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live-the-fangirl-life · 2 years ago

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The One Where Everyone Finds Out

The Court - Throne of Glass x FRIENDS - Fic Series

S5, E14 : After Lysandra finds out Elide and Lorcan are secretly together, she, Aelin, and Fenrys plan to get the couple to confess. Meanwhile, Rowan finds a new apartment that’s too good to pass up.

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Read on Ao3

Warnings: Language, Nudity (non graphic)

8093 words

A/N - I don’t know if I love this but I was more than halfway done and I couldn’t not finish it, so let me know what you think lol. This is the first piece I’ve written in a few months and I’m trying to shake myself out of this slump.

*******

Cartons of Chinese food were scattered across the coffee table still pleasantly warm despite having been brought back in take-out containers. Lysandra’s voice cut through the chatter that seemed to always fill the apartment as she stood by the large wall of windows overlooking the building beside them.

“Oh hey, you guys, look” she chirped, moving to get a better view, “Ugly Naked Guy is putting stuff in boxes.”

That was enough to encourage everyone up from their spots in the living room and leave their food to join her. All except Lorcan; he kept eating, like popcorn for a movie, as they watched the man they’d all come to know pack away his things. Well, as much as you can get to know someone by spying on them in the nude for years without actual conversation.

Aelin crouched down and moved so Elide could see too. “I'd say from the looks of it, our naked buddy is moving.”

“Ironically, most of the boxes seem to be labeled clothes,” Rowan snorted, crossing his arms and squinting as he read what was scribbled onto the cardboard.

“Aw,” Aelin crooned, “I’m gonna miss that big old squishy butt.” As weird as it was, the view had been a strangely comforting constant in all the years she’d been around.

“Aaand we're done with the chicken fried rice.” Lorcan’s groan of disgust earned him some chuckles that he rolled his eyes at as he tossed aside his meal.

“Hey!” Rowan glanced around with a small grin as an idea came to him. “If he's moving, maybe I should try to get his place!” It would make his life so much easier. A chorus of yeahs and oohs and good ideas quickly answered him before he added “It would be so great to live across from you guys.”

Nodding, Fenrys chimed in excitedly, “Yeah! Then we could do that telephone thing! Y'know, you have a can, we have a can and it's connected by a string!”

Before the blond could even finish talking, Lorcan closed his eyes and sighed heavily through his nose. “Or we can do the actual telephone thing.”

“Taking all the fun out of it,” Fenrys muttered under his breath, reaching around Lorcan to steal his discarded food as they wandered away from the window.

***

The next day, Aelin and Lysandra joined Rowan for a tour of the prospective apartment. Most things had already been packed away, but there was still enough left to make you feel like it was a reals living space. The familiar couch sat in the middle of the living room along with another chair and side table, and a large cabinet nested in the corner.

“Gods, I love this apartment.” Rowan walked around the surprisingly spacious living room in disbelief. “Isn't it perfect? I can't believe I never realized how great it is.”

Aelin agreed, scoffing as much to herself as any of them, “Ah, well, that’s because your eye immediately goes to the big naked man.”

He pointed at her and nodded. Approval shone on his face as he kept looking around the place. He could clearly picture where he would set up his own furniture, where he’d display souvenirs and knick-knacks…he could even paint the walls and make it feel brand new.

“It’s amazing!” Lysandra agreed as she paced behind the sofa. “You better hurry up and fill out an application or I'm gonna beat you to it. Aedion and I could use a bigger space.” She muttered the last bit under her breath, but fondness shone through her tone.

Rowan chuckled good-naturedly until Lysandra made to walk out the door and then he quickly hurried out before she could. The brunette’s huff of a laugh followed him around the corner.

“Well, I never thought I’d say this,” Aelin mused, “but I'm gonna go use Ugly Naked Guy's bathroom.”

Lysandra watched Aelin giddily walk away before getting a closer look at the window that up until now had been their only glimpse into this surprisingly interesting apartment. It was tall and wide, letting in lots of light, and offered a clear view of the building next door…of Elide and Lorcan who stood in their own apartment a little above Lysandra’s eyeline.

“Oh, look! There’s Ellie and Salvaterre!” Her voice carried to Aelin in the other room as she grinned and tried getting her friends’ attention. “Hey! Hey, you guys! Hey!”

Despite yelling and waving her arms trying to get them to notice her, they remined oblivious to their unwitting audience. She was just about to pull out her phone to call them and say ‘hey, look out your window, it’s me!’ when they moved.

Lysandra’s excited grin wiped clear off her face, leaving her to watch in horror as Elide and Lorcan grabbed at each other at the same time and pulled themselves into a fierce kiss while simultaneously unbuttoning and pulling off the other’s clothes.

“Oh!” She shrieked, the sound laced with shock, gaping at what she was seeing. “Oh no! Ahh-ahhh!”

Hasty footsteps echoed behind her as Aelin rushed to see what was causing Lysandra’s horrified screams. “What?” It only took a second to register, and then blue-gold eyes flew wide at the scene.

“Ahh!” Lysandra screamed again, pointing frantically at the couple. “Elide and Lorcan! Elide and Lorcan!” It was like a horror movie she couldn’t drag herself out of.

“Oh my gods!” Aelin added her voice to the screaming. Lysandra’s hysteria serving only ramp up Aelin’s own panic, more horrified at the display itself than the pair doing it.

“ELIDE AND LORCAN!”

“OH MY GODS!”

Lysandra finally tore her gaze away when she was flashed a glimpse of Lorcan she’d never, ever wanted to see. “Oh! My eyes! My eyes!”

She scrambled backwards away from the window as Aelin quickly followed and tried to get a hold of her.

“Lys!” Aelin grabbed her shoulders, urging her friend to stop freaking out. “Lysandra! It’s okay, It’s okay!”

“NO!” she screamed, turning back towards the window, pointing an accusatory finger at it before immediately remembering why she’d looked away in the first place and clamped her eyes shut again. “THEY’RE DOING IT!”

“I KNOW! I KNOW!”

“YOU KNOW?!”

“Yes, I know!” Aelin hissed frantically. “And Fenrys knows! But Rowan and Aedion don’t know so you have to stop screaming!”

“What going on?”

Both women whirled to find Rowan in the doorway.

Aelin leapt forward and spun Rowan around so his back was towards the view and a still reeling Lysandra, and plastered on a wide grin as she did her best to divert his attention.

“What? What?” He tried turning again but Aelin’s hands on his shoulders kept him in place.

“Nothing! Oh gods, we’re just so excited you might be getting this apartment!” she exclaimed and kept clapping and laughing.

His shoulders relaxed and he carded a hand through his hair as the corners of his mouth twitched up. “Actually, it looks really good.”

As he tried turning once again, Lysandra finally snapped out of it and started screaming excitedly, drawing his attention to her with an almost manic look in her eyes. Aelin quickly joined her and amped up the distraction by jumping around to keep Rowan’s gaze off the very clear, very indiscreet window.

“Ahh!” Incoherent cheering filled the apartment as Aelin and Lysandra desperately tried to keep Rowan focused on the moment.

Too caught up in the weirdness to wonder why his friends were being so odd in the first place, Rowan let Aelin tug on him to be excited too. With a bewildered shrug, Rowan quickly thought fuck it, this place is awesome and started jumping and cheering along with them.

***

Back in Cadre Coffee, Aelin felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she finally got to tell some else about the ‘secret’ relationship. She and Lysandra carried their coffees to their favorite couch - it really was amazing how it always seemed to be empty – as Lysandra kept asking questions about their friend’s sneaking around.

“You mean whenever Elide and Lorcan were like, y’know doing laundry or going grocery shopping, or—Oh! All that time Elide spent on her phone with sad Molly from camp?”

Humming along as Lysandra talked, Aelin nodded and corrected with a bit of smug satisfaction, “Uh-huh, doing it. Doing it. Phone doing it.”

“I can’t believe it!” The brunette leaned back against the soft backing of the couch. “I mean, wow, that’s great! For him.” She shrugged half-jokingly, “she could do better.”

Aelin snorted into her coffee as the bell above the door jingled and Fenrys walked in.

“Fen! Come here!” Aelin waved him over to plunk down into the chair next to them

“What?” He shrugged off his jacket and furrowed his brow at her urgency.

Grinning brightly, Aelin said, “Lys just found out about Elide and Lorcan.”

He shot her confused glare and said in an entirely unconvincing tone, “You mean how they’re friends and nothing more?”

“No. Fen, she knows!” Aelin rolled her eyes at him but explained. “We were at Ugly Naked Guy's apartment, and we saw them doing it through the window.” Fenrys’ sharp inhale cut her off midsentence, but she went on. “Actually, we saw them doing it up against the window.”

“Okay,” Lysandra interjected, “so they know that you know, and they don’t know that Aelin knows?”

Fenrys nodded. “Yes. But you know what? It doesn’t matter who knows what. Now, enough of us know that we can just tell them that we know! Then all the lying and the secrets would finally be over!”

“Hold on a second,” Lysandra’s brows pinched together and confusion flitted across her face. “Why are they keeping it a secret?”

The three shared a look before Aelin shrugged and guessed, “Maybe they didn’t want to mess things up if it didn’t work out?”

“Sneaking around is hot,” Fen offered instead.

“Thought we’d judge them?” Aelin suggested. “I mean, we are, but it’s not like that’s gonna stop them.”

“Okay, fine,” Lysandra brushed past it. “Doesn’t matter why, it just matters that it used to be a secret and now it’s not.”

“For us. Rowan and Aedion still don’t know.”

Both women shot Fenrys a flat look for adding that obvious clarification. Aelin refocused. “Okay, so, we tell them that we know?”

A feline grin spread across Lysandra’s lips as her eyes twinkled with delight. “Or, we could not tell them that we know and have a little fun of our own.”

“What do you mean?” Aelin asked skeptically. She been on both sides of Lysandra’s ideas before; she knows that glint in her eye can only mean trouble. Or hilarity; its all about perspective.

“Well, y'know every time that they say that they're like doing laundry we'll just give them a bunch of laundry to do.”

“Ooh, I would enjoy that!” One thing Aelin didn’t like about the building was the lack of in-unit washing machines. If she could avoid trekking up and down from the ground floor and have a little fun messing with her friends, it was a no-brainer.

“No, no no!” Fenrys cut them off with a shake of his head. “No, wait, Ael, you know what would even be more fun?” he dropped the faux interest and deadpanned, “Telling them.”

“Mmm, no, I wanna do Lys’ thing.”

The man groaned. He knew a losing battle when he saw one, but couldn’t help bemoaning, “I can’t take any more…”

Lysandra shook her head and reassured him, “No! You don't have to do anything! Just don't tell them that we know!”

“No, no. I can’t take any more secrets!” With wild eyes he looked to Aelin, “I’ve got your secrets. I've got their secrets. I got secrets of my own y'know!”

“Oh, you don't have any secrets!”

“Oh yeah,” Fenrys scoffed. “Well, you don't know about Moony, my bedtime furry friend.”

A beat of silence passed during which Fenrys sunk back into his chair and looked like he wanted to crawl inside it. Taking pity on him, Aelin refocused on Lysandra.

“So, how are we going to mess with them?”

They both ignored Fenrys’ annoyed groan.

“Well, you could use your position y'know as the roommate.” Lysandra suggested.

“Okay.” Easy enough.

“And then. I would use the strongest tool at my disposal. My sexuality.” She threw both her friends a wink. But her expression faltered. “ I would…if y’know, if I wasn’t married to your cousin.”

“Right…” Aelin hummed. “And how set in stone are you about that? I mean, do you like like him?”

“Do I like like my husband?”

“Uh huh.” At Lysandra’s exasperated sigh, Aelin lifted her hands placatingly. “Fine, fine, you’re the one suggesting we mess with Elide and Lorcan, I’m just wondering if you’re not fully committed.” When she met her friend’s eye again, they had a silent conversations consisting of raised eyebrows, quirked lips, and head tilts. Then they both swung around to look at Fenrys. She opened her mouth to ask—

“No. Don’t look at me. I mean, it would totally work, I could charm the hell out of ‘Lide,” he pointedly ignored the double snort. “But no, nuh-uh, this is your scheme, you do the dirty work. I will sit on the sidelines and watch happily as this all blows up.”

“Alright, blondie,” Lysandra and Fenrys both turned to Aelin, “its up to you to ‘charm the hell’ out of Salvaterre.”

A long pause settled around them as Aelin blinked at her friend.

“Absolutely not—”

“Oh that is so not going to work…”

“Hey,” Lysandra shook her head and cut off both interjections. “What happened to being fully committed?”

“Not happening– ”

“…not even believable…”

Spek of the devil – Lorcan chose that moment to stride into Cadre Coffee, effectively cutting off the trio’s conversation. He greeted them quickly before stopping at the counter to order. With his attention elsewhere, he didn’t see the looks his friends were erratically exchanging.

Lysandra kept jerking her head towards Lorcan with wide, adamant eyes while Aelin glared daggers at her and shook her head furiously. Her silent scoffs at her friend’s stubborn nods only emphasized how ridiculous she thought the plan was. All while Fenrys looked between the two with mixtures of disbelief, amusement, and skepticism.

The women’s intense silent conversation finally ended with Aelin jabbing a finger in the brunette’s face, sighing deeply, and plastering on a fake smile.

“You owe me big time. Big. Time.” she hissed. Then Aelin shook her head and loosed a breath. “Okay, watch, learn,” her eyes flicked towards Fenrys, “and don’t eat my cookie.”

Standing up from the couch, Aelin made her way to the counter where Lorcan was waiting for his coffee. She summoned up a bright smile and inwardly cringed because there was no way this was going to work. Lorcan was never going to believe she was into him. She couldn’t sell that. And even if she could, he knew she would never do that to Elide. But he didn’t know she knew about Elide…which is why she was doing this at all…but it didn’t matter because she would rather kiss her cousin than Lorcan and that was something that made her want to vomit, but if she vomited on Salvaterre? Well, then all this wouldn’t be in vain, but—

“Hey,” Lorcan’s deep voice cut through her spiral and she managed a blink and a sly quirk of her lips.

Fine.

“Hey,” she leaned closer to him and swept her eyes over his figure, hoping she was putting on as a good a show as she thought. “Oh, wow that jacket looks great on you.”

He lifted a dark brow and squinted in confusion. Yeah, this was stupid, Aelin should drop it and move along and forget she even tried. And get back at Lysandra for even suggesting it.

“Really?” He drew out the word with the level of skepticism she expected from him at her unexpected compliment.

Okay, fuck it. If Aelin was going to put on a show, then she would bring her best performance. “Yeah, the material feels so soft,” she stepped closer into his space, ignoring the incredulous look he flashed her as she ran a hand up and down his arm. “—hello Mr. Bicep! Have you been working out?”

Fenrys choked on a laugh that he tried covering up as a cough and she subtly kicked the back of the couch.

Lorcan opened and closed his mouth completely thrown off guard by Aelin’s come-ons. She couldn’t blame him.

“Well, I try to you know…” he carefully answered, probably deciding whether or not to just go with whatever the hell she was doing. “…lift things.”

Her giggles hurt her own ears and he kept looking at her like she’d grown a second head.

“Are you okay?” Lorcan asked clearly disturbed with this whole interaction.

“Well, if you really wanna know, I’m—oh! ! I can't tell you this.” Aelin forced another light laugh and brushed his arm again.

He looked genuinely concerned now. She was acting so far out of off from her normal self that he honestly worried for her sanity. “Galathynius, you can tell me.”

“Well, actually, you're the one person I can't tell this to.” She stepped back and looked up at Lorcan although her lashes, batting them a few times for equal measure. “And the one person I want to the most.”

Lorcan kept watching her as he reached around for his finished coffee. Had she smoked something before coming here? What the fuck? “What’s going on?”

She sent a silent apology to Elide. And to Lorcan. And to herself. Aelin coated the sigh leaving her lips in longing and looked at a point over his shoulder.

“I think it’s just, y'know, that I haven't been with a guy in so long and how sometimes you're looking for something and you just don’t even see that it's right there in front of you sipping coffee—Oh no, have I said too much?” She feigned a gasp and for the first time had to hold in a laugh at the look of pure revulsion that settled on the man’s face. Don’t worry Salvaterre, feeling’s mutual. “Well, it's just something to think about.” She flashed him a flirty wink. “I know I will.”

With one last glance at Lorcan’s disturbed face, Aelin grabbed her coat and walked out of the café with an extra sway to her hips.

***

That evening, when Elide and Lorcan were about to go to sleep, Elide settled herself against Lorcan’s chest and absentmindedly drew patterns across his skin.

“You are so cute,” she crooned with a sly grin, “how did you get to be so cute?”

Lorcan rolled his eyes at her and scowled, but as much as he tried, he couldn’t stop the heat that lined his cheeks. “I’m not cute,” he grunted, “I’m manly.”

“You can be manly and cute, they are not mutually exclusive,” She argued. “Key example: you.”

He grunted again but Elide emphasized her point with a kiss that had him tightening his hold around her, pulling her more firmly into his space. “You know, that is a popular opinion today.”

At the sound his voice trailing off, Elide propped herself up on an elbow and arched a brow. “What?”

She waited as Lorcan scrubbed a confused hand down his face.

“The weirdest thing happened at the coffee house,” he furrowed his brows, still trying to make sense of the odd, and frankly disturbing, interaction he’d had earlier. “I think…I think Aelin was hitting on me.”

Elide snorted so hard she almost choked. “What are you talking about?”

Groaning again, Lorcan unenthusiastically explained, “I’m telling you, I think Aelin was coming onto me.”

“That’s not possible.” His girlfriend answered so fast that despite wholeheartedly agreeing with her—

“Ouch.”

“I’m sorry, its just,” Elide rolled her eyes again and sat up. “Aelin would never hit on you. She’s always accepted you as a necessary evil – her words, not mine – and sure, you’ve grown on her in the last few years, but in a, in a sexless acquaintance sort of way.”

“Oh y’know, I can’t hear that enough,” he deadpanned even as the corner of his mouth twitched up.

Chuckling, Elide brushed her hair over her shoulder and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lor, I think you just misunderstood her.”

It’s not like he wanted Galathynius’ advances, but if he had to go through the disturbing interaction, then gods be damned Elide should too. Lorcan propped himself up against the headboard and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “No, I didn’t misunderstand, okay? She was all over me! She touched my bicep for crying out loud!”

His girlfriend’s dark brows shot up and she eyed the offending muscle. “This bicep?”

He let her fingers graze a path down his arm, waiting until she was halfway to his elbow to flex. She almost startled at the sudden strain of his muscle but instead flashed him a smirk and lied backdown. “I wouldn’t blame her,” she hummed, “if that had actually happened.”

With a resigned huff, Lorcan dropped it.

***

Aelin and Lysandra were spread out in the apartment’s living room while Lorcan sat in the kitchen. The blonde flipped through a magazine she had opened on the small coffee table. Elide breezed in from her bedroom and the sudden entrance made the other two women look up.

“Hey El, what are you doing today?” Aelin asked. “Wanna come see a movie with us?” she jerked her head towards Lysandra who waited for Elide’s answer.

The quick glance at Lorcan wasn’t missed. “Uh, you know actually, I was going to do some laundry.”

Aelin feigned nonchalance as she forced back an eyeroll, sharing a confirming glance with Lysandra. “Oh.”

Elide spun towards her not-so-secret secret boyfriend. “Hey Lorcan, wanna do it with me?”

“Sure, yeah, I’ll do it with you.” The large man pushed himself to his feet with surprising eagerness

“Okay,” Elide grinned back.

Aelin smirked and sprung up from where she’d been sitting on the floor. “Okay great, hold on a sec!” Before anyone else could chime in, she was in and out of her room, carrying a large bag of laundry. “Here you go! Oh you don’t mind, do you?” She opened her eyes wide and pulled her most grateful face. “That would really help me out a lot, thanks!”

It took everything in her not to laugh at the panicked look that dashed across her friends’ faces.

“I mean, uh, I don’t think I have enough quarters,” Elide shrugged, doing her best to look apologetic.

“I have quarters!” Lysandra jumped up and pulled a cartoonishly large sack of loose change from her purse and came to stand next to Aelin as her lips spread in a wide grin.

Rowan chose that moment to stride into the apartment and unknowingly saving Elide and Lorcan from having to come up with another lie. “Hey.”

“Hey Whitethorn, any word on the apartment yet?” Lysandra asked, sitting back down in her chair.

“Well, I called over there and it turns out Ugly Naked Guy is subletting it himself and he's already had like a hundred applicants.”

“Oh.”

“Oh man.”

“No, no,” He waved off their sympathetic groans. Rowan had a smug air about him as explained. “I got the edge. I know it's not exactly ethical, but I sent him a little bribe to tip the scales in my direction. Check it out, you can probably see it from the window.”

Rowan aimed straight for the large paned window followed closely by his curious and nosey friends. The apartment across the way was filled from floor to ceiling with treats, toys, and trinkets. Rowan’s shoulders started to slump when Elide squeezed closer asking, “Oh is it the pinball machine with the big bow on it?”

“No.”

“That new mountain bike?” Lorcan guessed.

A beat. “No.”

“Well, what did you send?” Aelin asked, wincing at how Rowan kept deflating with every question.

“…A basket of mini-muffins.”

Lysandra squinted. “But there’s a whole table of mini-muffin baskets. Which one did you send?”

Loosing a long groan, Rowan rubbed his eyes and mumbled, “The small one.”

“What?” Aelin snorted. “You actually thought that basket was gonna get you the apartment?”

“Well yeah! Someone sent us a basket at work once and people went crazy over those little muffins.” He sighed wistfully. “It was the best day.”

Lorcan clapped him on the shoulder. “Your work makes me sad.”

“Damnit!” Rowan cursed himself as he walked back towards the door. “I was so sure that was going to work. There's twelve bucks I'll never see again…” His voice trailed off as he rounded the corner and the door shut behind him.

“All right babe,” Lysandra grabbed her coat and shot Aelin a look. “we’d better go if we wanna catch that movie.”

Elide waved them goodbye and missed the way Lysandra nudged Aelin towards Lorcan again. Inwardly sighing, Aelin made a point of brushing against Lorcan as she walked away.

“Bye, Salvaterre,” She shot him a wink and leaned in closer to tell him quietly, “I miss you already.”

For the cherry on top, Aelin smirked and planted a suggestive smack on his butt as she walked away. He whipped around so quickly she could feel the air shift as his hair fanned out. But then she was gone.

“Okay, did you fucking see that?!” Lorcan whirled on Elide, his dark eyes bugging out incredulously. “With the inappropriate, and the patting!”

More than confused, Elide slowly nodded and looked between him and the closed door. “Actually, I did.”

Lorcan carded a hand through his hair. “Yeah, so now you believe—”

“Oh, my gods!” Elide inhaled sharply. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes flew wide, gaze darting everywhere as she made sense things before finally meeting his incredulous stare again. “Oh my gods, she knows about us!”

“Are you serious?”

She nodded emphatically. “Aelin knows and she’s just trying to freak us out! That’s the only explanation for it!”

For all his love for Elide and toleration for Aelin, he was still a man. So he argued, “Okay, but what about my smackable ass and my biceps—she knows!”

***

“Fenrys!” Lorcan slammed his apartment door open and stormed in, Elide hot on his heels.

The man in question woke abruptly from the nap he’d been taking in the living room. Lorcan didn't have the energy to wonder about the wolf toy Fenrys hastily threw behind the recliner. Later, he’d tease him about it later.

“Yeah?” Fenrys’ voice came out higher than he expected. He cleared his throat and tried again, “yeah?”

“Aelin knows about us.” It wasn’t a question; it was an accusation. Elide crossed her arms in solidarity and glared at Fenrys.

He sputtered. “Well, I didn’t tell them!”

“Them?!” Elide hissed. “Who’s them?”

“Uhh, Aelin and,” Fenrys opened and closed his mouth several times before finally landing on: “Fenrys.”

His friends shot him nearly identical flat looks. Gods if they weren’t already together he’d be stupid not to try and meddle with that, but whatever.

“Fenrys.” Elide scolded again.

It didn’t take long to crack under Lorcan’s intensifying glare. Fenrys loosed a long breath and confessed reluctantly, “And Lysandra. I would’ve told you, but they made me promise not to tell!”

Again, nearly identical muttered fucks were the responses he got.

“I’m sorry. But hey, it's over now, right? Because you can tell them that you know they know and I can go back to knowing absolutely nothing!”

Fenrys’ relived smile fell as he saw the scheming glint in Elide’s eye. She was small but she was scary.

“Unless…”

“No!” he tried, “Not unless! Look, this must end now!” If he thought Lorcan would back him up against Elide’s plans, then he should’ve known better.

“Oh man, they think they are so slick messing with us!” Elide’s grin grew and Fenrys groaned and plopped back down in his chair. “But see, they don't know that we know that they know! So…”

“Yes.” Her boyfriend caught on and mirrored her sly grin. “The fuckers become the fucked with.”

***

“Would you stop that?” Aedion groaned to Rowan who was standing at the window in Aelin and Elide’s place with a pair of binoculars aimed straight into Ugly Naked Guy’s apartment.

“Yeah, Rowan, you gotta stop torturing yourself!” Lysandra added, nodding from her place on the sofa beside Aedion.

Aelin looked over her should at him, leaning back into the arm of her chair, “Yeah, why don't you just find another apartment?”

Rowan sighed but walked away from the window. “Look I've already looked at like a thousand apartments this month and none of them even compares to that one.” He knew he sounded like a broken record, but he couldn’t help it, that apartment was perfect.

Aelin tried a different suggestion. “Y'know what you should do?”

“What?”

“You should find out what his hobbies are and then use that to bond with him.” She nodded towards Fenrys who was walking back from the fridge. “Yeah! Like if I wanted something from Fen I would strike up a conversation about say umm, sandwiches. Or uh, or my underwear.”

Fenrys focused on her, “I’m listening.”

“See?” She spun back to Rowan, raising encouraging eyebrows.

“That is a great idea!” a spark of hope lit up Rowan’s face. “And! I know Ugly Naked Guy because we've been watching him for like five years—”

“—don’t lead with that.

“—so that gives me back my edge!” Rowan’s brows furrowed as he thought. “Oh, let's see now he had the trampoline.”

Lysandra hummed warningly “He broke that.”

“Well, he had gravity boots,” Rowan offered.

Aelin winced. “Yeah, he broke those too.”

Nodding sagely, Fenrys concluded, “So he likes to break stuff.”

Aedion snorted.

“No. Okay, I have to go but I will figure something out.” He was halfway out the door when he spun on his heal and looked back. “Hey, didn't he used to have a cat?”

“I wouldn't bring that up,” Lysandra grimaced, “it would probably just bum him out.”

Humming, Aedion muttered, “Yeah, poor cat, never saw that big butt coming.”

A few moments after Rowan left, the phone next to Lysandra rang.

“Hello?” she answered, waving off Aelin’s eye roll about answering someone else’s phone. “Oh yeah! Hold on a second.” Lysandra kept one hand over the phone’s speaker and turned her attention to Aedion, “Babe, could you run back to our place and grab that jacket I was telling you about?”

“Now?” he raised a brow.

“Mhm.” She waited for him to mutter a yeah, fine, sure “Thank you!”

Once Aedion left, and at the questioning looks from Aelin and Fenrys, Lysandra finally passed Aelin the phone, grinning maniacally and explained “It’s Salvaterre”

Aelin took the phone but mouthed I hate you back to her friend who simply grinned wider. She could hear Lorcan’s impatient grumbling before she used a soft, sexy voice. “Hello, you.”

Aelin pretended to gag just to make sure Lysandra knew how ridiculous this was.

“Gala—” he puffed out a short breath like he’d been cut off. “Aelin. I've been thinking about you all day.”

Any amusement Aelin felt instantly disappeared. She blinked assuming she heard wrong. “Huh?”

Her friends shared a confused glance at her sudden change in demeanor, but Aelin was trying too busy trying to process what Lorcan was saying to notice.

He cleared his throat but kept talking, “Well, you know that thing you said before �� I’d be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued.”

What??

“What??”

“Yeah, listen, Moonbeam isn’t gonna be here tonight,” he dropped his voice even lower. “So why don’t you come over. We don’t have to talk. Better we don’t, actually. But we can still have a bit of fun.”

Aelin choked out, “I’ll have to get back to you on that. Okay, bye!” she frantically hung up and threw the phone onto the couch like it personally offended her. It had. She whirled on Lysandra with wide eyes and shrieked, “Oh my fucking gods! He wants me to come over a have a bit of fun.” She hissed out the last bit.

Her friends jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?!”

“No!”

Lysandra seethed. “I cannot believe he would do that— and with you of all people— to Eli—” she stopped, blinked, and slowly turned to narrow her eyes at Fenrys who was doing everything he could to avoid her glare. “Fenrys…do they know that we know?”

“No.”

“Fenrys.”

“They know you know,” he admitted.

“Agh! I knew it!”

Aelin felt waves of relief wash over her, but then growled “Oh, I cannot believe those two!”

But Lysandra was laughing, “Gods,” she faced Aelin who soon mirrored her near manic grin. “They thought they could mess with us?”

“They’re trying to mess with us?! They don’t know that we know they know we know.” They both looked towards the man hanging his head in his hands. “Fenrys, you can't say anything!”

“Couldn't even if I wanted too.”

***

Rowan spent ages trying to find the best way to connect with Ugly Naked Guy. It really shouldn’t be so hard, seriously, they’d been watching him for years now. There had to be something Rowan had picked up on that could give him the in. He needed that apartment.

When the idea finally occurred to him it stopped him in his tracks and nearly made him hit himself for how long it took for him to get there. He did know one thing about Ugly Naked Guy…

Deciding not to waste anymore time, Rowan headed straight for the building and knocked on the guy’s door. He pulled up his most charming smile and acted as if the sight of a middle-aged man answering the door fully nude while holding nothing but a jumbo-sized soda was the most normal thing in the world.

“Good evening, sir. My name is Rowan Whitethorn. I'm one of the people who applied for the apartment.” The guy simply kept looking at Rowan, waiting for him to get to his point. “And I realize that the competition is fierce but—I'm sorry. I can't help but notice you're naked,” Rowan made a show of clapping, hoping to gods it looked genuine. “I applaud you. Man, I wish I was naked. I mean, this—” he gestured to the man in question; the man who determined Rowan’s next living situation, “this looks so great. That is how the gods intended it.”

Because if nothing else, Rowan knew one thing about Ugly Naked Guy, and it had been staring him in the face the whole time.

***

“Ooh this is good! They’re panicked!” Elide laughed quietly. She and Lorcan had come back to hers and Aelin’s apartment after the fiasco of a phone call.

“They’re totally going to back down,” Lorcan agreed. There was no way Galathynius would go through with, with…with whatever it was they were trying to do.

While the couple was whispering to each other in the kitchen, Aelin and Lysandra were huddled on the couch discreetly making their own plans.

“All right,” Aelin said, half to Lysandra and half to herself. “All right! If he wants a date? He's gonna get a date. Okay, I'm gonna go in.”

The brunette nodded and gently nudged her friend’s shoulder. “Be sexy.”

“Please,” Aelin laughed. She tossed her hair over one shoulder in the way she knew caught people’s attention. Lorcan and Elide stopped their hushed whispers as they watched her approach. Aelin winked at Lorcan and noticed, to her immense satisfaction, the moment of disdain that crossed his face before he masked it with faux intrigue.

“So, Lorcan,” She batted her eyelashes and side-eyed Elide for good measure as the shorter women began stepping away. Sorry. “I’d love to come by tonight.”

He blinked, grunting, “Really?”

Oh, this was too fun. “Absolutely. Let’s say around seven?”

“Yes.” And though he tried, She could tell he’d spoked through gritted teeth and a forced smirk.

“Good,” she replied. And just to see him squirm, “I'm really looking forward to you and me having sexual intercourse.”

She wished she had a camera to capture his bewildered face. As Aelin walked away, she missed the alarmed and pleading look Lorcan sent Elide and her friend’s answering it’s okay we got this.

“Hey!” Fenrys’ laughing voice cut through the tension. “Check it out! Ugly Naked Guy has a naked friend!”

Most thoughts of fake dates and faking fake dates disappeared as the group crowded over at the window.

“Oh yeah!” Aelin huffed out a laugh.

“Oh, my gods!” Lysandra leaned on Aelin to get a better look. “That’s our friend! Its Naked Rowan!”

“Yeah, it is! Naked Rowan!!” Good for him.

***

“Show time!” Came Lysandra’s sing-song voice as they got Aelin ready.

Wearing one of her best dresses, Aelin went over her look once more. “Oh, Lys, get me perfume.”

“Okay,” she laughed and went to grab it.

“And Fen,” Aelin turned to him, “could you get me a bottle of wine and couple glasses?”

He grumbled under his breath and dragged his feet but turned form the kitchen table towards the shelf and reluctantly got what she asked for.

Lysandra came back and spritzed Aelin’s light lemon verbena scent around her, urging her to twirl and complete the preparation.

Across the hall, Elide was hyping her boyfriend up to fake seduce her best friend.

“All right, it’ll be great” Elide encouraged as she flattened out his shirt and handed him a breath mint. “You just make her think you wanna have sex with her. It'll totally freak her out!”

Lorcan slowed her down, “Listen, how far am I gonna have to go with her? Because I can’t pretend like I’m attracted to Galathynius forever.”

“Relax,” Elide waved it off, “she's gonna give in way before you do!”

“How do you know?!” he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Because you're on my team! And my team always wins!”

He just muttered a fucking hell under his breath before Elide pressed a quick peck to his lips and rushed to hide in the bathroom. “Go get some!”

In the hall, Lysandra and Aelin waited by the door.

“Okay, hon,” Lysandra grinned at Aelin. “I’m gonna try to listen from right here.”

“Okay. Oh, wait,” Aelin glanced down at herself and pulled the neckline for her satin dress to expose more cleavage. “Yeah?”

Lysandra nodded. “Perfect.”

They shared a glance and both women paused. “This is so weird,” the blonde muttered.

Turning towards the door, Aelin knocked with the hand that wasn’t holding the bottle of wine. Lysandra moved to stand against the wall so she wouldn’t be seen when the door opened but could still hear what was being said. She flashed Aelin one last conspiratorial smile right as Lorcan opened the door.

“Aelin.”

“Lorcan.”

Tension radiated between them, and the silence grew with each moment they stood there. Finally, Lorcan jerked his head backwards and stepped back to give her room to walk in. “Come in.”

This was happening. Aelin smiled seductively and tossed her head to the side, allowing her golden hair to effortlessly flip over her shoulder. “I was going to.”

He closed the door behind her and before he could interject, Aelin went on, showing off the bottle she’d brought. “I brought some wine. Would you like some?”

He nodded, a harsh jerk of his head, so she made a show of uncorking it and poured two glasses of the red wine with a flourish. “So, here we are. Nervous?” She asked.

Lorcan merely arched a brow looking rather unimpressed and picked up his glass. “Me?” he scoffed, “No. You?”

She eyed him. He eyed her right back. She lifted her glass to her lips and took a long sip. He followed suit and in a few deep gulps completely drained his glass.

“No, I want this to happen,” Aelin lied.

“So do I,” Lorcan grimaced and snatched the bottle off the counter between them and poured two more full glasses. Each trying to get the other to break, they kept up the ruse, watching each other for signs that the other was about to crack. Eventually, they both broke eye contact and each downed the rest of their wine.

The clinks of glass on the countertop broke through the heavy silence and Lorcan turned away, carding a hand through his dark hair. “I’m gonna put on some music.”

Damn. How much longer was this going to take? “Maybe I’ll dance for you,” she told him instead, slowly moving her hips to the music now echoing through the apartment

The corners of Lorcan mouth tightened as he held back scowl. He cursed his devious, beautiful girlfriend for convincing him to do this as he gritted out, “You look good.”

“Thank you,” Aelin crooned, making more of a show with her movements and raising her brows suggestively as she inched closer to him. “You know, when you say things like that it makes me just wanna…rip that…shirt right off you!”

Barely concealing a wince, she took great pride at the alarmed look that flashed across Lorcan’s face. But he disguised it so quickly she almost thought she’d imagined it. Almost.

“The let’s move this to the bedroom,” he suggested, smirking.

That brought Aelin up short. “Really?”

“Oh,” he took a giant step back and sounded far too innocent as he asked, “do you not want to?”

“No. No!” She shook her head vehemently. “Its just, you know,” she scrambled and dropped her voice lower, more husky, “I want to take off all my clothes and have you rub lotion on me

Lorcan’s responding gulp was audible but his face remained neutral. “That’d be nice,” the strain on his voice gave him away, “I’ll go get the lotion.”

He spun on his heel and beelined for the bathroom, startling Elide who’d been pressed up against the door.

“Listen, this is getting way too fucking out of hand,” He hissed to his girlfriend. “Okay? She wants me to put lotion on her!”

Scoffing, Elide waved off Lorcan’s worry. “She's bluffing!”

“Obviously!” he griped with an eye roll. “But she’d not backing down. She went like this!” he tried to mimic Aelin’s earlier dancing but only managed to look stupid and cause Elide to huff a laugh.

The moment Lorcan’s back had turned on her, Aelin had darted into the hallway and hissed to Lysandra, “He's not backing down. He went to get lotion.”

The door across the hall opened and Fenrys took one look at the women standing there and groaned. “Come on, aren’t you guys done yet?”

“Fen, look,” Lysandra huffed, “just look at it this way, the sooner Aelin breaks Lorcan, the sooner this is all over and out in the open.”

His face lit up. “Ooh, yeah okay. I like that.”

Back in the bathroom, Elide was trying to get Lorcan to keep up the ruse.

“You go back out there, and you seduce her till she cracks!” Elide told him. The bathroom door wasn’t very thick, and she could hear the entire conversation despite being hidden. Aelin was so close to breaking, Elide just knew it.

“Okay, shit, give me a second.” Her boyfriend scrubbed a hand down his face and absently looked around the small room. He looked at her again with a raised brow and said with some amusement, “Did you clean up in here?”

“Of course,” Elide admitted and shrugged with an air of obviousness. Then she nudged his arm to get him to turn around before pushing him out of the bathroom. “Now go!”

Throwing an annoyed look over his shoulder at his girlfriend who simply gave him a thumbs up before quietly closing the bathroom door, Lorcan walked back into the living room and paused when he saw Aelin at the apartment door.

“Oh, you’re going?” He asked, crossing his arms, and trying not to look so smug.

“Uh,” Aelin floundered for a second but then she slowly sauntered towards him. “Not without you, lover.”

Yikes.

Lorcan would never be into her like that, just like Aelin would never, ever be into him. She knew that. She knew he knew that. She knew that he knew that they were playing a game of chicken…but Aelin was the reigning queen; she had never, not once, lost a game of chicken. And she certainly wasn’t about to let Lorcan Salvaterre dethrone her.

He cleared his throat, but it sounded more like a strangled grunt. “Right. Get over here.” he had the audacity to look her in the eye as told her, “I’m very happy we’re gonna have all the sex.”

In any other scenario, Aelin would laugh at how ridiculous he sounded.

“You should be. I’m very bendy,” she said instead, taking a step closer. “I'm gonna kiss you now.”

“Not if I kiss you first.”

The pair eyed each other warily, silence stretching between them as they took comically slow steps towards each other. When they finally met in the middle, Aelin narrowed her eyes and lifted her brows in challenge right as she reached forward and placed a hand on his hip. His gaze shot down to the point of contact before carefully rising back to hers. Then, like she had, he hooked his hand around her opposite hip and pulled her closer. Never one to be outdone, Aelin used her free hand to reach behind him and grab his ass. Lorcan grunted, nearly seething. His remaining hand hovered over her breast before wisely deciding – for the sake of his life and sanity – to rest it on her shoulder instead.

“Well, I guess there's nothing left for us to do but kiss.” Lorcan gritted out.

“Mhm,” Aelin nodded, dragging out the syllables. “Here it comes. Our first kiss.”

They eyed each other and after a few moments concluded that the other wasn’t backing down. Incrementally slowly, Aelin and he leaned in. Closer, closer, so close she could feel his breath fan across her face. And then he was flinging himself away, shaking her off and finally dropping the act.

“Okay! Okay! Shit, okay! You win! You win!” His voice carried loud and clear to everyone. “I can’t have sex with you!”

“Ha ha!” Aelin shouted gleefully as her win continued, taking no small amount of joy as she goaded, “And why not?!”

“Because I'm in love with Elide!”

Triumph morphed into shock as she registered what he’d said. “You’re—you’re what?”

The front door swung open as Lysandra and Fenrys walked in with equally stunned looks. At the same time, Elide walked out of the bathroom, not sparing her friends a fraction of her attention as she kept her focus on Lorcan, a soft smile blossoming on her face.

“Love her!” Lorcan’s voice rose, his hands waving erratically like what he felt had all been bottled up and now there was nothing stopping it form overflowing. “That’s right. I love her! I! Love! Her! I love her.” He loosed a harsh breath and met Elide halfway, taking her into his arms and calming repeating, “I love you, Elide.”

Her words were thick with emotion as she looped her arms around his neck. “I love you too, Lorcan.”

She pulled him into a kiss, her hands raking through the hair at the nape of his neck as his found their home around her waist, gently but firmly keeping her pressed against him.

Their moment was broken by the cooing of their friends.

“I just,” Aelin started. Her eyes wide with surprise but happiness for them. “I thought you guys were doing it, I didn't know you were in love!”

“Dude,” Fenrys awed and shot Lorcan a grin and a thumbs up.

Lorcan jerked his head reluctantly towards Aelin. “And hats off to Galathynius. Quite a competitor.” He smirked at her and snorted when she smirked back.

“All right!” Fenrys clapped, looking overjoyed. “So that's it! It's over! Everybody knows!”

Elide slid to stand next to Lorcan with her arms still wrapped around his middle as he slung an arm over her shoulder.

“Well, actually,” she said, “Rowan doesn’t.”

“Or Aedion,” Lysandra reminded them.

“Yes, and we'd appreciate it if no one told them yet.”

Fenrys’ joy melted away. His lips pressed into a firm line as he leveled a cold stare at his friend.

Lorcan’s response? He shrugged.

*****

Taglist:

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moonlitstoriess · 5 months ago

Text

Across the Universe-ch.10 (Fenrys x Reader)

Summary: Y/n has everything she needs in life. A family, friends, a safe place she calls home and most importantly a male whom she loves. What happens when it all changes when Y/n finds out about the betrayal of her lover and her so called family? Well, ending up in Terrasen and in queen Aelin's court was not what she expected but what she will need to start her new journey full of surprises.

Warnings: Depictions of violence, Blood, Suggestive themes but nothing explicit yet.

See masterlist

She was falling, and there was only darkness around her. The sensation of weightlessness gripped her stomach as the air rushed past her ears, drowning out all other sounds. Panic surged through her veins like a cold river, but she fought against it, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

Just as she felt herself descending endlessly into the abyss, a faint glimmer of light appeared far below. It beckoned to her like a distant star in the night sky, offering a glimpse of hope amidst the darkness. Instinctively, she began to reach out, desperate to grasp onto anything that could anchor her.

As she neared the light, its warmth enveloped her, dispelling the shadows that had threatened to consume her. She landed softly on solid ground, her heart still racing from the adrenaline of the fall. Looking around, she realized she was in a vast, ethereal forest, where the trees shimmered with an otherworldly glow.

A gentle breeze whispered through the leaves, carrying with it a sense of tranquility that eased her troubled mind. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh, crisp air of this mysterious place. Despite the initial fear of falling, she now felt a strange sense of peace settling over her.

In the distance, a figure emerged from behind a tree, moving gracefully towards her. It was Elara whom y/n had met once before in an illusion. Elara's eyes glowed with ancient knowledge, and her presence exuded a quiet strength that commanded respect.

"Welcome," Elara's voice was soft yet resonant, echoing through the forest. "You have arrived at the threshold between worlds. This place exists beyond time and space, where the threads of destiny intertwine."

Y/n hesitated for a moment, the memory of their previous encounter flickering in her mind. Elara had been enigmatic then, offering cryptic guidance that had puzzled her. But now, facing her again in this ethereal realm, y/n sensed a deeper understanding stirring within her.

"Who...who are you really?" y/n finally managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper.

Elara's smile was serene, her gaze unwavering. "I am Elara, keeper of secrets and guide to those who seek truth. You have been chosen to walk this path, where illusions and reality converge."

"But....I thought you were an Ironteeth Witch."

"That, I am. But I am also much more than just my blue blood. I have a gift. I am a chosen one, just like you."

Y/n felt a surge of curiosity mixed with apprehension. "Why am I here?"

Elara's expression grew solemn. "You carry a burden that spans worlds, y/n. The gates are weakening, and darkness stirs in the depths. You hold the key to restoring balance, but first, you must awaken to your true purpose."

"And what is my purpose? My true power? I need answers and I am running out of time, Elara."

Elara regarded y/n with a steady gaze, her eyes reflecting the weight of centuries of knowledge and wisdom. She spoke slowly, her voice carrying a mystical resonance that seemed to echo in the chamber.

"Your purpose, young one, is intertwined with the very fabric of existence itself. The gates between worlds, ancient and powerful conduits, are in flux. They respond to your essence, your unique connection to the Book of Breathings. It is through this connection that you hold the key to their stability."

She paused, as if gathering her thoughts before continuing.

"To close the gates, you must understand their nature. The Book of Breathings, entrusted to you, contains the knowledge needed to recalibrate their energies. As for returning home, it is tied to your mastery over these gates. With each gate closed, the threads that bind you to this world and others will align, guiding you back to where you belong. Your journey will test your resolve, but trust in your abilities and those who stand beside you."

She placed a hand gently on y/n's shoulder.

"Remember, your power lies not just in spells or artifacts, but in your heart's conviction and the bonds you forge. Embrace your destiny with courage, for in doing so, you will shape the fate of worlds."

Y/n cast her a questioning look. "What about the Valgs? Does the Book of Breathings contain a text telling how to end them forever?"

"It does but so does another book. You do not need to get the Book of Breathings in order to find out how to end them."

Y/n's eyes widened "What?! Which book is it?! Tell me!"

But Elara just stepped back, expression softening slightly, showing a glimmer of compassion in her eyes.

"Be careful. You were lucky this time that you fell here instead of wherever the Valgs intended for you."

Y/n's mind raced with questions, but before she could speak, Elara raised a hand, silencing her with a gentle gesture.

"Listen," Elara said, her voice tinged with urgency. "Time is fluid here. The path ahead is fraught with challenges, but trust in your instincts and embrace the truths that unfold before you."

With those cryptic words, Elara began to fade, her form blending into the shimmering foliage of the forest. Y/n reached out instinctively, but her hand passed through empty air.

And then....

It was bright. Too bright, in fact.

She could hear some noises around her, but she couldn't open her eyes. Her senses were coming back but why did her body feel this heavy? Everything felt really fuzzy. It seems like she has no energy because she can't even move her finger.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and even though everything was a blur, y/n knew that she was in her own room-

Oh, so that's why it is eye-blindingly bright in this room. Couldn't they draw the drapes over the window?

She grunted slightly and tried moving her arm to cover her eyes when a pair of hands gently put her it back down.

She said in a broken voice, "Bright. Water."

"Eva, pull the drapes over the window. Elide, go pour some water from the pitcher."

Her vision was still unfocused, but she could see a curly haired figure sitting beside her, caressing her hair gently.

As the drapes were drawn, the harsh sunlight dimmed to a more tolerable glow in the room. Y/n blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision as Elide returned with a glass of water, which she held out to her.

"Here, drink slowly," Elide said, her voice calm and reassuring.

Y/n took the glass with trembling hands, bringing it to her lips and sipping cautiously. The cool water was a relief against her parched throat.

Her gaze started focusing better and she saw that it was Yrene who was sitting next to her bed.

The healer leaned closer as Eva asked slowly, concern evident in her voice, "How are you feeling?"

Y/n managed a weak smile. "Like a large boulder was thrown at me," she muttered hoarsely. "What happened?"

Eva looked at Elide who in turn, looked at Yrene, both expecting the healer to explain the situation to y/n.

Yrene sighed before looking at her with a softened gaze, "A servant attacked you during dinner. We all tried fighting her, seperating her from you but she was very strong. As strong as someone who is posessed by a Valg could be atleast. She was too fast, but in the end, Fenrys managed to land a blow to her back when she was busy attacking Rowan. Even though she tried, she failed to choke you completely."

Elide sat near her on the bed. "But she did leave some nasty marks which is why Isolde had to bandage you up."

Y/n nodded, feeling a mix of gratitude and bewilderment. "Thank you," she managed to say, her voice hoarse. She winced as she gingerly touched her injured arm, where the servant's claws had left angry marks. The pain was a sharp reminder of just how close the encounter had been.

"I tried to heal you but for some reason Isolde insisted on kicking us all out of the room and healing you herself."

Y/n smiled slightly, knowing the healer probably thought that she wouldn't want others to see her scars.

But, her gratitude soon turned into confusion. "What happened to the girl? Did she get away?"

Eva fluffed the pillows behind her and gently pushed y/n back down as she replied, "Oh don't worry, Aelin and the others are taking care of that as we speak. Yrene got the Valg out of her."

Before y/n could speak, he continued "Right after the attack, while Rowan, Aedion and Chaol managed to take her away with the help of other guards, Fenrys scooped you up in his arms and winnowed you to Isolde. He was livid! Absolutely crazy! Yrene left to help them the second Isolde kicked everyone out, Aelin and Manon followed after they were sure that you wouldn't die while Lysandra, Fenrys and I stood behind, with you."

"Fenrys stayed with me?"

Yrene nodded her head "Yes, he was acting like a madman. Even went as far as to threaten Isolde that if she failed to save you, he would personally kill the healer himself-"

"What?!"

"Yes, yes once we were sure that you were alive just unconscious, he calmed down slightly and ended up apologizing like a million times to her. Anyhow, for the past two days we have all just been looking over you. Fenrys literally lives at your doorway by now with the amount of times he stands or sits there while we look after you."

Fenrys visited her that often? The realization made a warm, comforting feeling make its way to her heart. A feeling she thought was dead after Azriel destroyed her.

Elide put her hand on y/n's stomach, caressing her gently as she said "He is either here or wherever they are keeping the servant, questioning her. Aelin says that the girl doesn't speak to anyone but Rowan so they are letting him do the questioning."

"And what does she say?"

Yrene just shook her head "She just began speaking this morning and everyone left the second Rowan called them. So, we stayed behind, making sure you were fine."

Y/n nodded her head, dizziness taking over her as she slowly let her eyes close.

When she opened her eyes once again, it was dark outside, dark everywhere and there was no one in the room-

No. There was someone.

She could feel eyes on her. His eyes. He was in the room with her, watching her from somewhere in the dark.

She could sense how Fenrys’ eyes roamed all over her, the intensity within them burning a hole through her. The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

Heat began gathering all over her body, pooling in her lower belly. Well, if he is going to sit in the dark, watching her, she might as well give him a performance. She wouldn’t be the only one feeling this hot and bothered.

Y/n sat up and stretched her legs and arms out, arching her back. The tingly sensation of stretching out caused her to let out a satisfied moan, loud enough to be heard in this dark room. Loud enough for the scent of Fenrys’ arousal to reach her.

“Heard you had been by my side the whole time I was unconscious.”

She lit up the candle near her while Fenrys came into view as he took up a seat on the small couch near the window and looked at her with an intense gaze, his onyx eyes somehow seeming even darker.

“Couldn’t have you dead in our world.”

“So, that is the reason?”

“What other reason would there be?”

“Your arousal tells a different story, Fen.”

"The girl said that she remembers nothing. We also found no collars, rings or bracelets on her which meant only one thing, the Valg have changed their game and are infesting others with a different way."

So he chose to ignore her comment. Very well, then.

She sighed "Well, maybe they do not need an object to invade someones mind anymore."

At his questioning gaze, she continued "Do you all have mental shields? Maybe yours are just too weak, allowing the Valg to enter as they please."

"What is that?"

What? He didn't know what a mental shield was?

Her eyes widened "Now I think I know why those parasites were able to destroy you all easily from within. In my world, Rhysand taught me and everyone else how to create mental walls, to protect our minds from any enemy. The Valgs wouldn't be able to enter my mind even if they tried because of how strong my walls are. Maybe I should teach you all so that none of you will be under any threat."

Fenrys nodded slightly, his gaze not wavering from her "That would be very useful....thank you."

Y/n didn't know why she smiled slightly while blushing but she did and she couldn't stop it.

"You look very beautiful with your hair down."

She turned her head back at Fenrys who was staring at her with genuine adoration.

"You have never seen me with my hair down?"

When she saw him shake his head slightly, she scoffed "Of course you have. When I first fell into your world, my hair was all over the place."

He chuckled quietly "Yes, but it was still tied. Never fully free. And since then you never let your hair loose in here."

She looked down at her lap, covered in the bedsheet "I tend to tie my hair in foreign environments where I don't feel safe. Even in Velaris, it took me some time to let my hair loose in front of the others. Guess it was that instinct all over again while I was here."

She heard him get up from his seat and slowly step closer as he asked, "Why?"

Well, she couldn't tell him why. She couldn't tell him that it was something she had been doing since she was old enough to understand. That when she still lived with him, he would beat her up if her hair was free and unbound. It always triggered something in him. And that was something she could never get rid of, not even long after his death.

So she simply said, "I don't know. Just something I always did."

Fenrys sat on her bed, right next to her and when she lifted her head to look at him, her breath caught in her throat because of how close they were. Their arms were so close that, if any of them even moved an inch, they would be touching.

He whispered while not taking his eyes away from hers, "You look beautiful. You always did, but now, you look even better."

She raised an eyebrow "So you openly admit to that?"

His expression remained serious "I never lie. Even if we may not like each other, I will never lie to you. You are very attractive."

Y/n was genuinely surprised at his bluntness and he clearly must have seen it on her face because he just smiled slightly and said, "I think that I enjoy seeing you shocked."

Y/n slightly leaned closer and heard how he sharply inhaled as she said with a smirk, "Well Lord Fenrys, you are very attractive as well."

She saw the lust slowly return to his gaze as her own body began heating up, goosebumps rising all over her skin at the look on his face.

She came even closer, her arm touching his, as she whispered "Do you remember the time in the training area where I told you that ladies must be blind if they choose to sleep with you? I lied. You are very....tempting."

What was wrong with her? What was she saying? This was wrong. So very wrong on so many different levels but did she care at that moment? No. Not even a single bit.

Maybe it was because of the lack of any sexual activity in her life recently, or maybe it was because she was still slightly dizzy and probably needed to eat something to get into a right state of mind but she did not care.

Fenrys just admitted that he found her beautiful. Why not reciprocate the feeling? Why not tease him....and hope for him to do something about it to her? It was in the dark of the night anyway. Come morning, and they would both act like this never happened. Just for tonight.

You said that same thing when you were in the forest of The Whispering Path with him. When you cuddled him to sleep.

But y/n chose to ignore that little sensible voice inside of her.

Fenrys' eyes darkened as he said in a low voice, "Don't start something you can't finish, little trouble."

"Promises, promises."

He fully pressed his arm to hers as he came so close, their lips were merely inches apart "You are injured and need rest. Wouldn't want your injuries to hurt more than they already do because believe me y/n, when I fuck, I do it like a wolf. Rough and wild. No lady was ever left unsatisfied with me."

And with that, he immediately got up but before he could leave, she said loud enough for him to hear, "I- I mean, we may not like one another but that doesn't erase the clear fact that for some reason, we both desire one another."

He did not look back as he reached the door, but she could hear the smirk on his face as Fenrys said, "Check your night stand before going to sleep again." and then, he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone in the room.

Y/n let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and turned her head to the nightstand on her left to see a bowl of soup, warm bread and a glass of water near it. Did Fenrys just bring her food before she woke up?

Her lust turned into gratitude as her stomach grumbled a noise that informed her of her impending hunger. With a small smile, y/n took the bowl of soup with the bread, and began eating while overthinking what just happened.

But, she couldn't sleep. The fact that she had three days of sleep was enough to make her get up from bed and carefully change her clothes-

Mother above....the injuries clearly were bad if the amount of bindings on her shoulders, collarbones and neck were any indicator. Her neck? Really? It just got healed and now it is ruined again.

But apart from all that happened between her and Fenrys right now, she also had a million other thoughts. But the main one was 'How do the Valgs know of her?'

This whole thing was getting worse by the minute and she really was getting fed up with it all. If she couldn't sleep, might as well go out and explore the area. Find some answers, if she is lucky. It is the middle of the night anyway, no one will notice her flying.

Y/n winced when she moved her shoulder to flap her wings, but ignored it nonetheless as she flapped them a few more times before shooting up into the sky from her balcony.

She soared through the night sky, the cool breeze whispering against her wings as she glided over the palace rooftops. Her wings beat rhythmically, carrying her effortlessly through the darkness.

The forests here were truly big, seeming to go on for eternity which made her doubt if there even was a city here. But, all that suspicion got washed away the second she flied over the last couple of trees because what came after it made her eyes widen in awe.

From above, the city sprawled like a patchwork quilt stitched together by narrow streets and sprawling rooftops. Y/n's wings carried her effortlessly over the labyrinthine alleys, each one illuminated by the soft glow of flickering lanterns and the occasional dim streetlight. The city's heartbeat echoed through the night—a distant symphony of murmurs, laughter, and the rhythmic bustle of evening commerce.

Clusters of buildings rose in haphazard clusters, their architecture a blend of ancient stone facades and more recent timber constructions. Below, winding roads snaked through the city like veins, occasionally giving way to hidden courtyards and market squares that were currently empty due to it being late.

As she glided higher, the city unfurled beneath her—a living, breathing organism with a pulse all its own. The river that wound through its heart shimmered silver under the moon's gentle gaze, bridges arching gracefully over its tranquil waters. Beyond the city's borders, rolling hills and dense forests stretched into the horizon, their outlines softened by the veil of night.

This place reminded her of Velaris except it was much more quieter. Not in a bad way, no. Velaris was the city of starlight so it made sense why the streets there were always bustling, shops and cafes, music and art, everything was always open, lights were everywhere, making that place look like a giant lamp. This place however, seems to be more active during the day rather than night time, its residents would go back to their homes, leaving the streets mostly empty while fireflies would light up the way, creating a comforting glow. Seems like the residents of Terrasen prefer calm and quiet over loud noises and fun.

As she ventured farther from the palace, her keen eyes caught a glimpse of movement below—a figure moving with an eerie swiftness along the deserted streets. Curiosity piqued, y/n angled her flight path downwards, silently descending towards the shadowy figure.

With practiced ease, she landed on the edge of a rooftop nearby, her wings folding neatly against her back. Peering over the ledge, she watched as the figure navigated through narrow alleys and hidden passages, clearly trying to avoid detection.

Just as she prepared to resume her pursuit, another shape emerged from the darkness—a man with a cloak drawn tightly around him, his posture alert and purposeful.

As if he could feel her presence, the stranger lifted his head, their gazes colliding, and....she would recognize those gray eyes anywhere. It was that man, the messenger that appeared in her room when she first came here. Aelin said he was her messenger, what was his name again? Noah? No, but definitely something starting with N.

What was he doing here? Seems like he is also following this suspicious being. Whatever the case is, they both were after the same person, they could cooperate now, discuss later. Y/n gestured downwards, indicating the person she had been tracking. Nox nodded in understanding, silently joining her in the pursuit.

Together, they weaved through the night sky, maintaining a cautious distance from their target. Y/n's wings carried her effortlessly, allowing her to match the culprit's swift pace without alerting them to her presence.

As they followed the suspect deeper into the heart of the city, Y/n and Nox exchanged silent signals, coordinating their movements to avoid detection. They skirted rooftops and glided over bustling market squares, always keeping the suspicious person within sight.

The figure reached the outskirts where the city melded into the woods beyond. Without hesitation, she angled her wings and descended, aiming for a quiet landing on the outskirts of the city where the trees began to thicken and envelop the landscape.

The forest greeted her with a symphony of rustling leaves and distant nocturnal calls. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting ethereal patterns on the forest floor. Y/n moved swiftly and silently, her senses heightened as she navigated through the dense underbrush, careful not to disturb the nocturnal creatures that stirred at her passing.

Ahead, a flicker of movement caught her attention—a figure moving stealthily between the trees. Y/n approached cautiously, her heart pounding in anticipation. As she drew closer, she recognized it to be the messenger.

"It's you," Y/n said in a hushed voice, stepping out from behind a tree.

Nox turned sharply, his hand instinctively moving to the hilt of his dagger before he recognized her. He let out a breath before saying "What are you doing out here, y/n?"

She crossed her arms "Doing exactly what you are doing....?"

He saw her furrow her eyebrows, trying to remember his name and just smirked before giving her a mocking bow "Nox Owens, at your service, though, Aelin is the only one I serve."

She rolled her eyes playfully as his gaze took her fully in "Well, you are looking even more attractive than the last time I saw you, that's for sure."

"Um....thanks? You too?"

He let out a low chuckle at that "Very well y/n, I think we are both here for the same reason. We both think this person is Valg."

"How did you end up following them?"

He just smirked "A good spy never tells his secrets."

She raised an eyebrow "Spy? I thought you were a messenger."

He patted her shoulder before moving past her "A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Now, let's see where the weird suspect is going, yes?"

She sighed but decided to follow him. Two was better than one and its not like she could just go back to sleep after seeing this.

Y/n nodded, falling into step beside Nox as they quietly pursued the elusive figure through the dense forest. The canopy overhead filtered the moonlight into patches of silver on the forest floor, casting eerie shadows around them.

They moved with practiced stealth, their footsteps barely making a sound on the soft ground. Y/n kept her senses sharp, scanning their surroundings for any sign of movement or disturbance. Nox moved ahead slightly, his movements fluid and silent as he navigated through the underbrush.

Y/n and Nox pushed forward, their senses sharp and focused on tracking down the mysterious figure. The forest grew thicker as they pursued their quarry deeper into the night. Moonlight filtered through the dense canopy above, casting ghostly shadows that seemed to dance with every rustle of leaves.

They followed the faint sounds of movement, darting between trees and over fallen logs. Y/n's wings twitched with anticipation, ready to take flight if needed, while Nox moved with the quiet agility of someone who knew the woods well.

The figure they pursued seemed to be skilled at evasion, leaving behind only fleeting traces—a broken twig here, a disturbed patch of moss there. Each time they drew close, it slipped away into the darkness like a wisp of smoke.

After what felt like an eternity of pursuit, they found themselves at the edge of a steep ravine. Moonlight illuminated the chasm below, its depths shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. Y/n peered over the edge cautiously, scanning for any sign of movement.

Nox moved silently beside her, his gaze scanning the opposite side of the ravine. "They must have crossed here," he murmured, pointing to a narrow log that bridged the gap between the two sides.

Y/n nodded, her heart pounding with a mixture of adrenaline and frustration. "We can't lose them now," she said determinedly, preparing to cross the precarious bridge.

Just as she took a step forward, a low growl rumbled through the underbrush, causing both of them to freeze in their tracks.

Out from the dense foliage slithered a grotesque creature, its form a nightmarish amalgamation of human and beast, warped by the dark magic of the Valg. Its skin was mottled with sickly hues of gray and green, shimmering unnaturally in the dim light filtering through the canopy. Sinewy muscles bulged beneath its coarse, leathery hide, twitching with an unsettling energy.

The creature's eyes glowed with a malevolent light, pupils dilated into vertical slits like those of a predatory cat. Its elongated limbs ended in razor-sharp talons that scraped against the mossy ground, sending sparks of magic-infused energy dancing into the air. Fanged jaws parted in a hiss, revealing rows of jagged teeth stained with a viscous, black ichor.

As it advanced with a serpentine grace, the air around them seemed to thicken with dread. Nox instinctively drew his dagger, his knuckles whitening around the hilt. Y/n tightened her grip on her own weapon, heart pounding with a mixture of fear and determination. They exchanged a fleeting glance, silently communicating their readiness to confront the abomination before them.

With a primal roar, the Valg-spawned creature lunged forward, its movements unnaturally swift and erratic. Nox reacted first, darting to the side to evade its slashing claws, then swiftly counterattacking with a series of calculated strikes aimed at vulnerable joints and exposed flesh. His blade sliced through the creature's hide with a sickening squelch, drawing dark blood that sizzled upon contact with the forest floor.

Y/n's heart raced as she faced the twisted Valg-spawned creature in the dimly lit forest. With each swing of its monstrous limbs, fear and determination battled within her. As the creature lunged, she ducked and rolled away, narrowly avoiding its razor-sharp claws.

Adrenaline surged through her veins, heightening her senses. A strange sensation tingled in her teeth and fingertips, as if they were responding to some ancient call. In a moment of desperation, she gritted her teeth and felt the unusual hardness spreading through them. And just like the last time, her teeth elongated and hardened into gleaming iron fangs.

Her nails followed suit, transforming into formidable claws with a metallic sheen. The ancient magic of her bloodline awakened within her.

With newfound resolve, Y/n faced the creature head-on. Her iron teeth sank deep into its toughened hide, eliciting a startled roar of pain. She slashed with her iron claws, each strike delivering a resounding impact. The creature recoiled, its dark eyes filled with surprise and fury.

Beside her, Nox adjusted his stance and joined the fray. His dagger flashed with lethal precision as they fought in tandem, exploiting weaknesses and creating openings. Y/n's iron-enhanced strikes complemented Nox's swift movements, turning the tide of battle in their favor.

But, their luck was short lived as in an impossibly quick move, the creature managed to lunge for y/n, pinning her to the ground. She screamed in pain as her injuries harshly landed on the cold earth. When Nox tried to attack it, the creature used its long, slithery and heavy tail to push him into the rift.

"NO!"

Y/n's words were cut short as the horrifying thing bared its long, black and sharp fangs at her, readying to rip her apart. She would die now. It was time. She would die and no one would ever know-

In the blink of an eye, the horrifying creature was pushed off of her due to the force of something else. Something that was huge. She didn't see it at that second because all she saw was a flash of white fur but she saw it a moment later.

It was Fenrys. Or him as a wolf. His body may be different but she would recognize those dark eyes anywhere. Fenrys glanced at her only once before lunging for the beast. He teared and ripped through the creatures skin, even biting of one of its hands in the process.

Y/n's shoulder was fully bloodied now, causing her movements to slow down immensely. If she couldn't reach it in time, she would atleast throw the knife hidden in her boot at the creature. She was haphazardly trying to get her weapon out when she heard a loud roar of agony come from her side. She immediately turned her head at it and saw Fenrys was now on the ground, blood coming out of the side of his stomach as the ugly thing circled him.

Fenrys had endured horrors worse than this. He lived through and survived even harsher and more complicated conditions. He survived Maeve. He survived the first round of dreadful Valg-created monsters and he would survive this. He won't die because some new slithery Valg-creation managed to kill him. Never.

Fenrys kept telling this to himself as he managed to slowly get up, his energy slowly depleting due to the large cut on his ribs. He got into a defensive stance, baring his fangs as the dreadful thing stopped a few steps away from him, also baring its fangs. Instantaneously, they lunged for one another and Fenrys was about to aim for its neck when the monster fell back with a loud screech that sounded a lot like a cry.

Fenrys landed on the ground and barely managed to stand on his four feet as he saw y/n, with both of her hands right inside the beasts back. Her shoulder was bleeding nonstop, while her face was covered in dirt and blood. Yet none of those layers could hide that fierce, ruthless warriors expression as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath in, exhaled and then with a quick change of position, she had the creature on the ground as her hands finally ripped away from its chest and in them was......oh Gods.....she was there, all bloodied in both blue and black, her hair a complete and utter mess, her clothes ripped and dirty, her sharp iron nails and teeth shining under the moonlight and her hands, holding an old, rotting, black heart.

Fenrys' vision was getting blurry as he cast a quick glance at the now lifeless beast, with its mouth open and leaking black liquid. He heard the sound of squelching and slowly looked back to see y/n squeezing and destroying the heart before falling on her knees and squeezing her own shoulde-

He was swaying now, his eyes were about to close. Fenrys felt himself shifting before falling to the ground with a loud thump. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear her cry, he could feel a pair of hands on him as he managed to keep his eyes open for a little longer. Nox Owens. He isn't dead? He was saying something but everything was becoming a loud buzz in Fenrys' ears as dark spots began covering his vision.

The last thing he thought of before passing out was y/n. At that moment, she may have been covered in absolute filth but she was still the most enchanting, beautiful being across the universe. Something within him came to life, something he coudn't decipher. But......

Fenrys felt himself slip away completely as darkness enveloped him whole.

When he awoke again, everything was still blurry. But he could hear some chatter near him as his eyes slowly began clearing and Fenrys could see that he was on his bed, in his room. It wasn't night anymore, if the small hints of sunlight invading his room from under the curtains were any indicator.

With a low groan, he turned his head sideways and-

"Dorian?"

The room went silent as the king looked at him with wide eyes before quickly stepping towards his bed as Aelin exhaled a loud "Finally!" and Rowan said to Eva, "Go get Isolde."

Dorian came and pushed Lysandra off her chair near Fenrys, sitting on it, which earned him a glare from the shifter.

"Fenrys! You are alive! I knew my amazingly magical presence alone would bring you out of your unconsciousness!"

Lysandra smacked him on the head as her gaze turned softer the second she looked at Fenrys.

"We are all glad you are finally conscious."

Rowan sat on his bed with a small smile "It has been a day. That stuck up king came early this morning."

Dorian scoffed loudly as Lysandra and Aelin laughed "Look in the mirror, birdie, I am not the only 'stuck up' one."

Fenrys saw how these two were about to start a whole bickering session so he interfered quickly with a question that was on his mind from the second he awoke "Where is y/n? Is she well?"

And by the looks on the faces of his family members, the answer wasn't going to be a good one.

Y/n lost blood. Too much, in fact. First, she got attacked by that servant girl who wounded her shoulders and neck. Then, right after that, her healing wounds were reopened when that monster attacked her.

When Fenrys fell unconscious, y/n was busy ripping out her shirt in order to create a temporary bandage for her wound. Thank the Mother for Nox because she wasn't sure that she would be able to carry Fenrys all the way back to the palace with a bloodied shoulder and a completely drained body.

Nox himself had scratches all over him with a few small tree branches sticking out of his hair as he managed to lift Fenrys up, taking him from one side while y/n slowly got up and took his other side, getting under his arm. Their walk was made shorter thanks to Nox who knew secret shortcuts to reach the palace.

When they reached the residence, she was on the verge of collapsing but managed to force her eyes open as healers were called, as everyone got up, as Fenrys was taken into his bedroom. She barely remembers Manon's wide, worried eyes as she tried pulling y/n into her bedroom with Yrene so that she could also get healed. Y/n also remembers snarling at the witch, threatening the queen herself that she wouldn't leave until Fenrys was well.

She remembers not moving an inch from his bedside, displaying her sharp iron teeth at anyone who dared to even suggest her to go and get cleaned, get healed. But y/n could only hold out for so long before succumbing to her body's pleas. Before she too, fell unconscious on the floor, right next to the bed containing the male who fought for her.

She has been in and out of consciousness in the hours since then. Y/n slightly remembers her room being full with Aelin and her court, she slightly remembers Manon being by her side everytime she would wake and now, as her eyes slowly opened for the hundredth time, she thought the creature must have bitten her mind off, causing her to surely imagine the picture in front of her.

Lorcan was here. In her room. Standing face to face with Manon who was glaring at him while saying something. Yrene was also here with Chaol by her side, holding her hand as he tried to step between the witch and the man. Aedion was shaking his head while pointing his finger at y/n.

When Yrene saw that she was awake again, she quickly gasped "Y/n,"

That made the four others shut up and immediately look at her. Manon quickly ran up to y/n's side and gently brushed her sweaty hair back as she turned her head and told to Aedion, "Go get some water, the pitcher is empty."

Well, she was clearly going mad because what? Manon actually being caring? Lorcan being in her room again?

Yrene and Chaol also came to her side as the former had a soft smile on her face, "Y/n? Do you hear me?"

She slowly nodded her head, not taking her wide eyes away from the giant man standing near the door. What was he doing here again? If he came to fight her, now is not the right time. She might just take out her iron claws and rip him apart. An apology to Elide could come later.

When the others saw her glaring at Lorcan, Manon cleared her throat as she said in a frustrated tone, "He came and insisted on seeing how you were doing. Apparently he is worried but I could gladly tell him to fuck off if you wish."

And she probably would have. No, she actually should have let Manon tear him apart, but....the genuine look of concern and shame sparkling in his eyes made her sigh and say the next words, "It is alright, let him stay."

Manon looked back at her with wide eyes, "Are you sure? I know what he did to you, you don't need to-"

Y/n weakly put her hand on the queen's arm "Manon, please. I think me and him need to have this talk. Alone."

She saw how the witch was about to open her mouth to protest when Yrene just cleared her throat, nodding to the doorway while Chaol gave y/n a small smile.

As the three walked past Lorcan towards the door, he said, "We are outside if you need us."

She nodded her head at Chaol as they left the room, closing the door behind them.

Awkward silence stretched between them as Lorcan cleared his throat and came closer to her bed while softly saying, "I....I know that ever since the time you came here, I haven't been the nicest to you. In fact, I was horrible to you. I just....with the life that I have lived through, it was not easy for me to even trust someone, let alone a stranger from another place. I saw you as an enemy, a secret Valg, the root of all the problems and I was beyond mad when I saw how everyone was starting to slowly warm up to you. Thought of them as blind fools for not seeing you for what you are,"

A deep inhale and exhale.

Then, his mouth moved again, "I thought I did the right thing when I pinned you to the wall and said all that. But then, after Fenrys beat me up in his study, when I was getting healed, and scolded by everyone, I realized what a fool I have been. This is not easy for me to say but-"

"Lorcan-"

He fell on his knees, looking up at her "Y/n, please. I put you through hell so the least I can do is apologize. I am sorry, y/n. So ashamed and so guilty for what I did. I know that you won't forget it but I atleast hope you could forgive me for it."

He was actually sorry. In fact, he looked like he had the word 'miserable' written on his forehead. And while it is true that she would never forget all that he did to her, just like she never forgot anything else, y/n could still find it within herself to forgive him.

She sighed but gave him a small smile "I see why you may have seen me as a threat, Lorcan. In fact, I would have done the same if the roles were reversed and you suddenly ended up in Velaris. But, I am glad you owned up to your actions and apologized. You are right, I won't ever forget it but I can forgive it. I just hope that this means a friendly truce between us. Now please do get up, you are making me feel uncomfortable."

Lorcan smiled. He actually smiled while getting up again.

"Yes, Yes of course. We have peace, you and I. Thank you."

She smiled just as the door opened and both of them looked to see.....Fenrys being held up by Rowan enter the room. He was half naked, his torso completely wrapped up in bandages and bindings, his messy hair stopping right over his chest, his loose pants hanging over his hips. Lorcan immediately went up to help him but stopped when Fenrys cast him a glare before looking between him and y/n.

Y/n said, "Fenrys, we are fine. Lorcan and I made peace. You may relax now."

His body loosened a little but he still kept his glare on Lorcan as Rowan carefully brought him to sit next to her on the bed before dragging the giant man out of the room with him.

When the door was closed and they were alone, he let out a breath and closed his eyes.

He looked so tired, and his body seemed to have even more scratches than the last time she saw it. Y/n sighed but moved to the side, creating some space for the large male to lie in.

He opened his eyes at the sound and cast her a questioning gaze.

Y/n just smiled as she said, "You are tired. Come, let's lie on the bed. If you are comfortable with it of course."

What did she just do? Embarrass herself that's what. Did she truly think that what happened that day in the woods would happen once again here? Out in the open, in her room? In the middle of the day? While his family was just outside this door? He will laugh at her. He won't lie down because he would be embarassed-

Fenrys shifted his body very slowly, hissing at some point, probably due to the pain, before putting his head down on the pillow next to her and taking some of the bedsheet to cover his own body too.

"Your bed is much more comfortable than mine."

She just stared at him, not moving, not blinking and when he saw this, concern stretched all over his face as Fenrys asked "Y/n? Are you well? Should I call Isolde? What-"

"Azriel was embarassed."

His concern turned into confusion as she simply whispered, "After...um- after the war against Hybern, I was seriously injured on the battlefield. I managed to hide my whole blue blood secret by covering my wound with black bandages and when the healers were helping me, I made them swear never to say anything about that. So when I was lying in my cot, Az came to visit me, he was also wounded and tired just like you. When I told him to lie down next to me, he said that there are soldiers that are currently dying or suffering in other ways while I am asking him to cuddle. That it would be embarassing for him to do such a thing."

He slowly lifted his hand and let his fingers gently caress her cheek as he whispered back, "I would never be embarassed of you, princess. That Azriel is a damn fool for ever saying that. It was never your fault that he is a coward."

She felt such comfort. Never in her life has she ever felt this level of safety and bliss. She felt to peaceful that her eyes began to slowly close again. That is when she felt Fenrys gently pull her to him as he whispered, "You are truly one of a kind."

And as they both lay there, in each others arms, healing, their last thoughts were of each other as sleep sang its sweet melody into their ears, lulling them into dreamland.

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