Ùna: Like All & Like None

Chapter XI

Tamlin's POV

My shoulders finally began to ease as I watched her gauche face get whisked out of this room. I let out a much-needed exhale. I hadn't even noticed the bottom of my lungs had been holding onto the same breath this whole time. Finishing my glass of wine in one gulp I expelled my breath again. Lucien clicked his tongue; I could see his knowing smirk in my peripheral. "Well, that was a gaffe", his grin audible in his words. But I had no response. I was still trying to flatten my own feathers. I had no excuse as to why I suddenly became so socially inept in her presence. She was just a human. But she was also my key to end this. 

I refilled my glass with more wine. The only sound in the room was Lucien's fork clacking on the plate before his lifted his head towards me, "I am sorry if I came off as brash." I was too sheepish to meet his eyes. I only kept my eyes on the table as I proceeded to drink. "I was only trying to. . . Tam- you know I was just trying to walk you through this. . . I cannot fathom what is pulsing through your mind. I was just being your friend." I could only articulate, "I know."

This time- this was my last and only chance. My last and only chance to make this happen. To do it right. To make it work. I could only prey that she be the one. The one to save us all and end this. It had been so long since I had even engaged in a conversation with a woman backed by this intention. Yet- she was so young. So. . . unknowing. She was in all probability, traumatized. Plucked from the world she knew. . .how could I expect her to understand this world? "I need to pull myself together", the words merely slipping out. "You will Tam. I am here for you." I finally looked up to meet Lucien's eyes. His gaze gave me comfort. We both shared a nod, before he let out a breathy laugh, "Do you at least find her attractive?" A typical Lucien comment to ease the tension, we both shared a smile. Rolling my eyes I answered, "Yes." 

But did she find me attractive? That was the more important question. I suddenly paid notice to my unkept clothes. I should have been more dutiful in my presentation. I caught Lucien watching me fiddle with my scrunched sleeves. I smirked, "Hopefully she doesn't think me to be a common slob." Lucien hissed, leaning back in his chair, "Oh please! it is without doubt that the men she's come to know do not even compare to us- to you." He motioned his glass to me and I cheered him with mine. "Yes. We can only hope." I said under my breath. "Don't worry, we will get you cleaned up", he said patting my shoulder.

 "By the by. . . how did you find her? How did she kill Andras?" Lucien mused. The scene flashed through my mind. Three bodies and the snow crimson in gore. I knew it hadn't been ripe for me to ask her what had endured. I only knew of the facts that the visuals had to tell. "It. . . was. . . gruesome. I am unaware of the specifics- I only know of what happened to Andras. He was practically gutted with an ashwood dagger." I finished my wine again. Lucien pried, "Ashwood dagger? Why- where on earth would she get her hands on that? Did you dispose of it?" "No. . . no I did not. It is with the rest of her belonging that were on her." His elbows dropped on the table with a thud, his gaping mouth saying enough. "She will not use it to harm us, Lucien. . .That I am fairly sure of." "Fairly sure of? For cauldron's sake- Tamlin -we have to go retrieve it now!" I clicked my tongue and found his eyes horrified staring into mine, "No. I get the sense that Andras may have caused more harm to her than we are privy to. Hi-his wounds. . . They were not the result of him simply being fae", I pursed my lips and strummed for the right words, "They were a depiction. . . a reaction, no. . . they were a consequence of her falling apart. . . Her breaking." My eyes scanned up to the ceiling, but I could feel Lucien's locked on to me. The heat of his worry brazing my skin.