𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬

Ch 15: She named me Aelin

Rowan POV
History would not repeat itself was all I thought before I willed my magic to free me, but nothing happened. I tried again, and again, but still nothing happened! Chains still clinging to my wrists. Maeve got up, slowly, but still got up and looked at me with anger shining in her eyes but her face twisted into a cruel smile. "Thought I was stupid did you?" she sneered and stopping myself from answering with a 'yes' took everything in me. "I made those chains. They won't let go so easily." she said.

'History would not repeat itself' just a background noise now, "Where is she? How far could you possibly take her that the mating bond is so weak?" I asked. Telling her about the weak bond was not the smartest thing to do but I needed answers, something to go on. Maeve's smile morphed into a snarl. She didn't respond to my question for a minute, and I thought she won't say anything but when she did, I wish she hadn't. "That's because she is slowly dying. She is keeping her power inside her to kill me, doesn't know that it will kill her first" Maeve said. My world collapsed onto itself. She would unknowingly kill herself. My mind forgetting all rationality I pulled, and pulled, and pulled but the chains refused to give, and Maeve cackled at my sorry attempts but I didn't stop, couldn't stop, because my mate was dying, and I would die with her. I didn't have it in me to survive her death, and so I kept pulling.

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Helion POV
How so much power could be alive inside one person was beyond me. She collapsed when the emotion in her made her magic want to burn something and keeping it inside would kill her, so I took it out, just enough to take the edge off ofcourse but less than fraction of her power was taking everything in me to keep it inside, how she was doing it along with being 3 months along, I couldn't understand. Thesan was standing there, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes flashing with wariness and doubt. "It was nothing Thesan, just not feeling very well, needed to put in more energy." I lied. He didn't say anything but I could see he didn't believe me. I was too tired to bother right now. All I could think about was that she was Evalin's daughter, my old friend's blood flowed in her veins.

I was there with Amren when Evalin had left, she had cried on my shoulder for leaving Rhys, had made me promise that I would take care of him and I had said I would. I would never in my long life, forget her face that day, devastation and tears painted on it.

And now she was here, her daughter. "Thesan could you go out for a moment I need to talk to Lillian about the baby." I said my eyes not leaving Lillian. "Sam you too." They both hesitated for a moment but then left when Lillian began to stir. Sam closed the door behind him and stood outside the door, as if guarding it.

"Your name is not Lillian." I started to the now conscious woman. "You know." she said in response, not answering my question. "You're her daughter. I knew her, she wouldn't name you Lillian, it's too innocent sounding for her taste." I said. She didn't respond just took a deep breathe and closed her eyes, turning her head towards the ceiling. "Tell me something about her, please. I'll tell you my name but you need to tell me something about her. I miss her." she said, in a broken sort of manner.

"Is she okay?" I asked, confused about what she just said. "she's dead." she said simply, her face going back to expressionless. I was not surprised, devastated, but not surprised. "She had wings. She was half-Illyrian and half Ashryver, but we had to cut them if she was to go to your world." I told her. She smiled, tears flowing down her face now like she was imagining Evalin flying around above the city. "Aelin." she whispered, "my name. She named me Aelin."

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Elide POV
Ever since the boys were taken, I had been thinking about what Gavriel had mouthed. 'Valg' he had tried to say and the meaning had eluded me but now, sitting on a stone chair staring at an empty table and thinking about Aelin, I understood. Valg. Maeve.

She was a master manipulator, a woman who wielded darkness, that shouldn't make her blood black tho. She had won the battle outside the city but she had not left unscathed. Gavriel, Rowan and Lorcan were half of the infamous cadre after all, and even though they had lost, Gavriel had managed to knick her, a drop of blood had dripped out which was black, but when I blinked it was red so I had chalked it upto a fault in my vision because no way could the Faerie Queen be Valg, but now I wasn't so sure. "Why did you mouth that word to me when you got captured?" I asked Gavriel, not looking up at him. He didn't answer me, but Lorcan was confused. "What word?"

I didn't answer him, just lifted my gaze to Gavriel. "You don't think Maeve is.... do you?" I asked, refusing to speak that word that had taken so much from me infront of a total stranger. He looked me right into the eyes, his gaze confirming my fear. I gasped, the air suddenly getting hard to breathe. Aelin had been imprisoned by a Valg for three months.

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Guys Elide has no idea when Aelin escaped so that's why she thinks three months. Just thought I would clear that up.