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lucienarcheron · 2 months

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Spirit Meets the Bones - VI

Genre: Angst/Romance Warnings: Mentions of physical abuse.

shoutout to my darling @abruisedmuse for keeping me sane while writing. ily!

Find it all here.

He had let her win.

She knew it and though it stung her pride for a moment, getting to see his hounds would be worth it.

Iris was not trained to be that good of a rider to truly have a chance at beating him but she had wanted to try.

After he cheated by giving himself a head start, Iris had chased after him, letting out a cry of outrage followed by a string of such foul language that Eris had not expected, he had to stop just to laugh.

She had stopped next to him, ready to launch into a verbal assault but the sight of him laughing so openly had any words die in her throat. Iris could begrudgingly admit that her husband was handsome but...gods, he must not laugh often for his face to look this radiant when he did.

Her face flushed at the thought. She doubted anyone had ever used the word radiant to describe Eris. But fire flowed in his veins and it seemed to burn brighter when he smiled. Iris grimaced. If he ever found out these thoughts crossed her mind...his ego would be suffocating.

And like children, Iris had insisted they count to three and then raced back to the stables.

But he had still let her win, even at the cost of the kiss he constantly teased her about.

Eris didn’t think she would hold it against him though. In fact, based on the conversations they had been having all day and how her shoulders had loosened alongside her expressions, she seemed to have relaxed enough not to hold too much against him at this point.

Especially if he kept smiling at her. She seemed to pause when he did. He was listening to her requests and that seemed to open an avenue between them. They were all reasonable requests. He had no real reason to say no.

Eris also found that he liked it when she smiled back at him. Really liked it. So, he wouldn’t take a kiss unless she would willingly give it.

They continued to watch each other as they returned the horses to the stables, the air between them less tense than it had been this morning but still mingled with awkwardness.

When they finally began walking towards the general direction of the house, Iris stopped him with a gentle hand and Eris’s eyes zeroed in on her fingers touching his knuckles. That she was touching him voluntarily...

“The hounds.” she only said and Eris looked at her with a raised brow.

“Don’t tell me I need to teach you basic manners, wife.”

Iris narrowed her eyes. Both of Eris’s brows went up.

Iris watched him then, watched him as he watched her. He had been awfully reasonable all morning, but she still needed to work through this doubt of hers. And he was still a little shit. Which meant she obviously needed to be one right back.

Slowly, she brought her hands to rest beneath her chin and gave him a charming smile. “Please take me to see the puppies, husband.”

Eris’s whole body locked up and he immediately let his expression turn stoic. He prayed to whatever gods were listening that the tip of his ears didn’t give away the cardiac arrest he was sure his body was succumbing to at the moment.

This was an outrageous reaction. She had only said please with a smile. It should not have this kind of impact — what in the cauldron —

“They are not puppies.” he barely managed and her smile widened.

“I did win so it’s only fair you take me now,” she said and slid an inch closer to him. “Then we can go on the tour? You said there was a music room you would show me.”

But Eris wasn’t listening. He willed his mind not to focus on the words ‘take me now’ but rather, focus on what little distance was now between them. She had not only touched him on her own, without a dagger present, but she had also moved closer to him. On her own. His eyes were on the inch of space between them. What did this mean? It would be impossible for her to trust him enough already. Was it him being agreeable? Was it —

Iris watched him and bit her lip, which did nothing to help him. His whole body had shut down. “Eris?”

Eris looked up at her and blinked. Then cleared his throat, shook out his hands, and held out his arm. “I’ll take you. You did win after all.” he finally said, and Iris didn’t fail to notice the slight color on his face.

Fighting back a smile, she smugly took his arm, the feeling much different from her taking his arm as she had on their wedding day.

They began walking in silence towards the kennel, Eris guiding their walk and Iris took the time to pay attention to her surroundings. She was also painfully aware of the way his body constantly brushed up against hers.

The grounds surrounding the Forest House were in beautiful condition. Everything was neatly trimmed, the colors merging like a beautiful fall painting, the air crisp around them.

Eris nodded to each of their sentries as they passed, and Iris observed how they reacted to him.

“Are these some of the sentries loyal to you?” she whispered, making sure she appeared as demure as they expected her to be.

“Most are loyal to me. Only the ones directly under my father’s hand are not,” he replied quietly.

Iris blinked. He was a lot more powerful than he let on.

“You hide it well.”

He looked at her in confusion. “Hide what?”

“The fact that it would take you very little to overthrow your father but you hold back.”

Eris froze, stopping Iris with him. Carefully, he looked around them in a way one would think he was observing the weather. Gently but firmly, he pulled her by the arm to face him and in a voice barely above a whisper he said, “Do not ever say something like that again. Especially outside of our bedroom. Especially out in the open. The wind carries all secrets.”

She blinked, her eyes flickering to the hand on her arm and then back to his carefully crafted expression. But his eyes gave away his true feelings.

“I didn’t realize it was such a sensitive subject.”

“Both of our heads will be on spikes faster than you can apologize,” he said quietly. “My father does not take to traitors.”

“You’re his firstborn,” she whispered.

“Who is more well-liked and rivals him in strength.” his lips barely moved as he answered. “I tread very carefully. He’s punished me for less.”

Iris swallowed then nodded and Eris slowly let go of her arm. Clasping his hands behind him, he jerked his head towards the path leading to the kennels and Iris followed him quietly, a slight distance between them now.

It served as a reminder to them both that they still knew little about one another. So they walked in silence until the sound of barks and growls greeted them.

Eris turned to look at her. “This kennel only opens with my magic and the very limited staff that take care of them. As my wife, you would now also be given access,” he explained. “They do not obey anyone but me no matter who orders them, but I can train them to obey you as well when the time comes.”

Iris nodded and despite the tense moment that had passed between them a few moments ago, she couldn’t help the excitement that bubbled inside her. Eris shot her an amused look.

“You will have to let me go to them first so they don’t attack you, understood?” he asked and she saluted, earning her an eye roll. “We’ll see if they’ll let you stand close enough.”

“But I want to cuddle them.”

Eris rolled his eyes again, opening the kennel door slowly. “Your funeral,” he muttered.

Instantly, the barks grew louder and in a blink of an eye, Eris was surrounded by all twelve of his hounds who excitedly jumped around and over him.

“Hello, my pets,” he said in such a soft affectionate tone that it felt like Iris was intruding on a private moment. “I missed you all. Yes, yes, I know, I should’ve stopped by earlier.”

She stood watching him, her amusement growing by the moment but more importantly, Iris felt herself soften as she watched him. He addressed each of them, petting them individually and Iris had to physically restrain herself from jumping in the middle of it all.

“Eris,” she said in an almost whine and that brought his attention back to her, looking over his shoulder with a smirk.

Almost at once, the hounds faced her, realizing they had a newcomer in their midst. Some paused, observing her while others started pacing slowly around her. Iris let her gaze flicker all over the so-called kennel as the hounds surveyed her and it was the most extravagant animal space she’d ever seen.

The place was warm and each hound had its sleeping space labeled with their name and pillows that looked more fluffed than the ones in their own bedroom. Each had their own water and food bowls that Iris could swear were solid gold. Toys were scattered across the floor and when her eyes fell on a basket filled to the brim with more, she turned to Eris in disbelief.

“Lethal, you say?”

“Just because they’re trained for a specific purpose doesn’t mean they can’t be spoiled,” he said defensively, his hounds still trying to get his affection and him happily obliging. “I need them to be loyal and to be loyal they need to be loved.

Iris felt the words loyal and loved vibrate through her body, their earlier conversation still ringing in her ear. Tugging on her ear, she circled in place, taking in more of the space until Eris finally stood.

“My pets, this is my wife. Please line up nicely to introduce yourselves,” he spoke and Iris shot him a look of surprise as his hounds did exactly that. “She is a special someone who will have access to you all as well. We must treat her nicely and protect her, yes?”

A chorus of barks followed his question and Iris huffed out a laugh.

“They...understand you?”

“Of course,” he said and walked back towards her. “They understand more than people give them credit for. So, feel free to talk to them as well.”

She raised a brow. “I thought you said they won’t listen to anyone but you?”

“I thought you said you could get them to cuddle with you?” he countered, and she rolled her eyes.

“I will. You’ll see,” she muttered and slowly lowered herself to be at eye level with the first of the hounds who only stared at her. “Hello, my friend. My name is Iris and I am here to love you with all my heart if you’ll let me.”

Eris’s lips twitched at the cooing in her voice. “This is Lyra. She’s the leader of the group. Win her over and the rest will follow.”

“Well hello, Lyra.” Iris gushed and held out her hand for Lyra to sniff. “It is so very nice to meet you. Please, please let me hug you.”

Iris held her breath as the hound observed her, waiting for her to do something and it felt like a test. To know if she was worthy of affection.

A heartbeat passed and Eris wondered how big her disappointment would be when Lyra ignored her. He almost wanted to bribe the hound.

But Lyra did not want to disappoint. Lyra reached out and sniffed Iris’s hand and Iris froze in place as the gray sleek hound slowly circled her, all the while sniffing. Eris watched as the hound sniffed at Iris and then looked towards him, sniffing in his general direction. He raised his brow at the hound who only blinked back at her master and turned back to circle Iris again.

With her hand still held out for Lyra, Iris whispered loudly, “Please let me love you, you majestic creature.”

Eris snorted and Iris shot him a reproachful look, but the hound now stopped in front of her, sniffing one more time at her hand, blinking up at her then slowly resting her head in Iris’s palm.

Iris tried but failed to hold back a giddy giggle and Eris could only blink in amusement.

“Well hello!” she practically squealed and Lyra looked up at Iris who gently cupped the hound’s face and leaned in to kiss her nose. “You’re so sweet and I love you already. Oh, yes I do.”

Eris watched and crossed his arms, pursing his lips so he didn’t do anything stupid like smile again. Which he had done too many times today already.

He watched in disbelief as his lethally trained leading hound whined softly and allowed Iris to not only pet her but scoop her in her arms.

“You little traitor,” he muttered and Iris laughed. “How are people going to be afraid of you if you succumb to sweet words so easily? I’ve been boasting about you for nothing.”

Lyra only woofed and seeing their leader sit so calmly in the arms of their master’s guest, the eleven other hounds approached her cautiously.

“Oh hello!” she said sweetly, reaching out her free hand to pet whichever one was closest. “And who are you? And you? Oh, look at you all!” Glancing up at Eris, she squinted at him. “Introduce me now, please.”

Scoffing, Eris lowered his hand to pet one of his other hounds as he rattled off their names, pointing to each one. “That’s Sirius, Ara, Carina, Apus, Phoenix, Leo, Vela, Atlas, Pavo, Canis, and Antares.”

Iris slowly looked at him with a raised brow. “Are those —”

“Inspired by the constellations. Yes. The Night Court can’t claim the stars as their own.” he said, the tips of his ears heated and Iris held back a smile, turning back to Lyra and Atlas who had come closer. “Say what you will but their names suit them.”

“Self-conscious about that, huh?” she teased, petting the fourth hound to settle itself near her feet. “It seems I’ve pushed more than one of your buttons today.”

Eris tensed briefly, rubbing at his ear. “I didn’t mean to get firm with you. Or grab your arm,” he said quietly.

Iris didn’t reply, her focus on the hounds surrounding her, each one trying to feel her touch — much like their master craved.

Eris lowered himself to pet Sirius then softly added, “You need to understand. The way things are with my father...if he sensed any ill will from me, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me. Or use you to hurt me.”

Iris’s mouth tightened. “Why?”

“It’s how he keeps us all in check,” he said. “You may be my wife now, but you aren’t the first female in my life. It did not end well between me and her because of him.”

Iris thought back to Lucien and his first lover. Beron hadn’t hesitated to ruin them and that was because he thought Jesminda was beneath him. What would he do to the wife of a traitor son?

“What happened?” she whispered and Eris’s shoulders tensed.

“It was a long time ago,” he said quietly, his hands gentle on Ara. “She wasn't a lesser fae like Jesminda so he really went out of his way to make her uncomfortable. To bother her. To try and run her out.”

As if sensing Eris’s tone shifting, two of his hounds brushed up against him and he gave them a small smile. “In the end, my father won and got what he wanted from her willingly...she left soon after and has been happily wedded for years now.” he continued, and Iris didn’t miss the way his shoulders seemed to hunch at the words. She desperately wanted to keep her disgust at his father off her face and debated whether to reach out a hand. But his shoulders carried so much tightness, that she kept her hands to herself.

He cleared his throat and then added, “None of my relationships were serious after that. There wasn’t a point. So, I just wasted time and kept any dalliances quiet.”

Iris bit her lip, watching him avoid her eyes. It made her hesitate...but she had to ask.

“I want to ask one more question,” she said quietly. “But if you don’t want to tell me, that’s alright too.”

Eris looked at her, his gaze assessing. A heartbeat of silence passed before he finally said, “Mor.”

Iris nodded and watched as Eris looked away, seemingly debating.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she added again, and he shook his head before giving her a tight smile.

“If you’re asking about my part of the story and whether I did leave her on the border or not,” he said and let out a breath, “That part is true.”

Iris’s hands paused their petting and she swallowed. “Even in the state she was in?”

Eris looked down at the several hounds that had surrounded the two of them, almost encompassing them in a circle. He let Lyra nudge him into petting her and it was a moment before he could meet Iris’s gaze.

“What happened with Mor is something I will regret having any kind of part in for as long as I live.” he murmured “But you have to understand, if I had touched her...if I had tried to help her...it meant a worse fate.”

Iris felt a sense of dread rise in her, watching Eris’s jaw clench, especially when another hound whined softly and drew closer to him.

“It meant…” he continued faintly. “My father could do whatever he wanted to her and then make me do whatever he wanted to her. It would’ve been a fate worse than death. She may not have wanted our union but neither did I.”

“I’m sorry for asking,” she said softly but Eris shook his head.

“You can always ask. It’s a fair question,” he replied, his expression neutral. “Mor made her decision and I had to make mine. I was young and had no power so I wouldn’t have been able to protect her. He would’ve capitalized on that. The only thing I could do was send for the Illyrians to come get her and I paid dearly for that. It doesn’t make me noble by any means but I did what I could in that situation. I would’ve never wished what happened to her on anyone.”

This time Iris didn’t hesitate to reach out a hand and gently lay it on his. He glanced down at it and then back at her.

“Do not think I am unaware that I am the villain in her story. It is her story to tell, and I have made peace with it.” he continued and met Iris’s gaze. “But it is not a narrative I wish to continue with anyone else.”

Iris bit the corner of her lip then gave him a tight smile of her own. “Anyone else?”

He returned the same smile. “Anyone else.”

A beat of silence passed and because Iris didn’t want to think too deeply about his words and his tone, she said, “Should I be concerned about having sister wives at some point? ‘Anyone else’ seems a tad vague.”

Eris snorted. “I’m barely surviving with one wife, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

She bit back her small smile and with her hand still on his, she gently squeezed. “Thank you. For sharing that with me.”

Eris seemed to freeze for a moment and then blinked and quietly said, “Thank you for asking.”

They watched each other for another moment and Iris’s heart beat wildly as his thumb grazed her hand. His eyes dropped to their joined hands and Iris watched as he opened his palm, her hand now resting fully in his.

“You have lovely hands,” he said soberly.

Her hand twitched in his, but she left it there as he continued to brush his thumb against it. “They were meant to be playing the piano, I think.”

“To wield a dagger too, I’d say.”

“Best of both worlds.”

And Iris felt her cheeks heat when he looked at her, the corner of his mouth curving up. She glanced away and though a part of her didn’t want to — and that same part of her deeply enjoyed seeing her hand held in someone else’s, she pulled away before it started shaking and stood.

Eris’s hand closed on the space where her hand had rested and then slowly stood as well just as Iris sighed softly. She bit her lip, willing her heart to slow as she turned to look at him.

“Your father is going to be a big problem, isn’t he?”

Eris snorted and met her gaze. “He’s always been a big problem. He’s just gotten worse since under the mountain.” he replied and added more urgently, “It’s why you can’t say things like you did outside. It’s why I let him overpower me and it’s why you need to be careful which mask you wear around him. It’s why my mother —”

But he cut himself off here and Iris knew without him saying, just how much his mother still had to put up with the High Lord.

She thought back to what Eris had told her before.

It is in our best interest to play by the expectations so that no one looks too closely at us.

“I understand,” she said. “I don’t like it. But I understand.”

Eris nodded and if Iris had blinked, she might have missed his appreciative glance.

“I don’t like it either. No one does but we make it work until the right moment.”

Iris stood next to him, her hands still rubbing behind Lyra’s ear. “Until the right moment?”

Eris seemed to weigh the words he said next very carefully. “There are...pieces at play,” he said slowly, and Iris blinked. “It will work out when it does.”

She furrowed her brows but nodded all the same then looked down as another hound nudged her hand. Smiling, she petted Vela and then looked up at Eris.

“So, what do I have to do to convince you to let them sleep in our bed?”

His heart did a strange spasm at the words ‘our bed’ but Eris composed himself well enough to roll his eyes casually. “Their beds here are posh enough.”

“You’re telling me you’ve never let them sleep in your bed with you?” she asked and lowered herself once more as the hounds surrounded her again. “What a waste.”

He debated how truthful to be with her here because...well. How else would they build something if he wasn’t honest?

Iris waited with a challenging look in her eyes, and it was quiet for a moment until Eris pursed his lips, feeling almost compelled to speak, and finally, after a heartbeat of debate, he relented.

“I give them all turns so my father doesn’t pay too much attention to the fact that I actually care about them for reasons other than killing. The only exception has been this past week which is why they’re very excited to see me,” he said quickly and fought back his embarrassment as Iris gave him a knowing look with a smile.

“I do not object to them joining us. They can be part of the pillow barricade,” she said, and Eris’s eye roll wasn’t forced this time.

“You won’t have that for too long though, will you?” he said, shooting her a look and Iris narrowed her eyes at him.

“What makes you think that?”

“All this blushing and smiling? You’re already deeply in love with me, wife,” he said and grinned at her snort. “I see it in your eyes, you want to take me right here, right now but we can’t traumatize my hounds.”

Iris let out a laugh and his lips twitched as she stood again. “You really do live in a fantasy world, husband,” she said with a shake of her head. “Can we bring them along on the tour?”

“If you’re nice to me, I’ll let them join us in the evening.” he offered, and Iris narrowed her eyes once more at him. He only smiled.

Turning to the hounds still surrounding them, she gave them a sigh and then said, “Your father is the worst.”

Eris choked. “Father?”

“Isn’t that what you are?” she asked with a cheeky smile.

“I — get out,” he ordered, pointing to the door and Iris laughed softly.

Ignoring his request, she turned to the hounds. “Until we come back for you again, I will miss you so very dearly.” she cooed, and Eris watched her in absolute amusement as she leaned down and kissed each of them on the head.

Nose in the air, she shoved past him and Eris stood blinking for a moment before chuckling. Turning to his hounds, he gave them a mockingly stern look. “We need to have a chat about how easily she won you all over.” he reprimanded but the hounds only woofed in response.

As if to tell him, she’s easily winning you over too.

#eris vanserra #eris vanserra x oc #eris x oc #eris vanserra fanfic #acotar fanfiction #gfics #smtb chapters #if you'd like to be tagged or removed pls let me know :)#I see the tags and commetns and ilya

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