Eris' fingers strayed across the keys of the piano. He grinned, watching Evren and Keitha dance around the sitting room. Evren had begun inviting the female over more often, for which he was grateful. He was relieved to know that she wasn't alone when he couldn't be with her.

Their friendship seemed to be growing, just as he'd hoped, although he didn't miss the sharp looks Evren threw at Keitha when she looked at him for too long. Apparently, the Mating Bond did have some effect on her Human instincts.

There was a soft knock at the sitting room door before it opened, revealing Deniza. "They're here," she said.

"Show them in," Eris directed. Deniza backed out of the room and he stood.

"I suppose I should be going," Keitha said.

Evren shook her head. "You can stay. They're just going to teach me how to shield my mind."

"Feyre and Seren are going to teach you," Rhysand corrected, appearing in the doorway. Feyre and Seren stood behind him. "Eris and I had a few things to discuss." Eris crossed his arms and nodded.

Keitha bowed to the two females as they entered the room. Feyre and Seren gave her polite smiles. "Good luck," Eris chuckled as he and Rhysand left the room.

"How long have you known she was your mate?" He asked.

"I've suspected for a long time. We accepted the Bond four days ago."

"Hm. Should I send Lucien over to help you burn through some of your stronger instincts?"

Eris grimaced. "I'm on good terms with my brother finally. I'd prefer it if you sent Cassian."

"I'll tell him," Rhysand answered with a smirk. "He has a knack for riling people up on purpose."

"Doesn't every Illyrian?" Eris rolled his eyes. "Keep the knowledge of our Mating Bond confined to your Inner Circle, for now. Evren hasn't decided what she wants yet."

"What she wants?"

"If she wants to be publicly introduced as my mate and sworn in as the Autumn Court's High Lady, or if she wants to remain as we are now."

"I see. Have you had a mating ceremony?"

"No, although we did go through with some of the more private traditions."

"You could always have Evren sworn in as High Lady and hold a mating ceremony in private. That's what Feyre and I did."

"I know, but she would still have to be publicly introduced at some point, and as I said, she doesn't know if that's what she wants." Eris sighed, opening the door to his office. "She's worried about being Human."

Rhysand dropped into a seat. "So you mentioned."

"She's worried that the court won't accept her as High Lady and that her position will be seen as a weakness on my part. She doesn't want to cause more trouble than what already exists."

"Beron's Loyalists are still causing problems?"

"Yes, more every day. I can't figure out who their true leader is. Evren is picking off their more influential members, but until their leader is captured or killed, they won't back down." Eris thought for a moment. "And that's another thing. Evren's cover story has been that she's a messenger and a whore for me. We will either have to let the court continue to believe that my whore is my mate and High Lady, or tell them the truth."

"That could be good or bad," Rhysand remarked. "The Loyalists will hate the two of you even more if they find out it's Evren who has been killing their people. Those still loyal to you might have mixed feelings. They could see Evren's assassinations as acting on behalf of the court, or they'll see it as their High Lady killing their own kind."

"And they won't appreciate the fact that their High Lady is a Human assassin, renowned for killing Fae." Eris crossed his arms again and sat on his desk. "We'll figure it out soon enough. What I needed to talk to you about is our options surrounding her Human lifespan. Is there a way to give her a Fae's lifespan without her being Made?"

Rhysand rubbed his hands together as he thought. "Not that I know of, unless she dies first. The Amulet can resurrect the dead and grant them a Fae's lifespan, like it did for Miryam, but to my knowledge, it can't be used on those already living. I'd have to ask Drakon about that. Otherwise, she would have to die and be Made by us High Lords and Ladies, or be Made by the Cauldron."

"And that isn't guaranteed to be safe for her. It Made Nesta and Elain well enough, but think about what happened to Briallyn." Eris shuddered at the thought of the hideous crone the once beautiful Mortal Queen had become. "I don't know if she wants to be Made." He pinched the bridge of his nose, then scrubbed at his face. "Is there a way to bind our lives together, like your bargain with Feyre?"

"That's a question for Helion. Bargains like that can only be made with someone from the Night Court. Even if it existed beyond the Night Court, I'm not sure it would work. It wouldn't necessarily give Evren a longer life. It would just greatly shorten yours, because you would die when she did."

"It might come to that anyway," Eris murmured under his breath.

"I'll keep looking for ideas," Rhysand promised. "I'm sure there's something we can do. Helion might know something already."

"I suppose we'll find out." Eris slid off his desk and left the office. Rhysand trailed after him.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

"Try again," Feyre urged. "Shielding is difficult when you're first learning. Trust me, I know."

"Explain the process to me again?" Evren massaged her temples wearily.

"Think of it like a physical barrier between your mind and ours. Create it out of something that you can actually see, hear, or feel. My shields are made of flames," Seren explained.

Feyre nodded. "Once you've learned how to create strong shields, you'll be able to make them invisible to everyone who might be looking at your mind. Right now, just practice making the shields and keeping information away from us."

"Something I can see, hear, or feel," Evren reminded herself. She kept her eyes open and focused on the two females before her. Keitha sat nearby, staying quiet. Evren envisioned a dome forming over her mind. She felt ridiculous, but she continued anyway. She formed the dome of impenetrable stone and singing steel. "All right."

Evren stiffened as cold, then hot talons raked across the shield. How she could feel them, she didn't know. Seren laughed, spying the confused expression on her face. "Feyre and I are daemati, remember? So is Rhys."

"What are daemati, exactly?" Evren tried to strengthen her shields as the two sets of talons tapped them once more.

"Daemati possess the ability to enter, read, control, and destroy other people's minds," Feyre replied. "We can influence their thoughts and actions, take away and inflict pain, and destroy shields and demolish minds, among other things."

"Which set of talons is yours?" Evren furrowed her brows as she felt a crack forming in her shields. She reinforced the area.

"Mine are cold. Seren's are hot. Her mental presence takes the shape of a flaming hand. Mine takes the form of starlight. Think of something so we can see if we can hear it or not."

Evren pursed her lips and thought, I could use a good drink right now.

"I hear and see nothing," Seren said.

"Me neither." Feyre grinned. "Well done. Your shields are working. They'll keep Eris from seeing, feeling, or hearing anything from your thoughts unless you allow it."

"Practice holding your shields as long as you can, but don't hold them all day yet," Seren added. "Maintaining them will get easier with practice, but overworking yourself with them right now won't end well."

"I'll hold them up when Eris annoys me or I'm in public," Evren snickered.

"A wise plan."

Eris and Rhysand entered the sitting room presently. "How is the lesson going?" Rhysand asked.

"Good," Feyre replied. "She learned how to form shields and was able to keep us from hearing her thoughts."

Eris shot Evren a proud smile. She returned it and saw the amused glances the Night Court Fae exchanged. "What?"

"Nothing," Feyre said innocently.

Seren elbowed her. "It's just nice to see that Eris does have a heart sometimes."

Eris looked away as his cheeks flushed. Rhysand clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Cassian will tease you even more than he did when you last came to the Night Court. I'll make sure of it."

"You do that," Eris answered through gritted teeth.

"Speaking of Cassian," Seren cut in. "We should probably get going soon. I don't want to leave him alone with Estelle for too long. Last time I let him babysit, he took her along when he had to stop a fight in Windhaven. Jorah managed to rescue Estelle before Cassian got himself dragged into the fight too."

"To be fair, you did tell Cass not to let Estelle out of his sight for a moment," Rhysand pointed out.

"I didn't mean he should take her to stop a fight between full grown Illyrian warriors!" Seren rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Who is Jorah?" Evren asked.

"One of my Illyrian friends. She's Devlon's mate and they lead the Windhaven war camp together. She's the General of the Illyrian Infantry. You'll like her." Seren faced Rhysand again. "But I'm serious. I'd like to make sure my daughter is still in one piece."

"She's fine," Feyre laughed, throwing an arm over her shoulder as they left the sitting room. "Write to us if you need more help with your shields!"

"I will," Evren replied.

"I should go too," Keitha said. "My parents will send my brothers after me if I get home late again. I'll see you tomorrow, Evren. Good evening, my Lord." She bowed to them and ducked out of the room.

"She doesn't have to call me that," Eris murmured.

"I told her. She promised she'd start calling you by name." Evren gritted her teeth momentarily, thinking of Keitha addressing her mate so casually. She drew in a deep breath and relaxed. Keitha is a friend. This is just part of those strange new instincts.

Eris slipped an arm around her waist and tucked his chin atop her head. "I spoke with Rhysand about your Human lifespan. We have a few ideas, but I'm not sure you'll like any of them. We're going to search for more and get Helion's input."

"All right." Evren stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes. "I'm going to lay down."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I just have a headache from shielding."

Eris tightened his hold on her only slightly. "I have a few meetings this afternoon. I might have to add one with Cassian to the list."

"Just keep it quiet and tell him not to hit your face." Evren flashed him a smile. "Anywhere else is fine."

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"What have I done to warrant such cruelty?"

"Nothing. I'm just curious what you'll do, should he choose to aim a little lower."

Eris brought his lips down to her ear. "As my mate, I would think you'd prefer if he didn't aim lower."

"I never said I wouldn't prefer that. I just said I'm curious what will happen if he does."

Eris rolled his eyes and kissed her. "Go take your nap. I'm sure my angry cursing will wake you up soon enough." Evren laughed and traipsed out of the room.