ACOTAR One Shots

Lost

"I thought you said you knew where we were going?" I questioned—well more like snapped, but the harsh winds and conditions only worsened my irritable mood.

Go with Cassian, my sister said. Learn to train and get better, she said. Ha, sure. If only she knew that Cassian's idea of training and getting better included wandering the forests of the Illyrian mountains aimlessly. I bet she would laugh then—or maybe she would simply be glad that I was out of her hair, I couldn't be entirely sure.

But I supposed it was my own fault for the relationship I had with my youngest sister—for the relationship I had currently had with both my sisters for that matter. As much as I loathed to admit it, I had pushed my sisters away after the war. Had locked myself away from them both so that I didn't have to face them—to face what I had seen and done.

And not just them, although that was a conversation for a different time when I was in a much different mindset from my current one.

At the moment all I wanted to do was rip apart the Illyrian in front of me who thought it was a brilliant to go traipsing through the woods—for fun. Granted, Cassian's intentions were not as devious or as horrid as it appeared. Cass thought a quick trip to a thermal springs that he claimed were nearby would be a good way to relieve some tension from training that had been slowly building up over the last few weeks. And I had agreed—much to his and my own surprise.

What I hadn't intended for was for us to get as supremely lost as it appeared we were. After all, for a springs that were supposed to be close, the two hour trek that we had already done seemed a bit excessive—and there were still no springs in sight.

"I do," Cassian replied, but didn't exactly sound confident.

I raised my eyebrow, ducking under a branch that Cassian held up for me. "Are you absolutely sure about that?"

Cassian hesitated, looking over at me skeptically, "Well, I'm mostly sure of where we are going?"

"Mostly?" I questioned harshly. "Cassian I swear to the damn Cauldron that if you brought me out here on some wild goose chase for some hypothetical springs I'm going to tear off your balls and shove them down your throat."

Cass choked back either a laugh or a snort—I wasn't a hundred percent sure—before he turned to look at me. "Okay, so I don't quite know where we're going. I know they exist but," he shrugged, "I may have lied just a bit on the fact that I knew where they were."

I inhaled a deep breath and gripped the bridge of my nose tightly. A burst of wind swept my hair off my neck and exposed the bare skin, goosebumps rising on the bared flesh. As comfortable and practical as Illyrian leathers were, even they couldn't keep out the chill from the Illyrian mountains' climate.

Quite frankly, I was stiff, cold, and my feet were sore. No matter how great these hypothetical thermal springs were supposed to be, I was ready to call it quits and just turn back and head home. Home... what a funny concept that had become. The fact that I now viewed the small cabin at camp that I shared with Cassian as my home was a little alarming.

"Cass, I'm cold, I'm tired, and I'm sore. Could we please, for the love of all that is good, go back?" It might have been the first time I had simply asked him something rather than just demanded.

But it must have sounded pathetic enough, because no sooner had the words left my mouth Cassian had turned around to face me. He ran a critical eye over my current state, no doubt noticing how I held back the shivers that threatened to wrack my body.

He pursed his lips, "Just a little further? I'm sure they're around here somewhere. They can't be too much farther."

I sighed through my nose steeling myself for an argument that was no doubt bound to happen, "Cassian, we've been walking for nearly two hours and we haven't found anything. It's time to cut our losses and head home."

Cassian drew in a sharp breath, "Home...?"

I winced slightly at my slip up of using the word home in front of Cassian. Granted, it was the closest thing I had to home—one that at least felt like home and not just four walls that I lived in. But Cassian didn't need to know that his cabin felt like home; that he felt like home. But nevertheless, I nodded. I was too tired to care too deeply about what he thought in relation to my use of the phrase at the moment. I just wanted to be back at the cabin, wrapped up in a few fur-lined blankets, and have a book in my lap. Yes, that sounded much better than my current position.

"Yes, home. Where it's warm, and I have books and tea at my disposal," I shot back, sounding more desperate than snappish.

Cassian stared into my eyes, gaze not breaking my own. Despite all the terrible things I said, all the terrible things I did, I had yet to push him away. In fact, my time here in the Illyrian camps had helped to fix our less than friendly relationship. Had worked to clear a hole inside me that I had refused to acknowledge.

"Alright," Cassian replied softly, "Let's go home. I'll even make it quick and fly us there." Cassian gave me his signature smirk accompanied by a wink and I couldn't help the snort that came out.

"Fine," I replied, biting back a smile that threatened to cross my face. "Just don't drop me."

Cass stepped closer, his face suddenly serious and eyes open with an emotion I couldn't quite place, "Never. I would never drop you."

And somehow, in the midst of the Illyrian forest, I believed him.

** Well guys here is a bit of Nessian for you. I couldn't decide whether or not to make this longer, so I decided to keep it on the shorter side after how long the first part was.

Again I'd love to hear any of your feedback, prompt ideas, or critiques. Thank you all for reading this.