldn't trust them with your life. I've been training." He hesitated for a moment. "In healing I mean. Ever since I wasn't able to fully close your wounds when I got you out ... I promised myself there wouldn't be a next time. Yet it hasn't been enough, I still can't fix everything." His amber eyes were full of anguish, like a sea of honey roiling in a storm.

But Vel's mind had blanked at his first words. "Lysander?" she asked, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Why would Lysander be taking care of the court? Eris was High Lord. She could feel it even now, the power that oozed out of his every pore was unmistakable. Even the fire in her own veins seemed to dance when he spoke.

"I haven't stepped out of my rooms since I brought you here," Eris admitted quietly. "I was worried one of the loyalists might try something, or worse— that you would disappear on me again." They were quiet for a long moment. Ruby had finally settled down again and there was only the cracking of the logs in the fireplace.

"Why didn't you seek me after the war? You could have come to me, explained everything that had happened." There was no accusation in his tone, only resignation. And Vel hated it, absolutely despised it. She wished he would be angry with her. Anything would be better than the hurt in his eyes.