High School Diaries (A Throne of Glass Fanfiction)

Chapter 56

The cadre by starscrapersig ^^^

Dawn neared, the stars dimming one by one.

Rowan tapped his foot against the motorboat riding against the sea below him, eyeing the ship on the horizon, looming closer with every passing moment, but somehow he was not reaching it. That was all that remained between him and his prey. If not for Lorcan, he would have charged right in, and though Lorcan was right, it drove him crazy. When it came to Aelin, nothing made sense to him other than her. And so he was on his way from Skull's bay in a tiny boat with Aedion while others came in behind in a huge ship on the other side of Maeve's ship, courtesy of Rolfe, even though he insisted on captaining it himself. Being here reminded him of Aelin, the way Rolfe had sneered at them all every time Aelin's name was mentioned. Even within the binds of Arobynn, irrespective of the consequences she would irrevocably face, she freed those slaves when she could not free herself. She had left a piece of herself here, even though her memories of her here were with someone else, it was someone Aelin had loved fiercely and who had loved her back to face the consequences right with her.

A killing calm had settled over him hours ago. Days ago.

Only a few more minutes.

"You didn't sleep a wink, did you?" Aedion asked.

"Not since we found out about her whereabouts." Rowan stretched, feeling the buzz in his body, the exhilaration he had not felt in any mission in a long time, with lingering anticipation of future exhaustion it would leave in its wake. "I traveled here from Leriba yesterday as fast as I could to join you all before the person coming to take Lorcan spotted me."

"I am going to make every single one of them pay for everything they did to Aelin."

"We will." Rowan's knuckles tightened on the phone as he twisted in his seats, eyes narrowing on the looming shadow of the ship drawing closer .

"What the-?" Aedion's voice trailed off as Rowan felt every weapon on his body, realizing what Aedion noticed.

The ship was not moving.

No wonder he felt something was off. The anchor had been dropped. Did Maeve find out somehow? Did Rolfe rat them out? Rowan tried to make out the ship from here. All the people seem to be standing on the other side of the deck, guarding against the passing ship. He decided to take the risk, signalling Aedion once, who nodded, and then began the climb on the rope connected to the anchor.

There was one guard on his side of the deck. He was silenced before he could alert his friends.

"Don't throw them down." Rowan whispered to Aedion, shadowing him at every step.

"I have been on a ship before." Aedion snarled, taking down another guard.

2 people were guarding the door to the cabin and further inside the ship, 3 on the other side, watching the passing ship warily. Aelin was here. Fenrys and Gavriel were here. Surrounded by Maeve, Cairn and so many nameless, faceless people. Bloodlust was taking over him, his eyes fixed on the large patch of blood on the edge of the deck no one had bothered to clean. But he had to act cautiously, his every move mattered from now on.

So Rowan steeled himself, willing ice into his veins.

Calm. Precise. Deadly.

One of the guards turned to look their way, his lips forming a word. The word on his lingering breath, the guard could not make any sound as Rowan barrelled his dagger towards him. The guard went down a heartbeat later, the second following his suit.

Rowan heard a loud gasp, his senses sharpening at the source, followed by a loud scream, "The ship is coming towards us, move away!" And to his word, the guards were running, alarms were ringing as Rolfe turned his ship towards Maeve's. Rowan and Aedion willed themselves into the shadows as steps sounded behind the closed gates to the cabin.