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invisibleanonymousmonsters · 1 year ago

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chapter xxi – gust & flame

Eris Vanserra x Reader

Eris Vanserra has been a prisoner in his own home since the day he was born. He has done what he had to in order to survive and protect the few he loves. And he is playing the long game. Waiting, waiting, and waiting for the right time to make his move, to usurp his wicked father and become High Lord of Autumn Court. But things become even more complicated when a human girl drops into his life. Perhaps Eris can wait no longer to take his throne.

Word Count: 3,000+

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Y/N had been tossing and turning for nearly three hours now.

She’d spent the night helping the human women and children get settled into one of the great halls in the Forest House. Food and water had been waiting for them upon their arrival, as well as fluffy cots for them all to sleep on with countless blankets and pillows.

Eris had lingered in the doorway, not wanting to scare their new guests or hover over Y/N as she tried to help them. But he wanted to make sure they had what they needed and his staff knew they were to provide whatever was required.

Now, Y/N couldn’t sleep. She still worried for the humans. But most of all, a weight of guilt was heavy in her gut. They had been prisoners this whole time. It had been nearly a year since she escaped from her captors. And all this time of freedom, they were still captive.

Two of Eris’ hounds were sleeping on her bed, keeping her feet warm.

Y/N almost always had at least two of them with her when she was on the estate. They started taking turns sleeping with her.

Eris had made a comment about making them soft, but he couldn’t hide his little smirk of amusement from Y/N – she always caught it.

Now both of the dogs' heads shot up and they started whining as they faced the window.

“What is it?” Y/N hushed them as she pet their heads.

Then a window flew open and the wind rushed in. But it said nothing to her.

Y/N tiptoed out of bed and went to the window.

Below, even from such heights, she could recognize Eris’ red hair as he walked out of the protective walls of the Forest House and into the surrounding woods.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep tonight.

“Go…to…him,” the wind called to her.

Y/N didn’t need to be told twice.

Not having timing to change, she threw a thick, forest green cloak over her nightgown – mostly for modesty sake. But she forwent shoes, deciding sprinting down the dark halls of the Forest House would be sneakier barefoot.

The two smoke hounds jumped off the bed as soon as she was rushing around the room. They looked both anxious and excited by the movement.

“Stay here,” Y/N ordered gently with a pointed finger.

Both of them whined, not liking their second master going anywhere without them.

Y/N hurried out he door and closed it behind her so they couldn’t ignore her command and follow her.

She was almost completely silent as she ran through the hallways. It was late enough in the night that most servants were sleeping.

But when Y/N reached outside, there were guards doing rounds at the gate that led out to the forest she had seen Eris walking towards.

Surely these guards would stop her, thinking that she was trying to escape to the Mortal Realm. Yes, they all respected Y/N and treated her like she was already their Lady of Autumn. But Y/N didn’t trust that they would believe she was following after their High Lord.

Y/N lifted the hood of her cloak, hiding her face in shadow.

Then she closed her eyes and started an incantation. It was strong, but short-lived: hiding her very presence from anyone who would look in her direction. It turned her almost invisible, making her somewhat of a ghost. It could only really last a few moments and only worked for one person. But it got the job done as Y/N skipped out the open gate and then fell into a sprint.

The wind directed her to Eris’ path, whispering paths or shaking the leaves of branches to follow.

Y/N wasn’t foolish enough to leave without a weapon and had strapped her gifted knife to her thigh, barely hidden under the thin fabric of her nightgown.

The forest was so thick that it was even darker than the night sky should allow. The moon wasn’t full, but a waning third-quarter moon. A time of recovery and release, Y/N thought to herself. Her mother and coven would always tell her it was a time for self-care and reflection.

Eventually, she reached a large lake that was surrounded by trees with trunks wider than 5 people.

That’s when she spotted him.

In the center of the lake was a platform, and Eris stood upon in. He was wearing loose linen trousers and no shirt.

Despite the darkness of the moon and forest, Autumn Court’s High Lord seemed to glow like a flame. But Y/N believed she would have found him easily no matter what.

She hid behind a tree, watching Eris from shadow.

Eris was summoning his flame and power. And Y/N had never seen him unleash it at such a level. The distance of lake between the two of them kept her at a safe distance. But Y/N still wondered if it was a mistake as walls of fire erupted around them.

A phoenix of flame had wings that reached from one end of the lake to the other as it soared across the water.

Y/N could feel the burning warmth so strongly that her eyes watered in pain and irritation. She shielded her face.

There was a small break in Eris’ powers as he brought them back in.

Suddenly, an animal of some sort seemed to want to expose Y/N, breaking a twig right behind her. And Eris caught the sound and whipped his head in its direction. Stupid fae and their advanced hearing...

Y/N quickly hid fully behind the tree trunk.

After a few moments, she peaked back around.

But Eris was no longer on the platform in the middle of the lake.

“Spying are we, little witch?”

Y/N yelped and jumped as she whipped around to see Eris standing just mere inches behind her. God, she despised the advantage fae had over her with winnowing.

Eris seemed pleased with himself for scaring her so easily.

Y/N couldn’t help herself and looked across his bare chest. His skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, proving that he was exerting himself with his practicing.

Had his muscles gotten even bigger since yesterday? Y/N blinked, snapping herself out of such thoughts.

She glared at his amusement. “I saw you leave the Forest House.”

Eris hummed as he gave a slow nod.

“What are you doing out here?” She asked, looking around them.

Without giving her a chance to prepare herself, Eris gently grabbed her forearm. And then they were winnowing.

Next thing Y/N knew, she was standing on the pier in the water that she’d found Eris on.

“Could you not give me a warning?” Y/N growled as she gently shoved herself away from him.

“It is much more fun this way,” Eris side with a smirk. “I have realized I enjoy getting you irritated with me.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Oh, do you?”

His smirk faltered a bit. “Yes, I do. It’s better than when you ignore me completely.”

Her mouth dropped a bit at the honesty. “Ignoring you is not my intention. If anything, I worry that I am bothersome. You are a High Lord now – and a new one at that. You have more important things to do than entertain me.”

His eyes darkened. “And who told you that?”

“I did,” she huffed back.

Before he could respond, she changed the subject. “You still haven’t told me what you are doing out here all by yourself.”

“I will tell you if you tell my why you are awake.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Y/N answered easily. “I have been tossing and turning all night, worrying about them.”

Eris knew the ‘them’ she spoke of were the humans they were currently offering sanctuary to.

“They are safe here, Y/N. I have made sure of it.”

Y/N shook her head as her eyes glazed over. “All this time… I went from galavanting around in Night Court to doing the same here, being treated like royalty – all why they were still prisoners. No! Slaves!”

“Y/N, you are not responsible for the crimes of my family and their followers. You saved them once already. Then you saved them a second time today. And I know you asked Rhysand to send out a search party for them when you first arrived at the Night Court.”

Then Eris grabbed her face softly. “You saved them, Y/N. Do you understand?”

She couldn’t turn away from his auburn eyes. They lit something in her soul. So she nodded at what he told her, letting him convince her. She was too tired to fight against him.

“Your turn,” she muttered softly.

Eris dropped his hands from her face and took a few steps away from her. The pier didn’t allow for much more.

When he didn’t speak right away, Y/N became stressed. “Do you regret keeping your brother alive?”

Along with the human refugees, Y/N had been losing sleep over Eris possibly resenting her for stopping him from killing his brother, Aurelius.

“Perhaps,” Eris answered slowly. “But that regret would not be at you, Y/N.”

He turned his back to her and looked out at the surrounding lake and forest.

“My brother is conniving. Keeping him alive is a risk. Even drugged with faebane and locked away, he still a danger to this court.”

“Then why not ignore me?” Y/N challenged. “Why not go through with killing him?”

Eris said nothing for a few moments, keeping his back to her. Finally, he muttered, “Beron would have done it.”

Y/N frowned and stepped forward. She gently grabbed his bicep and turned him around to face her. “Yes, Beron would have done it. But isn’t that further proof that you did the right thing by sparing Aurelius? It is easy to rule with fear and pain. But only a great ruler can be just and merciful. Do not let your father convince you that benevolence is a weakness.”

Eris stared in her gaze, his face softening with her declaration.

Then he held up his palm and a ball of flame hovered about it.

Eris looked down at it as he explained. “I was consumed by this new power when I killed Beron. I’ve never known such force. It begs to be released, aching in my soul and beneath my skin. Even worse, its tied to my emotions.”

Y/N waited for him to continue.

“Today I wanted to burn down the entire city. For my brother to even attempt to usurp me…and all while you insisted on being at my side. It’s only by sheer luck that I didn’t kill everyone who was on that battle field and beyond.”

“But you didn’t,” Y/N argued, taking half a step toward him.

“Nonetheless, I came out here to…release it.”

“Release your power?” Y/N asked through a squint.

He nodded. “This particular forest is enchanted. Invulnerable to fire, even my own.”

“And I’m sure the water only helps,” Y/N added as she looked down at the lake they were standing on top of.

Eris nodded again. “I fear a day will come when I cannot control it. And someone I care about will get hurt because of it.” He hesitated before adding, “Someone like you.”

Y/N smiled gently at his concern. “Just because I am human, does not mean I am as fragile as you presume, High Lord of Autumn Court…”

Mischief filled her eyes suddenly.

And with a light shove, she pushed Eris off the platform.

The action was so unexpected and he had been standing at the very edge of the platform, that it barely took any energy to get Eris falling backward into the water.

When Eris emerged from the lake, he was still processing what Y/N had just done.

Meanwhile, Y/N was laughing so hard that her stomach hurt. The sound alone eliminated any possibility of Eris being even remotely irritated with her ploys.

“You mischievous little witch,” Eris growled as he treaded water.

But she knew there was no anger behind it.

Y/N shrugged with a glint in her eye. “It was an accident.”

Before Eris could respond, a gust of wind shot out from behind Y/N – as dangerous as a tornado.

Her smile dropped as the wind was strong enough to knock her off balance and have her tripping off the platform, falling into the water.

Y/N resurfaced, gasping for breath due to the shock of it all. She had fallen in with her cloak, and it weighed heavy now that it was heavy. She balled it up in her hand and threw it on top of the platform.

Eris was swimming just a few feet away from her and he was…he was…laughing? His head was thrown back and he was laughing with his whole body.

And all Y/N could do in return was stare.

“Serves you right,” he managed to tell her through his laughter.

But then he realized she was watching him so blankly.

Eris’ laughing slowed as he started to look concerned, and swam closer to her. “What? What is it?”

Y/N blinked. “I am…I am not sure I have ever heard you laugh like that…”

Her body controlled her next actions entirely. Or perhaps it was her heart controlling.

Y/N swam forward until her lips crashed onto Eris’.

There was a moment of clear shock from him, but only for a moment. Then his hands were all over her. One hand gripped her hip and brought them to his waist. And she heedlessly wrapped her legs around him. Eris’ other hand gripped the sweet spot between the back of her head and neck, stopping her from pulling away as he pushed the kiss forward to even more passionate grounds.

Eris slightly lifted her higher in his grip so she was further out of the water. It was then Y/N realized that without her cloak the water had made her white nightgown completely transparent.

And Eris noticed, too.

His eyes moved down, staring at Y/N's exposed body with lust and passion – and dare she say…love?

Y/N froze as Eris moved his lips to her right shoulder, then her clavicle, then the left side of her neck. All while both his hands tightened on her waist, bringing her closer as if he couldn’t stand what tiny, insignificant space there was between their bodies.

She had never been touched like this. And the novelty of it snapped her out of the desirous haze.

Y/N pushed herself out of Eris grip, and tried to ignore the heartbreak in his gaze as she did.

“I-I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered in a whisper. “I shouldn’t…I shouldn’t have done that.”

Without giving him time to react, she started swimming to the shore where she’d first found Eris.

But when she walked out of the lake, Eris had already winnowed there and was handing Y/N her cloak – now fully dry from his magic.

She snatched it from and walked past him, heading back toward the Forest House.

But Eris wasn’t going to let this happen again.

“No,” he growled as he easily caught up to her. Then he completely cut off her path. “No more of this.”

Y/N was breathing heavily, only staring back at him. It seemed she was still trying to catch her breath from their kiss.

Eris moved closer to her. “What is it you are so frightened of? Is it me? Do I scare you?”

The question snapped her out of it. “No! Of course not!”

“Then what is it? Why do you keep running from me? I know you feel it. You may not feel the mating bond as I do, but I know you feel…something.”

Tears stung her eyes. “I am…n-nobody, Eris.”

Self-hatred filled his soul as he watched the tears slowly slide down her face.

“You are trying to rebuild a broken court. And all the while, there are those who wish to steal it from you.” She took in a shaky breath. “Eris, you need allies. You need a marriage of diplomacy, not love.”

Her voice trembled as she finally stated, “I cannot give you anything.”

Eris stood there, in shock.

This is what’s haunted her mind? After all this time, her forced distance had nothing to do with him? But everything to do with his status?

“This is how you see yourself?” He whispered.

“I am not of noble blood,” Y/N whispered. “I am not even fae. What will the people of Autumn Court think to see their new High Lord with a lowly mortal, one that knows nothing of their ways? I am no more than a child to them…”

“Y/N,” Eris begged as he reached out for her.

“No!” She pointed at him. “Don’t. I have more to say.”

Eris’ moth snapped shut.

“Why do you ignore that I am only mortal?” More tears fled from her eyes as she hissed, “You will live forever, Eris. And I will die. Maybe it will be in 50 years, but maybe it will be sooner. It doesn’t matter because my lifetime will be the blink of an eye for you.”

Y/N was now sobbing. “I do not know why the Cauldron was so cruel, choosing me as your mate.”

She shook her head, trying to get a handle on her emotions.

And every time Eris tried to take a step toward Y/N, desperate to comfort her, she would shake her head in warning.

Y/N sniffed and declared, “I think it is best if we keep our distance.”

“Y/N…” Eris begged in a whisper.

There was so much for him to say. Had he known this was really how she truly felt about him, about the two of them…then he would’ve been more prepared. But he had been blindsided and he couldn’t find the words to tell her how wrong she was about him, about everything.

“Please,” she whimpered. “I want to be left alone. Please, Eris.”

And then she rushed away, practically running back to the Forest House.

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It took me awhile to write a new chapter bc I've been so busy and my season depression has been...not fun.

Please let me know if you liked the chapter. 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

chapter xxii

#gust & flame #eris vanserra #eris #ersi acotar #eris x reader #eris vanserra x reader #autumn court #lady of autumn #acotar #a court of thorns & roses

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