Fae Courts Echoes of the Elderglen

[Asher]

He rubbed the back of his neck, something tight and aching in his chest as she asked for his forgiveness. His voice was quieter when he finally spoke.

"If you ever said anything that hurt me, it was only because you were trying to protect yourself from something I said or did first. I suppose you were the only thing around that I perceived to be weaker than I was." He let out a slow breath, shaking his head. "I was wrong about that too. I think I spent so much time trying to be what our father wanted us to be—what Rivain expected—that I lost sight of everything else. I've no fucking idea who I actually am when I'm not around them." His gaze flickered to hers, uncertain. "I'm sorry. Maybe we can agree to forgive each other… and start over."

There was too much history between them, too many wounds neither of them had meant to leave. Too much of his own self-loathing he had used her to cover up.

When she spoke of her past with Fionn, the name alone sent a bitter, burning rage curling in his gut. He swallowed hard against it. Before he even realised what he was doing, his hand reached for her face, fingers tilting her chin until her golden eyes met his.

"Fionn has never cared about anything but himself," he said, his voice low, firm. "And you deserve so much better than any of us." His thumb brushed the curve of her cheek, his touch lingering. "If you had ended up a miserable wife to any male, I would have freed you from it. And if you ever feel trapped with me, I’d free you from that too.. You’ll have the peace and happiness you want. One way or another, Vess. I swear it."

His gaze held hers, unflinching, something in the air shifting as he spoke, as though the world itself had heard his promise.

His hand fell away as she asked the question of what he had stolen. His answer was quiet. Simple. But it weighed heavy in the space between them.

"My mother."

When she spoke of searching for someone who could help with his runes, he nodded, glancing away for a moment. "That’s why I’ve been gone as long as I have. Searching.." His voice was rougher now, carrying the weight of all the dead ends, the frustration, the longing. He sat forward, resting his arms on his knees, and finally turned to look at her again,

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he exhaled, deep and steady.

"The whole world," he echoed with a nod.

 

[Vespera]

“Okay,” She nodded softly, her lashes fluttering as she looked down at the river and then back at him. Her voice was quiet, but certain. “Forgive each other and start over.”

She wanted it. She needed it. She didn’t want to spend her life living in the past, not when it was filled with nothing but so much pain that either of them had meant to cause and live through. “I am sorry,” She couldn’t stop herself from adding one last time. “But not for trying…just hurting you when I was hurt.”

Vespera saw the flicker in his eyes when she spoke of Fionn. How the sparkle dimmed at the mention of his brother. Her heart sank. She didn’t want to talk about him anymore. She didn’t want to spend another moment dwelling on a person who had used her and tossed her away for something better. But more than that, she didn’t want to see the way Ash tried to hide the expression he wore. And when she turned to look away, he reached for her and her breath caught in her throat as he tilted her chin up to meet his gaze.

Those emerald eyes.

Her favorite shade of green.

She blinked at his words, stunned by the heavy feeling that came with them. He would free her- even from himself. He’d rather watch her walk away than feel for a moment that she was trapped by any part of what had taken place.

But..

“I don’t want more. I don’t deserve more than anyone else.” She whispered, brows pulling together. “I only ever wanted to be equal. To be seen. To be wanted. To not be…less.” Less than less according to some.

Her fingers curled around his hand when it fell, holding it tightly in hers. “I don’t feel trapped. Not with you.”

And then he finally admitted that he took their mother. Something in her heart twisted painfully. She didn’t speak right away, afraid of what might come out of her mouth. But she memorized the words, committed them to memory. To a place where she stored truths she couldn’t share. Where she could protect them.

It’s not your fault. It could never be.

She thought those words, but did not say them aloud. They could wait until he was ready.

So she allowed the subject to change. Allowed Ash to look a little less tense. “You searched…all these months?” She looked back up at him. “Did you ever find anyone?” Her voice was tentative, like she already knew the answer to her question. But she hoped she was wrong and that he had found someone.

 

[Asher]

Asher studied her, his emerald gaze unwavering as she whispered her doubts. That she didn’t want more. That she didn’t deserve more.

His jaw tightened, but his voice, when he spoke, was quiet. Steady.

"You’ll always deserve more." His brow arched slightly, challenging her to deny it. "You survive in a world you were only half-born to, with less power, less strength. You work twice as hard as any of us. You endure. You adapt." He shook his head, lips pressing into a thin line. "Can you imagine, for even a moment, if fae lost their strength? Their power?" A beat passed, his expression knowing. "Do you really think we’d survive this place as you have?"

His gaze softened just slightly, and this time, when he spoke, his words held no challenge. Only quiet certainty.

"I see you. I want you." His throat bobbed as he swallowed, as though he wasn’t sure he should say the next part. But he did. Because it was true. "I have seen and wanted you for far longer than you know."

When she curled her fingers around his hand, holding tight, he let out a slow breath. The tension in his shoulders eased, just slightly. And when she told him she didn’t feel trapped with him, something in his chest loosened—something that had been wound tight for far too long.

He nodded, accepting it as truth. His fingers squeezed hers gently before he glanced away with a shake of his head.

"There was one runemaker," he admitted "in the Winter Court. But he refused to help me." A muscle in his jaw flickered. "I know of other shadow wielders who might be able to help me learn control, but I don’t even know if it’s the same power. If it works in the same way."

He shrugged, but there was an edge to it—a frustration he couldn’t quite hide. Months of searching, of chasing ghosts, only to come back empty-handed. Again.

"I'll keep looking." he nodded.

 

[Vespera]

Vess leaned back on her hands, letting the sun soak into her golden hair as she tilted her head up towards the sky. Her expression was unreadable as she contemplated his question. Would they survive if they lost magic? She didn't answer right away. She let that question drift with the breeze while her thoughts chased behind. Would the fae survive in her place? Even without power, they'd still be stronger, bigger, faster. More formidable. But she didn't say that aloud.

Instead, her gaze shifted, her lips twitching into the faintest trace of a smirk.

"You've wanted me for longer than I know?" She repeated softly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "You certainly have had a terrible way of showing it." A quiet laugh escaped her, not cruel. Just honesty with a warmth around its edges. "Did you want me when you were shoving me down to the ground during my first training sessions after Merenor determined I was of no use to his magic lessons? Or perhaps that time you told your brother I was as much use as a broken blade? Or that time you growled at me for making one teeny mistake when I was starting out." She didn't sound hurt at all. They had agreed to start over.

But she couldn't help teasing him just a little. "Careful, Ash, you're starting to make me think Rivain might want me too." At that, she cackled and laid back on her elbows.

"How long have you felt this way?" Her curiosity spoke up. "Wanting me. The bond. All of it."

Her golden eyes searched his face, not pushing. Just curious. Just wanting to know every detail that she had missed while resenting him for leaving. While trying not to want him.

Her brows knit together in frustration when he mentioned the runemaker refusing him. "Coward." She muttered under his breath, this time not directed at Ash. "You came to him for help and he turned you away. I don't care how ancient or skilled he is. That is cowardice." She exhaled an irritated huff and shook her head.

"And about the shadow wielders...You won't know if its the same or different unless you try. Why don't we start there? Just tell me where and we will go as soon as you are ready. I want to help you." She turned on her side to face him.

 

[Asher]

Asher groaned, dragging a hand down his face as she called him out with that teasing smirk. He had never felt quite so exposed, and yet, there was no venom in her words. No resentment. Just amusement wrapped in warmth. That, somehow, made it worse.

“Fuck…” he muttered, exhaling a quiet laugh. “I don't think I've ever been quite so openly honest in my life.” His fingers ran through his hair, a sheepish frown settling on his face. “I’m sorry for being such a shit.”

It took more courage than he wanted to admit to meet her gaze again.

“But yes,” he confessed, voice quieter now. “Through all of those times. Even then.” His throat bobbed. “I’ve always thought you were beautiful. The most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, actually.." his skin flushed with heat as he dropped his gaze and cleared his throat shyly. Why the fuck did he feel so nervous?. "I’ve always felt drawn to you. But I wasn’t supposed to.” His jaw tightened, words getting caught somewhere between his heart and his throat.

“I was supposed to think…” He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “I thought there was something wrong with me. That maybe it was part of the weakness my father always spoke of. I didn’t want to be weak.” His hands curled into fists before he forced them to relax.

“And then Fionn showed interest.” His lip curled slightly at the name. “And I was so fucking… confused. I was angry. I was jealous. I didn’t know what to do with any of it.” His fingers twitched like they wanted to curl into fists again, but instead, he let out a breath, forcing himself to keep going. “That was when I—somewhat accidentally—set fire to my father’s study.”

A flicker of amusement crossed his face at the memory, but it faded quickly.

“I fought with you so much because it was the only way I knew how to interact with you without my father or Rivain thinking I was… soft.” His lips pressed together before he scoffed quietly, shaking his head. “Because, as you so kindly pointed out… I’m a coward. I was trying to be what they wanted me to be. Strong. Like Rivain."

He let the words settle between them, heavy but unchallenged.

“I didn’t realise we were bonded until I left,” he admitted, his voice lower now. “Not until I felt it. That pull. It didn’t let me rest. The further I went, the more it hurt. I saw you everywhere. In every shadow, every moment of quiet, every dream.” He sighed, releasing his tension with a slow breath. “You consumed every corner of my mind, every minute of the day… like an obsession.”

And still, she was here. Still, she was looking at him like he wasn’t beyond help, even after all he'd done.

When she shifted the subject, offering a path forward, he seized it like a lifeline.

A small, almost relieved smile curled at the corner of his lips as he nodded. “Alright. We can try.” His gaze softened. And for the first time in a long while, the weight of everything didn’t feel quite so unbearable.

 

[Vespera]

Every word that left Ash's mouth peeled back another layer of him that she hadn't even known existed. And gods, she felt all of it. His anger, his pain, the storm that was always brewing behind those emerald eyes. But she'd never known the shape of it. Never understood how how tightly it wound around her or that she'd been inside his thoughts long before the bond had made him aware of why.

Her heart beat hard in her chest.

So he was right. Another point to Ash and his damn claim: she was only observant when she wanted to be. And she hadn't wanted to be- not with him. Not when it was easier to believe that he hated her. Not when it was easier to be angry at the life she hadn't asked to be taken into. She had been angry for so long. But now?

Now she just felt...sorry. And warm. And seen in a way that both comforted and terrified her.

Her lips twitched faintly with an amused smile when he finally agreed that they could try to find the shadow wielder. Point taken. They needed not to dwell on how tortured he had been for so long. "Good." She murmured, still staring at him for a moment before finally rolling onto her back completely. Her hair spilled out beneath her, catching the sunlight like flame. She let her eyes drift closed.

The sun kissed her cheeks and the bit of skin on her chest where her top had turned into a v-shaped neckline. For a while, she just lay there. Silent. Letting it settle. Letting him settle.

Until she tugged at her sleeves, pulling them up and groaning. "Remind me next time I decide to waste coin not to buy long sleeves." Her nose wrinkled. "Why is it so humid here. The Glen has been hot, but never this sticky."

And then a little more thoughtful, perhaps eager to not be burning under the sun while boiling alive: "Where is the nearest shadow wielder? And when do you want to go?" She turned her head to the side and opened her eyes, the gold catching the sunlight. She wasn't pushing. She wanted to help him. And if there was a chance- any chance- of giving him even a fraction of peace that he had promised her, she would fight the world for it.

 

[Asher]

Asher should have answered her right away.

He should have kept his focus on the question, on the task at hand, on anything other than the way she sprawled back against the grass, golden hair spilling like wildfire around her. He should have looked anywhere but at the way the sun kissed her skin, highlighting the soft curve of her collarbone where her neckline dipped, or how the faintest sheen of sweat that glistened like a whisper of gold on the pulse of her throat.

But he didn’t. Because gods, she was mesmerising.

His breath felt too tight in his chest, his ribs caught in some unseen vice as he watched her, as he let himself feel the full weight of the fact that she was here. She was his.

The bond between them pulsed, something deep and old and all-consuming, and it was torture not to reach for her. Not to run his fingers through the fire of her hair. Not to press his palm against the warmth of her skin.

His jaw tensed, fingers curling into his palms like that would be enough to stop him from acting on impulse. It wouldn’t be. How had he ever convinced himself that he could walk away from this? How had he spent so long trying not to want her when she had already burrowed beneath his skin, taken root in every quiet space of his mind, every breath, every thought?

She had been in his his soul—long before the bond had forced him to acknowledge it.

And now she was looking at him, gold eyes catching the light as she asked him a question, and he realised too late that he hadn’t heard a damn word of it. He swallowed, dragging his gaze away, his mouth suddenly dry.

“I, uh…” He cleared his throat, forcing his thoughts back into order. “There’s the Autumn Prince, but I assume he’s quite busy right now…” He huffed a quiet laugh, finally managing to smother the temptation to keep staring at her like some love-drunk fool.

“Then there are one or two in the Night Court, but I’m not taking you anywhere near that place.” His voice was firm, final. He would rather let the curse rot through his veins than risk her setting foot there.

His fingers twitched at the thought before he exhaled, pressing forward. “There’s one from the Dawn Court,” he admitted. “She’s here, somewhere. I’ve been looking for her, but it seems she has a bounty on her head, so… she hasn’t exactly been easy to find.”

 

[Vespera]

She felt it long before he cleared his throat. It was there, right there. Pressing. Warm. Electric. The bond between them pulsing like a second heartbeat in her chest. It didn't matter when her eyes were closed. She could still feel him looking at her, could still feel the way his restraint frayed at the edges. Whatever this was, it had settled low in her stomach like fire. Slow burning and dangerous. A need, maybe. Something like it but something deeper.

That feeling had kept her from opening her eyes just a moment longer. Still too soon after feeling the sting of his rejections lingering in her skin. She was afraid she might fall into his gaze again. Might forget the careful walls she was trying hard to rebuild so she didn't make a fool of herself a third time.

And after she finally opened them and asked her questions, his silence stretched. Her lips curved into a sly little smile. "You didn't hear a single word of my question, did you?" She murmured, rolling back onto her side lazily. She propped her cheek up on her palm as she fixed her eyes on him with that familiar glint.

"Ash..." Her tone was warning, serious. "You cannot tell me where I will or will not go." She said it very matter-of-fact, but her voice was light and layered with steel. "If the Night Court is where the next piece of your puzzle lies, then so be it. You are not leaving me behind."

Not again.

And she meant that. Deep down, something in her recoiled at the idea of him going anywhere dangerous without her. Even if the places would be only dangerous to her.

And then came the third.

The Dawn Court.

A female. From the Dawn Court.

Another.

Vespera could feel it, but tried not to let the jealousy bloom too deeply. But it did stir there. Coiled in the space behind her ribs like a thorny little weed wrapping itself tight around her heart. She forced herself to keep her voice even.

"A bounty?" She asked, brow quirking. "What did she do?" Her gaze narrowed just slightly. Curious. Too curious for Vespera. More importantly, she thought, What's she to you?

It didn't matter. No. NO. No. She tried to force that little ball of jealousy back down like it wasn't already tying knots in her stomach. But her fingers curled in the grass to distract herself. And the bond pulsed again. Warmer. Wilder.