Summary: The night that Eris’ first flame manifested still haunts him. Now, in the middle of the night, it’s his son’s turn to have his first flame manifested. Will the story repeat itself?
WC: 1.6k words
Warnings: House fire, brief violence, angst
Dividers made by @tsunami-of-tears
Eris was six when he manifested his first flame.
It was an accident, it jutted out of his fingers before he could understand what was happening to him.
He remembers calling for help, crying in his bedroom. His bedsheets, along with his most precious belongings, caught on fire.
Eris just scrambled out of bed, tears streaking down his face. He was panting, and coughing, trying to escape the terrifying disaster of his own actions.
“Stop it,” He yelled, running to the door as fast as he could. A wall of fire rose from the ground, blocking his path.
Eris stumbled and fell on his back when he felt the burn of the flames, too close to his face. He cried, all alone, desperate and afraid. Where were his guards? Why was no one coming to his rescue?
“Mama!”
Eris’ anxiety only briefly ceased when he saw his mother stumbling through the door, before she was reined back by three guards.
“The High Lord's instructions were clear, My Lady. Lord Eris must learn to control his flame on his own,” the guard on his Mother's left said, before forcing his Mother to her knees and keeping her in place.
“Eris!”
“Ma!” Eris cried out, echoing his Mother's desperate call.
“Don't be scared baby,” his mother cried out, her eyes boring into his. Eris held her gaze, anchoring himself to her presence. Like a solid rock breaking through the tide. “Breathe. Welcome the fire. It's a part of you, my beautiful boy.”
Eris, even in his distressed state, managed to put the panic aside only to attempt to follow his mother's instructions.
His lungs burned with every breath, but he did it anyway. Welcome the fire, he repeated to himself, like a mantra.
When he opened his eyes again, the raging wild fire that had conquered his bedroom had died down. Only warm piles of ashes stayed behind, as a reminder of the mess he's caused.
When he looked up to where his mother had been, he just found a closed door. Again.
He tiptoed toward it, hissing when his fingers reached the knob of the door. Instinctively, he yanked his fingers away, and put them in his mouth to soothe the burning ache. He tried again, tugging his sleeve to protect his little hands this time.
When the door opened, his mother was nowhere to be seen. Only the tall, intimidating presence of the two armored men guarding his bedroom.
“Go back to sleep, little Lord,” one of the guards ordered coldly, shoving Eris back inside his bedroom and closing the door with his metal boot.
“Ma!”
Eris wakes up, covered in sweat, at the sound of his child's voice. Everything around him is spinning. He's still drowsy from sleep, his mind still half in his dream—memory—and half back to reality.
Eris doesn't have time to come back to his senses before he feels the sheets being thrown out of bed. In a matter of seconds, you—his mate—are up and running, already out the door in your half tied nightgown when Eris finally gets back to his senses.
And he's running. He's just one step behind his mate. His bare feet fly through the halls of the Forest House, the smell of smoke filling them.
“LET ME IN YOU MORONS!” He hears you scream just as he turns the corner.
A guard is holding you back as you claw his arms without your nails, drawing blood as you fight to reach your child's door.
“High Lord,” a guard—one Eris should've fired ages ago—steps to stand before him and block his path. “It's tradition that-”
A grunt echoes through the halls as Eris’ knee collides into the male's genitals, sending him to the ground gasping for hair.
“I'm your High Lord. You obey me. And this tradition? It died with your past High Lord.” Eris sees red. He has half a mind to murder the man on sight, but he sees you moving in his peripheral vision.
You're bolting through the bedroom, the door falling off its hinges as it's pushed open. “Rowan!”
“Watch out!” Eris yells, wrapping his arms around your hips and pulling you back against his bare chest before a wall of flame can burn the skin off your face.
Rowan's cries intensify as he watches his mother being almost burned alive by his fault. His flame answers by roaring even louder, devouring everything on its path at an alarming pace.
“Baby, it's okay. Mama's safe. Dad is with her. We're both right here,” Eris yells over the crackling sound of the flames.
A yelp escapes your lips as the large window on your right explodes from the intense heat. The flames grow bigger, feeding off the wind outside and Rowan's emotions.
Eris holds you tighter against him, but he's not retreating. He won't give your child up and let him deal with this on his own, like his own father would've liked him to.
“Rowan. Rowan, can you hear Dad?” Eris speaks, trying to find Rowan's shadow behind the wall of flames.
“Dad I'm here! Help me! Please, help me!”
Eris’ heart crumbles at the desperate plea. He feels your shoulders jolt against him with every sob.
“I know, baby,” Eris fist clenches, wanting nothing more than to be able to jump through the flames and hold his child. “I'm right here. Mom is right here with me, too. You're okay, but you have to listen to me very carefully, okay Rowan?”
“Dad- I can't- I can't stop it! It won't stop! My flame-”
“Shh, baby. Take a deep breath for me, okay?” Eris tries to calm him down, holding onto you as tightly as you are.
“Eris,” he hears you sob into his arms. Your grip tightens around him. “Eris please, make it stop!”
“I can't do that love,” he says, voice low against your ear so only you can hear him. Now is not the time to let his panic show, for Rowan's sake. “Only he can control his flame.”
He turns back to the wall of flames, which has diminished half its size in a matter of seconds.
“That's it, baby. Keep breathing, just like that,” Eris says, then recalls his mother's words. “Feel the fire travel through your veins. It’s warm, isn’t it? Welcome it, it's a part of you.”
Eris stares, amazed, as the wall of fire keeps going down, clouding the room in thick clouds of smoke. He sighs in relief when finally, after what felt like a torturous long time, a tuff of curly red hair and a pair of eyes that look just like yours comes within sight.
“Rowan.” Your voice trembles, as is your hand when you extend it toward him.
“Hi, baby,” Eris says, voice soft and low. He steps closer to the remaining flames with you, careful as to not get yourself burned. “You did so well. We’re almost there, just take a few steps– Careful, don’t rush it. Think about pushing the flames away, tell them to let you step out in your head. Acknowledge them, but remind yourself that you’re in control here.”
On shaky and unsteady legs, Rowan does as he’s told, carefully taking a step, then two. Then the fire is completely gone, and so is the fear that was clinging yours and Eris stomach.
Rowan throws himself into both of your arms, tears and sobs muffled in the comfort of his mother’s chest. His little hands curl into fist, gripping the soft fabric of your nightgown so tightly it could tear. Not that you cared.
“Good job bud,” Eris praises, guiding the three of you to the ground. His arms a shelter for his family, protecting his boy like he dreamed to be when he was about his age. His fingers thread to the boys curl, massaging his scalp as you wipe his tears away, kissing the stressful events of the night away. “You did great. I’m proud of you. The first time is always scary. It’s okay to be scared, but trust me, the other times won’t be as scary. I’ll teach you how to make it less scary, to make you feel more in control. We’ll learn together, okay baby?”
Rowan nods sleepily, trying to fight the sleep away. But Eris can see his eyes fluttering shut already.
“Can I sleep with you tonight..?” Rowan whispers, mumbling against your skin so low Eris almost misses it.
“Of course, sweetie.” You smile down at him, your own cheeks wet with tears of relief.
With a quick flick of his hand, Eris winnows the three of you directly into bed. By the time yours and Rowan’s head hit the pillow, sleep has already win you over.
Eris shifts slowly, unwrapping his arms from around you two to pull up the sheets and cocoon you in them. He settles back down, moving closer and pressing his face against your back. He lifts his arm from under the sheets, and extends it above your hips. After a few instants of patting the sheets, he finally finds Rowan’s curled up form.
A soft, tired smile lifts the corner of Eris’ lips as he nuzzles closer to you, inhaling your scent as his fingers trace lazy patterns on his son’s arm. “Our beautiful boy…” He whispers through the night, no one but him there to witness this tender moment.
Eris is soon lulled to sleep by your breathing, knowing that right now, here, his family is safe. And he will fight to make sure it remains this way as long as he lives. Even; especially if it means undoing millennia of barbaric traditions.
Eris Vanserra Taglist:
ACOTAR general taglist: @mybestfriendmademe @lilah-asteria @acotar-lover @paige0103 @princesssunderworld
