After Empire of Storms

Chapter 16

I changed some things at the end of Chapter 14...Not too major--or is it? :)

Lavender. Rowan pushed Cairn's body away from him, the decapitated form barely recognizable as it slid down the blood-soaked wall.

Jasmine. Rowan wiped the blood from his sword using a small portion of his cloak that had managed to stay clean. Gavriel and Lorcan didn't move, still staring at the headless body now slumped unnaturally against the stone.  

Lemon verbena. Rowan turned away, the red blood on his clothes like ancient war paint as he sheathed his sword, blinking away the scene of death. Blood splattered his face and his traveling clothes as the male turned to face the two fae. 

Blood. The inescapable stench forced its way into his nose. Rowan breathed shallowly, the iron door at the end of the hall swinging shut on a phantom breeze. His mate's scent covered the inside of the room, along with the smell of copper. Of blood. He would make them pay. Every fae who had trapped his Fireheart would die slowly by his hand. 

Gavriel's gaze did not stray from the corpse. From the fae who might have lived for centuries more if the King of Terrasen had not ended his wretched life. Lorcan's lips tugged upwards, a cruel mockery of a smile. 

"To Aelin." The voice was void of feeling as Rowan looked up, true hope on his travel-worn face. 

Lorcan only nodded, finally looking away from Cairn's mangled body. "To the queen." Rowan did not have the strength to ask to which one Lorcan meant, as he strolled between the centuries-old warriors and nodded to both.

* * * * * 

Each step away from the dungeons sent pulses of flame through his blood. The illusion of another being, hidden deep within his broken soul, waiting to fix it. Each beat of his heart grew stronger as Rowan stormed through the fortress, quite literally. 

The wind blowing around the males created a windstorm inside the hallways, a tornado spurred by Rowan's rush to see his queen. Any soldiers unlucky enough to stand in the faes' way quickly fell, either by a death-kissed wind or Rowan choking the breath from their lungs. 

Gavriel guarded their backs, arrows and bolts falling uselessly to the ground after colliding with a shield of shimmering golden light. 

The trio continued their sprint through the castle, easily navigating the corridors they had walked through countless times. But that was before. Before they had found a queen worthy of serving. Before Rowan had found his carranam. Before he had found his wife. 

The males slowed their approach as two doors loomed ahead. Rowan knew Maeve was waiting on the other side. Possibly torturing his mate. Her scent was all around him, leaking through every crack in the stone doors ahead. The scent was nearly driving him crazy. 

A hunched figure crouched by the doors, panting heavily. Their white clothes nearly blended in with the pale swirls of stone. Rowan reached for his weapons, ready for a final--

"Fenrys?" Gavriel's incredulous voice echoed through the empty room. The white wolf looked up, something like fear reflecting in its glassy eyes. Rowan gripped his sword tighter as a flash of light obscured the figure. 

The male standing in the wolf's spot slowly raised his hands to his golden hair. There was no smile on his perfect face. "She's in there with Aelin." Rowan sucked in a breath, the words only confirming what he already knew. "Her power. It was so much."