Only You

Dreams of You

Rowan did not speak as he watched Maeve circle him. His eyes following her steps as she examined him. His wrists were bound with iron chains, which were in turn tied to a longer chain that was being held by a soldier who stood a few feet from him.

He had been moved around to various places since being brought to one of Maeve's mansions hidden deep in the countryside. Rowan knew she was trying to confuse him by changing where he slept each night, creating illusions of different places, trying to make him forget where he really was and increase the difficulty of him finding a way out.

The iron clamps around his wrists rubbed against his skin and he tried not to wince at the pain. His skin had been rubbed raw from them, and with his magic being dulled to nothing but little pieces, he was unable to heal himself. During the first few days there had been enough there for him to send what he could down the bond, enough that he hoped Aelin would feel his tugs— as he could feel her doing too.

He brought his attention back to the room and studied Maeve as she eventually stopped in front of him. Her mouth twitching at the sides as she realised the pain he was in.

"It won't be much longer now, dear Rowan." She snapped her fingers and one of the males that had been stood by the wall rushed forward and produced Maeve with a chair. She spread her deep crimson dress around her and elegantly placed herself down.

"My spies tell me that your lovely mate has been informed of your... situation." She gave him a satisfied grin. "It's a shame you won't get longer together. But after I have used her, there won't be anything left."

Rowan flinched— but remained silent.

"How unfair it is that you have waited hundreds of years to meet your true mate and just like that," she snapped her fingers, "it's taken away from you." She let out a satisfied chuckle.

Just like Maeve's power had been taken from her. He hadn't known of the falling out between Maeve and Brannon— of the restriction on her magic. Maeve had explained it to him when he had arrived. She had filled his head with the visions of what had happened all those years ago, telling him of the cruelty she had dealt with at the hands of Brannon— of the things that he stole from her and how she was intent on getting them back.

Rowan could do nothing except watch Maeve as she taunted him.

"When Aelin arrives, I will of course let you have a moment to say goodbye. How tragic it will be to see your mate after all these weeks only to have her torn away."

Rowan let out a guttural growl and pulled on the chains that the soldier behind him were holding. The solider tugged him back with a hard yank.

"Nothing to say, Rowan?" Maeve chuckled darkly.

"I have plenty to say, but I'm not going to waste my breath on you."

"Such a shame. I always did enjoy hearing you speak." She stood from the chair and pulled at the ends of her dress so they fell behind her. She started to walk towards the large double doors before turning around to Rowan once more. "I should thank you really. I had been planning on something far more elaborate to get Aelin here, but your hasty exit from Orynth to Doranelle made my plans far easier to execute."

Rowan remained still as Maeve smiled wide at him. He wanted nothing more than to snuff the air from her lungs, to wipe that smug grin from her face.

"Until next time, Rowan darling."

The solider pulled him back with such a force that he staggered a few steps before gaining his balance and following them into the darkened hallway and back to the room he had been put in.

He found himself thankful for the uneventful meeting with Maeve. After starving him for the first few days, Maeve had grown bored with his lack of reactions and had decided that he needed something more— so they had drugged him with Gloriella.

It was just enough that he kept his consciousness, so he felt every cut, every whip that they had used on him. And when they had finished, Maeve had spun a dream so vivid and real that he wanted to cry. A dream of him and Aelin, hundreds of years from now; Aelin with a swollen belly, beside her a boy, almost as tall as she was, with white hair and those Ashryver eyes. Their son. And when Rowan had tried to reach out for them, the dream had fallen apart and instead he found himself looking at Maeve who was smiling at his pain, at the torment she was causing him.

That dream came back to haunt him every time he closed his eyes.

The rattle of chains brought Rowan back to reality as the soldier released Rowan from the chain that he had been using to drag him with, before shoving him into the room and slamming the door closed behind him.

Rowan was alone in the dark, dusty cage they called a room. All that accompanied him was a bed that was five inches too short, a threadbare blanket and a candle that he could not light— perhaps a mockery of his mates powers.

He stood in the centre of the room for a moment, gazing towards the door. He found himself wishing that somehow he could escape this mess he'd put himself in and get to Aelin before it was too late.

Rowan shook his head and perched on the edge of the bed.

He often thought of the moments that had led up to his capture. He had been in a small town only two days flight from Doranelle sorting out some of the unrest from a select few of the townspeople. Rowan and Fenrys had talked about who should go, it was an easy task really, and neither one of them had wanted to do it. Rowan had argued that he had been away for a week already and should go back to Orynth soon— he had punished Aelin enough with his absence. But Fenrys had insisted that it would only take a week at most and the people respected Rowan more. So he'd relented.

He had reached the town in no time, the northern winds helping him along. The people in the town were more than welcoming and had pointed him in the direction of the small group causing the trouble. In fact, the group were no more than a handful of young men wanting to win the attention of the single women in the town. All Rowan had had to do was flash a little bit of his magic and told them to cut it out, and they'd obeyed.

He didn't know what exactly had happened next— all he knew was one moment he was getting ready to leave for Doranelle and then everything disappeared. The buildings, the trees, the people... all of it gone in a second, nothing but a blank space where everything had once stood. Then Maeve had emerged and he hadn't been fast enough to shift and get out of whatever he had landed himself in.

It took Maeve only a moment to have him in irons and whisked him away to where they were now. Not enough time to send a warning flare, or something down the bond to Aelin.

He prayed to the Gods that Aelin would not be stupid enough to come here alone— not with the limited training she had been given. Even with the damper on Maeve's power, he wasn't sure Aelin would have the skills or control to hone her power and beat Maeve and he was sure that her hand to hand combat wouldn't be enough.

He shuddered at the thought of Aelin being here, his chest going tight at the thought of his mate in the hands of someone as sadistic as Maeve.

Rowan knew that he would do anything to ensure Aelin's safety.

Even if that meant sacrificing his own life.