Realm Of Ashes (Throne of Glass #7)

Chapter 14

Rowan s head pounded as he lifted it, reality crashing back to him. The first thing he registered was the sharp pain in his back. It was throbbing and unrelenting. The next thing was that Aelin wasn't there, neither were Elide or Lorcan. He was alone, bleeding onto the once pure grass below him, and his mate had been stolen from him, again. Rage boiled his blood. He had held her in his grasp for one second, one perfect second, before she was gone again. He couldn't stand this. The distance was slowly breaking him and what made it worse were the hammering thoughts his subconscious provided him with. Thoughts of what Maeve would do to her, what she had done to her. It was that that made his insides rile, begging to spill from him onto the already vandalised earth.

He calmed his breathing, focusing his thoughts. One problem at a time. First he would have to get the knife from his back and stop the bleeding. Otherwise he would bleed out here and be no use to his mate, wherever she was. He raised his body enough to peer over his shoulder to where the blade was protruding. It wasn't deep. His relief was short lived as he tried to figure out how to remove the blade with the least pain possible. There wasn't one, this was going to hurt.

He steadied himself, balancing his body weight on one arm as he took a deep breath and yanked it out. Pain lashed through his body, so violently his arm collapsed underneath him and he let out a choked cry. Every muscle in his body felt like it was burning, not just burning but disintegrating into nothing but ash and smoke. Steeling himself, he rose to knees, desperately attempting to ignore the pain where the knife had been. He needed to bandage this up, soon.

He had only just stumbled into what he presumed was Maeve's office when he found a pot ripe with pain-killing Vaseline. It was buried within a pile of old parchment and, as he reached to grab it, something caught his eye. His breathing hitched as he realised what it was; a not, addressed to him. It read

Rowan,

Your searching will get you nowhere. You will not see your mate again, and mark my words: if I ever set eyes on your traitorous self again I won't think twice about placing that dagger in a more permanent place

Maeve

He breathed around the tightness in his chest, rereading the note until it was engraved in his memory. His blood turned to frost as he contemplated her warning. He didn't care if he died, getting her back would be worth it. He had the strong urge to tip his head back and scream to the heavens for forcing such despair on him but he had to focus, had to patch up his slowly healing wound and find his companions. Only after that would he continue the hunt.

Rowan tightened the last bandage, securing it in all places and he was tugging on his still-bloody shirt as the door flew open. His training took over and he grabbed the knife from his boot, angling it in a defensive position. Elide flew in, panting. Her eyes were wide ass she took in the blood coating him and the letter he still clutched to. He swore he scented the salty smell of tears as she hobbled to him, wrapping him in an embrace so tight it was if the air was being squeezed from his lungs. When they pulled apart, Elide seemed to steady herself before opening her mouth to ask.

“What happened?” he quickly explained, leaving out details of the note, and then asked.

““Where’s Lorcan?” Time slowed as she processed his words and life seemed to drain from her, all of her previous happiness evaporating.

“Th-They took him. They dragged him away. I couldn't - I couldn't get there in time and he was still unconscious. They stole him. And they took Aelin as well, encasing them in iron and I couldn't - couldn't do anything. her voice cracked as a single tear rolled down her unwashed face, creating a single path of pale skin. He embraced her, using it to convey to her that it was okay, she didn't have to explain. It was not her fault.

Slowly, she pulled back, gazing into his eyes and the intensity he saw there was startling.

“What are we going to do?”

He smirked and replied.

“We are going to tear apart the earth to get them back."

He could have sworn Elide grinned.

Guys be proud of me 😜 I'm producing way more than normal xD shoutout to ShadowdaBookworm for being a beta reader and EowynFaramir for being my first reader.