Grave Secrets (A Sam Cortland Fic)

[2]

It was amazing how a place could bring back so many good memories with one person, but bad memories with another. 

Sam Cortland was only a few miles from the once glass castle with Chaol by his side. Nesryn was scouting the rooftops for any unwanted company, bow and arrow in hand. Every few moments Chaol would catch her jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he walked. He knew she was doing it to show off, but it still made him smile. "That damned woman," he muttered, shaking his head. 

"What was that?" Sam said. 

"How does it feel to be back?" Chaol asked. He kicked a loose stone and sent it rolling down the street, where it hit the side of an inn just as a woman was leaving. He turned his attention to Sam who was shrugging, now.

"Safe," he said. "I guess? I'm not sure to be honest with you." A laugh of uncertainty escaped him.

"We're never safe," Chaol said, thinking about all he had been blindsided to. "But we will be."

"Because of her?"He asked, his voice wavering.

"Aelin's not who she once was," he replied. They passed the end of the town, now all that was left was the stretch from here to the castle. They'd reach there by mid-day. Nesryn scaled down the last rooftop and landed beside them, joining the conversation. 

"Our queen has fire in her veins. She can burn kingdoms to the ground, she can kill you from the inside out. Aelin is not a force to be reckoned with, and she's made that clear. Her heart is always set in the right place even if you think the opposite, trust her. Gods know I have." Chaol said and their conversation finished there. 
 
                                                       ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻

With Aelin captured, the palace was in chaos.
Rowan had gone to find his wife before anyone could stop him. Dorian and Aedion had tried, but he would see no reason to wait around while Aelin was either dead or close to it, and with that he left. That's when Aedion chucked a pebble in the sky, missing Rowan by a hair. The eagle cawed and flew even harder after that. 

"Damn it!" Aedion hissed, falling to his knees. 

"They're stronger together." Dorian said. "We need to attend to matters at hand." 

Aedion stood up and brushed past the king. "Lets go then." 

Lysandra knew Aelin better than most people. She knew her secrets, her fears, her triggers. And she thought those would be enough to used to her advantage while being her. Turns out, Aelin had a lot of friends and Lysandra wasn't sure how to approach them all in character. No one could know she had been taken, not yet. They all had so much faith and hope, she didn't want to take that away from them. 

Aedion and Dorian came through the main doors and Lysandra saw them as a light in the darkness. Quickly she excused herself from the group around her and headed to them as fast as she could without drawing too much attention to herself. They noted he fear in her eyes and sweat dripping down the side of her face.

"Without Aelin I can't be genuine. Last time it was easier, she was here and I knew what I had to do and say, but this? I can't do it," she told them.

Aedion and Dorian lead her into another room, away from everyone and she instantly let the facade melt away. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing the mark that would forever label her and frowned down at it. The boys secured the doors making sure no one could come in unannounced. Once they were done they came to Lysandra's side.

"Aelin wouldn't want you to suffer like this," Dorian said.

"What choice do I have? They can't know she's been taken!" Lysandra said.

Aedion was busy gnawing his bottom lip, deep in thought. He turned to them and cleared his throat.

"Maybe they should know," he said. That got him two confused staress in reply. "Think about it. We have a fleet on our side, what does Mauve have?"

"The fae that are bound to her, her own magic, Aelin —" Aedion shot Lysandra a cold stare and she stopped. "Sorry."

"My point is, Mauve doesn't know about this army Aelin has set up. She won't stand a chance against us."

Dorian's eyes lit with the hunger of revenge. He wanted nothing more than to take down her kingdom and strip her of her title. Taking back Aelin wasn't going to be easy, but he was ready to face death of it meant saving her.

"I'll go tell them," he said and headed to the door.

⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻

To Chaol things seemed different as they approached the castle. Something was wrong, he could feel it but he couldn't say what it was. He just knew. He looked over his shoulder at Sam who was practically gawking at the edifice in front of him. 

"It's almost unbelievable, isn't it?" Chaol said as he walked up to the doors. They were closed but he could hear some chatter behind them. Was there a party? Or worse . . . a funeral. He couldn't think about that, not right now. He let his thoughts go and tried the handles. The door made a click as it opened and he gestured Nesryn and Sam over. 

"I should stay out here until she's ready to see me," Sam said taking a step away from the door. Chaol gave him a brief nod and headed inside with Nesryn. 

The palace wasn't as busy as Chaol thought it would be. There was a good group of people standing about, chatting to one and other. And he wasn't exactly sure who they were. Allies? Maybe. He spotted Dorian walking towards the crowd and made a B-line towards him with Nesryn at his heels. 

"Dorian!" 

Dorian turned, his face bright with happiness as he laid eyes on Chaol. He let his eyes pass over Nesryn for a moment in acknowledgement before falling back on him. 

"It's good to see you walking again," Dorian said and turned to Nesryn. "It's good to see you again, too. I'd stay and catch up, but I have to make an announcement before I forget. You can wait in the study over there," he pointed towards the door he came out of, "Aedion and Lysandra are there." 

Before Chaol or Nesryn could stop him he left their company and continued further into the crowd. They didn't seem to have a choice in the matter so they made their way to the study. Aedion was sitting on one of the chairs closer to the door when they walked in, and across from him, by the window looking over the front of the castle, stood Lysandra. 

"What's going on?" Chaol demanded. 

Lysandra turned around and glanced at Aedion. He exhaled and stood up. Lysandra looked back out the window as Aedion spoke to them. He told them about the fight with Mauve and how it ended with Aelin being captured and Rowan flying off to save her, leaving the court without a queen.