Throne of Glass and ACOTAR Stories

The Letter

Aelin stared down at her scarred, red hand, the skin around her wrists still raw from the shackles Maeve had clamped there.

She hated them.

She hated every new scar on her body, ugly and brutal wounds that had almost killed her those six weeks before Rowan had come, and even after that, when Yrene Towers and the other healers Chaol and Faliq had brought from the Southern Continent had attempted to heal her. It had taken weeks and weeks to heal to where she was now, Rowan never once leaving her side as she faded in and out of consciousness. 

She knew from the way he looked at her that those weeks with Maeve had taken its toll. Not just physically, but spiritually.

And from the way he looked...it still bothered him, too, and likely would for a long while.

Aelin forced her gaze from her hands as she sat on the velvet couch, her aching muscles and bones causing her to wince at the movement. She stared at the fireplace, where flames danced, their heat soothing her.

Once, she might've sent a flicker of her magic to twine with those flames, but now, when she was so weak...she could barely draw up anything but a spark at her fingertips. She felt it slumbering, deep in that well of magic, but her current state wasn't of much help.

The thoughts swarmed in her mind, when all of a sudden, a popping noise sounded, startling her.

She looked up to find a piece of parchment floating down, landing perfectly in front of her.

She looked around, wondering where it could have come from, before hesitantly plucking up the parchment, and read:

Dear Celaena.

Her heart nearly stopped in her chest at the words, the handwriting. Handwriting so familiar her fingers trembled as she continued on.

Dear Celaena,

I know this might come as a shock to you, but its Sam. Your Sam. It's hard to explain, but I was allowed this one moment to reach out to you, so I must be quick.

I'm okay.

I'm happy.

And I miss you. I miss you, even though I see you every single day, if from a distance. Even though you don't know it, I've been watching over you, loving you these past two years. It's hard to believe so little time has passed, especially considering how much has changed.

How much you've changed.

Aelin Galathynius, huh?

I never would have guessed that I was in love with a lost Queen of Fire, or that you would have bothered to love me back, but...here we are.

Don't feel bad about not telling me; I would rather you never tell me at all than you getting hurt or worse because of it. I realize now that it was that part of you--the real part of you--that I initially fell in love with. I always sensed there was something underneath that thorny surface.

A part of you that Rowan Whitethorn was able to bring out in a way I never could.

I told you; I've been watching.

I'm glad you found him, and I'm glad you were able to find that peace and love you deserve. A true equal, someone who can protect you and show you you're loved--who understands you, in a way I only partially understood.

But, like you, I've made friends where I am, too.

There's this really nice Fae female I've become friends with named Lyria. She's kept me company while I wait and watch for you. She claims to know you in some way as well, but won't tell me how. I don't mind--much. All she tells me is that you have her blessing, and that she has prayed and hoped you would come for a while now.

There are others here, too. There's a human man, who claims to watch over his three daughters in another world, hoping he can somehow become the father they deserved. And a woman with hair as black as night, who claims to also know you, and your friend, Elide Lochan.

Your parents, I've met as well. They thanked me for all I'd done, but I'd told them there was nothing to thank. We have been close friends ever since.

There's also an Eyllwe princess here named Nehemia, who sometimes comes to join in on my conversations with Lyria. She has a very nice personality, and she says she "once knew you when you were lost." Whatever that means. Nehemia often talks like that; in riddles you can never decipher.

The main reason I'm telling you all this is because you need to hear it. It kills me--again, I suppose--to not be able to help you. To only be able to watch you.

But hopefully, but writing this letter, I can help guide you back into the light. You'll need it, especially when it's...time.

It's utterly unfair that you must be the one to bear this god-awful burden, and I hate that I must be the one who motivates you to accept this fate. But...I also know you. When you get your mind set on something, there's nothing that can hold you back. The great might of Celaena Sardothien!

Never lose that part of you, no matter what name you go by, because it makes you special. More special than your flame or abilities; that inner part of you that will always love and fight to the end is something that no one else but you has. And Celaena, it has power.

More than you know.

But now...I'm afraid my time is up. I wish I could talk to you in person, but I suppose with all that is to happen that will be soon. Perhaps longer for you, but then again, I have eternity in paradise.

An eternity you deserve with Rowan Whitethorn.

With all my love,

Sam

Aelin didn't know when she'd started crying; when she started to hold that piece of parchment to her heart, sobbing.

Sam. Sam had written this.

How, she didn't know. Nor did she care. All she knew was that Sam was living on, in some other place, with Nehemia, her family, and--and Lyria. Rowan's...former lover-mate-that-wasn't-his-mate.

She huffed a laugh at the slight thought, closing her eyes. "Thank you," She whispered to no one in particular. "Thank you."