Hearts of Wrath and Ruin | Throne of Glass | Fenrys

Chapter 2

Aelin wanted nothing more than to take a hot bath and crawl into her bed. Prefarably naked, with Rowan. Unfortunately for her, the day was nowhere near over and there was still a fuck ton of things to do before she could get some much needed time alone with her mate and some Gods-damned rest. She always knew running a kingdom would be no easy fit, but turned out rebuilding one was an actual nightmare. She had a lot of matters to settle and everyone kept piling up things for her to consider, so she had to attend more meetings every day than should legally be allowed in a week. She was exhausted.

She needed a break.

With that thought she slammed closed the documents she was reading and got up from her desk. Her study was an absolute mess, since she couldn't make it through all of those documents fast enough. Treaties, trade trails, new laws to be established and old ones that needed to be abolished all littered her desk, chairs and shelves. She cringed looking around the room and promised herself that she would organize that chaos later. Didn't matter that she made that same promise for the fifth time this week. If she had to spend one more minute looking at those texts she would go insane. With a sigh she crossed the room, heaved open the massive doors and started down the hall. She still wanted to make some time for Elide, since the Lady of Perranth came to the capital just a few days ago, hauling Lorcan with her. Gods knew he would've rather stayed in their new estate and never spoke to another soul besides his wife ever again. But they came to Orynth to help with some more restorations and even though they saw each other every day for meals, Aelin had yet to find some time to talk to Elide in private. There was a conversation they needed to have at some point. Today it seemed, would not be the day. Instead of looking for her friend, Aelin steered towards the training grounds, where she knew she would find Lorcan. They still weren't exactly friends, but it seemed like they have reached a decent level of mutual acceptance. And that would have to be enough.

Aelin reached the doors leading outside and found them wide open, the fresh spring air flowing into the palace behind her. It was a sunny day, though still not warm, perfect weather for an extensive training for new guards and soldiers. True to her predictions, that was exactly what Lorcan was currently occupied with, looking increasingly pissed while doing so. Gods help whatever poor soldier got under his skin. Usually seeing the brooding warrior being driven out of his mind would've been immensely satisfying, but today Aelin actually needed to talk to him and it would've been helpful if he wasn't in a pissy mood.

Her conversation with Rowan about Ramiel two nights ago left her teeming with questions, but she didn't want to ask her mate about it. Not when it was clearly a painful topic for him, given how long he avoided talking about it and his reaction that night. She wasn't about to pour salt on his wounds just because she was curious. But that didn't mean she couldn't satisfy her curiosity somewhere else.

She walked across the training grounds, towards Lorcan and the unit he was currently torturing, everyone stopping in their tracks to bow their heads in respect to the queen. She still couldn't get used to it, the bowing and official titles, all the political nonsense. But she knew that she earned that respect so she only smiled and nodded at the soldiers to continue their training. Finally she stopped right before her target.

"What do I owe the pleasure, Your Majesty?" The slightly mocking tone of Lorcan's voice was nearly undetectable, definitely not to the human ears of the soldiers around them. Still, Aelin's lips quirked up in a smirk before she masked her amusement and replied, adressing the unit around them.

"I apologize to interrupt your training, but there are some matters I need to discuss with Lord Lochan." Her voice held that same tone his did, moments before, but that title was the real mockery. They both knew that even though Lorcan loved Elide and everything that came with her, he was still sour every time someone used his official title. So of course, Aelin did so every chance she got.

Lorcan's eyes glimmered with annoyance, but he didn't question her, only sending a nod and a quick order to the soldiers to continue without him, before he fell into step with her. She didn't feel like going back to the crammed palace, so instead she steered them towards the gardens. They were beautiful this time of the year, fresh, green leaves adorned the trees and bushes, and the scents of blooming flowers lining cobblestone pathways mixed with the ever-present pine scent creating a perfect picture of spring. At this point Aelin was so exhausted she honestly wanted to just stand in those gardens all day, inhaling the smell of home. At that moment however, she had other priorities. As soon as they were out of earshot, Lorcan dropped all pretences of being a proper Lord.

"What was so important you had to drag me out here?"

Aelin just sighed and didn't immidiately reply, instead giving herself a moment to mull over her questions. Last night when she came up with the idea to talk to him, she didn't exactly plan how she was going to approach that topic. She had no idea if Lorcan even knew anything and if he did, he certainly didn't utter a word about it so far. Not that they had a lot of meaningful conversations.

"What do you know about Ramiel Whitethorn?" Straightforward it was, even though she made sure to sound as casual as possible. She knew how to play pretend, but she was no diplomat.

However, seeing the look on Lorcan's face when she asked that question, made her think that maybe it would've been better if she actually was a diplomat. A mix of shock, anger and something akin to grief twisted his features for a moment, before they morphed into his usual mask of indifference. But that quick moment told Aelin enough to know that she made a good call seeking out the brooding warrior.

"What is your interest with her?" A cold, calculated question. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation.

Aelin debated for a moment if she should tell him the truth or come up with an excuse. The last thing she wanted was for word to get to Rowan that she was asking people about his lost aunt. Gods, this was a terrible idea. She should've just stiffled her curiosity and not go poking around behind her mate's back. It's not like Rowan wouldn't have told her everything himself if she just asked, but she wanted to spare him from his grief that would've no doubt resurfaced if she breached the topic again.

"I just heard some stories lately and I don't remember any of you ever mentioning her before. I thought that you might know something more in your old age." Aelin said in a teasing tone, throwing in a smirk for a good measure. Rowan did tell her some stories about Ramiel, so technically she wasn't lying. But Lorcan's expression remained serious, even in the face of her taunts.

"She was a member of the cadre. Before Rowan and Fenrys joined in. Died over two hundred years ago. That's basically all I know." Aelin was sure it was definitely not all he knew, but decided not to push her luck. It seemed not only Rowan was sensitive about the subject. At least now she knew why. Ramiel used to be a member of the cadre. She tucked that piece of information away for later and decided to end this poorly arranged meeting.

"Too bad. I've heard she was practicaly a legend." Aelin didn't have to fake her dissapointment at the lack of information. She was ready to accept defeat, turn around and get back to those dreadful documents waiting in her study, but the flicker of emotion on Lorcan's face made her pause. He turned his gaze away from her and heaved a sigh.

"She was a legend. The best of the best. I've never.. " Now hesitation was clearly written all over his face and Aelin tried her best not to seem too interested. He finally looked back at her and settled on saying. "I've never seen anyone fight like that. Not before and never after she was gone. I have no idea who or what could've been strong enough to kill her, but I'll hope we never have to face it. We wouldn't stand a chance." He ended that sentence with a tone of finality that told her this conversation was over. She didn't try to stop him when he turned around and started on his way back to the training grounds, grim faced and definitely in a worse mood than she found him. She already felt bad for the soldiers he would undoubtedly pour his frustration out on. But she didn't regret having that conversation nearly as much as she did a few minutes before. At least now she knew a few more important details about the female who held such significance to her mate and, it seemed, some others from the cadre as well.