Inivisible string: A Sam and Nehemia story

Chapter 25

Sam

He could feel heat and smell smoke. He had learned that Aelin Galathyinius had fire magic, but until now, he had never seen or imagined it, maybe it had something to do with those pointed ears. He had heard that while humans had magic and could control it, fae had much more power and control. He couldn't believe it, he had only seen magic once, on their way here in the ship, but that had been a different kind and it had seemed less somehow. This felt more powerful, as if all of the magic in the world was waiting in this room, waiting for something he didn't know.

Suddenly there was a cold wind and the heat and smoke left the room. A hawk appeared in a flash of light next to Aelin. The man-male scented the air, looking straight at Sam and then turned his face to Aelin. Sam could tell they were having some sort of conversation, but not in any way he could see or hear. Aelin huffed a laugh and grabbed the male's hand.

After it seemed she had calmed down, she only said one word, looking at both Sam and Nehemia. "How?"

Sam didn't know how to even start, she wasn't just asking the question Lysandra asked, she was asking since when and why, all in that one word.

Nehemia took that chance to talk. "Elena gave me a choice, in order for you to be ready, I had to... break you. For that the only way we saw was death, my death. I didn't want to die, but I was forced to choose. The morning before everything came to pass, I found a slave woman. She was almost death, and while I tried all I could to nurse her back to health, I couldn't. When the Grave came for me, I was long gone and I had left the woman making her look as much as me as possible. I don't know if she was already dead when I left, but I still see her face when I close my eyes." Sam pulled her in for a hug and she put her head in his shoulder while she cried.

Sam took that as his cue to talk. "She never came back because she couldn't, both of us wanted to come back. If she had come back someone would have recognized her and the whole thing would fail. All of the sacrifices she made would have been for nothing."

Nehemia raised her head and looked at Aelin "I had to let you believe I had died. If I hadn't Erawan would have won the war and we would all be conquered by him." While she still had some tears in her face, she didn't wipe them, she just looked at Aelin, begging her to forgive her. Forgive them.

Before Aelin made a decision about Nehemia, he decided it was time to tell his story.

"I was tortured by Farran, the only difference is that I managed to escape. I had thought I would need a Plan B in case I got captured. I went to a sickhouse and found a body that looked enough like me. When he was torturing me, he left me alone for a few minutes, I had enough time to escape and exchange the body, I made a few cuts in its face, hoping Farran wouldn't look past it and left him where I had been. The man was going to die either way, i just made sure his death would mean something, at least to me. I don't know how I managed it, but I did it."

Aelin was looking at him as if he had just slapped her or left her weapons dirty. He knew she wouldn't have been happy about him being alive, not after he left her and let her go to Endovier.

"Well, good both of you had a choice and you decided to use and innocent person for it. Then again can't say I blame you, I killed plenty of people as Celeana and during the war. But one thing I don't know if I can forgive is you leaving me to be sent to Endovier Sam." She was crying now, but he could also tell she was still angry at them, at him. "I was sent to Endovier for a year. I was whipped every other day, I was forced to work in shckles under the scorching sun with so many other slaves, with so many of my people. I got to know the kindness of other women and the cruelty of the guards. Maybe some of those things I'll be able to forget one day, maybe I'll be able to smile without faking it. But that torture? I'll never forget it. I was tortured for months in Meave's hands, forced into an iron coffin and unable to use my magic, going crazy, being healed every day so I wouldn't be able to remember what had been real, but that didn't compare to being next to my people. To watching all of them suffer because I abandoned them. So no Sam, I can't really forgive you for that torture, because that would mean I would have to forgive my self for everything, and I can't. I don't know how. "

Sam didn't know how to respond to that. He had been tortured by Farran, but to know that Celeana had been tortured and healed, to know how she suffered because she thought she had abandoned her people.

Nehemia took a few steps forward and threw her arms around Aelin. They started hugging and crying and all Sam could do was stand there, a couple of feet from them. Watching. Waiting.

"I'm so sorry. It was supposed to happen since my first meeting with Elena. The only change I could do was not die." Nehemia said. "My death was always supposed to send you to the edge, and if you look at it, it happened as Elena predicted. I'm sorry that you had to suffer because of that, but it was the only way to save all of us."

Aelin seemed to take Nehemia's

Sam took a step forward and grabbed hold of Aelin's hand. "I don't expect you to forgive me, I knew it was a long shot anyways. But I would like to explain myself. If after that you would like me to leave and never have to see or think about me again, then I'll do it. But on the off chance that you decide to forgive me, I will welcome that too." And so he explained why he did it that way, why he couldn't get back to help her, how he tried but didn't-couldn't find her. How he couldn't get close enough to the Keep to even try. "The streets around and the roofs of the Keep were crawling with assassins. Everyone was waiting for something, taking care that no one entered or got close enough to the house. But there were also Ioane's men. They all seemed to be waiting for something."

Aelin made a face, as if she was tasting something sour. "I know a little about that. After they brought your-the body, I spent a long time down in the crypt, until Arobynn made sure I went upstairs to my old room. After a few fitful hours of sleep I woke to Arobynn with others setting me up to kill Ioane and Farran. I later learned that it was a deal for Farran to take the position of Crime Lord from him. So probably they were no longer Ioane's men." She let out a sigh "I managed to kill Ioane, which was part of the plan, and then got captured and sent to Endovier. When I was already in, Wesley killed Farran and tried to get me out. Then was killed by Arobynn, not before he got a good blow on him."

Lysandra let out a strangled cry and left the room. Aelin turned to give her a look and after sharing another look with the golden haired male, he left after her. Aelin just turned back and said "Don't worry, we made sure Arobynn paid for every single thing he did before we killed him. He even financed a part of my army and my kingdom."