For the first time in a week, Fenrys did not accompany Nascha to the Bane's camp. He dropped her off and returned to Orynth to attend to some duties. Nascha couldn't help but feel relieved. It was nice to finally have some time away from him.

She had made some progress in the days that had passed since her first time in the camp. Elgan had sorted her into a group of warriors with similar skill levels. Aeron was among them. She spent a lot of time training with the male and found his company to be far more appealing than Fenrys'. They were quickly developing a small friendship.

To her surprise, Vaughan was in the camp now. He oversaw the combat training of her group. Part of her wondered if he'd been placed in charge of the group to keep an eye on her, but she was refusing to be bothered by it. He was better than Fenrys, Lorcan, Aedion, or Rowan. When she practiced her magic, she was taken outside of the camp and placed under Vaughan's supervision. Nascha obeyed his instructions until the session was over and returned to the camp.

Nascha found herself enjoying the training more than she thought she would but there was one thing that bothered her. The males seemed hesitant to speak to her. She could understand why the Humans would be. Most of them watched her with obvious distrust. However, Nascha had seen several Fae and Demi-Fae eyeing her in a very familiar and flirtatious way. When she went to speak to them, those looks soon faded and they hurried away.

Aeron was among those males, though he was less hesitant now than he had been before. Nascha sat on the fence rail beside him, watching a few of their companions spar. "She should roll between his legs," Nascha remarked. "His stance is wide, giving her the perfect opportunity to."

"Elgan has told her that several times, but she's afraid she'll break her own neck if she tries," Aeron answered.

"Not if she does it right."

"I have yet to see someone do it wrong." Aeron tilted his head, a lazy grin on his face. "Where's Fenrys today?"

"He had some duties to attend to thankfully."

"Unfortunately," Aeron corrected.

"Unfortunately?" Nascha arched an eyebrow.

Aeron nodded. "I like to look at him."

"I'm sick of looking at him."

"Want to trade places?"

"You have no idea," Nascha sighed. "Just so you know, he only has one bed and doesn't believe in wearing clothes at night."

Aeron threw his head back with a laugh. "And you're complaining?"

"I don't have the same appreciation for him as you do."

"I see." Aeron elbowed her and grinned. "If it makes you feel any better, I have an appreciation for you too. If you ever need someone to serve as a middle man..."

"By all means." Nascha glanced around and found a few males watching her and Aeron with obvious jealousy. She waved and they ducked their heads at once. She gave a frustrated hiss.

"What?" Aeron asked.

"Why do they all ignore me when I finally notice them? Are they just pretending to be interested?"

"No, they're actually interested in you."

Nascha faced him. "Then why do they act this way?"

Aeron offered her a sympathetic smile. "Most of them think Fenrys has a claim on you, and everyone knows how foolish it would be to challenge him."

"But he doesn't!" Nascha protested.

"I know, but think about it. He accompanies you everywhere. You live together. You carry his scent..."

"We argue incessantly. I hate his guts. I've made it clear time and again that we are not together."

Aeron shook his head. "It doesn't matter. No one will make a move on you if they even suspect Fenrys already has."

"Ugh." Nascha massaged her forehead. "You're telling me that no one wants to fuck me because I smell like Fenrys."

"Basically. But no female will make a move on Fenrys for the same reason. He smells like you."

"Sometimes I hate being Fae." Nascha continued mulling over Aeron's words. She covered her face in her hands, embarrassment creeping over her. "I need a whiskey."

"Nascha," Vaughan called behind them. She glanced over her shoulder. "You're going to work on controlling your magic while in animal form. Let's go." He started off without waiting for her to join him.

"Why don't you try to seduce Vaughan?" Aeron chuckled.

"He's too quiet," Nascha replied.

"Fenrys isn't."

Nascha pointed her middle finger at him as she slid off the rail. She hurried to catch up to Vaughan, her irritation growing with every sideways glance the males threw at her.

◦ ~ ❘ ☼ ❘ ~ ◦

Fenrys stared vacantly at his hands while Aelin spoke with a delegate from Melisande. He could feel her gaze shift to him occasionally, but he couldn't seem to draw himself into the conversation. Finally, the delegate rose and bowed to them before leaving the room.

"Fenrys?"

"Hm?"

"Are you all right?"

He sighed, finally meeting her gaze. "I haven't been sleeping well."

"Nightmares?"

"Occasionally."

"Do you want to talk about them?"

Fenrys shook his head. Aelin blinked four times. I am with you. He smiled faintly.

"It really doesn't help that Nascha is in such a bad mood all the time," he said. "Some days, it's all I can do not to rip her throat out."

"I'm trying to reach a new agreement with Rayan and Eliora, but they won't comply," Aelin answered.

"And Nascha still has no intentions of agreeing to your terms." Fenrys rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe you should just tell the Tarins that Nascha is here. They can come talk to her."

Aelin shook her head. "If they find out Nascha is here and refusing to take her place, war might come sooner, rather than later. They feel abandoned by us. If they feel abandoned by her... I'm giving us all the time I can to reach new agreements or change Nascha's mind."

"And if it doesn't work? Are you going to let her leave when the six months are up?"

"What else can I do? I'm not Maeve. I can't force her to take her place. I won't make her take the blood oath and compel her to. I can't threaten her." Aelin sighed heavily. "I'll come up with another idea of some sort, but we can't let Rayan and Eliora know she's in Terrasen. Not unless she agrees to become Lady of Arcelia or they agree to new terms."

Fenrys bowed his head and rose. "All right. Keep me updated, and maybe you should ask Lysandra to come to Orynth for a day or so soon. Nascha likes her."

"I will," Aelin promised.

Fenrys left the room and wandered through the corridors. When he reached the courtyard, he shifted into his wolf. Fenrys bounded away from the palace, relishing the warm spring breeze that ruffled his fur. An osprey trilled nearby. Fenrys tipped his head back, catching sight of Vaughan and Nascha. They dipped towards him and flew just overhead.

They followed him beyond the city and into the foothills of the mountains. Vaughan and Nascha increased their altitude as open ground gave way to a forest. Fenrys picked his way through the trees, drinking in the fresh scents.

Finally, he reached his cabin. Fenrys shifted into himself as Vaughan and Nascha landed. Nascha shifted and stormed past him, entering the cabin and slamming the door behind her. Fenrys raised his eyebrows.

"She's in a worse mood than usual," Vaughan grumbled. "

Fenrys rolled his eyes. "Great. How did her training go?"

Vaughan held out an arm, revealing a long burn that was only just beginning to heal. "Starlight. I'd stay alert if I were you."

"Shit." Fenrys ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Vaughan."

Vaughan shrugged. "It's not your fault. It will be healed in a few minutes anyway. Good luck." He shifted into his osprey and took off once more.

Fenrys steeled himself and entered the cabin. Nascha sat at the table, a sullen look on her face. She didn't look up even when Fenrys sat down in front of her.

"You hurt Vaughan," he said.

"He'll survive."

"What's your problem? You've been growing more angry and rude every day."

"Maybe I'm tired of being here. Maybe I'm tired of being told what to do. Maybe I'm tired of being forced to be around you."

"Maybe if you'd accept Aelin's terms, you could leave and we'd both be happier. I've hardly slept since you came here. I keep waking up expecting to see you making a run for it, or poised to kill me. I wake up from nightmares and can't do anything to calm myself down because you're asleep, and I'm a decent male who is trying to be considerate."

"Maybe your Court should listen to me when I say I don't want to be the fucking Lady of Arcelia. Nothing is going to change my mind!"

"Then you only have yourself to blame for our misery," Fenrys snapped. "All you have to do is become Lady for a few days. Maybe a few weeks. Long enough to make Arcelia peaceful again and find yourself a replacement. Is that so hard to do?"

"Yes, it is! You have no idea what you're asking me to do."

"I'm asking you to prevent a war and get your bitchy ass out of my house."

"Excuse me?" Nascha stood, almost overturning her chair in the process.

Fenrys leaped to his feet, baring his teeth in a warning growl. "I don't want you here anymore than you want to be here, so do us both a fucking favor and get over yourself! Accept Aelin's terms and leave. That's what you want, right?"

"Are you even listening to me? I don't want to be Lady. I don't care if it's temporary. I won't do it."

"A few days and you'd be free to leave. There'd be nothing keeping you here. No friends. No family. No lover..."

Nascha barked a laugh. "You know why that is? Every male I meet thinks you have some sort of claim on me and they're all too afraid to challenge you!"

"You think I'm not having that same issue with females? If you'd just do what little is asked of you, we could both be rid of each other and we wouldn't have these problems! Instead, you'd rather just be a selfish, petty bitch!"

Nascha stared at him, anger and hurt mixing within her hickory gaze. She swallowed hard, shoving past him. "I'm taking a shower. Leave me alone."

"Gladly." Fenrys dropped back into his chair when she was out of sight. Presently, he heard water running in the bathroom. It wasn't loud enough to muffle the sound of Nascha's sobs.