Acotar retelling

Training Montage

I slept in late, Tamlin was absent from breakfast, but Lucien lay in wait. I dutifully ate extra protein again–eggs, ham, and bacon–before I touched toast and fruit. Regardless of Tamlin's absence, I knew he would have someone on guard.

I needed to trade a kiss for sight quickly so I could be fully aware who was near me and when. It was already difficult to plan for the future secretly. Add invisible people who were spying on me on top of that and it became impossible.

"So, when do we start?" I asked when I was done, eager to get training started.

"Now, or does your pitiful, human body need more rest?" He teased me.

I fire back without thought. "My human body is fine, thank you gracious Sir Lucien." Lucien chuckled at that and strode out of the room, gesturing airily for me to follow. I bowed obnoxiously before doing as he motioned.

We stopped out in a wide field of grass and he gave the first order. "Start your stretches human, I'll wait. When you're done we'll run and then start basic self defense."

I complied and before long he was effortlessly beating me while we ran laps. After he lapped me a fourth time I gave up on trying to keep up and instead zoned in on myself. I allowed everything to flow out of my mind, and put all my effort into running. What felt like two minutes later Tamlin tapped on my shoulder, "–re. Feyre."

"Sorry, what happened? Was I too slow?" I questioned, confused.

He almost smiled, lips twitching up. "No not at all, you've just been running forever, Lucien said it's been almost an hour. I just got back from patrol and I'm going to take over the defense aspect of your training."

Oh Cauldron, an hour? Seriously?

I was shocked, "That sounds perfect, thank you."

~~~~~

After another hour of self defense, and a ten minute cool-down Tamlin and I made our way back inside the manor for a late lunch.

I knew I needed to catch the Suriel sooner than later, so when we finished our meal, I excused myself and hurriedly ran up to Lucien's room. I knew I didn't need to talk to him, I knew the Suriel would prefer a nice cloak toa plucked chicken, but I needed all the back-up I could get. I couldn't forget I was a weak human again.

I knocked on the white-painted double doors.

"Come in, human." He could probably detect me by my breathing patterns alone. Or maybe that eye of his could see through the door.

I eased open the door.

"I haven't seen you around," I said, shutting the door and leaning against it.

"I had to go sort out some hotheads on the northern border—official emissary business," he said, setting down the hunting knife he'd been cleaning, a long, vicious blade.

There's been a disturbance out in the western forest, and my friend had to deal with it in that way only he can. I'm surprised you didn't run into him on the stairs."

The Naga.

"What sort of disturbance?"

Lucien shrugged, but the movement was too tense to be careless. "The usual sort: unwanted, nasty creatures raising hell."

"I'm impressed you answered me that much," I said as casually as I could, thinking through my words. "But it's too bad you're not like the Suriel, spouting any information I want if I'm clever enough to snare you."

For a moment, he blinked at me. Then his mouth twisted to the side, and that metal eye whizzed and narrowed on me. "I suppose you won't tell me what you want to know."

"You have your secrets, and I have mine," I said carefully. "But if you were a Suriel," I added with deliberate slowness, in case he hadn't caught my meaning, "how, exactly, would I trap you?"

Lucien set down the knife and picked at his nails, "I'd probably have a weakness for groves of young birch trees in the western woods, and freshly slaughtered chickens, and would probably be so greedy that I wouldn't notice the double-loop snare rigged around the grove to pin my legs in place."

The Suriel wasn't greedy, just hungry.

"Hmm." There was still a good chance he wouldn't mind seeing me dead, but I would risk it. "I somehow prefer you as a High Fae."

He smirked, but the amusement was short-lived. "If I were insane and stupid enough to go after a Suriel, I'd also take a bow and quiver, and maybe a knife just like this one." He sheathed the knife he'd cleaned and set it down at the edge of the table—an offering. "And I'd be prepared to run like hell when I freed it—to the nearest running water, which they hate crossing."

"But you're not insane, so you'll be here, safe and sound?"

"I'll be conveniently hunting on the grounds, and with my superior hearing, I might be feeling generous enough to listen if someone screams from the western woods. But it's a good thing I had no role in telling you to go out today, since Tam would eviscerate anyone who told you how to trap a Suriel; and it's a good thing I had planned to hunt anyway, because if anyone caught me helping you, there would be trouble of a whole other hell awaiting us. I hope your secrets are worth it." He said it with his usual grin, but there was an edge to it—a warning I didn't miss.

He better show up this time, instead of Tamlin.

"It's a good thing that while you have superior hearing, I possess superior abilities to keep my mouth shut."

He snorted as I took the knife from the table and turned to procure the bow from my room. "I think I'm starting to like you—for a murdering human."

~~~~~

I went to Alis next, she waited in my room. "So, if you happened to be a..."

I trailed off at the look she gave me, "I know what you plan to do girl, the question is do you? Are you really going to risk your life for information? The Suriel may be unable to refuse you but it could still keep things back or tell convoluted truths."

I nodded, "I am aware of the risks, but Lucien knows where I'll be and Tamlin is out hunting so I should be covered if anything extreme goes awry. I really just need to know my best chance at catching it."

She hesitated, "...Okay, wait here."

Alis returned not a minute later with two of the finest cloaks I've laid eyes upon. She slipped one across my shoulders and folded the other over my arm. "Be careful girl, I wouldn't want to see you harmed."

"Thank you Alis, you have no idea how much that means coming from you." I smiled tentatively at her and swept out of the room.

A/n: okay a little bit longer!