Eris
I'm not one to get distracted, prone to multitasking, plowing through work quicker than a fire through dry grass. But I cannot seem to draw my focus on even a single word in front of me. Not while she sits only a few feet across the study, smelling sweet like lavender, chewing on her lip as she reads military reports, her dark lashes fanned across her roses cheeks.
Even when I force myself to look away, all I can see is her body writhing beneath mine with pleasure. Don't get me wrong, I could listen to Nephele talk for hours, but there's something so satisfying about rendering her silent with pleasure, her voice too broken with release to even put volume to a scream.
"Are you okay?" She cuts through the silence, drawing me from my thoughts. "You keep squirming in your seat."
I suck in a breath, feeling caught as I look back over at her, her brows drawn together. Her face softens then. "You needn't worry about transporting the troops," she says quietly. "My father wouldn't dare provoke us without my power."
I breathe out, relieved she misplaced my restlessness. "And if we march with them," I remind her, finally drawn back to what I should've been focusing on this whole time. "What if he comes after you?"
She tucks the report she's reading back on her desk, coming to sit gently in my lap. Mercifully, she avoids my erection somehow. "He shouldn't be able to get through all of our men and the Illyrians and the summer court company," she reminds me, brushing her knuckles across my face. "It wouldn't be a smart move for him. He is way more likely to go after me when I'm alone. He's got numbers, but he'd never make it through three armies."
"I'm not worried about him getting through our men," I tell her, wrapping my arms around her waist. "I just don't want you to have to see that sort of bloodshed, even if I know we outmatch him. I don't want you to have to see him again unless it's to strike lightning through his heart."
She smiles bitterly, tipping her head against mine. "It's nothing I can't handle," she tells me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "The soldiers love you. Why else would they defect from your father? I think it's time they met their High Lady, don't you?"
I smile, kissing beneath her ear. "They're going to worship the very ground you walk on by the time you're done with them," I vow.
...
The morning of the transport, Neph and I are up bright and early, dressing for the three day long trek. Her gown is a soft, dusty blue color, fading into a stormy navy in the skirts, a silver corset laced over the gauzy fabric, her hair tied up neatly with a silver ribbon. My pants are made of a stern, brown leather, the matching blazer falling to my knees, unbutton to show the ivory shirt beneath, the both of us embellished in swords and daggers for the affair.
This will be the only part of the journey where we part ways. I would be more worried if I didn't know that she was winnowing to meet Cassian and Nesta in Windhaven. If I didn't know she was fully capable of taking care of herself if necessary .
She was to go to Windhaven this morning, a flex of strength as she is to winnow a thousand Illyrians to our rendezvous point in Autumn. I will met her there as I winnow Tarquin's company in this morning. It was to be a show of power to Night. Winnowing a thousand soldiers in one trip was no easy feat, but I knew Nephele could do it. Let Rhysand and Feyre hear how she didn't even break a sweat to do it.
She winnows in shortly after I've arrived, immediately searching for me, a smile growing across her face as she meets my gaze. I fight to keep my smile at bay, Nesta and Cassian still watching me like a hawk as she skips over, planting a kiss on my cheek.
"Eris," Cassian nods in greeting.
"Cassian," I nod in return, turning to his mate who glares coldly at me. "Nesta."
"Congratulations on the promotion," Nesta says, eying me suspiciously.
Nephele frowns dumbly, looking between the three of us. "I don't understand. Have you two met before?"
Nesta blinks, staring at Neph. "He didn't tell you?"
Nephele laughs, dissolving the tension. "I'm only kidding," she smiles. "Of course, he told me. I'd castrate him if he didn't."
"No, you wouldn't," I laugh under my breath. "You're far too fond of my-" She elbows me in the ribs, cutting me off.
"If you'll excuse us," she says to Nesta and Cassian. "We have to go speak with our men before we head off, but we're really glad you both are coming along with us for the next three days!" Yes, I'm shaking with damn excitement at the idea of Cassian and his scary wife accompanying us. There was nothing much I can do. We asked for the Illyrians, and Cassian commands Night's armies. And nobody is about to refuse Nesta on her request to go with her mate.
"Yes, thank you for coming," I say boredom to Cassian. "We'll be moving out shortly if you want to give your men their assignments." Cassian nods as we turn away, Nephele taking my arm.
"Is Summer's company accounted for?" She asks me. I nod.
"Varian put them into position with me this morning, but they'll be taking up the rear as we go," I inform her as we walk. She nods as we reach the threshold of the camp.
She gasps as we walk into what at first seemed like an empty clearing, the glamour fading way to the bustling camp. "Tricky bastard," she murmurs under her breath, drawing my laugh.
The camp stills as they notice us, but their eyes immediately fall upon their new High Lady. A primal urge to tuck her behind me crosses my mind, but I resist, watching her as she raises her chin. My gaze flickers to my general, Hopkins, as he breaks from the crowd gazing over us. I raise a brow.
"Is that anyway to greet your High Lord?" I taunt him, a laugh breaking from his lips as he reaches out to shake my hand.
"I don't see a High Lord," he teases, looking around. "Only a pretentious, pretty boy who walked into his father's war camp decades ago, wrinkling his nose when his boots got muddy."
Nephele snorts beside me, her tense posture seeming to relax. Hopkins' gaze flickers to Neph then, taking her in. "And now you've become only the second most pretty thing to walk into this camp behind our new High Lady," he smiles, kissing Neph's knuckles. "Who I've been dying to meet, by the way."
She smiles bashfully as she always does when faced with compliments. "That is," Hopkins adds, glancing at the protective glare I give him. "If your husband doesn't kill me before I make your acquaintance."
I roll my eyes, her patting my chest in condescension. "I'm Nephele," she tells the General. "I'm led to assume that you are the famous Hopkins- I've read all your reports."
Hopkins snorts. "I don't even read those," he sticks out his tongue in discuss. "But I always love meeting a fan."
"As much as we'd love to keep chatting," I cut in regretfully. "We have to get moving, but don't worry. There will be ample time to converse over the next three days."
"Always business with this one, but fair enough," Hopkins agrees. "What can I do for you before we go?"
"Gather everyone at the front of camp," I reply, glancing at Neph. "We need to say a few words."
...
I help Nephele onto a large bolder at the front of camp, facing the massive crowd of soldiers with her arms my side. With her hand in mine.
"Good morning, soldiers," I greet the camp. "I cannot thank you all enough for being her, for sticking by me during the darkest of times, seeing it all into fruition. All into light."
"You know who I am," I continue on. "I'm the reason you left my father's war camps. The reason you are here now. I was once your prince, and now, I am your High Lord."
"You don't, however, know me," Nephele pipes in, holding her chin up. "My name is Nephele Vansera, and I am your High Lady."
The crowd looks up at her passively, trying to put a gage on her. "But I don't view High Lady as just a title. I see it as a vow," she says. "A vow to protect you all. A vow to serve you all. A vow to serve this land." That peaks their attention. A vow to serve them was so opposite to my father who expected their servitude for free, without reward.
"Beron enlisted you all as young men, preyed on you because you weren't born into wealth in nobility, made you prove that you were worthy of existence by making you blindly serve him and his political agenda," I say, sick with the actions of my blood, fighting to undo them.
"But Eris and I do not believe in indentured servitude," Nephele says, a warm smile. "Today, we move you back to the capitol- that you knew."
"But with that, we move you back to your families," I add. My father didn't let soldiers see their families until they worked off their debts to the crown- which seldom happened. And when these soldiers deserted, they certainly couldn't risk seeking their families out. "And with our trip today, Nephele and I intend to grant you two more liberties. Two liberties that had no business being taken from you."
The soldiers look intrigued, looking at Neph, hungry for her words. "Your position as a soldier will no longer be mandated by the crown," Nephele discloses, murmurs of disbelief going through the crowd. "From this point on, military service will be completely optional, open for men and women over eighteen. Soldiers can freely volunteer or retire in whatever manner they decide best serves them, their honor, and their country."
Gasps for through the crowd. Being a soldier was always a mandated position. No one ever had a say in such a thing besides father, who drafted all poor young men from the countryside, forcing them to serve until death. They had never been granted such freedom.
"And the second thing?" Someone from the commotion seems to call out, bringing a small chuckle to Neph's lips.
I laugh too, clearing my throat. "And from this day forward, your service to the crown will be compensated- not in the rhetoric of working off a debt imposed by the court, no. You will be making real, tangible wages that you can send back to your families or out into saving or blow on a single night of gambling," I gesture grandly. "It will be your money to use as you see fit."
Murmurs of excitement go through the crowd, men smiling in disbelief. I see some of the loudest giggles break from burly men, unable to believe that they could ever have money of their own. They've all been slaves to the crown long enough. It's time they were free.
Neph catches my eye, and I can tell she's just as pleased. "Get your things boys," she grins over the crowd, squeezing my hand. "We're taking you home."