#acohad

He decided to come alone. No one but Azriel knew he was here, and he preferred it to be that way. He was wearing his finest suit, the one he had worn to his cousin Talysa’s wedding. He shed no tears, not like the many mourners around him. Not even as their bodies were lowered onto the pyres, not even as the ceremonious fire consumed their bodies and returned them to the earth from which they came.

It had been a week since the war had ended. In that time, both Felix and Eleana had their birthdays. Felix had once told him of the book he had made for Eleana stashed under his bed, and it gave Kaden an immeasurable joy to watch him give it to her in person.

In that time, High Lord Rhysand had given Kaden something he had never had before - power. The queen was dead, but there were still creatures roaming the land and skies, and Kaden, with his own team of warriors and his acute tracking magic, would hunt and kill them all. It just so happened that Kaden could not think of anyone better for the task than the Elite and handed the job right off to Felix. His brother had laughed, chastising Kaden for his stupidity. Felix couldn’t see, how did Kaden expect him to track those bloody creatures? So the Elite, albeit temporarily, were his.

And in that time, Kaden had gained a parent.

Felix came and found him the day after his battle with the queen. He came bounding into the house with Nesta guiding him, the woman looking windswept and terrified. She kept muttering never again, and Kaden didn’t even want to know how Felix had managed to fly them here without sight. Kaden was in Eleana’s room, they were having a well-deserved cuddle in bed, when Felix burst in, nearly pushed over the dresser, and demanded he winnow them to the Day Court that very instant.

Kaden threw a pillow at his head so hard that it knocked him back a step, but did as he asked, telling Eleana he would be home soon.

He didn’t know why they were going to the Day Court, only that Felix wanted them back at the High Lord’s palace. Kaden, figuring this had something to do with Felix’s research, obliged.

High Lord Helion looked unsurprised at their appearance, and took one look at Felix and said, “You know where to go.”

“Ah, actually I don’t. As you can see, I can’t see.” He grinned from ear to ear after that, and the look on Helion’s face when he’d realised what he’d said was priceless.

A servant showed them the way up to a high turret. It was in Helion’s personal wing but far from anyone else. They knocked on the door, and when Kaden entered he saw himself.

He saw his eyes, his hair, his skin, his height.

When he looked at this woman, he knew who she was. There was no doubt in his mind.

“H-how?” he gasped.

She looked at him like he was a book she was trying to translate.

“You must be her. D-Denora Ana. A woman called Elain once told me your name.”

She smiled but said nothing. She approached the two Illyrian males, stopping when she was eye level with Kaden’s impressive height. Kaden had never met someone taller than he, but she had half an inch on him.

“I knew this boy would bring my baby back to me.” She’d ran her hand through Kaden’s hair. “My only baby boy, I missed you.”

Kaden put his hands on her shoulders, too shocked to do anything else. “I – I missed you too.”

Den reminded him a lot of Morrigan – if Morrigan had been thousands of years older and a famed historian. Den said Kaden was free to call her whatever he wanted, and when he tentatively called her mother, she squealed with glee and declared it his first word. She had walked him around the Day Court, buying him food and peppering him with questions. She also shared some of her own adventures, including how she knew Helion.

“Oh yes! My little little star star. He is my brother’s son. Or, my brother’s son’s son’s son’s son’s son’s son. Lots of sons, and then there is Helion! If he isn’t careful, you could inherit his magic.”

“Pardon?”

“The blood that runs in his veins is the same that runs in yours. You are the nephew of my brother, who was High Lord of Day Court. He is long gone now, but he wasn’t like me, he had many children who had many children of their own. You are my only baby.”

When he returned, Felix was sulking in Den’s chambers. When they entered, Felix sighed dramatically. “I was hoping Helion would have pity sex with me. But nope, still a no-go.”

“Mind your language you scoundrel. You’re in the presence of my mother.”

Kaden had gone back every day since to see her. Usually, they just walked. She’d had such a long, rich life, intertwined closely with the Day and Winter Courts. One day, Morrigan came with her, and when Kaden introduced her as the woman who had been caring for her like a mother in Den’s absence, Den cooed and thanked Morrigan profusely, saying she knew they were friends after all. It was strange, having the two women together. Den made Morrigan look like a child. Even High Lord Rhysand was young in comparison to her. There was no one else in Prythian who matched her age with the exception of Amren. But Kaden wasn’t about to bring the subject of her up.

The day Kaden found out he gained a parent was the day he found out he lost one.

His lips were turning blue from the cold as he watched his father’s corpse honoured by those around him. His eyes were dry while he listened to the prayer songs of the Illyrians as four of his brothers joined his father. Azriel had told him when he’d first returned from the Day Court.

And now he was here.

Kaden touched his magic, the familiar grey veil shadowing the world as he looked to the Other Side.

His father, Leeam, Jakob, Alec and Damion were nowhere to be seen. Either their spirits had moved on, or they were still wandering the bloody plains where they had died.

Mikael, now the Lord of their camp, stood with his wife and children, his face grave. Mikael missed them. They were truly a loving family – but never to Kaden. No, Kaden was nothing but an inconvenient stain they could never remove.

Mikael met his gaze from across the pyres, the only thing separating them snow and flame.

Kaden turned away. The funeral wasn’t over, but Kaden was done.

////

Eleana stared at the assorted tapestries draping across the walls. They were all red with bright, yellow flowers adorning them. They covered what would have been a wall of windows and were stark against the white carpet. The chair she was sitting on was the same yellow as Felix’s house, and it gave her a weird sense of comfort, even if the seat itself was lumpy.

“Lady Eleana, there is no shame in being here. Healing for the mind is just as important as healing for the body,” the older female healer said, sitting in her own chair across the room with a pen and notepad in her hand.

“I don’t feel shame,” Eleana said. “I’m just not sure what to say.”

“Where would you like to start?”

“I’ve talked about what happened before, but only with my mate. He’s the most understanding person I know, and he’s been so supportive through all this.”

The healer smiled. “How did you meet him?”

Kaden wasn’t what Eleana expected to be speaking about while here, but she was glad to talk of a softer topic. “I have a habit of letting my magic guide me when I’m tired. Sometimes, I close my eyes and just walk, and I always end up where I need to be. The Illyrians at my camp had seen it for years, but Kaden was new. He saw me and asked if I was alright. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen.” Eleana laughed slightly. “If we hadn’t been interrupted by my cousin I know we would have done devilish things together that night. I knew that day. It was like being hit with a battering ram.”

“And he knew also?”

“No, actually. He’s known for only a few weeks.”

“How did that make you feel?”

Eleana went into the long story of her and Kaden’s relationship – the incredible highs, and the times where it felt like it would never happen at all. She spoke of the first time they’d danced together, the matching crowns the suriel had given them, the day she was taken by the Colloden and how he had saved her. It was a tale to rival the ones she read in her trashy erotica novels, but she loved it anyway and wouldn’t change a thing. Her story ended with her feelings on sex, and how even though she was as attracted to him as ever, her body just wanted to be by itself for a little while.

“That’s completely normal, Lady Eleana,” the healer said. “From the brief details you have provided me on the events of this month, you have gone through a serious trauma.” The healer went on to explain some more, even going as so far as to give her a book on assault recovery, and then asked about Felix. “Why don’t we take this piece by piece? Ease into it, if you will.”

So, Eleana talked of her cousin next, and by the time she was done telling that story her appointment was over. She would be back at least once a week though, more if things got to be too much for her

She left the room and walked down a hallway. In the foyer, both her parents were waiting. She greeted them with a tired smile, she was always tired these days, and her father put his arm around her shoulder as they walked. Her mother handed her chocolate, which Eleana thankfully took.

“How are you?” Her mother asked.

“I’m doing okay.”

/////

Kaden felt like he was Felix’s official escort. Wherever he went, Felix was never far behind. A month after the war, Kaden was still visiting his mother every day. It was usually at night, his days filled with tactics planning with the Elite and assorted High Lords who were assembling their own teams. Kaden got up early, ate with Eleana, went to work, went to the Day Court, then returned to his love. It was still surreal to him, that she was there when he got back, and he wished he could take her to the Day Court.

But that was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Eleana had not even attempted to leave the Night Court yet when banishment orders started coming in. The Winter Court was the first, written officially. Some were just simple letters, Like Glaslane’s, that said not to come for the time being. Receiving that one had hurt Eleana the most. And angered Felix the most. The Illyrian demanded that Kaden take him there. He did, and then witnessed the screaming match of the century.

Even Lucien had succumbed to the pressure. At first, he wasn’t going to, even if the other High Lord’s made a pact that they would, but Eleana told him to just do it. It’s not like she went there often anyway, and this way at least he could feel better.

High Lord Rhysand was increasingly furious with every order sent. He went to every Court, but they all said the same thing. Their people are scared, and until they’re not, Eleana can’t come.

Kaden felt like he should raise the topic with Helion, but the two barely knew each other, even if it had been revealed that they were technically related.

When Kaden and Felix came to the palace, they were surprised to see Helion and Den waiting for them. Both had heavy fur coats on, and a smile was plastered on Den’s face.

“My cloud!” She greeted them both with kisses to the cheeks. “Helion, this is my son and his mate, Felix.”

“No, mother, Eleana is my mate. Felix is her cousin.”

She looked at them dubiously. “Are you sure?”

Felix was snickering silently beside him, and Kaden elbowed him. Hard.“Very sure. Shall we walk?”

“Yes, and as we walk I would like you to tell me where your mate is. Why does she never come?”

Kaden avoided looking at Helion, but Felix, gutsy as ever, grabbed his elbow as they started to walk.

“Please, Kaden, do explain why Eleana never comes with us,” he drawled.

Helion was clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning and forewent answering. Instead, he said, “We have started altering the official family trees. Soon, Kaden will be added to them all. We also made an official decree of his heritage and declared his citizenship as you asked, Denora.”

Kaden stumbled slightly. “You announced what about me?”

“Denora asked that we tell the other Courts who you were. It was quite confusing for them, they only knew you as the male from the Night Court that saved the mortal realm. I’m not sure they even know of your relationship to Lady Eleana.”

Kaden looked away and just kept walking forward. The roads were slick with melted snow. His mother walked through it like an expert. It was hard for him to remember that although they looked nearly the same age, she had thousands of years on him. She often referred to him as an infant, and he guessed in a way he was.

It was still very, very strange though. He loved the woman before him, could cry every time he thought of the sacrifices she made to have him, and yet…

Did it make him evil that he felt Lady Morrigan was more his mother?

Maybe he was just crazy. He barely knew either one of them. And Den clearly loved him very much. He should be more grateful.

“I’m happy you’re here,” he felt the need to tell her.

“I’m happy you’re here too,” she replied.

As they walked, Kaden noted something he had the past few times but never thought to bring up. He pointed to Helion’s palace in the distance. It looked to have holes in it, so you could see straight through to the other side and watch the grey clouds. They were giant mirrors, but once inside they acted as windows.

He turned to his mother and asked what the glass was.

“Oh, it’s very special,” she told him. “Outrageously expensive, but there is nothing more beautiful. I have seen homes built entirely of the stuff, and it’s like looking at a piece of the sky on land.”

Her words sparked a vision.

A house. Near the ocean, a few storeys tall and sprawling. A large garden with multiple courtyards. A greenhouse. A treehouse. Green grass everyone until you hit the golden sand of the beach. A house made of a glass that you can’t see in. A house, that if lived in, would let you feel like you’re outside all the time.

Never trapped, the way Eleana sometimes felt.

Kaden was going to build his mate a home.

/////

“So, I was thinking.” Kaden skirted up behind Eleana at the grocers, kissing her neck and wrapping his arms around her middle.

“Hm, what were you thinking?” The smile she gave him made his knees shake.

“Me. You. Dinner on the Sidra. No Felix, no parents, just us and an unreasonable amount of food.”

She picked up a bag of apples and added it to her basket. Today, when they had woken up in Kaden’s bed, they decided they were going to pretend that they were normal. Not an heir or a bastard, no wars, just a couple who needed to do normal, fae things.  

“That sounds nice. Are we celebrating anything?”

They walked as one unit, making Eleana laugh and passersbys look at them with weird expressions.

“It’s been a month. Since the war ended. And nearly a week since you’ve had a nightmare.”

It was truly something to celebrate. The High Lord had informed him that they had been some of the worst he had seen. There were constant wards on the house to protect its infrastructure, and usually either Rhysand or Feyre stayed awake during the night, even if Kaden was also with her. Kaden was under no illusion that he didn’t need the help. After seeing them in real time, Kaden finally understood why Eleana wasn’t allowed to sleep without her parents or aunts and uncles around. He was slowly learning how to help her, but he also needed her parents guidance.

The healer she had been speaking to this past month seemed to be helping though. Eleana wasn’t as… empty. Hesitant. She now let him kiss her, put his arms around her, and she was making delightfully steady progress.

She went twice a week, and Kaden used that time to speak to estate agents and architects. No one knew, not even Felix, but he would bring his friend along when it came time to tour land. Felix’s sight may not be healed quite yet, and it really made Kaden work hard in describing things, but they were getting there. Either way, Felix would be good support, and he knew Eleana better than anybody.

Eleana looked thoughtful, and not about the peaches that she was holding at eye level.

“Should we hire a babysitter for Felix? Whatever will he do without us.”

Kaden’s laugh was obnoxiously loud, and he had to smother himself in Eleana’s shoulder to quieten down.

“Maybe he’ll go to the Day Court without me. He’s awfully enamoured by Helion, barely leaves my side if it means I’ll soon be in the Day Court.”

Eleana twisted in his arms to face him. “Maybe he’s attracted to Denora. Have you considered that?”

Kaden’s face went slack. “Surely he would never.”

Eleana shrugged.

Kaden winnowed away, only to return a minute later after having his head smacked by Felix for suggesting such a ludicrous thing.

Eleana only laughed at the look on his face.

_____

Kaden wasn’t kidding about the unreasonable amount of food.

They’d had five courses so far with another three on the way, and Eleana was so full she was thought her stomach might actually burst. It had gotten to the stage where it was making unhealthy noises, but she had no intentions of stopping now.

Kaden was telling her another story he’d learnt from Den, this one about the incredibly complicated family history he shared with the Winter and Day Court.

“All I’m saying is that Helion needs to hurry about and have children because apparently there’s a very real chance that if he dies, I’ll get his magic. And that’s a no from me.” He lifted a bowl of soup to his mouth and drank heavily.

“You don’t want to be High Lord?”

He shook his head. “I have zero qualifications for a position in anything. Hell, I’ve lived every moment until the last two months in a tent. I’m not cut out for being a High Lord, and nobody wants me to be one.”

He said it jokingly, but Eleana took his words very seriously.

“I want you to be High Lord,” she deadpanned.

Kaden sputtered slightly. “Pardon?”

“This isn’t something I like thinking about, but when the time comes and I’m High Lady? I would want you to be my High Lord.”

Kaden nearly said there was a chance that she wouldn’t become High Lady, but he tasted the lies on his tongue before he even said it. Even if Rhysand and Feyre had more children, there was no chance a sibling would inherit the title. Eleana was a textbook example on the signs of becoming a High Lord. Granted, a woman had never inherited the magic, but Eleana was different. She always had been, and she would definitely be the first inherently High Lady.

Kaden had never considered the possibility that she wanted more for him.

“I – there is nothing about me that would make me a good High Lord. My bloodline-”

“Is irrelevant. My mother was human. Besides, were you not just telling me about your new, fancy family? The son of a Lord in the Night Court and the cousin to the current High Lord of the Day Court.”

“Well… you got me there.”

She grinned at him.

They ate for a few more hours, the conversation flowing better than it had in weeks. It was simple, easy, and there were no pressing issues they had to deal with nor cataclysmic event to take up their time. It was like the two months between the beginning of their official relationship starting and when they were, mortifyingly, caught by Feyre.

It was also their first date in a while, and as Eleana looked at him, she felt her stomach flutter. She never stopped loving him, not for a single moment. If anything, it had grown while she was away.

The thing was, Eleana felt like she had a hundred years on him. She had a century of loving and missing him, and not being able to do a damn thing about it. She knew that no one really understood what she meant when she said it felt like so much longer than a fortnight, but Mother,the feelings she had for this male in front of her…

She’d had a hundred years of loving someone she was convinced she would never see again.

And it was so much sometimes that she couldn’t bare it.

She woke up next to him and often didn’t know if it was real or not. It wasn’t until he spoke to her that she knew that she was hereagain.

His hair shimmered from the white fae lights scattered around the restaurant. His cheeks were pink from the cold air slinking in from the window next to them, and his lips plump from the food they had been consuming for the last two hours.

She stood up on the tips of her toes, bracing her hands on the mahogany table as she leant over. She kissed his pink lips once, and upon seeing the delighted surprise in his eyes, kissed him again. Deeper, smoother, more than she had since the Bloodrite. Inappropriately, given they were in a public space.

He didn’t seem to care though, not as his hands gently cupped her cheeks, his thumbs smoothing over her cheekbones.

Her heart raced at the action, at the taste of wine on his tongue and the feeling of his nose bumping hers. She could feel his kiss in every inch of her skin – and she knew she was alive.

When they parted, her face was hot and chest heaving. She sat back down, dizzy. She lifted the glass of wine to her face to hide her wide smile.

They ate for another hour. The time was filled with laughter and happiness, and both left brighter than when they had come in. It was snowing like there was no tomorrow, and they huddled together as they went to Eleana’s favourite book store. Neither was ready to go home yet, and there were a few titles Eleana wanted to check out.

It was much warmer in the store, and the attendant took their coats and hung them, leaving Kaden and Eleana to browse. Eleana showed him her favourite books, and Kaden even picked up a few sequels to ones she had already read. He also found a large book full of compositions for the piano, ones he had neither heard nor seen, so he added that to the pile he wished to purchase.

While browsing more sheet music, Eleana put her hand in his back pocket.

“Would it be wilding inappropriate to make out right now?” she asked.

Kaden rested his stack of books on a shelf, taking care that none of them would fall, before turning to her.

“Probably.”

He kissed her.

/////

Kaden felt like a very dutiful husband. Here he was, cooking and cleaning the house he never had a chance to move into while Felix sat on the couch with some juice and scones.

“I’m feeling delicate today,” Felix said.

“No you don’t, you just want me to leave so you can get up to your old, scandalous ways. Well sorry Sunshine, you asked me to move in and now I’m here.”

Felix snorted.

Kaden lifted Felix’s feet so he could wipe the table they were propped on. “This house has more dust than a library.”

“We haven’t been here in two months, what did you expect?” He slurped his drink.

“I don’t know. I expected it to be self-cleaning or something.”

“Are there houses that can do that?”

“Fucked if I know, I’ve never really had one. Move your ass, I need to fluff the pillows.”

“Yes, your majesty, whatever you please.”

Felix stood and scooted away until he felt the bench. He leaned on it, yawning loudly.

He still had black patches covering both his eyes, but the healing was going well. His injuries were far more extensive than originally thought though, hence the long, agonising healing sessions. Unbeknownst to them, not only had the light from Kaden’s magic seared his vision, but so had the magic itself. If it had just been the light, Felix would have been better by now. Because it was more? Felix would likely need lenses the rest of his life. Kaden had already found some rather dapper ones he thought his friend might like, and even went as far as to have a woman High Lord Lucien knew rig them so they were even better than the best of glass. He’d had to use his mother’s name for that favour – apparently, most Courts valued her knowledge greatly. Being her son not only got him better glasses for Felix, but it had also given him an invitation to dine at the other Courts.

All of them. Officially. As if he were a noble.

Kaden declined on the basis that he only travelled with his mate. They said she was welcome, until he told them who she was. They shut up pretty quickly after that.

“Why can’t we just meet this guy at Velaris?” Felix perked his brow. “Unless this is a sex thing. Are you surprising me with an orgy? I have strict rules, but it’s been so long-”

“You are insufferable and I don’t know why we’re friends.” Kaden made the pillows look especially dainty for this meeting, wanting to make a good impression.

The person coming over was a fae who sold land on others’ behalf. He was coming to start proposing estates to Kaden.

“Because if Eleana saw me with a stranger, she would ask questions I’m not prepared to answer.”

“She wouldn’t be mad that you have plans with someone other than her.”

“I don’t want to lie to her. Omission doesn’t seem as bad as that.”

“I can’t fault your logic on that,” Felix said as there was a hard knock on the door.

Kaden grabbed Felix and sat him down before opening to greet the agent.

He was a portly man, nearly two feet shorter than Kaden. His hair was mousey and skin pale. His eyes were beady, and he was wearing a suit.

Kaden was wearing his leathers, as was Felix.

“Hello, Lord Kaden. I assume I am at the right house. You were not exaggerating its… colourful features.”

“Yes, yes, please come in. And please, just Kaden is fine.”

“Does Eleana call you Lord Kaden in bed? I would.”

“Holy hell Felix shut up,” Kaden hissed.

The agent looked up his nose at him, and Kaden smiled apologetically. “Please, take a seat. Can I offer you any refreshments?”

“A water would be appreciated, sir,” he drawled. “May I set up on the table?”

“Yes, please, that would be great, thank you.”

“Can I know yet what these plans are?” Felix asked, his knee bouncing impatiently.

“Any client information is confidential unless otherwise stated,” the agent answered.

“You can tell him anything,” Kaden said.

The male started to lay maps out on the table. There were areas marked with blue circles, and he placed small, painted cards next to each highlighted location. The cards had little paintings on them – samples of what the properties looked like. The agent started explaining the process of buying and asked many questions to help narrow down Kaden’s search.

He asked how far he wanted to be from the city, the acreage, whether he wanted a pre-existing home and so on, and with every question Felix looked more confused.

“Kaden, what are you up to?”

“I’m going to build Eleana a home, and you’re going to help me.”

“What?” He had a bare hint of a smile.

“I’m going to build us a home, then I’m going to surprise her with it.”

“Awh, Kaden, congratulations.” Felix stood and opened his arms. Kaden gave him a tight hug, patting him on the back.

Felix leaned over the table and took in the map. “Wow, that one looks really beautiful.”

“Which one is that?” Kaden said, looking down to see what he saw.

“That black one there. Looks mint to me.”

“The day you run out of blind jokes is the day I’ll be truly happy again.”

“Not the day I get my sight back? Tsk, how rude.”

Kaden groaned, and apologized to the agent again.

Off the bat he was able to cull half the properties. Nothing inland, it had to be on the coast, and there couldn’t be any existing structures. You had to be able to see Velaris, even if it was from a distance, and there had to be enough room for a very large house as well as multiple, expansive gardens.

By the end, there was a list of about six properties. All met Kaden’s specifications and were in his budget – thanks to High Lord Rhysand’s very generous pay checks – and the few drawings of them seemed nice enough. He thanked the agent profusely before setting dates to tour them all. He made sure Felix was available and made them on days where he would usually be visiting his mother so Eleana wasn’t suspicious to his whereabouts.

It was slowly but surely coming together.

/////

Eleana was alone when she woke up. She propped herself up on her elbow, Kaden’s piano and dresser blurry as her eyes adjusted to the waking world. The spot beside her was cold and she couldn’t hear noises from his bathroom. She starfished on the bed. She groaned, not wanting to get up yet, but forced herself to roll out of his very, very comfortable bed.

Wiping at her eyes, she went to look for him downstairs. Mor and Azriel were usually out by this time, so she didn’t have to worry about awkwardly running into either of them.  The one thing she adored about their house was the carpet. It was lush and fluffy, making her feet feel like they were walking on a cloud and safe from the cold that covered her arms in goosebumps. When she went into the hall, she smelt freshly baked she-didn’t-even-know-what. She burst into the dining room expecting to see her mate, to be met with the welcoming calls of her family.

Every single one of them.

She stared at them wide eyed while thanking the Mother that she’d had the good sense to put pants on.

“Hello.” Kaden exited from the kitchen. He had ovenmits on and an apron the was adorably too small. He held a large plate of staked pancakes and popped them on the table before greeting her with a kiss to the forehead.

“Hello. What’s going on?” It’s not that Eleana wasn’t happy to spend her morning with her family, she was just awfully suspicious every time they came around unannounced. It usually didn’t end in good news.

“Today’s a good day,” Kaden told her. He put a hand on her back, guiding her to a free seat next to Felix.

She peered out the window. There was a raging blizzard outside, making it seem like it was still dark even if the sun had risen. Felix was still blind, she still couldn’t be properly intimate with Kaden, her mother and father were still walking on eggshells around her – supportive, loving eggshells, but eggshells all the same – and she was still not talking to Azriel.

It was like every other day, and she couldn’t think of why it would be exceptional.

“Why?”

He beamed at her. “Today is the one-year anniversary of one of the best days of my life.”

She cocked her head. Her family had conveniently started a loud conversation and weren’t looking their way.

“Today, my dark rose, is the day I met you.”

Her confused frown slowly grew to a smile. “Really?”

“Really. I made a note of it last year. I had a feeling it would be important.”

She placed her finger tips to her lips in disbelief. “A whole year?”

“A whole year. And personally, I feel like it’s an occasion all of Prythian should be celebrating, but just our family will do. For now.”

Eleana was in awe as they sat down and started helping themselves to the mountain of food Kaden had made with Felix’s guidance.

A whole damn year since he’d found her.

That meant a year since she’d their near-first kiss, the first time they danced together, when Felix nearly died, when she had, and lost her wings in the process. When Kaden had sent her all those letters that kept her sane during one of the most harrowing times of her life. A year ago today she met the love of her life, her mate, her everything. It was indeed a good day.

Until she had a thought.

“But wait,” she said loud enough for the whole table to glance her way. She had even gotten Thea’s attention.

She turned her body towards Kaden’s. “You were twenty a year ago. And by all accounts you are still twenty. Holy Mother Kaden we didn’t celebrate your birthday.”

Mor dropped her cutlery and gasped. Felix swore under his breath. Everyone was so mortified when they realised that when Quathryn copied her brother’s foul words no one chastised her.

Kaden just laughed.

_____

“We have to do something to make it up to him.” Eleana was furiously washing the dishes. After much shock, Kaden had explained that his birthday was a non-event to him, hence why he never mentioned turning twenty-one.

But Eleana felt dastardly. Especially when he had been so kind to her on her birthday. He had given her a note book – this beautiful, embossed leather – and every day before she woke up he would write her a note. The letters he had once written for her were already stuck into it, and he told her for every day that he lived her would write for her. Sometimes it was anecdotes, music he would later play for her, reminders of his love, and she had gotten him nothing.

“I feel like an arse,” Felix said, taking the dripping plate from her and drying it.

“You’re not the one sleeping with him.”

“Neither are you.”

She smacked him over the head. “Mind your own business.”

Soon, soon she would feel better. Surely.

And then they would have that night.

The ‘we survived the impossible and now will have the best sex of our lives’ night.

A male cleared their voice from behind them, and Eleana and Felix both blushed when they saw Azriel leaning against the bench with his arms crossed.

He pointed to the cloth Felix was holding. “Mind if I take over?”

Azriel approached Felix, clapping him on the shoulder. Felix nodded, handing over the towel and leaving without a word. They may be on fine terms again, but Eleana wasn’t.

They worked in silence, Eleana much looser on her definition of clean now that she was in a rush. It’s not that she didn’t love her uncle still, she was just still confused and hurt. And awkward.

“I’m sorry, Laya,” he finally said.

She didn’t reply.

“You were right, I do owe you an explanation. It’s one I’ve given Kaden a thousand times to earn the forgiveness he gives too easily, and that should have been something I extended to you. Especially after you trusted me with so much.”

So he talked. He tried to make her understand his actions. It wasn’t easy for her to comprehend, but what she did know was that he had always looked after her, been a trusted confidant, and him leaving Kaden when he was a child did not mean that one day he would leave the rest of them.

Even if she could not understand him, she could sympathise with his point of view.

They talked long after the dishes were done. They were never interrupted, even though they could hear the chatter of everyone as they remained in the house to wait out the snow.

And by the end, she said, “Okay.”

His eyes glistened, and his hands reached for hers. “I missed you, Laya. I’m so glad you’re home.”

/////

The room wasn’t pitch black this time. Usually, they met with the healer in the darkest room so she could control the light, limiting the pressure on Felix’s eyes as she tried to heal them. If the smell was anything to go by, the room was once a storage room.

But today, they were in your average room. White walls. Rectangular windows. Brown timber floors.

Kaden had never been so happy to be average.

The healer eased the patches from Felix’s eyes, her expert hands completely steady.

Felix blinked and squinted at the light, and Eleana had to hold his hands so they didn’t reflexively cover his face.

The healer made him open them wider, and little tendrils of magic left her fingers and probed at the injury. She hummed as she worked. Usually, the room would be filled with Felix’s screams, but they had been told in their last session that there was no more she could do. From here on in, it would be about check-ups and maintenance as they waited to see if Felix’s eyes would heal more on their own.

“You’re doing well,” she said.

“What progress has been made?” Amren asked.

The older female didn’t usually come to the appointments. But over the passing months, Kaden had noticed her popping up wherever he was. She would be at Azriel’s for dinner, would come hunting with him and the Elite to ‘observe,’ she even once crashed a date with Eleana. His mate didn’t mind – she had no idea what Amren thought of him, but Kaden was getting increasingly frustrated. He had nothing to hide – except he did. At least once a week he told everyone he was going to the Day Court when in reality he was galivanting the Night Court looking for the perfect property. She was looking to catch him lying, and this was his only one. He knew that she would use it to his detriment.  

The healer looked grim at Amren’s question. “There is no change.”

Kaden shook his head. Eleana reached out her hand, and he came to her side and Felix’s back. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he used one hand to grip Felix’s sleeve and the other to wrap around her waist.

“Is this it then?” Felix wasn’t as forlorn as the rest of them by the news, in fact, he was smirking.

“We’ll try one more time. If there’s nothing to note again I’ll call it.”

Felix squinted at her, then turned his head to look at Kaden and Eleana. “This is good news!” he rejoiced. “I can still see, I’ll just need some help. This is a much better outcome than we all originally thought there would be.”

His words rang true, but Kaden still felt guilt surge through him. He had near blinded his brother, and he was too damn nice to admit it.

“I’m sorry.” Kaden’s voice was so thick with emotion that the words were barely more than a whisper.

“I don’t know what for, but I forgive you. Whatever wrong you think you’ve ever done to me, I forgive you.”

The healer reapplied his eye patches and left them. Eleana thanked her profusely for her work before helping Felix to his feet. Kaden put his arm around Felix, walking with him and Eleana out of the office and in the direction of the Rainbow.

The cold air had started to shift in spring, and puddles littered walkways. Children were about, splashing each other and squealing with delight. Eleana used the water to make little animals, and the children howled with laughter as the water-animals raced after them as they ran around. They saw her, and one little girl – so trusting were the fae in this safe city – pulled on Eleana’s skirts and asked for more more more.

Eleana obliged, and they stopped on their way to dinner to give the children a little magic show.

Eleana made a star chart with the water. Kaden, having worked on his magic everyday while hunting the creatures, had started to master the more unusual aspects of his magic. With the golden light that he could now manipulate for anyone to see, he lit Eleana’s stars, making them glow in the evening light, to the awe of not just the children but also many fae nearby.

Felix quite enjoyed himself, even if he couldn’t see the spectacle.

After an hour or so, and much to the dismay of the children, they continued on. They intended to get a few drinks to celebrate the slow return of Felix’s vision, but Eleana detoured to the bookstore with Felix. Kaden continued on, saying he would find a place for them all and summon her when he did.

Amren was on him like a shadow.

He didn’t say a word to her, just did as he said he would. She would speak her mind eventually.

“Who is that fae,” she demanded while Kaden was browsing menus.

“You’ll have to be more specific than that,” he said merrily, so that he might unnerve her just a bit.

“That short man that looks like an undertaker.”

The agent he was using to look at land. He wondered when Amren had seen them together and didn’t want to think of how she must have followed him either to camp or to his appointments. If her confusion was anything to go by, she must have seen them together in Illyria.

“I know many short males.”

She sunk her fingers into the back of his neck like claws, a few fae turning in worry at the sound of his pained grunt. Amren dragged him away, some fae standing but looking at a loss as they recognized Amren.

He refrained from growling as she shoved him into a wall in an alley. As she released her grip on him and stood in a fighting position in front of him, he touched the back of his neck. Blood coated his fingers and he swore. He would heal quickly, but he could feel it seeping into his collar and down his back.

“What the fu-”

“You need to leave.”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you not damaged her enough? I don’t know what vendetta you have against this family but I will kill you if you hurt her again. But Eleana is too risky with Rhys and Feyre here. So, who’s next? Will you murder Felix again? Mor? Maybe your confidence has been shaken and you’ll go after defenceless Thea.”

Kaden spat at her feet, the most ungentlemanly thing he had ever done. “I have done no wrong.”

“Even you admitted that you blinded Felix. And Mother knows you’ve made little to no progress on the creatures. You haven’t even given Rhys your estimate report on how many you think are left. Deflecting?”

He snarled at her but didn’t move. “I’m not even going to bother replying to you. You think I did something wrong? Go tell High Lord Rhysand and High Lady Feyre. And fuck it, you have strong ties with the Summer Court go tell High Lord Tarquin too. I know who I am, and so do they. I find it insulting that you think Eleana would be gullible enough to fall for the schemes of a lowly male.”

Amren bared her teeth at him but stepped back. He’d heard the stories about her, but she hadn’t been swinging fists the way she used to for decades.

He hated speaking to her with such disrespect, but her words just made him boil in anger. It made him wonder at what point he’d become so soft – he’d heard much worse from his late brothers.

Somehow, his integrity was the one thing this peculiar fae-Illyrian family never questioned about him, and the thought that that may have been compromised was infuriating.

“She fell for the schemes of a lowly queen.”

Red.

He saw red at her words, and if it hadn’t been for the look of regret on her face as she spat the words at him he may have made a grave mistake. Because he was a good man, but he was a good man freshly mated and people had died for doing less.

“How. dare. you. You will never say such hateful things again. I don’t care how much you spite me, but she.” Kaden cut off his own words, putting a fist to his mouth.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his stomach clenched at her words. It was the kind of sick you felt when you were so enraged by someone’s idiocy that you could spit fire at them.  

“If you’re so concerned about me, report me. Officially. Have an objective third party investigate me under General Cassian’s orders.”

He stalked off, shoving past her. The same concerned fae were lingering, and he gave them a reassuring smile.

Appetite and mood ruined, he flapped into the air, heading in the direction of Illyria, sending a quick message to Felix not to expect to see him for another day or two.

He was going hunting.

/////

Kaden and Eleana had been floating between her childhood home and Azriel and Mor’s. They always slept together, her back usually pushed to his warm chest with his arms around her. She said she liked the feeling of knowing he was everywhere, and by morning she had usually spun to press her face into the crook of his neck.

Kaden let her decide where to sleep. Wherever she was and wherever she felt most comfortable was where he would be. Even if it meant stumbling home covered in black blood and near collapsing in the shower from exhaustion.

Tonight, he slept like the dead. No dreams, no feeling, he couldn’t even remember his head hitting the pillow.

The only thing he knew was that he had been struck awake – physically struck.

He awoke gasping, his arm aching and his throat constricted. It felt tight, and he looked down in a panic to see that Eleana’s darkness was wrapped around his whole body. He couldn’t breathe, all he could do was reach out his pained arm and shake her.

She was limp. In a deeper sleep than she had been for months, Kaden didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t the first night Eleana had had a nightmare, but it was the first time she had done so when neither Rhysand nor Feyre were there to help. Her father had usually burst into the room before it escalated this far.

Kaden’s face was turning beet red, and his veins started to protrude from his forehead. He tried to yell, but his voice was nothing but sparse expels of air.

His magic burst from him, lighting the room and dissipating her darkness. He gulped in air, amazed at what he had just done. Never in his life had his light been able to keep her darkness at bay. By all accounts, no one had.

He didn’t spend longer than a few minutes on the thought, not when Eleana was next to him squirming. Her mouth was open as if she would speak, but when he straddled her to try and wake her up, she let out an excruciating scream.

It was so loud he had to cover his ears. He didn’t see it coming when her darkness whipped out, sending him flying backwards. He was lucky there were wards on her room, otherwise he would have gone crashing through her window.

He swore loudly, rushing back to her side. He tried to think of what Rhysand and Feyre did, but they had it down to a fine art. They had been doing this for years.

She was sobbing, and her arms flailed as she tried to stop an invisible attacker. Claws apparated on her hands, and her fangs grew an inch.

Wake up wake up wake up

He tried to yell through the bond that was still trying to repair itself. They had made little progress on it, neither worried because they could still feel the inklings of it. It was getting there, he could feel it at least, know she was alive and healthy, but that was about it.

She slashed at him unconsciously. He moved back quickly but was still nicked enough that he had to go to the bathroom and quickly wrap the cut. It wouldn’t need stitches, luckily, but both the High Lady and Lord had ended up with injuries that did.

His blood pooled in the sink as he tried to wrap the cut with one hand while increasingly frazzled.

He managed to do it. He turned back, but his eyes got caught on a bucket next to the door. Usually, they kept it for after in case Eleana needed to vomit, but tonight he would use it for something far more impractical.

He filled it with water – cold – and went back to her room. She had ripped the mattress to shreds and she had started to change forms. She must have been having one hell of a dream, hopefully this woke her up from it.

He poured the water over her face and torso and she woke up with a welch.

She spat out cold water over the side of the bed and kicked as she came to.

“What the fuck.”

“I’m sorry, it was the only way.”

He sat down next to her on the ruined mattress and brought her to his chest. She pushed away slightly, but only so that she had a good read on his face.

“You’re here,” she breathed.

“Yes, of course.”

“I could have – I could have sworn you were in Illyria, that your brothers in that damned Room-”

“Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.”

A single tear slipped down her face. She shook her head slightly, as if she were trying to shake the dreams from her head.

“The Room. I haven’t dreamt of the Room since I met you. At least this was just a dream. You’re here, and that was just a dream. You’re okay. You’re alive.” She paused. “You’re bleeding.” Her fingers touched the bandage on his arm. She undid them, inspecting the damage she caused. Apologetic, she laid her hand over the wound until it was healed.

“I’m okay. Tell me about this Room. You’ve dreamt of it before?”

She levelled her gaze with his. “I don’t know if dreamt is the right word. I thought it was dreams, for the longest time we all did. If we had known the truth we would have done something.”

She was twiddling her thumbs.

Kaden slid one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders, picking her up. He took them to one of the guest rooms and sat her on the bed. He stripped her of her wet clothes and left only to get her a new pair. She slipped them on, and since it was only his shirt that was damp, he removed it and climbed into bed.

“What do you mean?” he asked her.

She smiled sadly. “It’s funny. If you mentioned the Room to anyone else they would know in a heartbeat.”

Kaden paused. “You don’t have to tell me.”

She crawled under the covers and lied facing him. “The Room is your room. There were signs, for years, that we were to be mated. I just didn’t know that until Talysa’s wedding.”

Kaden was confused but listened to her every word.

As always, their bed was a safe space. Whether it was one that belonged to them or one they borrowed, it was a haven.

And with that in mind, Kaden listened to Eleana as she told another story. This one wasn’t like her others, this one was about a little girl in a Room that saw and experienced inhumane crimes and injustices. Throughout the story, the girl grew. Her whole life was plagued with this Room. Her family tried desperately to protect her from it, but there was nothing they could do.

When she was seventeen, the dreams finally stopped. It was like she could rest easy for the first time. They had been far and few between by that age, but she was always scared that when she went to sleep the night terrors would return.

This girl attended a wedding with the man she was in love with, and he showed her his childhood room beforehand. Stepping in there was like leaving the waking world and entering her mind, and that is when she knew the truth.

Like her father had with her mother before her, she saw the life of her mate. Where her parents only had glimpses, she was so strongly tied to him that the bond – or maybe it was fate, or a magic unexplainable – showed her his life over a decade before they were to meet.

Kaden listened solemnly.

He felt…

Awful.

While she had been seeing him, he knew he had been seeing her. But while hers forced her to healers upon healers that couldn’t help, he saw Velaris. He didn’t really make the connection until now, the dancing and music more vivid than the landscape itself.

When she had finished, he pulled her in closely. He kissed her cheeks, her head, her nose, her lips.

And he thanked her. For the music. And because it was those dreams that made him want to dance. And if it had not been for that, and music, he would have given up a very long time ago.

“I love you. I love you I love you I love you,” he said over and over again.

/////

Kaden brought his sword down in a wide arc, cutting through the bellies of the three creatures attacking him. He made a mental note of their bodies. He was trying to make a cheat sheet to them, an encyclopedia on everything the queen cooked up with her magic, and the list was growing every time he went hunting. Turns out, he had barely seen anything over the past year – luckily, if one could even say that – he had already seen some of the worst, and that had somewhat prepared him.

The hunting had was going well, even if Amren insisted with hisses in his ear when no one else could hear that it wasn’t. It was also better now that winter was over, although spring did mean more foliage which meant more cover for cowering creatures.

He watched their pale pink bodies fall. Satisfied, he moved onto the next.

They had been here for about an hour, a large cluster gathering in the Summer Court’s rainforests. The Elite had been joined by a squadron made by Tarquin himself and they had yet to lose any lives.

Kaden kicked a creature, and rammed his sword through its throat, twisting, the head soon fell as the metallic scent of blood fixed with the damp, grassy smell of the forest around them. Sweat was sliding down his back, the air unbearably humid. The grass tickled his ankles and damn was he working his lungs hard.

“Clear!” a voice boomed.

“Clear!” followed another.

The soldiers fighting the creatures shouted as their areas were cleared and then checked. When Kaden had heard the voices of all the team leaders in the Elite, he shouted the word himself.

He gestured to two members. They collectively came over and collected the body and head of the last creature he killed, placing it in a wooden box they carried. They were taking home specimens to be studied by fae that specialized in this area, so that hopefully, in the event that something similar occurred again, they would be better prepared.

“Lord Kaden, I think you should come see this.”

The soldier was one he had only just met. Belonging to Tarquin, he was tall and dark skinned. His shoulders were broad and covered in tattoos, not dissimilar to the ones Kaden had as an Illyrian. He had fought in the Spring Court at the end of the war.

Kaden was glad he didn’t bring Felix; his best friend would have pounced on a male like this.

“Just a moment, I have to clear the area.”

“I’ll do it, Lord Kaden,” a young solider volunteered. If it had been Kaden’s choice, he wouldn’t have had someone so young, only fifteen, on his service, but he was here fighting alongside his brother and father. And that – well, that was something Kaden could sympathise with.

“Be careful. Check them all and remove their hearts. Remember to look above and below. Ask for help of you need it,” Kaden said sternly. “Your name, soldier?”

“Vetly.”

Kaden nodded and walked to the side of the first soldier. His hand was pushing aside the shrubbery to reveal dozens of broken eggs.

“Well, that explains the question of whether or not they can breed.” Next to the eggs were lizard looking things, slimy and cawing unnaturally. They were scattered in the under bush, and clearly still dependant on their mother.

“How shall we proceed?” asked the same handsome solider that summoned him.

“Take the offspring and add them to the box. Inform your High Lord about the findings and tell him to expect a full report from me by tomorrow. I’ll send the same report to the other Courts. This isn’t the best-case scenario, but it’s one we can handle.”

Kaden heaved a sigh. It felt like his lungs were wet. He was glad to be going home after this. They may have been here for an hour, but they’d been going since dawn. Before this was a town that had creatures living in the sewer and entering homes through the plumbing, but at least here there was no fae residences or towns in sight.

Kaden subtly tried to smell his under-arm. He wrinkled his nose; his scent was rank.

He was about to give the orders for everyone to go home, but a curdling scream stopped him.

He bolted in its direction and was horrified to find a creature wrapped around the leg of the young Vetly. Blood spurted everywhere, including over Kaden’s face as he quickly approached.

He was in strife. He had to get on his knees and palm two knives, and hack off the creature carefully so he didn’t cut the poor child.

When he finally got it off with the help of another Elite member, he flinched back and had to hold in his vomit.

The creature had taken his foot clean off. The bone was a just a shard sticking through bloody flesh and the smell was revolting in the heat of the Summer Court.

Kaden wrapped the wound tightly and winnowed him, leaving instructions for his family to meet him at the palace.

As they stepped onto the floor of the Summer palace, Vetly howling in pain, Kaden sent a prayer to the Cauldron that the boy would overcome this.

_____

“Kaden, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk about what happened today.”

Kaden was making his and Eleana’s bed before she came home when the voice of High Lord Rhysand interrupted him. He tossed the pillow he was holding onto the spare bed they were still using and faced Rhysand.

“High Lord. I’ve included all the details in the report I sent to you about the offspring we found but excluded the amputation from what I sent to the other High Lords. I hope I did the right thing.”

“You did, definitely. It was good, very thorough.”

Kaden smiled awkwardly, shuffling his feet. He had barely spent time with the High Lord without Eleana at his side. Kaden still struggled in his presence. He had always been the highest authority to Kaden, long before he’d ever met the male’s daughter.

And although Kaden might now hold the title of Lord, that didn’t mean he connected with it.

“I want to make sure you’re okay.”

That was not the question Kaden was expecting.

“Pardon sir?”

“It’s come to my attention that you are the only one of our children that isn’t seeing a healer after the war. Cassian and Nesta even have someone that speaks to Quathryn just to make sure. Azriel isn’t one to broach the subject, but all the resources we have here are available to you. You needn’t worry about the cost or any stigma, Velaris is free of both.”

The High Lord spoke in the same tone that he’d heard grandfathers use on children and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He shuffled on his feet.

“Thank you, High Lord.”

“You really must stop calling me that. Just Rhys is fine. I do like you, you know. A lot. I think you’re very good for my daughter and nephew. And brother and cousin. Mor and Az adore you.” Rhysand stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Which is why I want to make sure you’re all good. I know you’re better equipped at dealing with trauma than Felix and my young Butterfly, but you don’t have to bottle things in to maintain that image.”

Kaden looked at him wide-eyed. “Okay, yes sir.”

Rhysand laughed. “Come with me, I want you to tell me everything that happened today. I have whiskey if you need it, but also a delightful mint blend of tea. Your choice.”

Rhysand put his arm around Kaden’s shoulder and walked them to the door.

It was in no way passive aggressive, and Kaden could tell that the High Lord did just genuinely care. Which was strange. He had become so accustomed to being looked down upon that it was a shock when he wasn’t.

Kaden lost his family long before the war.

But maybe it had brought him a new one.

/////

“Are you ready?” asked the healer.

“Soready, you have no idea.”

For the last time, she peeled away Felix’s eye patches. He blinked and squinted and as his gaze met Eleana’s they both smirked.

“Look at how nice they look! You can’t even tell they were damaged,” Eleana told him.

He stood from his chair and hugged the healer. He patted her head, a trait he had inherited straight from his father, and moved to hug Eleana next.

She was utterly ecstatic that this was over. Felix’s sight, while not fantastic, was still good enough. As of now, she knew he could distinguish the pastel colours that made up the room. He knew where the furniture was but could not make out any detail nor exactly what it was – no matter how close or far he was to the subject. With the lenses her mate had hidden in his pocket, Felix’s sight would be better than hers.

“Only took five months,” Felix joked. “We’ll have to celebrate. I have another appointment to look at lenses and see if there is a glass that might improve my vision, but after that I’m free.” He turned his head toward Kaden. “And you finished nice and early today.”

“I wanted to be here,” Kaden said, pulling on Felix sleeve.

Felix pulled away from Eleana and went to hug his friend when he was stopped by a hand on his chest.

“I have something for you.”

Felix leant forward and said something in Kaden’s ear too low for her to hear. Whatever it was, it must have been vulgar. Kaden went bright red. A lovely red, one Eleana adored.

But she really didn’t want to know what Felix said to make him react in such a way.

“That is most definitely notwhat I have for you.”

“Guaranteed it would be more fun.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Kaden reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular, leather case. Felix cocked an eyebrow as he saw it and took it swiftly from Kaden’s hands. Felix opened it, the hinges tight from lack of use, and stopped to process what he saw.

“Thank you. I love blurry rectangles.”

Kaden smiled and lifted the glasses from their case. He carefully slid them onto Felix face, and Eleana near cried of joy when Felix blanched back with his eyes wide.

“Holy shit. Like, holy fucking shit,” Felix blurted.

“I know, right? You can adjust the settings as well so that in different environments or time of day it suits the situation better.”

The frames were a simple black, the rims circular. They made Felix’s strong jaw more prominent and suited the colour of his hair. Kaden chose well.

“You look rather dapper if I do say so myself,” Kaden told him.

Felix strode to the mirror, everyone in the room looking on in amusement. He styled his hair so that rather than it falling over his forehead it was flicked back. He adjusted the glasses and stood up straighter.

“You’re damn right I look dapper.”

/////

Kaden was doing his familiar evening walk through the palace to see his mother. He had been slack lately, only coming once a fortnight, maybe week, and it had been ten days since he had seen her. He didn’t warn that he was coming, hoping to surprise his mother.

He was sweating profusely as he walked, summer hitting the Day Court hard. At least he’d recently cut his hair. He had let it grow so long he could tuck it behind his ears, but now he could feel the sunshine on his neck.

He walked up the many flights of stairs. It was like a sauna, with every eight steps offering relief as he climbed past a window. He knocked on her door. She didn’t say anything, so he presumed he was safe to enter.

He walked in and smiled when he saw her.

“Afternoon,” he said cheerily.

Her lips turned down at the sight of him.

“Excuse me?”

He was accustomed to her confusion- her slip-ups, her forgetfulness. She was still in recovery from the decades she spent in Hewn City. She wasn’t even sound enough to tell them why she was there in the first place.

He walked to the windows and pointed at the sun sitting low on the horizon.

“Who are you to walk into my room?” she asked him.

Since meeting her, she had started to gain weight. Her hips and torso had filled out again, and no longer did her clavicles slice through her skin or her eyes look sunken. The rings she wore no longer flung from her fingers when she waved and her belt was getting less necessary with every passing week.

Her regained health made her appear taller and fiercer, Helion often commented that her looks started to blend more with Kaden’s.

Kaden could see the fire in her eyes as she looked at him. A drop of unease settled in his stomach at the look.

“I’m sorry, I should have waited for you to call me in,” Kaden placated. He had never heard her use that tone with him, and quite honestly, it was unsettling.

She waved him off. “I have no need of you now. Come back with the dinner slaves.”

“I’m having dinner with Eleana tonight.” He took a step toward her, which prompted her to retreat slightly. He put a hand over his chest, unsure of what was happening. “Do – did you want to come? Helion said it wasn’t a fantastic idea but-”

“Who are you to speak to me in such a tone? Address your betters in the proper manner,” she snapped.

Kaden was taken aback. Never had she spoken with anything but love in her voice and the way she was looking at him was the way someone would look at a stranger.

“Mother?”

She scoffed at him. “Does it look like I have a child? Now shoo before I have High Lord Exeter take care of you.”

“Helion is High Lord.” Kaden was shaking.

His mother scoffed. “Exeter!” she shrieked. She bared her teeth and ferally growled. Her eyes were wild and she looked like she might charge him. “Exeter! Exeter! Exeter Exeter Exeter.” She grabbed her chair and threw it at him. Kaden, so shocked by her actions, let it hit him.

He felt the wood splinter and slice his face, the bones in his wrist cracked audibly, and he just stood there while she threw her side table. It had a glass countertop, and it was only due to his reflexes that he deflected it.

Ghostly pale, he walked backwards until he hit the door. He scrambled to open it, and his legs moved but his mind didn’t but somehow he was out and slamming it just as something smashed into the place he had just been.

He could hear her screaming. He couldn’t feel the heat as he slowly walked down the stairs. He wasn’t sure when Helion started calling his name and when he had made it to the palace’s marble steps.

A strong hand clasped his shoulder and forced him to stop. Helion was in front of him, the High Lord alarmed.

Kaden couldn’t make out his words. He could feel every beat of his heart though. His chest was tight, but it didn’t hurt, not the way his stomach did. He felt every prick of the scorching wind like a pin to his skin. With every breath, he felt like he was sinking.

How long had he been here?

He heard Helion say his name again before he heard nothing but ringing.

_____

Kaden was lying on a couch. There was a hand running through his hair – nails were scratching his scalp soothingly, and it made him want to fall asleep.

“Are you awake, my love?”

Kaden didn’t know when he’d been transported to the Night Court or even where he was, but the sound of Eleana’s voice had him blinking his eyes open.

“Take your time, breathe, I’ll be here when you’re ready,” she whispered. She kissed his forehead and then rested her head on his chest.

“What happened?” His voice was groggy.

“You had a panic attack.”

“I did?”

“Azriel told me that you’ve had one before. He’s outside keeping guard.”

Kaden sat up. He put his head in his hands. He felt fuzzy – like a giant had picked him up and shaken him.

“Your mother… Helion told me that the reason he didn’t warn you about her behaviour is because he wasn’t expecting you. Apparently she’s been having off days, and on those days she can’t quite remember where she is or what time it is.”

“She was calling for a man named Exeter,” Kaden told his mate, trying to piece together what she was saying.

He thought his mother was getting better. In the half-year since he’d met her, she had never had one of these episodes. But for Helion to explain her condition to Eleana meant it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. He wracked his brain, wondering how he missed this.

“Helion’s record show that High Lord Exeter ruled about 3,000 years ago.”

He nodded, unsure of what to do with the information. At least he had a better gauge on her age – he had underestimated.

Eleana offered him water. He said yes, and she poured him a glass from a pitcher on a table an arm’s length away. She lifted it to his mouth, and after he had drunk thoroughly, she put the glass aside and replaced it with her lips.

She tasted salty, like she’d been crying, but Kaden was too focused on the wonderful feeling of her mouth to ask. She moved from her own chair to the little space on his. He braced his arm around her, bringing her as close to him as he could. Her scent was intoxicating – distracting.

They were both breathless when she pulled back.

“You scared me,” she said. “Helion, too.”

“Did he bring me straight to Velaris?”

She shook her head.

Kaden finally looked at the room, trying to garner where they were.

He could see billowing trees outside and could feel the heat through the open windows. Windows was actually an incorrect term, they were outside in a foyer. The roof and floor were the same gold-veined marble, and they were surrounded by the strong scent of eucalyptus as they wind swept through the room.

“Are we still in the Day Court.”

“Yes.”

He looked at her.

She was outside the Night Court.

He expected her to be flushed with joy, bright with wanderlust, but she was terse, her jaw hard and her face red.

“How?”

“When you fainted and he summoned Azriel, I told him he could either let me into the Court to be with you or I would storm into the Court to be with you. Either way, I had to be at your side when you woke up.”

“That was a risky move.”

No danger could keep me from your side. I love you too damn much.

Kaden lurched forward, capturing her mouth with his again at hearing her words through the bond. Crystal clear, the tether had repaired itself enough that once again they were bridged together.

I can hear you I can hear you

You make me worry, she interrupted. When I saw the maids taking away her broken furniture, it coiled something inside of me. No wonder you reacted the way you did. I know she’s not like your father or brothers, but surely it triggered something-

Oh who gives a shit what it triggered, you’re in the Day Court.

Promise me you’ll see a healer when we return.

I promise. Are we allowed to leave? I have so much to show you. I need to introduce you to Den! Kaden paused, stopping himself. But not today.

No. She shook her head. Not today.

/////

So far Kaden had been to eleven different places with the agent. Not a single one felt like home, or even a place he could make a home, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t disheartened.

They were on their way to the twelfth, and this was the first time Felix could actually see the place rather than just reply on Kaden’s subpar descriptions. He was quite perky about it, a pep in his step and far more chatty than usual.

They rode horses to reach the property, and Kaden liked the view as they did. This was more outside the city, the ride likely irksome for some fae, but Kaden knew he would be flying and it would take half the time. He and Eleana could also both winnow, a trait surely their children would inherit.

There was little woodland around, much thicker forests in the distance though, and the path had them zig-zagging next to white cliffs.

After a half hour of hard riding, the agent raised his hand to stop them. They climbed off their horses and Kaden looked back in the direction they came, stunned by the beautiful view of the city. They had gained altitude, so Velaris sat beneath but at a distance that made it look like they were gazing into a valley. He could see the defined areas of the city, the Rainbow standing out for the lights that were lit at all hours of the day. The sun was high, but Kaden knew when it set the view would intensify ten-fold.

The property was outlined by a rudimentary fence. It was quite large. It definitely had the space Kaden was looking for.

The agent led them to the edge of the cliff. It was maybe a twenty-metre drop, but steps had been carved into the side and at the bottom low tide meant there was their own personal beach.

“The water here near quite reaches the cliffs. The beach is at its largest now and will be an arc a third of the size at its smallest. Only in a storm does it touch, which is why it is never recommended to have permanent structures built down there. The land is fertile, and the further you go is when you start encountering the farming villages.”

Kaden looked at the calm water beneath and tried to picture his life here.

It had a lot of potential, that’s for certain, and it checked every criterion.

Felix started asking the agent questions Kaden never thought to. Felix was playing up the glasses look, he had suit pants, a white button up shirt rolled to his forearms and was wearing a matching vest. He looked like a tutor you would see at a palace who was teaching children by day and seducing nobles by night.

Kaden was happy he was here. Exuberant, even.

“Can we go down?” he asked.

The agent nodded but said he would be saying, and Felix said he would as well. Kaden shrugged and headed down the stairs.

They were well worn from use and had no rails. If Kaden was to buy this place, he would definitely replace them. Maybe with an enclosed spiral staircase that twisted right down so it wasn’t so steep.

He noticed a lot of spaces nestled into the cliffs where birds and such must live. He liked that it was teeming with life.

He made it to the sand. It was cleaner than that in the city proper and was the lightest yellow he had ever seen. He took of his shoes and rolled up his pants. He padded into the water, letting it lap up to his ankles. He threw out a small tinge of magic to check if there were hidden rocks under the water, but nope, all clear.

It was quiet. Peaceful.

There wasn’t much to see, so he headed back up. As he put his foot on the first stair, a glinting from next to it caught his eye.

There was a little nook next to the stairs. He leant down to see what it was. Something was shining in the sun, and he had to brush some sand aside to see what it was.

It was two rings. One band thicker than the other, they both had onyx stone in a ring that supported swirls of red, blue and purple opals in a vine pattern. He slipped the larger one onto his left ring finger and smiled.

They matched the crowns that he and Eleana had received so very long ago.

“Thank you,” he said to the forest faeries that must have left them for him and Eleana.

He put them both into his breast pocket and walked up the stairs, the smile never leaving his face.  

Felix’s expression was similar to his. He put his thumbs up in question and Felix nodded. He liked this one. A lot. It was the only one to have his approval so far.

Kaden knew what he would do the moment he found those rings.

“I’ll take it.”

____

It was a week later. Kaden had two things to do today. The first was see the architect in the Day Court that had been working on the blueprints for the house Kaden was to build and give him a final price estimate pending changes. The moment that was done, he was going straight to the Night Court to sign for his and Eleana’s land.

His mother, who was faring well today, was coming with him and Felix. He’d had a hard day hunting – they nearly had another amputation after a creature’s claws had sliced so deeply into a woman’s leg they weren’t sure if they could have saved it. His mother’s presence was a comforting one. It was as though nothing had ever happened, even if her episodes had repeated.  

Kaden was scared about it happening again, but now that he knew about its possibility he could be better prepared.

Felix had his arms linked with Denora and the two were yapping away. When they arrived at the architect’s office, they decided to stay outside so they could keep talking while Kaden went in.

The door chimed as he entered, and the receptionist behind the desk welcomed him and sent him straight into the office. He thanked the man for holding the door open for him, and then greeted the female who designed his and Eleana’s home.

“Please, sit Lord Kaden.”

She was very gracious around him. Word of his relation to Denora and High Lord Helion spread quickly, and it wasn’t long before sentries and even people on the street were bowing to him. It had given him a level of respect he’d never had and wasn’t sure he’d earned.

She laid out the plans before him.

The house was a verifiable mansion, but they were only intending on building a small section of it to start with. Then Eleana could make whatever changes she wanted, and Kaden wouldn’t have to front such a cost straight away.

They talked it over making minimal tweaks.

She handed him the paperwork with the estimates and said she could start hiring labourers the moment he had the deed to the land and gained permission for her to work in the Night Court.

He opened up the envelope, assuring her visas wouldn’t be an issue when his face fell.

The estimate was far, far more than he was expecting, even with the mirror-glass.

He told her as such.

“With the war, mining has become a far more expensive endeavour. No one is willing to go underground, and the stone down there is necessary for this glass. Many people died, and there are few who can replace them.”

Just like that, his dream was over. Sure, he could get the land and let it sit there, but what was the point? It was to be their home, and he would never, could never, afford this.

He tried to hide his disappointment. He swallowed hard, hoping the silver lining his eyes might disappear with it.

Kaden hated that he was so mad and bitterly disappointed. There was a time when he was never let down because he never let himself have expectations. At some point he had become entitled – weak – and not let himself consider that he couldn’t do this.

But of course he couldn’t do this. He heard people call him Lord and he let himself think that he was one.

He thanked her for her time and effort and said he would come back to her in a few days after thinking about it. He had zero intention of taking up her offer to build this beautiful home. He simply could not. He did not have the money.

He left the office and Felix immediately knew something was wrong. Den frowned at him, having never seen him anything other than cheery.

“Are we good to go sign the deed?” he asked, voice low and slow.

“I’ve actually decided not to.”

Kaden kissed his mother on the cheek abruptly and told her goodbye, storming off into the crowd of Sun Courtiers enjoying the cooler evening.

He heard his mother yell him name – not Kaden, Dimitri – and when he didn’t respond she sent Felix after him.

He walked until he could feel his calves staining. He might have kept going, but Felix sprang in front of him and forced him to stop.

“What the hell happened?”

“I can’t afford the house. Not even close.”

“So? Buy just the land. Eleana certainly could afford it.”

“What a grand surprise that would be. Hello, Eleana! This is our home. Here’s the bill.”

Kaden tried to walk around him but was stopped again. Luckily, he had walked into a secluded alley where the shops were closed for the evening. There were few fae to eavesdrop, and Felix apparently felt no qualms about ripping into him.

“Stop it,” he snarled.

“I can’t control my damn emotions-”

“This isn’t the end of the world. We’ve been there, done that, and it’s old news. I can lend you the money,” Felix offered.

“I already owe you so much, I can’t let you do that.”

“It would be my pleasure, honestly.”

“But I would feel like I owe you a debt. It wouldn’t be what I had done for her, it would be what you had done for us. And I know it’s archaic and stupid to feel jealous that you can offer her that and I can’t but I just can’t help it.”

“You know, I am waiting for that jealous ball to drop.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m waiting for you to become a raging mate.”

“I would never.”

“It has nothing to do with you, it has to do with the magic behind the bond or whatever. It happens to everyone.” Felix peered at him, his finger tapping his glasses to push them back up the bridge of his nose. “What were you like after she cooked for you?”

“This is so far off topic, but she never cooked for me.”

Felix braced himself on the wall looking exasperated. “So you’re telling me that all this time you two have been wandering around without doing the mating rituals or any formal…?”

“There are rituals?”

Felix sighed. “I can’t blame you for your lack of knowledge, you grew up in a hole.”

“All I want to do right now is go home to Eleana. Maybe she can explain these supposed rituals to me.”

So, that was exactly what he did.

He found Eleana in her father’s study, doing paperwork for her mother so her parents could have a night to themselves. She noticed something was awry when she looked at him, and he told her he’d had a hard day of hunting. Her face fell ever so slightly, and she got up to embrace him.

They didn’t need their own land or home to be together. Just this, her in his arms, was more than enough for Kaden.

/////

The leaves of the Night Court were starting to turn an array of brown and orange, the slightest bit of wind making them fall from their perches and cover the paths in the city. Eleana looked out at the scene of her Velaris turning with the season. She loved the first month of Autumn. There were many things to celebrate, including baby Theodosia’s first birthday. Eleana idly wondered what she would get the babe; Kaden would let her pitch in for the inevitably wonderful idea he had, surely.

This month also marked their one-year anniversary. Not just from the day they had met, but the day that he proclaimed his love for her. It was one of the best days of her life and she would never forget the feeling of his words as they brushed her skin. She had waited for him, and by the Cauldron it was worth it.

The century without him had been a nightmare. And although the days since had been tumultuous, her health as rapid changing as the weather, he was a steady constant that kept her grounded. The time without him made him only dearer to her.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that Felix was able to land what would have been a deathblow if they hadn’t been only training.

“Eleana,” he snapped. “You haven’t trained for months. You’ll need to focus better than that.”

They were at the House of Wind. Her muscles were already sore form the gruelling exercises he had given her, but it was a welcome pain. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time – like herself. Soon, the muscle that once corded her arms and made her thighs thick would return, but until then she would have to work for it. Hard.

She was still puffed when she replied. “We’ve been at it for hours.”

“And you’ve been thinking about Kaden the whole time. You’re a sorry pair aren’t you, so dependant, it makes me literally never want a mate.”

“We aren’t dependent, I just worry when he hunts.”

Felix softened near imperceptibly. “He knows what he’s doing. Do you know how many High Lords have sent Rhys messages commending Kaden? Or should I say Lord Kaden. It’s doing spiffy things for your reputation too.”

“Is that so?” Eleana took Felix’s enthusiasm to speak as a sign they were done for the day.

“All these nobles frothing for your man is doing wonders.”

As if his name summoned him, Eleana spotted Kaden in the distance flying their way. She breathed a sigh of relief. He went hunting five days a week and because of the Courts ban on her she couldn’t go with him – even though she was in invaluable tool.

Kaden landed with a soft thud and sprinted to her side. He slammed into her, wrapping his arms around her and swinging her around as they hugged. It was an unexpected but very, very welcome on her part.

He stopped them long enough to kiss her, deep and unhinged, his excitement coming through.

“Hello.”

“Hello. What has you so cheery?”

He put her down but kept her close. He pulled a letter out of his back pocket and handed it to her. She opened it, her eyes reading the words but not really taking them in until she’d been over it a third, fourth time.

“This is an invitation for me?”

“Yes.”

“But this is in the Day Court.”

“Yes.”

“Where, despite my barging, I am not allowed to go.”

He kissed her again, his lips smooth. “You are now.”

Eleana cheered.

It wasn’t that she felt she didn’t deserve her punishment. She knew there had to be consequences for her actions, she didn’t even travel that much, but not going to the other Courts meant she was missing so much of Kaden’s life. She hadn’t even met his mother. The High Lords who she had once had a great deal of rapport with were now only learning of her condition through her mate.

It was also hard to know that people close to her heart had such a distrust for her – not that she could blame them.

She was elated to finally be able to visit another Court, and from the looks of it, Kaden was too.

“We start here, and soon all the Courts will welcome you again,” his words confirmed as much.

“Let’s get ready then.”

_____

The party was to celebrate the start of Autumn. It was at dusk, and Eleana came in a formfitting gold dress. It had thin straps and glided down her body like a second skin until it hit the floor and pooled in a train. She let her dark hair hang loose in waves and covered herself in gold jewels with red rubies.

She knew she made the right decision in clothing when she saw Kaden’s face when he first saw her.

His eyes glazed with lust, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.

It had been a long time since he’d looked at her like that, and she was surprised that the sickening coil in her stomach didn’t rear its ugly head at the look.

They had kissed, plenty a time, but never taken even the smallest step further. She wasn’t there yet, and he understood her completely.

Looking at him in his fine suit made her wonder when she would be ready.

She winnowed them to the Day Court where they were given a personal welcome from Helion. It was a little awkward, especially with so many eyes on her as she appeared, but they made it through.

The gathering was in one of the royal halls, only a twenty-minute walk from the palace. Its columns were coated in gold, the perfect match to Eleana’s dress, but the interior was all white save the vertical gardens that covered every wall. There was a water feature that split the floor in two. Kaden, who had a tight grip on her hand, walked to the left and started introducing her to the people he had become acquainted with. Soldiers, Lords, Ladies, a line started to form to speak to Kaden.

He brushed them mostly off though and walked in a bee-line to the most important person Kaden would introduce her to tonight.

Denora looked radiant in a white, velvet dress. It had cap sleeves adorned with silver bands that stretched down her arms in a vine fashion. Eleana noted that it was a similar look to Kaden’s Illyrian tattoos, and wondered if that decision was purposeful. Her hair was up in a high bun and she wore a tiara fit for an immortal princess. She was thicker – a healthy stomach, wide hips, large thighs – and taller than even Kaden.

“Mother!” Kaden called.

She turned to look at him, and it was startling to see Kaden’s midnight eyes on someone else.

“Dimitri! And you.” Her eyes widened at the sight of Eleana. She stalked to them, her walk confident and unbridled as she cut through fae to reach them. She stopped a few steps away, towering over Eleana as if she was a giant speaking to a human child.

“Hello Lady Denora, it’s lovely to meet you.” Eleana offered her hand, but Denora ignored it.

“Girl gone blue without a trace, the golden boy is Cauldron blessed, to save the good and smite the rest.” Her voice was melodic, and Eleana wasn’t sure how to respond.

Luckily, Kaden did. “Is that a nursey rhyme? I swear I’ve heard it before.”

She looked at him pointedly – like she saw far more than just the two of them standing in front of her. “Yes.”

Kaden cleared his throat. “Mother, this is Eleana, Heir to the Night Court and my mate.”

Denora stepped so she was a breath away from Eleana. Her eyes were wide as she leant in so close that their noses bumped.

“Welcome to the family, you will do great things for this world,” she whispered before abruptly pulling back. “You two must dance!” She clapped high and sped away, leaving them in her wake.

“Are we meant to follow her?” Eleana was gobsmacked.

“I think so.”

They walked after her and found her on the dance floor. She was in the middle of a few pairs of people dancing, swaying to the music alone and to her own tune.

Her body moved like a calm sea. It was fluid and flexible – effortless but powerful. It was clear where Kaden got such innate talent from.

Eleana thought she might step this one out, not wanting to embarrass any one with her dismal attempts at dancing, but Kaden would have none of it.

I would rather be still forever than dance with anyone but you.

She blushed at the words he sent down the bond and lead the way onto the dance floor.

It was just like the first time.

She was not excellent, but he guided her in such a loving way that it did not matter. It was just as exhilarating, and breathtaking as the first time he held her close at that wedding and spun her for hours on end. Except this time there were no hidden feelings, no impending doom, just a man and a woman who loved each other very much and wanted to dance together.

The way he touched her hips as they danced set fire in her veins. When his fingers brushed her collar bones to sweep the hair from her face, he may as well have painted a cross on her to show that this is mine.

Any nerves she had from his touch were nothing but virginal butterflies. It had been so long since she’d been with him that she could remember that it was amazing, but not exactly how it felt to have him inside her, touching her, making her scream unholy things and praying to Gods that she didn’t believe in. She knew that in those moments hewas her God, and she was his, and that their coupling was the magic of myth.

The music, a fine orchestra, slowed down.

Kaden and Eleana swayed to the music. She didn’t step on his feet, and he rested his head on her shoulder.

People were watching.

It wasn’t until that moment that she realised her skin had started to radiate. Her darkness was also slipping from her hands that were around his neck and tangled in his hair.

And Kaden, her perfect equal, was spilling a golden light to match.

Either he didn’t notice or he didn’t care, because they just kept dancing.

_____

Eleana dress was sticking to her with sweat. They had danced for so long, keeping their magic at bay and ignoring the stares, that she’d become quite hot and bothered. She stepped outside for a moment to try and regain her thoughts and cool down.

There was no one here but her and the giant pool that glimmered in the moonlight. She sat down at its edge and yanked off her shoes, dipping her feet in the cool water. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, letting the air sooth her.

It wasn’t long before Kaden joined her.

“My mother likes you.”

“Does she?”

He nodded. He was standing, but only so he could roll up his pants and join her. “I just ran into her. She sang your praises.”

“I’m glad. Hopefully I can get to know her better if Helion gives me full access to the Day Court.”

He sat down so close to her that their shoulders were touching. She leaned into him. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Have you enjoyed your night?”

“Thoroughly.”

His fingers were tracing patterns on her skin. He was doing it so idly she wondered if he didn’t realise he was doing it at all, but the movement sent shivers down her spine.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

She shook her head, not trusting her voice to remain steady if she spoke aloud.

He ran his hand up and down her side, thinking he might warm her. He certainly did, and her breathing became shaky.

She leaned into him more and turned her head. She kissed his jaw, then his neck, where her lips stayed and explored.

“What are you doing?” he asked, voice gruff.

“I don’t know,” she whispered against his skin.  

He faced her, his warm breath coating her face. His arm left her waist and settled high on her thigh, squeezing slightly. “What do you want to do?”

She didn’t answer.

What did she want? Not sex, no, but something. Not even to climax, just a sense of intimacy that can only be granted by your partner. Up until now, kissing had granted her that pleasure, but seeing him tonight and dancing with him like there was nothing else in the room made her ache for more.

“Do you want me to touch you?”

She felt how aroused the seven words made her in her core.

The hand on her thigh moved slightly, and that small action alone made her gasp.

“I will. Right here, but I need you to say you want this.”

Her answer was immediate.  

“I want this.”

He kissed the skin just below her ear. His hand returned to her waist. He pulled her so that she was now sitting between his legs with her chest pressed to his back. His hands, those wickedhands of his, kneaded her shoulders. She was about to tell him that, yes, that felt good, but it wasn’t what she meant. Before she had the chance, his hands moved to grip her thighs, his fingers slowly etching her dress up until he had full access to her.

He bit her exposed shoulder lightly, not hard enough to leave a mark but so much that it made her lurch. His fingers grazed her inner thigh, up and down, until she was squirming on his lap.

One hand pressed against her lower abdomen to steady her, the other one slowly making its way to where she wanted it.

His lips were at her neck, kissing her in just the right spots to make her breathless. She was about to say something, but Cauldron she forgot what it was the moment his fingers slipped beneath her underwear and brushed against her sensitive centre.

She let out a deep moan. She laced her fingers with the hand on her stomach, needing to brace herself against something.

She spread her thighs more so that they crossed over his legs, and it prompted him to stoke harder, faster, in wonderful circles that with every round hit her in exactly the right spot to leave her quaking.

She was heaving in his arms and couldn’t help grinding down on him. She became even more aroused when she felt how hard he was for her, when she realised that the sound of her hissing his name and the feel of her body pressed against him was alone enough to make him want her.

She had to bite her lip to stop from screaming as she felt herself tightened and then come, his fingers working her all the way through her orgasm.

She slumped against him, and he pushed her dress back down before wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on hers.

/////

Nine months after her eighteenth birthday Eleana was sitting at a café in Velaris when a courier handed her a letter. It was addressed with only her name. She expected it to be from Kaden. Since she had come back to Velaris, she hadn’t felt like herself. And just like the last time she was lost with who she was, Kaden sent her letters to remind her. It was ridiculous really, they saw each other every night, but usually around two hours before he was to return to her she would get a letter. Sometimes it was just an I love youand more doodled hearts than she could count. Sometimes it was what he had done with his days. Often there were dot point summaries of the stories his mother had told him, he wrote them down so he wouldn’t forget any of the details, knowing Eleana would love to hear them all. Usually, these letters were written in the book he gave her for her birthday, the leather-bound object appearing where ever she was. A change of pace wasn’t unwelcomed though.

She closed the book she was reading and ripped it open.

It was a letter from the Day Court alright, but certainly not from Kaden.

“Holy shit Gods.”

If she hadn’t been banned from the other courts, she would have stormed into the Day Court and demanded answers. The first thing she would ask is is this a fucking joke?

She flew to her father’s office, barging in a throwing it at him.

“Is this real?” she asked.

“It says happy birthday, who’s it from?”

“The other page, look at the other page.”

He flipped over to the next page and raised his brow at what he saw. “This seems entirely real to me.”

She gawked at him, snatching it back and reading it over again herself.

Her father stood. He came and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the sitting chairs in the corner of the room. He mentioned something about food and tea and left her to read the pages over and over again. When he came back, she had it so close to her face that the paper was grazing her nose.

“If you’re that worried I would just confront the person who sent it. They clearly had a lot of intention. That,” he pointed at the paper, “is no quick process.”

Eleana moaned and put her head to her knees. “Do you have chocolate? I need it.”

Rhys laughed and knocked her head gently. “Eat your lunch, Butterfly. I’m sure you’ll get your answers soon enough.”

____

Kaden was late coming home, which meant that the whole family had to watch her pace back and forth waiting for him. Rain was thrashing against the windows, a wild storm raging outside.

She had shown them all the letter, all of which had validated its authenticity, which only made Eleana more confused.

And Kaden, her mate, had the audacity to be home late at a time like this.

When he finally strolled through the door with Felix and Quathryn, who wanted to see the pretty lights in the Day Court, Eleana tackled him. She ignored his wet clothing and barely felt his arms as they caught her.

“What is this?” she near screamed.

He swayed with her to catch his balance. “What is what?”

“This!” She waved the letter at him.

He snatched it from her hands and read it over, his eyes going wide and his mouth parting. “Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.”

“Did you know about this?”

“No! I mean, I mentioned some stuff about you-”

“What did you mention?!”

Everyone was looking at them, curiosity all over their faces. This is why weekly family dinners were not a good idea, they were too often in each other’s pockets. Eleana grumbled, grabbing Kaden’s hand and pulling him upstairs.

She slammed the study door behind her, whirling to face him.

“What did you say that made your mother do this?”

Kaden looked sheepish, running his hand nervously through his hair. “I mentioned that my savings are low, and that I was looking for property in the Night Court that I could buy.”

“Why do you want to buy land?”

His lips were a thin line. He mumbled something she couldn’t properly hear, so she demanded the answer again.

“I wanted to build you a house,” he said after a long pause. “There are these beautiful houses in the Day Court that I know you’ll love. But when I asked about the price for materials… there’s a special glass that I would want for you, but it’s far out of my budget. I could work for two hundred years and not be able to afford it.”

Eleana blinked. “You… you wanted to build me a house?”

He swallowed hard and nodded. “There’s this type of glass in the Day Court that you can look out of but not in. On the outside, it’s a mirror. I talked to an architect, even had some rough plans drawn up, but the cost stopped me.”

She tried to say something, but he kept talking, nervously rambling.

“My logic was that if in our house you could always see the sky and the gardens I would grow for you then you would never feel trapped. I was going to make all the bedrooms the same, the only opaque walls would be inside so that we could have privacy, and our children could have privacy. We would have had a lot of guest rooms of course, Felix would need somewhere to stay every time he got on the piss. I would have built it on the beach. Or a cliff that overlooked the water but wasn’t too far away from it. Because then we wouldn’t have to go far to teach our sons and daughters to swim.”

“Woah, Kaden, stop. Our house? Children? How long have you been thinking about this?”

His cheeks blushed bright red. “I’m overwhelming you, aren’t I? I’m sorry, I just mentioned to my mother, which is why she probably sent you the deed to her coastal house for your birthday. I mean, she’s quite late, but she’s often forgetful,” he tried to joke.  

“Kaden, this is a coastal apartment on Miyram and Drakon’s island. The passing of ownership has been signed off by them. She would have had to do this-”

“Months ago, I know. I told her the day I met her that you were the love of my life. I didn’t mention that house until later. She must have given this to you not because my,” he waved his hand around, “house dream.”

Eleana was stumped. She had just received more information than she’d ever bargained for. She thought her next words carefully before saying them.

“Kaden… this is – a lot. Houses and children – that’s not something I’m even ready to think about. Not something I think I want now.”

He looked away from her, nodding. “Of course. That makes complete sense. We’ve been together barely a year. I shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. It’s flattering-”

“Yeah, really flattering.” He stared out the window behind her, a pink blush spreading over his cheeks. “Look, I’ll talk to Den about it, but she seems pretty stuck in her ways. We – youdon’t have to go there. I think maybe she felt bad about you not being able to travel Prythian or something. I’ll um, I’ll sort it out.”

He was rambling, and she couldn’t get a word in before he was opening the door and walking away.

“Wait, Kaden, stop.”

He was near running down the stairs, a few calls other than her own summoning him. He ignored them all. He rushed out the front door, rain whipping into the house from the storm raging outside. Eleana didn’t close the door as she rushed after him, grabbing his elbow just as he spread his wings to fly away.

“Where are you going?” she yelled through the onslaught of rain. Her hair was whipping around her face, the wet strands sticking to her.

Kaden wiped his eyes, his hair already slick down his face. “I’m going to fix this.”

“Fix what?”

He was breathing so hard she could see the rise and fall of his chest, and she reached out a hand to touch him – to steady him.

He was gasping for air. “Everything I’m doing is wrong.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, no you’re perfect-”

“What was I thinking? I can’t – this life – I don’t think I’m cut out for this. I can’t help you no matter how damn hard I try. And your family.” His voice cracked. “They trusted me, and I’ve screwed everything up. Felix will never regain full sight, I haven’t even made a dent in dwindling the creatures. I call a woman mother who can’t remember me half the time when Morrigan is right there supporting me. The disrespect I’ve given her. I can’t even properly judge what you want and I’m meant to be your mate. Amren was right – Amren isright.”

“Please come inside and talk to me. Or we can go somewhere, anywhere that you want to go.”

He covered his face with his hands, and then swept his hair from his eyes.

“I have to leave,” his voice was grave.

“Wherever you go I’ll be there right with you, okay? So name a place, anywhere, and we’ll go there right now.”

Hs throat bobbed. He searched her face, and she wasn’t sure if he was crying or if it was just the rain. “Can we just stay here?”

She pulled him into her arms, the rain beating down so hard she could feel every drop. He was warm though, he had always been her fire in the ice. “Yes, we can stay here.”

_____

It was a while before they came in. No one asked questions, not even when their sopping wet selves dragged their bodies through the house and to her bedroom. They peeled their clothes off, Eleana lighting the fireplace in her room to ease their shivering.

Once dry and dressed in fresh night clothes, Eleana and Kaden crawled into bed. Her bed had become a safe place of confession for them both, and with that knowledge clear in his mind, Kaden spoke.

“For the last few months, Amren has thought the worst of me. Maybe it wouldn’t have affected me as much if my failures didn’t have as much impact on our lives as they do. I want to be the best for you, and I’m worried that I never can be.”

“What has Amren said?”

“She thinks that I had something to do with what happened with the Queen. That I orchestrated what happened.”

Eleana shot up, outraged at what she was hearing. “How long has this been going on?”

“She told me the first time we met.”

Eleana climbed on top of Kaden, her legs straddling his waist and hands cupping his cheeks. “It was literally prophesised by an all knowing suriel that you were to be not just my, but Prythian’s saviour. I know you. Felix knows you. Mor and Azriel and Cassian and Nesta are all obsessed with you and my parents could not be happier that I found you. To say you are anything less than the man that you are, the selfless, wonderful man, is an insult to all our intelligences and I will not stand for it. In the morning I will talk to her. This has got to stop.”

Eleana opened her mouth, but a knock at the door interrupted her. She sighed as she climbed from his lap. Behind her door were her mother and Morrigan. Her mother held two plates of food, and Mor had two mugs held by the handle in each hand.

“Hey there,” Feyre said gently. “We didn’t want you two going hungry.”

“Thank you,” Eleana said, letting them in.

The two women, both mothers in their own right, strode into the room. Mor put the drinks on the bedside table, and whispered quietly to Kaden, asking if he was okay. The question was accompanied with a hand to his forehead; she was checking his temperature. One might think that meeting Den would drive Mor’s motherly instincts away, but Eleana was glad to see that it only intensified her need to care for him as if he was her own. It made Eleana smile.

“We thought we would join you, if that’s okay,” Feyre said.

“The more the merrier, we’re family after all.”

/////

Eleana would never say she was a bully, but she may have used some of those tactics to force her cousin into showing her the plot of land her mate had very nearly bought.

They waited until he went hunting before Felix flew them to the site. It was quick by air, but Eleana could appreciate that anyone without wings or the ability to winnow would have a harder time getting there.

The land was exactly how he described it to be. Large, his spacious mansion would have fit and then some, on a cliff but with a forest in the distance. It was untouched by buildings and had the best view of Velaris she had seen outside of the sky.

She walked along the grassy plain and breathed in the fresh air – her body feeling light from the scent of salt and greenery that came with the wind.

“There’s stairs over there that go down, but I’m not taking you. I shouldn’t have to begin with. I do hope you know he’ll murder me if he finds out I did this.”

“Guess I’ll just have to sell my soul again to bring you back.”

Felix squeaked at the joke and put a hand over his heart.

“Too soon?” She raised a brow.

“Yes, I mean no. I mean do whatever makes you feel better about what happened. Pre and post possession.”

She laughed at the look on his face and turned toward the stairs. She didn’t really like joking about it, but she noticed how often Felix joked about his own experiences and how it genuinely seemed to help. She thought maybe if she tried the same thing it would work for her.

So far, not much success, but she also wasn’t as funny as her cousin.

She walked down the steps. They would definitely have to be replaced if they lived here. Maybe a spiral staircase would suit?

She walked onto the sand. It was chilly next to the water; she wrapped her arms around herself and continued to explore. There wasn’t a lot to see. It was nice, tranquil and private. One’s own little slice of the sea.

She told Felix she just wanted to see it, but she knew she was here for different reasons.

_____

“I think I lied to you,” she told Kaden.

He looked up from the report he was writing. It was nearly dusk and he had been doing this since he’d returned from hunting. They were the only one occupying the House of Wind and the place was eerily quiet.

“What about?” He didn’t seem fazed by her words, but he did put his pen down and focus on her.

“I’ve been considering your words – your thoughts about our future.”

Eleana had been reconsidering their conversation since she’d ripped into Amren. She had cornered her aunt a week ago, demanding to know why she had been terrorising her mate. Amren had some convoluted excuse that had very little validity and reeked of misinformation and miseducation. Eleana never liked to pull rank, especially with her family, but she made a formal order that Amren was to never broach the subject again. Eleana heard her concerns loud and clear, and this was her officially dismissing them. She also went on to explain how Kaden could not have done the things she accused him of, even went as far as to detail the Room so Amren could fucking understand where she was coming from.

Amren had been civil since.

“What have you been considering?”

“I would rather show you than tell you.”

He smirked. “How ominous.”

______

Kaden very quickly changed tone when he realised where they were going. He thought Eleana might have meant doing something flirty, maybe they would repeat what happened in the Day Court, but the last thing he wanted was to go to the land he forfeited.

She took them to the tree line so they could overlook the whole thing. She winnowed them right there, if they had flown he would have refused just to save himself the embarrassment.

“Eleana…”

“Hear me out,” she said. She pointed to the cliff’s edge. “We would have to build a fence. High. And put extra wards on it so that it can’t be flown over by young children. I don’t want anyone falling down there by accident. Funnily enough, I’m more worried Felix will do that when drunk than one of our children.” She started walking, beckoning along.

He followed, confused as hell, so he just stayed silent and listened.

“I thought this side could be the main garden. We’d have one out the front too, and there would be a little cobblestone path that led to out front door with flower arches around it so it’s like a little tunnel. I think that would look cute!”

He put his hand up to stop her from talking more.

She looked distractingly radiant. She was backlit by Velaris, the city sparking alive as the sun set. She outshone it though, with her navy hair blowing in the breeze and her violet eyes so bright.

She was talking about something she had already thoroughly shut down, so why were they here? Kaden didn’t understand.

“You don’t want this, you said as much.”

She clutched her hands to her chest. “I know. I guess the idea wasn’t in my head until you put it there.”

“I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

“I’m saying that I bought this land. I’m saying that I went to the Day Court and paid to have our home built from glass. I’m saying that I want to grow ancient with you here. I want to sit on a deck chair a century from now and have you dote on me hand and foot while I grow our baby inside me and that it might take time for me to be ready for children but hell I will be ready one day. I want everything with you, Kaden. The whole domestic shebang.”

She stepped in front of him. “I want to start living. And I want to do that with you.”

She stood on her toes and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer, and Kaden’s knees shook at her touch.

She moved her lips to his jaw, one hand coming across his neck and to the top button of his shirt. “And just because I know how much you wanted to do this for me, I only paid for the glass, so I hope you’re ready to build the rest of the house because sleeping on only that will be awfully cold in the coming months, don’t you think?” she said, her voice high and bubbly from what could only be described as pure joy.

“You are someone I couldn’t even have dreamt of.”

She pressed her cheek to his, her hands slowly undoing every button on his shirt until she could scrape her nails down his chest.

“I’m ready. I want all of you.”

“I have always been yours.”

“No, Kaden.” She punctuated her words by grazing her hand over his length. “I’m ready. I want all of you.”

He caught her hand in his, bringing it to rest over his heart. “Eleana, you don’t have to do this. If I was rushing you in any way-”

“You have been perfect – utterly perfect. It’s something I wanted to do since the Day Court, that was when I knew I could handle it.”

He bit his lip to hide his smile, even if she was grinning at him. “There’s no bed,” he said.

His heart stopped as she pressed an open-mouth kiss to his chest. She dragged her lips down the skin she had just exposed until she was kneeling before him. His breath hitched as her hands undid his belt. He stood to full attention, watching her with wide eyes and feeling his arousal build.

When she slipped her hand inside his pants to let his length free, he shuddered.

“When have we ever needed a bed?”

And then her mouth was on him and he was unable to form words.

She was slow, as if taking her time to relearn exactly what made him tick. Her plump lips would swallow him until he hit her throat, her hand stroking the part of him her mouth couldn’t. No part of him went untouched, and his moan was so loud as he tangled his hands in her hair that he was surprised the ground didn’t tremble beneath him.

He groaned her name when he was on the verge of finishing. She pulled back, taking her mouth and hands with her.

She stood up and leaned into him so close that the friction of him touching her was nearly enough to make him climax.

His hands were still tangled in her hair, and he brought her lips to his and kissed her deeply. As he did so, their tongues dancing as he tilted her back to fully capture her, one hand came down and then up again until the next thing he was doing was lifting her shirt over her head. She was bare under her shirt, and her nipples were perked in the cool breeze. He dragged his mouth away and sucked one into his mouth, kneading the other breast with his hand.

Her pants come off, and then his, and then somehow she got him on his back with her straddling him.

“I love it when you say my name like that,” she moaned as she kissed down his body.

After licking his rose tattoo on his inner thigh, her ass curving up as if teasing him to where he had once sunk his teeth in, she made her way back up his body, aligning her hips with his as she did so.

She was over him, gripping him so she could guide him inside her when he stopped her with strong hands gripping her hips.

“Wait. We should go slow, take our time. Savour this.”

Her lips turned up. She ran one hand down his chest before running it up the centre of herself, making her fingers wet with her want. She levelled her head with his, those sinful fingers tracing his lips until he bit them, sucking them into his mouth and licking the juices from them.

“I’m tired of going slow. Aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he growled.

She smirked and aligned their hips again. She didn’t wait before lowering herself onto him. They both gasped at the contact, and Kaden nearly came just from the look that crossed her face as she took him to the hilt. It was the face of ecstasy – her head tilting back, her back arched and her breasts pushed out, her mouth parted and eyes fluttering.

It had him straining when he was already so close.

When she moved her hips forward and back in a rocking motion, he was undone.

He unravelled underneath her, her body the only thing keeping him tied to this earth as wave after wave of unmeasurable pleasure blasted him. With every movement a new piece of him was gone. With every sound from her mouth he was brought back. He could barely see through the haze that she created for him.

The only clear thing was her glowing body and the darkness that started to mix with his light, the two opposing forces joining together and wrapping around them seamlessly.

He couldn’t quite remember how to form words, or where they were or his name or anything else except this:

He loved her.

So, that’s all he said. Over and over and over again.

/////

The day Eleana moved out of her home, her father cried. She found it comical, considering they hadn’t lived together for the vast majority of the last eight years.

While their house had only just begun to be built, Eleana and Kaden decided they wanted their own space. Kaden loved living with Azriel and Mor, and Eleana too with her parents, but they wanted to take a step forward before having their very own house.

So they did something that Kaden had always intended to do but never had the chance to.

They moved in with Felix.

It was the first time Eleana had returned to camp since the war had ended, and stories of her involvement had spread like shadowfire. She expected to be sneered at, blamed for the deaths of the soldiers who had been lost, but somehow that was not what happened.

The person she suspected for that was her meddlesome cousin.

They knew of her possession. They knew Kaden had been the one to break her free of her entrapment. They knew she misted a town full of creatures and knitted back together the earth as if it were child’s play.

And that is what they focused on.

They had been with Felix for a month now and it was going swimmingly. Felix made every meal, Kaden did all the dishes, and Eleana kept the house clean.

Eleana started training again. She got her ass thoroughly kicked and her flying courses weren’t as flawless as they once were, but with every day she improved. She welcomed the ache in her muscles, the baths of ice and having her wings out all day.

Her and Kaden were sitting on their bed, Kaden kneading the knots from her back. Spread out in front of her were the plans to their house.

“I think it’s a good idea to have our room separate from the others. If we have a drawing room we can double it as a nursery while the children are still young, and it’s not like we’ll have to use it that way any time soon,” Kaden suggested.

“I agree. A play room would also be a good way to contain their mess. And if Felix goes here, it will be easy for him to baby sit. I like this flooring too. I think carpet will be better than floorboards in the bed rooms. I know it wears away a lot quicker, but it will also be freezing in winter.”

“Do you remember those hardwood floors the other day? I was thinking we could copy that.”

The conversation continued on until Kaden was done with the massage and they were both completely sure on their design. This house would truly be something to behold when it was finished, and Eleana couldn’t wait to have it all with her mate.

She looked at him. They were both still in their leathers, his hair tousled while hers was in a tight bun.

It was true that she wouldn’t have thought of this on her own. It wasn’t until she discovered Kaden wanted those things that she considered them herself. Although wary to begin with, now she’d fallen down a deep rabbit hole where she wanted everything at once.

Which was why there was one thing she desperately wanted to do but didn’t know how.

“Walk with me?”

He smiled. “Where are we going?”

She didn’t respond, just took his hand and led him from the room. They put their shoes and jackets on and left, their fingers loosely twined. She was debating whether to just do it tonight or wait. But damn if they hadn’t waited long enough already. All they did was wait.

They strolled along, Kaden happy to concede with her silence.

She stopped them eventually, in the middle of a path. It was night, so few were around but many windows were lit from the fireplaces warming the families.

Kaden didn’t ask where they were, but he did look around and note her odd choice.

“Is this where we first met?”

She nodded. “I was wondering if you remembered the place.”

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course I do.”

Eleana argued with herself. She wanted to just do it, but the nerves she was feeling were overwhelming. It made her jittery, so much so that he fully faced her and took of his hands in his. He ran his thumbs over her knuckles.

“You all good?”

“I love you,” she gasped.

He smiled. “I love you.”

“We’ve never quite done things in order, have we?” She was going to do it. Now. Here. At the spot they met.

“No, I guess not.”

“I knew you were my mate the first time I saw you here,” her voice shook with every syllable. “But I fell in love with you long before it mattered. And you – you loveme. And you would, mateship or no. I like that that our bond came after. Every minute of falling in love with you I would want to repeat if I didn’t already fall more in love with you every day.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but she snapped a finger up to place over his lips.

“Let me finish this while I still have the courage,” she laughed nervously. “We did things out of order. And that was good.” Eleana was never good at eloquent speeches, but he was hung on every word. “I want to do everything with you. I never thought I would have a mate, but I do. I never thought I would build a home with someone, but I am. I never thought I could love someone like this, but I do.”

She cut herself off, not knowing how to voice her thoughts. She could just send them through the bond, but she wanted to say it aloud. She wanted them to be real, tangible words that she could shout from the sky.

“I want to do everything with you,” she said again, but slower, more carefully. “I know you’re my mate, but I always wished that one day I would have a marriage as beautiful as the ones I saw growing up. I always wanted a husband who was as strong as me, as smart as me, who was either as passionate about what I loved or passionate about my adoration.”

Kaden’s face crinkled in a smile. She could see tears start to line his eyes as he clued on to what she was trying to ask. He grabbed the hand covering his mouth and kissed her palm before resting it to his face.

“Yes. Yes. Yes.”

“I haven’t asked you anything yet.”

“Yes.”

She covered her face with her hand as she smiled with pure joy, her own tears matching his.

“Kaden?”

“Yes.”

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

He smashed his lips to hers, their tongues and teeth clashing as they tried to exude all their excitement and love in that moment in a kiss. He swept her off her feet, his hands going under her knees as he picked her up like she was already his bride. He held her close to his chest, his lips never leaving hers.

He broke from her, panting. “My front pocket,” he said breathlessly.

“Huh?” She kissed him again, her hands tangled in his hair as she tried to get as close to him as possible.

“My pocket,” he said to her lips.

He put her down and fished into his pocket. Upon grabbing something miniscule, he sunk to his knees.

“I’ve had these since the first time I went to our home. I’ve been planning to ask you to marry me since.” He pulled out two matching rings and Eleana couldn’t help the sob that broke her chest.

It had been a long time since she had shed these kind of unadulterated, happy tears. Her heart had never felt so full. It was like her whole body was starting to defrost after being in ice for a century. He was the flame that made her fae again, aliveagain, and she loved him.

She fell to her knees. With shaking hands, she took the larger band from him and slipped it onto his left hand. She then took hers and inspected it, a fresh wave of emotion hitting her as she did.

“They match our crowns,” her throat was so tight it was nothing but a whisper. She then put it onto his finger, where it would remain for the rest of their immortal lives.

/////

The day Kaden and Eleana had their mating and marriage ceremony the city of Velaris was painted in blue and gold. Banners for the couple flew throughout the city, mixing with the orange and yellows of the fallen leaves of Autumn. There was singing in the streets, so elated and loud that you could hear it all the way from the holy temple sitting just outside the city’s borders. A temple that was once wasted in a war against kings and now sat proud outside the Court of Dreams. Throngs of fae flocked to see the Lady and Lord wed, a true union of the Day and Night Courts. A Lady bred from darkness and born to reign. A Lord conceived on the night of Sprits who could see the ones this world had lost.

Regal fell short when describing the pair. Eleana with a dress of gold and navy and Kaden with a matching suit, they wore crowns unseen of and crafted so well that no fae hands could replicate such a beauty. Eleana smirked at her mate as if she had a secret, as if to say I knew there would be an occasion to make you wear that crown.

As the priestess tied their hands together with the delicate, red, symbolic ribbon while they recited their vows, there was nothing but pride and love in the room. As they spoke, their words echoed for all to hear. It made her stoic parents cry, it made his newfound father and two mothers glow, and it made their best friend place his hand on his chest to contain the utter euphoria he felt that the two he loved most were finally happy.

They recounted to all how they fell into each other, hard enough to shatter stars and to break through the night.

When they first met, and she knew he was going to be important. Their first dance, where she fell and he caught her. Their first stolen kiss on the sacred day of Starfall. The first I love you at a wedding that was not theirs. When they admitted their mutual love for each other at a lake. When he came to Velaris and found not just a city where his heart belonged but a family he belonged to. When she gave him her soul. When he claimed it for himself and gave it back to her.  

In two years, they had lived a hundred year’s worth of life. They had fought for their love and happiness and against unattainable odds they had won.

And as the Lord and Lady looked at each other, the world stopped.

They were happy. They were in love. They were together. They were at peace.

***

This is the final chapter of ACOHAD, posted on the 29th of September, 2018. The first ever chapter was posted on the 29th September, 2016. This fanfiction spans roughly the same amount of time.

At some point, Kaden had passed out after his journey into Eleana’s mind. When he woke, he was lying next to Felix, so close that the two males were touching from shoulder to foot. His heart had started to race with fear, especially at the ghastly sight of Felix’s eyes, but the slow but steady rise and fall of Felix’s chest put him at ease.

Well, it would have, if Eleana hadn’t been missing.

He’d awoken Felix, using whatever meagre healing magic he had to bring him to consciousness. Then, he’d dragged the two of the out of the crumbling pantheon to find Eleana. He didn’t dare ask Felix what the fuck had happened, and his friend was as silent as he. He’d readied his weapons when they’d neared the door, creating a shield of unknown power around him and Felix.

They soon realised there would be no more fighting for them today.

“What’s happening?” Felix had gasped.

Kaden didn’t know how to describe it.

Eleana was flying above them all, her dress billowing around her. Her arms were raised, and all around them every creature was being floated to her eye level by a hard wall of wind while soldiers were being forced to ground by the same force. The creatures flailed, their abnormal limbs contorting in an effort to escape from the inescapable, and all their screams turned silent when Eleana misted them into a bloodrain. For as far as the eye could see, the sky above them turned into a black ocean as she decimated every single creature in that town.

The whispers of the soldiers around them were worrisome – some prayed to the Cauldron, some prayed to Eleana, thinking she was the Mother reborn.

When all the creatures were destroyed, she lifted the ebbing, lapping blood even higher until it was a spinning whirlpool blocking all the stars from sight. And then, with a giant flash of light, it was all gone.

Eleana, a hard yet compassionate look on her face, had landed next to Kaden and Felix when she had finished.

“It’s time to go home,” she’d said solemnly.

A God given flesh. She was a God given flesh.

Kaden thought he might be the only one to have come to that conclusion as he looked around the room.

The House of Wind was full of the Inner Circle and their families. Right now, Kaden was in a room with Eleana, Felix, and the healer that was attending to his friend’s eyes.

Eleana would not let anyone else into the room.

“You must keep these patches on until we meet again. There is only so much I can do, and we must remain hopeful, but you must do exactly as I say if we’re to save them.”

Felix grinned at the healer. “Can do. Personally, I love the rugged, human pirate look.”

The healer laughed lightly and patted his hand as she left, saying she would update the General of the condition of his son but say nothing else.

Kaden looked at Eleana. She had yet to say a word to him beyond demanding that he summon the best healer still alive and telling him to keep her family far away. She hadn’t spoken to Felix at all, but he could tell she was beyond relieved at his presence.

He had already tried to poke at the bond, but it was fried. There was a tiny inkling of its existence, a bridge that one day would rebuild itself, but who knew how long that would take. It’s not like he could ask someone – he doubted anyone else had near severed a mating bond in an effort to separate a demonic soul from their loved one.

Felix sighed dramatically. “So much tension in such a small room. I guess I’ll speak first.” He turned toward the wall. “Eleana, I missed you. What you did was very stupid, and incredibly reckless, but I love you anyway.”

“I’m over here.” Her voice was gruff.

“I know, I’m working on some new joke material. May as well have all the blind jokes banked up if I’m never to see again.”

“Don’t say that, you’ll be fine.”

“Always the optimist.” Felix reached his hand out until he felt her knee. “I don’t blame you for anything that happened. You were taken advantage of, manipulated in the most horrific way until you gave her what she wanted. You’re a victim of her as much as I am, and I’m certain you don’t blame my death on me, so don’t blame yourself for this.”

She stood, her figure towering over him as he sat.

Eleana carried herself differently. Her back was straighter, harder, and her eyes were like ice. It was as if she had the woes of a century weighing on her back. She was colder than the mountains in Illyria, her eyes as hollow as the flames that lit the room.

Goosebumps covered Kaden at the sight of her. This, undeniably, was the women he loved. But she was not the same.

“We can discuss this later, when you’re better.”

“Eleana,” Kaden interjected.

She levelled her gaze to his.

“This was an inevitability. Whether then, now or in a hundred years, that queen would have come for you.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about. A lot. We found out while you were – gone – that the creatures are incapacitated by opal and other various precious rocks and gems.”

“What has that got to do with anything?” She was exasperated. He could smell her frustration, laced with the ash of the fire in the merchant town. The ash was imbedded into all their clothes, especially Felix, who was also smeared with the black powder.

“I agree, what are you talking about?” Felix questioned.

Kaden took a deep breath. “The lives of the forest have been leaving you gifts of opal since you were a babe. A knife, a sword, a crown. All for you, all intended to help you when the inevitable happened. The forest knew, Eleana. They knew and they loved you and wanted to help you.”

“Shit,” Felix spat. “Can someone please summon my father? I’m about to have an existential crisis and would like his company in doing so.”

“He’s outside the door,” Eleana said bluntly. “They all are. My parents are trying to get through my shield, but they can’t, not until I let them.”

“What are you waiting for?” Felix asked.

She moved over to her cousin, kneeling in front of him and placing her head on his knees. “I need you to tell me all that I’ve missed. What lives our family led in my absence.”

“Why?”

“I want to know how much can change in the better part of a century. Quathryn is grown, Thea definitely no longer a babe. Did my parents have more children? Do I have siblings that only know me through anecdotes and a monster’s mask? How many of our kin did I kill while entrapped by the Queen?”

Felix turned his head toward her voice. He frowned, his hands moving to stroke the tips of her hair.

“Eleana… I’m confused.”

“It is imperative I know the full extent of the damage I caused.”

“But, Eleana, it’s only been a fortnight. You were gone for-” Felix did the math, “-less than two weeks, actually. Your eighteenth birthday has yet to even pass.”

She flinched back, her face scrunching as she shot looks at them both. “I was – no. That can’t be. I felt how long I was gone, and it was at least a hundred years.”

“No, Laya, you weren’t. Do you think I would lose track of time? You can see for yourself, Quathryn is still the tottering toddler, Thea the exact same, maybe a little chubbier. I swear that girl packs it on. Lovely fat baby she is.”

Eleana backed away, her hands trembling. “I don’t understand.”

“My love.” Kaden approached her fleeing figure, stopping a healthy distance from her. He didn’t touch her, he could tell that was the last thing she wanted, so he used his words rather than his hands to soothe her. “When I went in to destroy the Queen, it felt like I had been there far longer. The only reason I didn’t succumb to the loss of time is because I knew that there was no way I could have been with you that long. You didn’t have the same reassurance I did. You did not know that we were here every second of every damn day trying to get you home.”

She sighed unevenly. “I didn’t expect you to come. I was ready to go, after all that time. The things I saw, what she had done… There was so much more than just Prythian.” She looked like she was haunted. The sheer terror in her voice as she recounted nothing but a general statement made Kaden’s chest seize. What had she seen?

Felix stood, and started stripping his leathers. Kaden looked at him aghast. Felix only stopped once his torso was bare.

Felix ran his hands over his chest. It was heavily scarred now, the wounds from his death leaving raised red and purple slashes over his body. “See how new these still are? I feel them pulling when I move. I haven’t shown anyone other than Kaden and Azriel, and now you, I’m worried that it will scare them.”

He reached a hand out. She immediately stepped forward and took it, anchoring herself to him.

“When it all ended, I was petrified about all the things it meant I would miss. I wouldn’t see my sisters grow up, I let myself believe my parents didn’t care for me, I would never experience true love, even if I had been in love. The fear, that I would miss so very much of our families, has yet to go away. There was a large part of me that did not think I would survive this war. But I did. Youdid. We can recover from this.”

She nodded at him, and then cleared her throat and voiced her agreement. Yes, they could do this.

“We have so much to look forward to,” Felix continued. “But we can’t start living our lives again until you take down those wards and let our family in.”

The air in the room was fraught as she took in his words. She bit her lip, a crease appearing between her brows.

“You’re right,” she breathed. She let go of him and walked towards the door, the same gown the Queen had dressed her in flowing behind her.

“Kaden,” Felix hissed. Kaden’s gaze had been following his mate, but at Felix’s summon he went over to him. Felix was scrounging around for his shirt and shucked it over his head when he found it.

“What?” Kaden whispered.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Is right now the best time?”

“No, but there probably won’t be a good time.”

Before Felix could elaborate, Eleana was opening the door and her family poured in. They were all loud and shouting over one another. Notably was Cassian’s “Felix what have you done?!”  as he looked at the condition of his son.

Kaden was watching them when Morrigan came to his side and hugged him. Azriel joined them, putting his arms around both of them. Azriel murmured that he was glad Kaden was safe.

Kaden watched as Lady Nesta coddled Felix, kissing his head over and over again. Quathryn was pulling at her brother’s pants, demanding he pick her up. Thea was in Cassian’s arms, peering curiously at the hubbub around her.

Amren came in and perched herself on the arm of a chair in the corner, a lioness’ scowl on her face.

Then, surprisingly, High Lord Lucien and Lady Elain walked in, joining Nesta and Cassian. Lucien took Thea, and Elain pulled her sister in for a hug. Lucien was bruised, his lips bloody and one eye swollen. He grinned at Felix. “Nice look you’ve got going.”

“I pull it off better than you ever could,” Felix snickered.

The interaction brought a smile to Kaden’s face, and then High Lord Rhysand and High Lady Feyre entered.

Those before them had parted around Eleana as if she were poison Ivy. She bowed her head, and crossed her hands in front of her body, shame radiating from her like light from the flickering candles above them.

The High Lord of the Night Court looked sick. His face was pale, and a line of sweat soaked his forehead. High Lady Feyre was still in her fighting gear, her clothes torn and soaked in blood that thankfully didn’t seem to be her own. Her skin was washed out with worry, making her freckles stand out starkly. The freckles that matched those of her daughter, who met her gaze but didn’t move.

“Butterfly,” Rhysand croaked.

He ran to her. She was only a few feet away away, but he got to her as quickly as he could. He threw his arms around her, tucking her into him. The High Lord’s sobs were broken – matched by the High Lady’s as she came up behind them and wrapped her arms around Eleana’s back. She rested her cheek on the back of her neck, clasping both her husband and her daughter.

Eleana relaxed into them. Her stiff back slumped, and the gruff frown on her face smoothed. She closed her eyes and leant into her father.

Kaden sighed in relief. He pulled himself from Morrigan and Azriel, kissing the former on the cheek before moving to Felix. Quathryn was crawling all over him, and he had to playfully swat away her hands as she tried to see what was under his eye patches. Kaden put his hands under her arms and lifted her up, smiling grimly when he heard her little giggles.

“You shouldn’t do that Lady Quathryn. Felix is healing.”

Her response was to start poking at his face while giggling madly.

“You’ll be a fearsome warrior one day with hands like that,” Kaden told her.

“She’ll be able to kick your ass soon enough you bastard.” Felix rose and stepped forward. Cassian braced his hands on Felix’s shoulders, guiding his son.

“Home for all three of you. It’s far past everyone’s bed time,” Cassian said, nodding at Nesta.

“Yes, let’s all return to the house.”

Felix swallowed hard. “No thank you, I’ll meet you there in the morning.”

The dark. Felix was still afraid of the night. Kaden’s brows furrowed at the conundrum. His friend was dead on his feet from exhaustion, you could tell from the way he was swaying on his feet, but he wouldn’t sleep if he thought it was night – even if he couldn’t see the day.

The General must have been thinking the same thing, as he said, “I was thinking tonight we could set our mattresses in the lounge room. It can be Thea’s first sleepover.”

“She’s had plenty of sleepovers, that makes zero sense.”  

Cassian and Felix bickered over the issue as Cassian led him away, but Kaden could see exactly what Cassian was doing. He was surrounding Felix with distraction, with those he loved, in a place he felt safe. And that was exactly what he needed.

Next, Morrigan linked her fingers with Azriel. They left quickly. Morrigan whispering that she wanted to give Rhys and Feyre time alone with Eleana. They would speak to her in the morning. Kaden agreed. He just wanted to say goodbye first. He told them he’d meet them at the house, and they left. Azriel looked like he might approach Eleana after all; the two had yet to reconcile about the stupid fight they’d had over him months ago, and Azriel looked as though he was ready to beg on his knees for forgiveness if that’s what it took. Elain and Lucien followed them promptly, Kaden hearing something about Elain wanting to use their guest room.

He stood back from the rulers of the Night Court. The High Lady and Lord were murmuring to Eleana, and if he listened intently enough he could’ve heard them, but he had no intention of breaching their privacy like that.

Eventually, they pulled apart. Rhysand kept a hand on her the whole time, and Kaden could feel his and Feyre’s fear.

It was the same fear Kaden felt. The fear that this wasn’t real, and that any moment her eyes would turn gold and that the creatures that plagued them would swarm.

Rhysand had a hand on her elbow as they walked. Feyre was close behind them, monitoring every one of her daughter’s movements.

“Wait,” Eleana pulled back.

They stopped, and she turned to Kaden.

“Are you coming?” she asked him.

He swallowed. “If you want me to.”

She paused for a moment.

Two.

“Bring an extra set of nightclothes,” she answered.

She let herself be taken from the House of Wind. Feyre subtly nodded at him – yes, he was welcome in their home tonight.

He went to follow them but was stopped by Amren slinking her way in front of him.

He had expected a confrontation between them at some point, he knew she had a distaste for him, but now? He was not in the mood. Since Eleana’s possession, she had made her feelings on him very clear. She did not like him. She thought he’d played a part in Felix’s death and Eleana’s breakdown. There were no words he could say that would convince her otherwise, so he hadn’t tried.

“You did it,” she said.

“Indeed.”

“She’s broken.”

“She won’t be forever.”

“You could have caused irreversible damage in her, doing what you did, Veilsinger.”

“Anything is better than her death. Do you have something other than the obvious to say?” He was tired – of the night, of worrying, of false accusations. He just wanted to go to bed, and he wanted his mate at his side when he did.

“I’m still watching you. We both know this isn’t over. Those creatures have scattered across the earth without a leader. More death is to come.”

He walked around her like she was nothing but an ornamental statue. “I’ll deal with it when the time comes. But right now, I have more important things to do.”

____

The extra pyjamas were for her to wear, not him. Before, she had loved stealing his clothes to sleep in. She’d always said she liked the smell, and she’d wear them even if he wasn’t there. Especiallyif he wasn’t there.

Kaden didn’t know why he was surprised that hadn’t changed.

It was High Lady Feyre who opened the door when he’d knocked. Rhysand was in the lounge, face grave, and barely managed to wave at him as he passed. Feyre walked him to the steps, warning him that Eleana was exhausted and not herself tonight before he could continue to her room.

When he entered, she was facing her window, resting her forehead on the cool glass as she watched the city.

She murmured something quietly, and he asked her to repeat herself while he closed the doors behind himself.

“I can’t get this damn dress off,” she said again. She turned to him, her face covered in red streaks from her tears. “I can’t get this damndress off.” She reached behind her and started yanking but to no avail. She started hyperventilating, her teeth exposed in a snarl as she continued viciously pulling at the  material.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you.” He waited until she said yes before he approached her. He had no idea what kind of gown this was, but not even he could undo the ties. He went to her ensuite, digging around in her drawers until he found scissors. He returned to her, hacking off the dress until it was in taters on the ground.

She stood bare before him, like she had in her mind, but she was not scarless here. Every mark on her body was clear. The scars left from the Colloden – thin lines across her stomach that were a shade lighter than her natural skin. Knicks along her curtesy of her training.

She was quivering, so he led her into the bathroom and ran the bath as hot as he could without burning her. Without a word between either of them, he helped her in. She was completely still. Not moving. Not talking. Just silently weeping.

Kaden took off his shoes and leathers, leaving the rest of his clothes on as he climbed in behind her. With her back to his chest, he helped her wash her body, and massaged her scalp as he cleaned and conditioned her hair.

They soaked for at least an hour before she talked.

“My body feels foreign to me. Like it’s not actually mine.” She was on her side, his arms keeping her from sliding under the cooling water. “The Queen had done things that I never could have imagined. I think, at some point, I started living them again as if I washer. There’s more of her type. Some lands eradicated by her species and the demons they bred, but not all. Whole lands conquered and ravished. In all the worlds I saw, there was only one that survived. One. There’s so much I want to tell you, but I don’t know where to start.”

It was the first time she had really spoken to him since her return.

He tightened his grip on her. “Perhaps a good first step is to get out of this water and into bed.”

She stilled at that, upturning her face. “That’s another thing,” she said quietly, slowly, shamefully. “I don’t – I can’t…” She took a deep breath. “The thought of having sex right now…” She scrunched her face and shook her head. “I need to learn who I am, and what my body is in relation to me before I feel – I’m just not comfortable right now.” Her next words were jumbled, barely intelligible, but Kaden understood her perfectly.

“Eleana, my dark rose, I have no intention of bedding you tonight. Or ever, until you are ready and wanting.”

She shuddered in relief, turning to fully face him, her body curving down his. “It’s not that I don’t want you, just right now-”

“You don’t have to justify it to me.” He smoothed the wet hair from her face, then stroking her jaw with his thumb as he looked deeply into her violet eyes. “I understand. I’m here for whatever you need. For as long as you need. You are my mate after all.”

The word mate made her chew her lip nervously. “Just because you’re my mate doesn’t mean you can’t leave at any time. You are under no obligation to me Kaden, I never wanted you to feel like you were.”

He pushed her off him gently, standing from the tub and pulling off his soaked clothes. He wrapped a towel around himself before leaving the room and coming back with their night clothes. She was up and drying herself and welcomed his shirt as he lifted it over her head. In a matching set, he led her to her bed, letting her get in before he sat next to her atop the covers.

“You being my mate,” he said into the darkness, looking out her windows at the city near decimated, “is a gift beyond comprehension. But, in saying that, if you had told me that first day, I would have been with you for obligation. Even if I loved you, there would have always been a set of shackles that bound us. I needed to learn to care for myself before I could properly care for you. I likely would have harboured resentment for my life here, and you for making the choice for me. But now – now I love you without restraint. I choose Velaris because this is the city of my family and where I will be accepted as more than a Lord’s bastard. I am here because I love you, and I want to be with you, mate bond or not. Eleana, you could drag me across continents, sail me over vast oceans, fly me to the deepest corners of the sky, and I would be grateful for every moment.”

She scooted up the bed and sat up, resting her head on his shoulder.

“That is my truth – my promise to you.”

She pressed her lips to his cheek. “I have loved you for one hundred years, and I will love you for uncountable centuries more.” She cupped his jaw with her hands. “The Suriel warned me once of what was to come. I was too preoccupied with my own drama that I didn’t properly heed his warning. But he did tell me one thing I abided by.”

“What is that?”

“He said that if I stayed with my mate, then I, everyone, would fare fine.”

They stayed in silence for a while. Gazing at the night, gazing at each other, wondering if this could possibly be their life.

Together. Somehow, they had come through this together.

____

Kaden was startled awake by Felix pinching him hard enough to make Kaden cry out in pain. He hissed as he rubbed at the hurt and glared confusedly at his best friend.

“What the fuck.”

“I tried calling your name and it didn’t work. Time to get up sunshine, we have work to do.”

Kaden sat up with a groan, and sluggishly walked to his window to peer out the glass. The sun was high – it was the afternoon – and he turned away from the bright light as his eyes burned.

It has been four days since Felix’s return. Four days of the pair staying awake at night and pouring over any and every text that might pertain to helping Eleana, four days of Felix staying close to the candles and avoiding the encroaching darkness at all costs. Four days of Kaden staying at his side, awake when he was and asleep when he wasn’t, and that had led to times such as now.

Kaden quickly washed, trying to be only slightly more presentable than usual.

“Now, Kaden, I must warn you,” Felix’s voice was grave as he appeared behind Kaden, but the withheld smirk on his face gave away his true intentions. “High Lord Helion is one of the most attractive men in Prythian, but he isn’t interested in us younglings. I would know, I’ve tried many a time.”

“Maybe he’s just not interested in you.”

“Not possible.”

Kaden huffed a laugh and pushed past Felix to gather the few texts he had on veilsingers, shoving them into a bag. “Is Mor ready yet?”

“Has been for hours. We’ll leave for the Day Court when you’re prepared.”

“Then let’s leave now.” Kaden swung the bag over his shoulder and followed Felix out of his room and downstairs. Mor was waiting in the hallway, undoubtedly having heard them talking. Kaden noticed, very quickly, that any magic designed to sound proof does not work with the doors open.

He greeted Mor with a kiss to the cheek, and she looked delighted at his appearance. He was wearing one of the suits she had bought for him and left for him in his closet. It wasn’t as decorative as the one Felix bought him all those months ago for his cousin’s wedding, but the deep blue, fitted fabric was still fine enough for a lord. He wanted to look nice – trick the High Lord of the Day Court into thinking he was something he wasn’t. Respectable.

Mor grabbed Felix and Kaden’s by the arm and winnowed them away.

Kaden had to close his eyes the moment they landed. The sun was blinding, not a single cloud to interrupt the beams, and Felix quickly walked them both under the shade of a large balcony.

Kaden was awed by the palace in front of him. Tall, white marble beams gashed with green and gold greeted him. The palace just rose higher and higher, and spatted along were mirrors reflecting the crystalline blue of the sky. Mor and Felix didn’t take note of the place. It was sometimes hard for Kaden to remember that places such as these were the norm for them. Even if he wasn’t a bastard, Kaden never would have seen such structures in Illyria.

What was more notable though, was the debris around him that was still being cleared from the queen’s attack. The chunks that were missing from the buildings, and the heavy feeling from the sentries around him that spoke legions of the people now missing from their forces.

Helion was tall in front of them. The High Lord’s arm was still in a sling, but it didn’t affect him as he stood imposingly.

“Come this way.” No welcome, but Kaden didn’t expect one, nor did he expect the strange glances Helion kept shooting his way.

They followed him through his home and to his personal library. He started talking on the way.

“Of the five recorded veilsingers in written history, three have been from this court, and the other two hailed from ancestors who did. We’ve never been able to find a tangible reason as to why, but with magic such as this no origin is ever found.” He peered at Kaden. “You’re an abnormality, it seems. Everything we have, whole books just on those five persons, three females and two males, is in my personal collection. You think a shadowsinger is coveted? Some of the things these fae could do will blow your mind, and make you understand why they’ve always been hunted by whatever ruler or daemati knew of their existence. You were smart, boy, allying yourself with the Night Court. You may fair easier than those who have come before you.”

Kaden smiled slightly at the thought – to even think that he had this life for any reason other than Felix and Eleana was laughable. Felix, contrary to Kaden, looked bothered by the High Lord’s words, as if he might interject that Kaden’s life had been hard enough already, and that Felix had no plans to let anyone hurt him again.

They reached the doors to the library, and Helion stopped with his hands on the door knobs and turned to them. “We also have a fae named Den who said she would talk to you. I will warn you though, she has had trauma in her life that makes her… difficult to understand, and to get answers from. I suggest two of you speak to her – I recommend you Mor, she might like the presence of another woman – and one of you go through the texts.”

“Den… isn’t that your famed historian? I thought she went missing decades ago,” Mor said slowly.

“She’s back now,” was Helion’s explanation.

Mor didn’t question him further, just looked at Kaden and Felix. “Felix, you come with me to speak to Den. Kaden, you’ll recognize more about the veilsingers than we can.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “You come find me if you need me, okay honey?” She patted him on the cheek.

Helion quickly guided Kaden into the study, directly to the pile of books he’d accumulated since High Lord Rhysand had requested some of his Inner Circle come to do research.

Because soon, so soon, Kaden would have to try and draw the queen out, and he would have to know as much as possible about his magic before he could.

_____

“This Den, she is not only a historian, but also your personal seer,” Mor mused. She wasn’t curious as to why he had omitted that fact in his description of her, but she needed a subtle way to warn Felix of what was to come.

Den. A fae she had heard of but never had met. The most powerful seer ever recorded, she had vanished without warning.

“Her being a seer is irrelevant. She no longer gives prophesies,” Helion replied.

“Why not?” Felix asked.

Helion sighed deeply through his nose. “You’ll see soon enough.”

He led them through the palace, taking them higher and higher until they were climbing the spiral staircase of a giant turret – quarters fit for the finest noblewoman. Helion had done her well. Mor skimmed her hand against the smooth rock as they went up, needing the coolness to centre her. Eventually, they stopped at a red, thick door. Helion knocked four times, and then opened it just a smidge.

“Den?” he called.

“Helion, lovely, do come in. You’ve brought me guests?”

Her voice was what flowers in bloom would sound like it they could talk. It was whispy but sure, lighter than a petal falling in the wind. It was beautiful.

The door opened, and Mor saw that the beauty of that voice was probably once reflected in the woman before her.

Her skin was a shadow of tan and grey, and the bones in her hands and face cut her they were so jagged. She was the thinnest person Mor had ever seen, thinner than Feyre even, after Rhys first brought her to the Night Court. Her hair was the brightest thing, even with decorations of all the colours of the rainbow lining her walls. It was the colour of spun gold. Her eyes, the darkest black she had ever seen, we sunken and marred with bags beneath them. There was no balcony, but there were wide windows that let her overlook the court. She was sitting on an arm chair with a blanket thrown over her, her hands resting in her lap.

Mor looked at the woman and felt like she knew her.

“Den, this is Lady Morrigan and Lord Felix of the Night Court. They are the people that wished to speak to you about veilsingers, and about a creature in Prythian and some symbols we’ve been seeing. Do you remember?”

“Yes, lovely Helion, God of the sun and all the burns bright in the day. I remember.”

Felix stepped forward and bowed to the lady. “It is nice to meet your acquaintance.”

She stared at Felix, and the small smile she had given Helion turned to a beam brighter than her hair. “A baby with wings!” she proclaimed. “How was it, the first time you flew? Your mother was scared to death, but you never went far. And then your warrior father would fly with you, and all was well. Do you sing in the sky?”

Felix foundered. “Pardon?”

“Did it scare you when your little sister didn’t have wings? When you learnt that she would never know the taste of wind?”

Felix looked at her curiously. “You can see the past?”

“I can see everything.”

Helion cleared his throat. “Den has the ability to see the future, past, and present, in all realms.”

“So, even all the way across the continent?”

Helion’s face turned dark. “Much, much further than that.”

Mor stepped towards the woman and sunk to her knees in front of her. “We beg for your aide, Den. My niece is in grave danger, and your knowledge might save her life and many others. Can you help us?”

Den opened her mouth in shock, her hands moving to Mor’s cheeks. “Why of course! I would do anything for a friend.”

A friend. Mor accepted the term and put her hands over Den’s, so she could gently remove them from her face. She did not let go, though, and instead clasped them tightly. “Felix, would you be kind enough to show Den the sketches of the symbols?”

“Of course.” He walked over and presented one of Glaslane’s sketchbooks to her.

She started flipping through the pages, making noises of surprise and concern as she did. All the while, Helion leant against the closed door and Felix stood over them. Mor stayed crouched beside her.

“This creature, she has kidnapped your niece?”

“Can’t you already tell?” Felix raised a brow.

In response, she giggled lightly. “Oh no, sweetest boy. I rarely choose what I see. Once upon a time, I used up all the stardust that was inside my blood to see the future of my favourite boy, so that I might live his life with him. I can no longer choose.”

Felix didn’t have a response to that.

“The creature has taken my nieces mind and body from her, so that she might use her magic,” Mor said after a long pause. The whole time, the delirious smile never left Den’s face.

“She took your niece for her magic?”

“Yes.”

“Then she is no queen.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because if she was a queen she would not need another’s magic. She might a princess, but never someone who could take a throne in her own land.”

“Her own land?”

“These are not symbols in the way you suggest, rather a written language that can be used in any world. I have seen things that would baffle you, that you would likely deny. It is not the first time a creature, a creature I suspect I may know what is, has used the magic in this language to break through the unseen barriers that separate our world from others.”

Den’s tone had completely changed, her face had become contemplative. It was if she went from being delirious to being a lecturer. It was as if stepping into her old role, as a teacher, as a wise woman, brought her closer to reality than what she normally was.

“The good news is they can be defeated and expelled. It’s difficult, and usually ends in death for both parties, but the life of your niece isn’t necessarily forfeit. You would need someone with a certain type of fire, there’s never been one recorded in this land though. Other than that…” Her eyes lit up. “A veilsinger.” Her face fell. “But the last living veilsinger died over 600 years ago.”

“What is this creature?” Felix finally asked a question. His voice was thick, but his shoulders are more relaxed than they had been in days.

Mor wondered if this whole time he had been guessing that Kaden could help Eleana. If a large part of him was just putting on a front so his family could be held together just a little longer.

“The word isn’t one I can say in this language. I can write it though, write everything I know down. “

“That would be of great help. I – I would be forever thankful,” Mor said sincerely.

With the topic coming to a conclusion, the far-away look started to return to Den’s face. She turned her head to Felix.

“I wanted to watch him as a cloud. I assume you’re here to bring him back to me.”

Mor looked at Den in confusion, and Helion stepped forward, as if to drag Felix and herself from the room.

“Bring who?” Felix asked.

Den looked down at her hands, still entwined with Mor’s and snatched them back. She jolted out of her chair and scampered to the edge of the room, where she slammed open a desk drawer and pulled out a long knife.

Mor was immediately on her feet, and Felix drew a sword she didn’t even realise he had. Helion raised his hand and called her name, trying to calm her.

“Who are you?” she shrieked at Felix.

“Den, that is Lord Felix of the Night Court, remember?”

“No. No he is not! He is here to take him away from me. He wants to take my baby away from me! No, no no no no no no noI won’t let him!”

“Woah, hold on there Den. No one’s here for that. You’re in the Day Court. You live here. This is your room. You know it is, that’s how you knew where to stash your knife,” Helion said slowly and delicately.

Her eyes, the colour of aged charcoal, raced between Felix and Helion. Mor stepped towards Helion, ready to demand an explanation but not in front of this female.

Triggered by Mor’s movements, the woman looked at her, and one again, her whole demeanour changed. Mor had seen four versions of this woman in an hour, and this seemed like a new one.

“Oh.” Den had tears in her eyes, but her smile had returned. She dropped the knife to the floor and wiped her hands on her green dress. “You’ve returned to me.”

Mor looked behind her, not sure who Den was talking too. When she glanced back, Mor flinched with the intensity of Den’s gaze on her.

“I knew you would come back. I knew you heard me call to you. The dust told me so as it wiggled into my ears.”

“I’ve been here the whole time, with you.”

“I mean before.” She rang her hands. “In my cell, with the other Forgotten lives. I called to you, I told you. I remember the exact words. My baby. I can’t find my child.”

The boy she kept referring to was her child – her baby? – and Mor didn’t think it was a coincidence that Den had used the word Forgotten.

As in the Forgotten of Hewn City, where prisoners were left to rot for their crimes. The Forgotten, who she had passed while looking for Kaden’s mother, disregarding the things the prisoners said to her as she did. Is it possible that this woman was one of those people? She certainly looked the part, and she had seen many break at the harsh conditions and act in such a jarring manner.

“You were – were you in Hewn City?” Mor breathed.

“Mor, outside, now,” Helion interjected before anyone could say a word.

He practically dragged Mor out by her arm and down the stairs, enough so that they were out of hearing distance.

“Helion, who the fuckis she? Tell me that woman hasn’t been rotting in Hewn City this whole time.”

“Mor.” He could barely meet her eyes, and he slumped against the wall and slip down, putting his head in his hand. “We looked for her for years. She is invaluable to this court. Or she was. Until we found her in Hewn City. She’s been like that ever since. Sporadic, dangerous, it’s why she has this turret to herself.”

“How did you find her?”

“By complete accident. There’s a young boy, he’s only seven, that was born with the ability to see where people are by touching different objects. He can’t pinpoint a location, only see what they see. If a person’s dead, he sees where their body is, if they’re alive, he can give a completely accurate description of where they are. He found some textbooks that Den had written, her personal first editions, and started babbling on about what he was seeing. It was concerning to the librarian, and after a chain of fae it eventually came to me. The only place I could think of that matched what he was saying was your prisons in Hewn City. I didn’t bother asking for permission, knowing it was better to instead seek forgiveness if I was caught.”

The images of the prison in Hewn City flashed in her mind, and Mor felt sick. What could Den have done to end up there? That dank, lifeless place meant for those who were criminally insane but not dangerous enough for their other prisons.

“And her baby?”

“A healer came in. She says there are signs that Den may have had a child, but it would have been decades ago. He wouldn’t be the infant she keeps referring to. She wasn’t pregnant when she disappeared, so he could be anything from fifteen to thirty years old. If he even exists.”

“If an illegitimate baby of another court was born in Hewn City, it was likely left to the wolves to die.” Mor joined him on the steps, deflated. “You knew, when I came here, you knew I would eventually recognize her. Her voice… I can’t forget that voice. Why would you do this? Why would you put this on me after everything my family has been through?”

“Once, she was one of the most revered fae in Prythian. And now look at her. She was in the dark for so long, and I don’t know whether it’s that or the shock of the sun that has made her this way. Her skin burns and peels. She incessantly insists we find her baby. She’s been back for a few months, and she has shown no sign of progress.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Isn’t it obvious, Mor?”

Before she could reply, they were abruptly interrupted by a panting sentry, weapons drawn and sweat coating him.

_____

Felix watched Mor and Helion leave. He awkwardly tapped his foot and tilted his lips upward in an imitation of a smile while whisking his sword back to the in-between pocket of this world.

“Have you seen him? I could’ve sworn you brought him with you.”

Felix gulped, and subtly backed away from her. It’s not that he was scared, but…

There was still something scary about her – about someone so unhinged.

“How old are you?” he asked. He had heard of her and read her books in class when he was a child, but knowing her teachings and her as a person were two different things.

“I stopped counting after two thousand.”

He raised his eyebrows. “When did you stop counting?”

“Before the war.”

“With the King of Hybern?”

“The one before that.”

“The slave wars with Amarantha and Miryam?”

“No, before that one too.” She paused, her smile so gentle it was shocking. Felix hadn’t seen a look so pure many times.

On Eleana, when she was Quathryn’s age, on Quathryn, who had yet to learn the hardships of the world.

It was the look of innocent hope, and Felix didn’t understand how this woman had it.

“Did you bring my son with you?”

“No, ma’am, I did not.”

“Are you sure? He’s small, but strong. His hair is lovely and fluffy and looks like the sand at the beach on a bright day. He’s like an itty-bitty sun.”

Felix could smell her from where he was standing. She smelt like paper, the kind you find in ancient books, and, somehow, she smelt like the wind.

“They took him from me, but you brought him here,” she insisted again.

Felix walked to her and handed her the book she had discarded when she had forgotten who Felix and Mor were. He reminded her, as kindly as he could, that she said she would write down everything she knew about the creatures, what that could mean for Eleana, and the veilsingers.

In an instant, she changed again, and Felix was struggling to keep up with the gaunt woman’s moods.

She started methodically documenting everything she knew for him, occasionally speaking her thoughts aloud, in an authoritative, clear voice.

When she was finished, Felix was impressed by how quick she was, she started floating away again.

Felix couldn’t stand the silence.

“Den is an unusual name,” he said.

“It’s one of many I have.” She started moving around the room, tiding things that were already perfectly straight. She picked up her knife and hid it in the pockets of her skirts. She remade her bed.

“What other names do you have?”

“Annaliese is my middle name. My father was from the Winter Court and wanted to make sure I had something to tie me there even if I lived my whole life here. Sometimes I lie and say it’s my first name. Den is also a shortening.”  

Felix was about to ask more, when Helion and Mor burst into the room, both red faced and fuming.

Felix was immediately alert, summoning his sword back as well as a battle axe – he was just as good with both arms, let them both hold deadly weapons.

“What?” he demanded.

“The queen has marched on the mortal realms. Humans are being slaughtered as we speak by the thousands. We don’t have any more time to plan – it’s now or never, and we just have to pray to the Cauldron Kaden can do it. Do you remember the plan in its entirety?” Mor spoke succinctly.

Felix nodded, knowing every inch of the plan the Inner Circle had made two days before to hopefully save Eleana. But it was a draft, and it needed refinement.

It would have to do.

“Kaden’s already in the Night Court preparing to leave – I’ve winnowed him there, and we’ll go straight to the Spring Court, where your father and the Elite will be waiting.”

Felix wasted no time and strode to Mor. He was about to grab her hand so they could winnow away, but just before he could Den said one more thing.

“Please bring my baby back to me. His name is Dimitri.”  

****

A/N since this fic has been posted over such a long amount of time, rereading chapter twelve and eighteen wouldn’t hurt

They both stilled, their bodies as rigid as statues.

His mother was the first to move, her mouth opened and closed as she looked at him, and she shook her head in disbelief. She took one tentative step forward, and then leant back into Cassian. Her eyes were flitting up and down him, taking in every inch of his alive body. She half-stretched out her hand, her bruised fingers shaking like a fallen leaf in the wind. It was the opposite of his father, who’s only movements were that of his hands as he held Nesta by the waist, keeping the woman afloat.

They stared at one another – Felix not daring to utter a word or make a move toward them.

Felix believed they may have stood there for hours just looking at each other if it had not been for his sister trapesing around the room absentmindedly, skipping to her heart’s desire. She hadn’t noticed him, not yet.

The first thought that entered his head at the sight of her was that it was far past her bedtime.

The sudden silence in the room prodded her to approach her parents, and when she saw Felix standing there – tall and strong and secure as he had ever been – a smile as bright as the sun in the Summer Court spread across her face.

“Lis!” she gasped, her tiny legs working to run as fast towards him as she could.

The breath was knocked out of him from her words. He knelt to meet her, arms wide open, letting her crash into him. He lifted her, giving her a kiss on both her cheeks as she asked where he had been. He apologized profusely, and as he said to her, “I had to leave for a bit, but I’m back now, and I’m here to stay,” he looked over her head and into the eyes of his mother and father.

She accepted his apology and started chattering away, telling her all about the things she had done and seen while he’d been gone. He was half-listening, and although he felt guilt at that he was too distracted by his unmoving parents.

He’d thought… He’d thought that they would be happy to see him, that they would be grieving him.

But from the looks of them he wasn’t sure they wanted him back.

“Feyre would you mind taking Quathryn and Thea upstairs, please?” Cassian asked. Feyre nodded, taking Quathryn from Felix’s arms much to the disdain of both siblings. Azriel followed behind her with the baby, and then they were alone.

His mother’s whole body was heaving with the effort it took her to breath, and the three steps it took for her to stand in front felt like a mile and looked like it took every ounce of energy still in her.

Her face, so cold, crumpled as a sob wrecked through her. “My baby boy,” she cried as she crushed her arms around his neck, holding him so tight it was like she was trying to forge him to her.

He slumped in relief, hugging her back just as tightly. He didn’t care how old he was, he needed a hug from his mother.

“I was worried you wouldn’t ever move,” Felix laughed quietly.

“All hope I’d had was torn away from me. My lovely, tiny child, you’re home now. You’re home.” She kept muttering you’re hometo him, all the while his father staring at the two.

Felix looked away from her, staring down his father. Felix didn’t speak – waiting for him to. Felix felt like he had done enough talking today, enough explaining, and right now he just needed the support of the people who were always supposed to provide it.

“You’re here?” Cassian said.

“Yes,” Felix whispered in return.

“There are so many things that I wanted to say to you – needed to. Assurances, about how much I love you my son, and how essential you are to this family, essential to me, of how incredibly proud I am of you. I hated myself for not telling you more often, for letting you think that you were alone or that I didn’t love you more than anything else. You are one of the four greatest things ever brought into this world, and I feel honoured to be your father. Shocked, even, that I sired someone so fantastic. There are so many things I needed to say to you, but for the life of me I can barely think of anything.”

Felix’s eyes burned at the words – ones his father may have needed to say, and ones he may have needed to hear.

Cassian approached them, wrapping his arms around both Felix and Nesta, the three silently but very happily crying.

_____

“Rhys?”

“Yes, Feyre darling?”

“Would you really do it?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be by your side, and hers, when it has to be done.”

_____

“You came back from the dead and yet you still feel the need to bake us snacks?” Kaden was seated on the table, watching Felix as he prepared food for the family. He would help, but right now was also a thinking time for Felix, and Kaden trying to help would have just been a nuisance – not that Felix would ever say that.

Felix scoffed. “I can’t, nay, I refuseto have an official meeting unless there are at least three edible treats in the room.”

Kaden had caught his brother up on the things that had transpired since his death, an unusual concept indeed, and now Felix was stewing as he tried to understand everything that had happened. It had taken all night – even Nesta and Cassian had finally slept after the promises that Felix would stay in the house and be there when they awoke – and now that the sun had risen they were once again gathering to plan.

“Felix,” Kaden said quietly, “do you really think High Lord Rhysand will kill Eleana? I don’t think I could stop him if he tried. I don’t think anyone could.”

Felix finished scooping the cake mixture into its tin. He handed Kaden the spoon and mixing bowl, a little bit of raw batter left for Kaden to eat.

“I’ve thought this one over.” He placed the cake in the oven, moving onto his next project. “I do think he’d kill her.”

Kaden gaped at his fears being confirmed.

“But not like that.” Felix flicked him on the nose to change his expression. “I know Rhys, he’s like a second father to me, and when he says that he’ll kill her he means if there’s literally no other solution. If there’s no way to save her.”

“We have to think of a way.”

“Already have, your faith in me is so little nowadays. Anyway-”

“Not anyway, go back to the solution!”

“All in due time. As I was saying before you rudely interrupted, I think the reason Rhys would want it to be him is not because he wants her dead, not in any way shape or form, but because if she does have to go, which she won’t, it should be at the hands of someone she loves. It’s a scary thing, to be faced with death, but it’s easier if you have a loving figure at your side holding your hand, making you feel safe. I think Rhys wants to be that for her. Like how you were for me.”

“But we didn’t have a choice.”

“In a way Eleana doesn’t either. If you were where she was, and you had no control and were killing people by the thousands, what would you want?”

Kaden mulled over his words, his sombre mood at complete odds with the warm, welcoming scents of the kitchen.

He stayed with Felix while he baked, people coming in and out to see him as he whisked around the kitchen. His reunion with Mor was an especially teary one, and she clutched both Felix and Kaden to her as she wept tears of joy. It was a funny sight, the slight fae wedged between two massive Illyrians as she referred to them as boys – as Little Ones.

Quathryn came in too, still in her pyjamas and bleary eyed, and snuggled with Kaden while they watched Felix. It was good, as it meant they both got to be his taste testers for the morning.

When Amren entered the room to see her nephew, Kaden left.

It seemed their meetings had relocated from the House of Wind to the Nesta and Cassian’s home for the time being, and everyone gathered in the lounge room, chairs being pulled from bedrooms and studies to fit everyone.

The only people not seated were Cassian and Felix. The General had come to a realisation as he watched Felix holding Theodosia that Felix had never seen her swim – whatever the hell that meant.

So now the two near-identical males were sprawled on their stomachs in front of the baby, and as she lifted her arms and head off the floor Cassian went, “Swim swim swim swim swim swim swim,” and mimicked her movements, making her smile and lift her arms and legs up just like if she was swimming.

It was hands down one of the sweetest things Kaden had ever seen. Without thinking about it, he sent it to Eleana down the daemati bond she had so long ago established between them with a message that she just had to see this.

He was met with the same impenetrable wall he’d gotten every time he’d tried to contact her.

No one noticed when after that, Kaden got up and politely excused himself. He walked to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He all but glanced in the mirror before he was throwing up in the basin.

_____

Felix read over the court reports as the room watched him. He wasn’t studying the way they attacked or analysing battle patterns, no, he was pouring over any and every description of Eleana.

He hummed and ahhed to himself, finally handing the papers to Kaden.

“Just as I thought,” he told his family.

“Do you care to elaborate?” Kaden was still waiting on the solution Felix claimed to have to have.

“I think we’re right in assuming that no daemati will be able to overpower this queen, but I don’t think we need one. Eleana is definitely still in there, and I think we have a way of bringing her back while also destroying the thing inside her.”

“How can you be sure she’s still in there?” Nesta asked, hanging onto every word her son said. “I have all faith that there’s a way to bring her back, but I would like to hear what makes you believe, having not seen her yourself, that she’s still in there.”

“Because it wanted Eleana for her magic, correct? But Eleana’s magic isn’t connected to her body, it’s connected to her soul. It isher, a part of her so intrinsic you could no less cut it out then cut out her heart. She’s in there alright, she’s just not in control.”

“But what do we do? If you think no daemati can help, an opinion I’ve heard a lot lately, then what can we do for her?” Morrigan asked.

“The answer is simple, we need to separate Eleana’s soul from the queen, expel the creature from her body, and then kill it.”

“It’s a good idea, but there is nothing simple about it. Tearing two souls from one another… how could that possibly be done?”

“Magic, of course. A magic user whose innate ability has always been the manipulation of souls. Whether it be finding them, reading them…” Felix turned his head and peered at Kaden.

The whole room followed his gaze, and soon every person in it had their eyes glued to the blonde male. They all looked between him and Felix in confused, including Kaden himself. He was the one Felix was implying could save Eleana, and yet he had no idea what thought was actually running through his best friend’s mind.

“Felix… that’s not something I can do. Seeing the Other Side, tracking people, it’s not at all like what you’re suggesting. I can’t just – just move souls around.”

“Yes, you can. I know it for a fact.” Felix stood and walked over to his father who had Thea in his lap. Felix picked the baby out of his arms, kissing her on the nose and holding her gently against him. “I know you can do it, because it’s what you did for Theodosia. You saved my sister’s life, and now you’ll save Eleana’s.”

Feyre gasped, standing and making her way next to Felix, looking down at the sitting Kaden. Her feet, once dragging along the carpet, had a hopeful skip in them, and the way she loomed over Kaden with her hands in fists in front of her made him lean back as much as he could.

“You can do this,” she said.

“No, I can’t,” Kaden sputtered. “What I did for Thea is completely different-”

“No, it’s not! Don’t you see? You saw her soul leaving to the other side, and you put it back in her body. You brought her back to life. What was the prophecy that Elain had been spouting all day? Gold will meld the soul to the body, or something like that. And remember what she had spat at you in those gardens? You are a veilsinger, and if you can separate the soul then you can also put it back. Elain isn’t an all-knowing force, and the majority of the time she doesn’t even know what she’s saying means, but damn it Kaden can’t you see?”

“No, I can’t. You’re right, I did bring Thea back and it was the most amazing thing my magic has ever done, but that doesn’t mean I can just go around tearing souls from their bodies!”

“Remember what she said though! If you can separate the soul, you can put it back! This thing always wanted Eleana, and the only person who will ever be able to save her is a veilsinger. And you, Kaden, are the only living veilsinger.”

“That could just be referring to the fact that I am very much capable of inflicting death, and that’s the only way I’ve seen souls detached. I don’t see them when people are still alive.” Kaden stood, pleading with his friend, overwhelmed by what he was suggesting.

“But you do. Every time you use your magic, you track their souls. You seetheir souls.”

The two half-Illyrians stood facing each other, Kaden shaking with an emotion he couldn’t name and Felix breathing heavily.

At a stalemate, Felix stepped forward. Surprisingly, he put Thea into Kaden’s arms, patting both of their heads.

The room was silent, everyone processing what Felix had suggested in their own ways. High Lord Rhysand had come behind Feyre, his hands resting on her waist, a small smile on his face as he came to see the truth in his nephew’s words. Cassian and Nesta were holding hands, their pride for their clever son clear on both of them. Amren stood in the corner, surly as always, but looking at Kaden not with apprehension, but maybe with a little appreciation.  Not for who he was, but for what he might be able to do. Azriel was sitting in an armchair with his ankle crossed over his knee, drumming his fingers in thought while his shadows, lighter than they had been in days, swirled and smoked around him. And Mor was stepping back and forth nearly imperceptibly, wanting to approach the two but letting them come to their own conclusions.

While no one was paying attention, Quathryn was having cake by the fist full, shovelling it into her mouth without a care.

“This isn’t something I can practise,” Kaden said, breathless. “If I get it wrong, it could kill her.”

Felix shook his head. “You can’t kill Eleana, not even if you tried.”

“What you’re suggesting could work, Felix,” Rhysand said. “And you’re right, Kaden couldn’t hurt her.”

“And the best part?” Felix spoke to the room, but he looked at Kaden, a knowing glint in his eyes. “She’s still in there, meaning she can’t hurt you either. You are the only one of us who that is true for. You can get to her, and you can bring her back to us.”

Kaden looked at the baby in his arms. She was old enough now that she could lift her head and look back, and she gave him the loveliest little toothless smile. Her arms flailed a bit, and as she knocked her hands against his chest Kaden knew that Felix’s idea might be the one to rescue Prythian from the clutches of a power-hungry beast.

There was one issue though.

“As much as I want this to work, I still can’t get close to her. Her defences, mental and physical, could be enough that I can’t get anywhere near Eleana’s body or soul. How would I confront her?”

Felix smirked devilishly. “Oh, my dear friend.” He clapped and rubbed his hands together. “Have you told me, word by word, exactly what the queen has said to you, done to you etcetera?”

“Yes…”

“Then you don’t need to worry about not being able to get close to her. I know females pretty well, and that one wants a piece of your hot bastard ass.”  

Kaden rolled his eyes, and Cassian snorted so hard from the couch that he had to smother his subsequent laughs with his hands.

“Felix, you know I love your jokes but now isn’t the time for them-”

“He’s so right holy shit,” Cassian bellowed from the couch, slapping his knee and bending over as he snickered loudly.

He was still laughing when he got up and sauntered over to them, plucking Thea away from him and putting an arm around his shoulder. “Why else would this queen talk only to him? And we all know how suggestive she’s been.” Cassian smirked. “And now that she’s in the body of an Acheron woman? You’re basically irresistible.”

“What’s thatsupposed to mean?” Nesta balked.

“There’s something about all this,” Cassian pointed up and down Kaden’s body, “that makes you Archerons fall every Cauldron damned time.”

“That is not true,” Feyre scoffed.

“You don’t count, he’s your daughter’s – uh, thing. You haven’t known him outside the realm of Eleana. But Quathryn? He’s her best friend. Thea? I mean, just look at her.”

They all gathered curiously around the baby who was, quite bizarrely, staring at Kaden dreamily.

“Huh,” Feyre said.

“And Elain once told me that she thinks he’s one of the most attractive men she’s ever seen,” Cassian added.

“Bullshit,” Rhys said while smirking.

“I can confirm that one is true,” Azriel said quietly.

“And Nesta. Oh Mother, when she was pregnant? She-”

“Stop,” Nesta cut in, her mouth a thin line.

“And well we don’t need to talk about the effect he’s had on Eleana. If I did Rhys’ head might explode.”

“In summary, I’m a genius and this family could never function properly without me,” Felix finished. “Oh, and saving Eleana is entirely possible. All we need to do is find her.”  

“This could go terribly wrong,” Kaden told him.