Thayer was in the room when I had finally made my way. I had walked until I could find someone to bribe for help with a portal. My legs were sore, lungs burning, and dripping in sweat from the long walk, I almost cried for joy when I saw him standing there until I remembered that I had been missing for hours and had to tell him everything I had been told. I didn't have much time to think about that before he was rushing over to me, scanning me over with his eyes as his hands gripped my arms.
"The guards let me know that you had gone for a walk - we couldn't find you. I was about to send out a search. Where have you been? Are you okay?" His voice was frantic as he interrogated me.
"Where did you go?" He asked again. I could feel the growing pit in my stomach, opening my mouth to form the words but none followed through. How would he react? Would he then fear me, as he does his brother? Any progress we had made, any feelings that may have grown in this time, could be for nothing. How would I expect him to marry me, knowing I share a soul with his brother? One who's currently planning to do god knows what - there was no beating around it. I'd just have to come out and say it, and beg him to not let it affect us.
"Silas is my mate - or, tie." I choked out. I watched as he paused, as something worked behind those green eyes as he dropped his arms from me and turned towards the door. This is it, I thought. He's running out to get someone to dump me somewhere far, far away from here. I watched as he wordlessly left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. I blinked at it for a moment, then looked over to the dresser, wondering how many things I could hold in my arms while running out of the castle.
I didn't have to think about it for long, before he came back into the room a few minutes later, eyes wild as he paced the length of the room in front of me.
"I called for my council - we'll be meeting with them in a few minutes." He said, not stopping to look at me. I wouldn't want to, either, if roles had been reversed. I wanted to say that I had no choice in the matter - much like everything else in my life, but that wouldn't do any good. So I simply shook my head, running my hands through my hair as I just said, "I'm sorry."
His head snapped over to mine, and I about collapsed. At the weight over us, at the never ending possibilities. At the look on his face as his eyes stared into me. Would Silas do something to stop the marriage? Would he try to take me? What would happen to my father, then to Thayer, at the absence of the marriage? What about the prophecy, stating that our marriage was hung into the balance and the risk of Aelis if we were to fail?
Instead of the lashing I was sure I was going to receive, Thayer shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Edith. I know as well as you that you didn't choose this - any of this. The only thing I am worried about is making sure he will never be able to get his hands on you. I assure you this, Edith - he will never get a chance to."
I followed Thayer down the hallway, thinking over what he had said. I knew the Fae were careful with their promises, even if not by name. I knew there was no way Thayer would risk the fact that his brother was unpredictable, and in promising, he'd be jeopardizing much more than just himself. I held my hands together in front of me, knowing that if I didn't squeeze them together that I would pick at the skin around my fingernails. My mm would always snap at me when she would catch me, letting me know what a nasty habit it was. It was the only thing I could do when I was nervous that would somehow assist with the never ending thoughts in my head, offered a distraction from it. But walking down to Thayers council room, I didn't think that it would be of any assistance at all when my own insides were working at tearing each other apart. How could I face them? How could I explain that I didn't intent to allow this to get in the way - how would I get them to believe me?
We entered the room and I looked for a moment to take in the surroundings, I had never really anticipated in sitting in on any of these meetings. It was typical for wives to be in charge of the servants, supplies, and planning parties. Redecorating, the ledger. The duties and innings of the court and their personal council were lost to me, something I wouldn't have to deal with. There was a round table sitting in the middle of the room, dark wood standing out against the white of the walls and the golden floors. The room was just warming up from the fire the servants had just starting, the crackling providing the only sound as I took a eat next to Thayer at the table. One by one, members of Thayers council and his Advisor entered the room, not looking my way as they said their hello's to each other before sitting down. It was early morning at this point, and I had wondered if we had woken them by calling this meeting.
Nikolai lounged in behind everyone else, taking a seat between two older Fae that crossed their ankles in their chairs, appearing almost bored. He gave me a small, wicked smile before taking a seat. He made a scene of yawning shortly after, stretching his long arms into the air as he sat back.
"So - what is it we can do for you?" One of the older men said - I believe his name was Phillip. He had short cut brown hair, a pair of golden eyes that stroke against his dark skin. He appeared to be annoyed at the sudden meeting, not that I could blame him.
"It has come to my attention that Edith, my future wife, is tied to Silas. I'm here to discuss the technicalities of the situation and what we can do to avoid any...Unwanted issues, with this." Thayer said, sitting up straight in his chair as he crossed his legs, giving off an air of power in the room. It was a calm sense, one that more felt like he deserved respect more than anything else. The air of a leader. Nikolai arched an eyebrow, looking over at me in amusement. I was glad someone was finding the situation entertaining.
"Would it not be easier to give her over, to avoid any future issues between the courts? Tensions are high as is, without this." One sighed, and I chewed on my lip. I knew that that would seem like the easier solution, just tossing me out. I already knew they would suggest that. Thayer looked down at me, motioning for me to speak. I knew what he meant.
"I saw Ilyan. She- She spoke to me. She was the one that told me abut Silas, and she told me of the prophecy. The arrangement by our parents aside, it's already written that we should marry. A promise kept. Ilyan told me." I did my best to keep my voice steady, to give off some false sense of confidence in this meeting with people far older, wiser, and willing to feed me to the wolves. I just hoped it worked as four sets of eyes whipped over to me for the first time since they had entered the room.
"So - I am to believe an Elder, ignoring the calls of the Fae for over a hundred years, has shown up to assist a halfling?" One snapped. Thayer clenched his jaw, but said nothing. He wouldn't dare misspeak to one of the members of his council, people that he had earned trust and respect from over the years. Not in front of everyone else, anyways.
"I don't know how I called her. I was walking in the gardens when the portal appeared. I didn't think when I stepped into it. She was there."
Nikolai shared a look with his brother from across the table before he sighed loudly into the room, "I suppose there is one thing we could do. If we were to move up the wedding, Silas would have no rights to Edith. Tie or no. She would become a Princess of Summer, making her untouchable. The sooner it is done, the sooner we can all forget this."
"It is true, moving up the wedding would technically make it illegal to steal her away - but it wouldn't stop him, if he truly wanted to." Another cut in, a younger man with long white hair, tied behind in a long braid along his back with pale blue eyes. I could feel my mouth go dry at the thought - that he would come for me. It had crossed my mind, but, it was different hearing it from someone else's mouth.
"Then we would have reason to arrest him for breaking the treaty." Thayer said cooly from next to me. I glanced over his way, now picking at the skin of my fingernails under the table. I wasn't sure what to say - there was nothing to say. The thought of the wedding just added another twist of the invisible rope around my neck, but what choice did I have?
"The arrest of the Autumn Prince would only lead to war. Are you prepared for that? You both?" Phillip asked again, anger tinged in his voice as he added, "Over a woman - a halfling?"
I looked over to the man, knowing that he was only saying this to protect himself. His people. I knew that the fate of Aelis along with the Summer and Spring courts being within my hands, my choice to marry Thayer - all of it, was unsettling at best, even to myself. A weak halfling, with little power or capabilities in this realm. One that had not grown up here, learned the customs, but damn it, I was doing my best.
"I would like to remind everyone that while I could have ran away - to the mortal realm, or into Silas' arms, I did not. I stayed. This is also my battle, and will also soon be my people that will be at risk." I kept my voice flat, unyielding. I made sure to leave nothing at chance for misunderstanding.
"The Spring Court would be ready to fight in whatever war is raged, we have long shared the Courts alongside each other, I have no plans of pulling out due to this. I do wonder, however, what this means for Edith. You share a soul with our older brother, and while I know you would not do something willingly for his benefit, I do wonder where you may be...Misguided, without knowing. Did you ask Ilyan about breaking the tie?" Nikolai asked as he inspected a piece of fruit in his hands - I wasn't even sure where he had gotten the fruit from. I swallowed a lump in my throat, at the question that had been ringing in my mind the whole time.
"She said that breaking the tie would kill us both. There is no way."
Nikolai clicked his tongue as he lounged on the chair, appearing both bred with the conversation, and with whatever thoughts were swirling in his beautiful head.
"We could use it to our benefit, however. Whatever Silas is planning-" Nikolai started, but Thayer shot forward in his seat, cutting him off "She will not be going near him."
"I know as well as you that he wont give it up so easily. That little show at the border was nothing, you know it as well as I do. We need to figure out what he plans on doing, and she is our only way." Nikolai said casually, as if he were ordering lunch. As if any of this were a casual conversation, as if it compared to the conversations I'd had with my best friend Anna. Conversations about boys and classes quickly replaced with talks of conning a Fae prince. I wondered what went horribly, horribly wrong with whatever greater power in charge of my life to put this expectation on me, but it was mine nontheless. I only nodded once, affirming that I understood. The two that had remained quiet during the meeting shared a look before rising, saying their goodbyes.
I made my way to the bedroom alone. Thayer stayed to speak with his brother, and I wasn't going to argue. I was ready to lay in the bed that was calling my name, debating on a bath as I made my way up. I laid into the large bed, letting the blankets surround and cover me like a second skin as I held them tightly around me. I stared at the wall, laying on my side until Thayer came into the room to lay with me. We had been sharing the chambers every night, not once had I seen his bedroom. Not that it mattered - this would be our room anyways once the wedding was over.
He came in behind me, pulling his slender arms under my body and over my waist as he pulled me in. I wasn't sure if he thought I was sleeping at first with the way he whispered, but I still listened quietly as he sad, "I said it before, but I will say it again. I hold no expectations from you. If you don't want to try to find out what Silas is doing, I will not blame you."
I rolled over, meeting his eyes as I snuggled my way into him more, pulling my head back get a better look at him through the faint light that came through the curtained windows. "I said it in the meeting, and I will say it again. I am willing to do what needs to be done. I need these people - your people, to trust me. I need them to accept me."
I watched his green eyes, then roamed my own around his features. His bowed lips, the high cheekbones with the sharp jaw. The way his auburn curls splayed over the pillow, standing out against the color of the pillowcase.
"I know that there was no choice between us, but... I am glad that, out of anyone it could've been, I have you." Thayer whispered. I had no idea why he was speaking so quietly as he reached a hand up to cup my cheek, and I leaned into the touch.
"I am too." I replied, and I wasn't sure if it was a lie. Thayer did not speak again as he leaned in, pulling me into a kiss as his arms tightened around me. I welcomed it, welcomed him, as I parted my lips, allowing him entrance. I moved the covers from around us, crawling on top of him to straddle my legs around his waist. I ground into him, earning a moan that I used as permission. I pulled my nightgown up, breaking the kiss only long enough to pull it over my head as he used the time to tear his pants off himself. I spread my legs, slowly sitting on top of him as he slid inside of me. I moaned gently at the union, allowing myself a moment to stretch for him before I started moving my hips, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Thayer ran a hand through my hair and down my back, settling his hands on my hips as they rocked to my movement.
He pulled himself from me, and I about whined at the disconnect before he flipped us around, laying me on my back as his eyes roamed my naked body, lowering his head to trail kisses down my jaw, neck, and then taking the nip of my breast into his mouth. I moaned at the sensation as his hand trailed down my body until his fingers rubbed at the nerves between my legs. He repeated his actins with my other breast, and I wiggled under him, begging him to enter me again. He positioned himself between my legs, sliding in slowly. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him in the rest of the way, earning a low growl from him. I laced my fingers into his hair, pulling him up to me to kiss as he pounded into me in a steady beat.
Thayer had a gentleness to him, a tenderness, while I craved for something rough. Something he would not be able to give me. That's not to say I wasn't satisfied when Thayer finished inside of me, his member twitching inside of me. He grabbed a towel and dipped it into a water basin that sat on the nightstand, cleaning me up afterwards before slipping back into bed. We would only be able to get a few hours before we would need to crawl our way out, as my first training session was set for early afternoon. I begged for the sleep to take me as Thayer pulled me to his chest, and I listened at the steady heartbeat that met my ear pressed to him.
I should've known.
As soon as I felt the falling sensation that was sleep, I found myself back in that hallway. I knew what it led to, who would be on the other side. I was half tempted to go the opposite direction, see where it took me, but my feet refused to follow commands as they strode along the glowing purple string. I opened the door to outside, not bothering to look back as I knew it would disappear as soon as I stepped out.
There he was - standing across the grass from me, arms folded over his chest, his hair down loose today. They fell in soft waves atop his head, stopping just above his shoulders as he glared at me. I matched his stance, not breaking the stare as he spoke.
"I am sure my brother gave you a warm welcome when you returned." He spat my way. If it was jealousy he was feeling, then I would return the cruel tone of him, pour more into the fire. "It was well enjoyed." I said, pulling my chin up in the air.
His eyes burned at that, and I felt satisfied with the reaction. "A warm welcome for the bride he didn't care to look for. He was simply standing and waiting." He shrugged, as usual for his typical arrogant attitude.
"Thayer sent for me. He was looking." I snapped.
"He wasn't looking. His men were." Silas growled, and it took everything in me not to cower away at the sound. At the pure power that emitted from the sound. I shrugged, "I made my way back, either way. No help from you, if I recall, you said to find my own way back."
"That was because I knew where you were." Silas responded, no hint in his voice, no molecule of emotion behind his words, as if he was stating a fact. Common knowledge.
"What are you standing to gain from this, Silas? What do you want? What angle are you playing at?" I snapped before I could even think over the words leaving my mouth. I didn't back down from the mistake - after the string of questions, he would know I was being used to gain knowledge from him.
He didn't show it, if he guessed it. "I have no grand scheme, I'm not sure what you're implying."
"That little scene on the border - with the farmers. Their house. You killed them. I want to know why."
"Do I need reason to punish those that plan to kill my mate?" Silas chose the wording, knowing the word would set me off. I corrected him quickly, "We're not mates. I have no plans on completing the bond, as you know. You can stop with believing you have any need to punish those who mean to do me any harm. Stop thinking you have any right into anything to do with me. Thayer will take care of it."
"Will he? He seemed ready to allow them to get away with it, ready to allow you to become victim to whatever they were planning. If it weren't for me, they would've attempted again. Or, it would've been another group with the same plans."
It was true - Silas had made an example out of them for everyone that knew. Not that everyone knew why they were dead - they just knew that the Prince of Autumn had killed them. Whispers were going around the Spring and Summer courts demanding justice for their friends, which in turn, Thayer could do nothing about as the treaty still stood. To the general public, it looked as a direct attack Thayer was allowing to be swept aside for his brother. If word got out that their friends had plans to murder me, that I was the reason they were killed, I'd have an even bigger mark on my back than just the few that knew already. Threads that connected everyone, that connected their trust and assurance in Thayer were tight currently, a thread Thayer tries to delicately walk on to piece back the trust within the Court.
"He is doing what needs to be done for his court - for his people. I wouldn't ask him to put them at risk for me." I seethed, I had no plans to force Thayer to choose between my safety or his people. I knew who he would choose at the end of the day - and I was okay with that. I just didn't want the choice to come down. My eyes bore into Silas', not backing down. I dared him to say something again, to belittle his brother again. I wasn't sure of the situations in the Autumn Court, wasn't sure what type of leader Silas was. If he were anything like the rumors that swarmed, he ruled only by fear. If that's what he wanted, I wasn't going to give it to him.
"And you're okay with that?" Silas asked, and I had to think for a moment what he was talking about. There wasn't an opportunity for me not to be okay with it, it wasn't even a choice. My life wasn't worth more than anyone else's here - the women and children, the Fae that were just trying to live their life as I had never been given the opportunity to. Freely. I couldn't take that away just by being unhappy with my own, I couldn't take it away from my father that had dedicated his life to giving me the one my mother wanted before allowing himself back to his home. I had my time, and now it was his.
"I have no choice but to be." I said simply. Silas' jaw didn't relax as the words came out, didn't tare his eyes away from mine as he listened to me speak. He waited until I was well finished, and took a step forward from where he stood across from me. I froze in spot, knowing that if I took the step back my legs were begging me to allow, he would win. I watched as he took one after the other, until he was right in front of me. I had not been this close to him since the day he pulled me out of the river, when his arms had wrapped around me. I looked up at him, now able to see him in great detail. His eyes were blue, but deeper than I had seen from afar, so clear it looked almost as if he held light in them. As if light itself were held within them. Stands of hair were caught in his eyelashes, but he made no move to adjust them. His arms were still held tightly across his chest as he stood right in front of me, leaning down to meet my own gaze at him. I would be an idiot to say I didn't find him attractive - an idiot to say that I wasn't curious about the man I shared a soul with. It was as if the past things he done were an afterthought, still nerve wracking - but not terrifying as they had once been, before he crept into my mind and stood in front of he here and now.
I swallowed, trying my best to not appear as flustered as I felt. But he knew - somehow, he knew as he just studied my face before talking again, breaking the silence that had just fallen between us.
"What if there was a choice - what if there was a way to give you that choice?" He asked me, and I froze.