A Court of Games and Fate

A Warrant Signed

          The moment of the intense reunion was not exactly what Andromeda had been expecting. The jury had been out on whether or not Lucien would be happy to see her, yet the amount of urgency and sheer panic was overwhelming as the larger male merely held her form tighter as he backed away from the wall, as if the stones would come to life and chomp through his skin. His eye never left hers, even as he set her down by his horse that stood a few meters from where he caught her.

          "What are you doing here?" he growled out, causing the female to flinch.

          "Lucien," she made out, her knees wobbly as her skin vibrated with anticipation. He looked even more gorgeous than she remembered. His skin, which had paled a sickening amount while under the mountain, had developed its normal glow again. Even though anger twisted his features, Lucien looked more magnificent than she had ever seen.

          "Do you have any idea how dangerous that just was?" Lucien seethed, cutting off her dazed words. The insinuation that she couldn't climb the wall hit her hard though. Was he truly that angry with her for climbing a wall? What was he, her nursemaid?

          "I assure you I can climb a wall just fine enough, thank you very much," she snapped back. Lucien glared at her as he took a few carefully counted deep breaths, staring to the sky as if he were asking both the Mother and the Cauldron for help.

          "Do you even realize what this wall borders? Do you realize going over these stones would have been signing your death warrant?"

          "Stop talking to me as if I am some petulant-" Andromeda growled out before the male completed his sentence, tired of being treated like some fool. The last two words caused her to close her lips together in a frown. "Death warrant?"

          Lucien bounced discreetly on his feet, clearly showing how antsy he was to run from this spot. Andromeda had the feeling he was debating how easily he could grab her and haul her onto the horse. "This wall," he spat out, "borders the territory between the Spring Court and the Autumn Court. The very court that has orders to execute you on sight."

          Andromeda's jaw dropped into an offended gasp. Execute on sight? Surely he couldn't be serious. Eris may not have been the man she grew to know, but he wouldn't let his father go that far, surely.

          "The orders were given only hours ago and you choose right now to go parading around an unfamiliar forest?" Andromeda was beginning to grow concerned that the vein showing in Lucien's neck would burst from the amount of strain he was causing himself. "Andromeda, if they knew you were right here..."

          If the order was only given hours ago, then that must mean her renouncing of her mother's title has already spread across the courts of Prythian. The loss of the far too powerful title must have been the nail in the coffin for any diplomacy from Beron, that ass. Andromeda stared at the wall for a moment, as if her glare would somehow make its way to the Lord of Autumn. Her eyes chose to quickly drift back to Lucien.

          It had been months of no communication, no tugs, no anything. The last she saw of her mate, he had promised that he would only be a bond away, yet she refused to let him be. Was his anger over the fact that she arrived in the first place? Or was it due to the fact that she arrived after all but signing him off? It was hard to decipher his emotions when her gaze couldn't help but roam his loose tunic that did a wonderful job of showing off his muscular frame. His auburn hair was tied back and out of his face with the exception of some loose, wavy strands that hung free around his hairline. He had sweat on him as if he had been hard at work before rushing to her.