Long Live | | Helion

4

Helion hadn't ever seen Velaris before, but after the secret city was exposed in the war, things had changed just a little. Outsiders still weren't typically allowed in, but Rhys and Feyre trusted him. So, after dinner he joined the Inner Circle on their outing into Velaris night life.

Helion found that he was a fan of the energy. Drinking and dancing was a pleasant way to spend the night. They stopped at one place before moving onto the next, and this time the group was surprised to find Emelia there. Alone.

"I thought you said she had a date tonight," Rhys commented, looking to Azriel expectantly.

"That's what she told me," Azriel replied with a shrug, "maybe he stepped away."

Helion was already drifting towards her, as if he couldn't care less if there was some male lingering nearby who might return and announce himself as her date. He slid onto the stool beside hers, she spared him only a glance.

"High Lord," she greeted with a nod of acknowledgment.

"Helion," he reminded her, and she gave a little hum in response. "Azriel said you had a date."

"I did have a date," she replied, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Is he here?" he prompted, and she laughed.

"He failed to show up," she responded with a shrug of indifference, "it's all the same to me."

"I can't imagine being foolish enough to stand you up."

She looked towards him again, lips set in a line and eyes gleaming.

"You are attractive, High Lord, but I'm not interested."

He paused at the outright rejection. He had hardly even begun flirting! He couldn't remember ever being rejected so swiftly.

"Is it the title?" he didn't even mean to ask the question, but it slipped out before he could think better of it. He nearly winced at the complete lack of tact he was displaying. "I'm sorry, that was out of line."

"It is the title," she confirmed, "and it's fine. I'm sure those busybodies would have offered up the information whether you asked or not. I don't think the High Lady is fond of my taste in males. Your interest in me was probably utterly stunning to the whole lot of them...respectfully, of course."

"On the risk of overstepping, considering you've been stood up, I can see why she isn't too fond of the males you like," he pointed out, and she laughed—not a real laugh though. She sounded sad and he hated it.

"It's not as if I'm pursuing a serious relationship with any of them," she reasoned, "it's just fun. And the sex usually isn't too bad."

"Isn't too bad? Oh, Emelia, you should raise your standards on that front, at least. You're too exquisite to settle for anything less than amazing," he chided playfully with the barest undertones of flirtation, shaking his head.

"Oh, and you think yourself to be amazing?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I've never had anything less than overwhelmingly positive feedback," he said with a bright, charming smile.

"I'm sure whoever you end up with tonight will be overjoyed to know that."

Azriel slid onto the stool on Emelia's other side before Helion could think of any response. The shadowsinger gave the High Lord a look that told him he should take her dismissal of him for exactly what it was.

"It was lovely chatting with you, Emelia," Helion said, and she muttered it back to him, still addressing him by his title instead of his name.

Azriel waited until Helion was a good distance away to speak, knowing the noise around them would stop their conversation from ever reaching his ears.

"Not giving poor Helion even a sliver of a chance then?" he asked, earning a snort from her.

"I made my disinterest clear very politely," she replied, "it's not my fault if he still decides to waste his time anyway."

"Speaking of wasted time," Azriel said, casting a pointed glance around the room, "where's your date?"

"He showed up and then he left because he found better prospects," she informed him with a shrug, "I don't blame him. She was very pretty."

"I'll kill him."

"Shut up."

Azriel grinned at her, some gleam in his eyes telling her he absolutely would be willing to end the male for ditching her like that.

"Are you planning to find someone else to take home tonight?" he asked, and her eyes darted over the crowd.

"No," she answered, "I wasn't in the mood for it much tonight anyway. I just didn't want to sit through dinner."

"You know, if you told him the flirting made you uncomfortable, he would stop immediately. He's not a bad male. He's just...eager sometimes. And he's an expert on fixating. He spent centuries trying to get Mor, Cassian, and I in his bed. Half of it's a joke to him—though he would still take it if we said yes even when he was only joking. But, really, he just has a flirty personality, especially around friends."

Emelia shrugged as if it made no difference to her one way or the other.

"I do not wish to become one of his fixations," she scoffed, and Azriel nodded.

"I'll tell him."

"You will not."

Despite still having every intention of having a talk about this with Helion, Azriel nodded. A harmless lie that he would make certain never got back to Emelia.

"Would you care to join the rest of us?" he offered, and she shook her head.

"I think I'll head home," she decided, "as much as I appreciate being included, I'm not in the mood to be dragged into the dance floor tonight."

Azriel wanted to offer to walk her home, but he knew she would refuse him, so he simply told her to get home safely, and then he sought out Helion. The High Lord of Day appeared utterly sullen.

"She didn't leave because of me, did she?" he asked as Azriel approached.

"No," he dismissed, "but she is entirely uninterested in your flirting. Don't tell her I said it, but she doesn't enjoy the attention. I suggest you set your sights elsewhere before she does become truly uncomfortable."

Helion stared at him for a moment before asking, "are the two of you together?"

"No," he responded firmly, "she's just my friend, and she has dealt with it enough in life already. If I can make certain she's spared any unnecessary discomfort, I will."