Throne of Glass and ACOTAR Stories

The Heir of Fire and Lady of Night Part 2.0

Sorry, guys--I totally forgot about this story, LOL.

I guess now you can thank @Kateslyn11 for motivating me to actually take a look at this story.

Sorry for the wait. <3

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"I never thought I would come back here," Rowan Whitethorn murmured as we stood in front of the iron door tucked into the side of the snowy mountain.

It had been two days since we had first confronted the shattered, silver-haired Fae male in his cottage outside Velaris; two days since he showed us the real reason our home came to be. Rhys, Mor, and I had explained everything to our friends, Cassian, Azriel, and Amren, who had stared at Rowan with shock. Or, at least Amren and Azriel did--Cassian had only raised his eyebrows at the ancient Fae warrior and blurted out that he didn't look a day over two thousand.

I was shocked to catch the slight smile on Rowan's tattooed face, but it was gone before I finished blinking. Could it be that hearing of his mate's possible return had begun to melt the ice he'd encased himself in?

Whatever the case, Rowan's expression was now once again blank as he stared at that ancient, iron door, Cassian, Mor, Azriel, and my own mate--Rhys--standing beside him.

"Neither did I," Azriel admitted, to all of our surprises. "Rhys, this is the same door we found two centuries ago."

My mate nodded, stepping up to the door and unlocking it. "It looks like I owe you a bottle of wine," He said, sighing in defeat. "There's no gold."

A smile flashed across Azriel's face, but it quickly faded as Rhys and Cassian hauled open the door.

I once again lit our torches, Rowan's eyes flickering at the sight of the magical embers, though he said nothing as the six of us stepped inside.

The iron vault was exactly as we'd left it; minus Rowan's old, leather journal, which he now had in his hand. Cassian whistled at the ancient objects, the sound bouncing off the walls. "Damn, this stuff is old."

"I would think so," Rowan agreed, his voice slightly hoarse as he examined the stag tapestry. "All of it's over seventeen thousand years old."

As if on cue, the iron door slammed shut--just like before, our torches now the only source of light in the room.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Cassian asked.

I answered "yes" the same time Rowan said "no" and we all stared at our new friend in silence and fear.

"It did that last time we were here," I explained to him, anxiety fluttering in my stomach.

Rowan slowly shook his head, his pine-green eyes wide. "Aedion and I never designed for it to do that."

I looked to Rhys, who had gone pale at Rowan's words. "When we were here last, Aelin told us that she could never keep her form visible when she needed to," He breathed. "Do you think--"

Rowan stiffened, his gaze darting all around the room. "Aelin?" He called out with a shaking voice. "Are--are you there, Fireheart?"

There was no response, though the flames lighting our torches stirred. Rowan was standing so still I didn't know if he was breathing.

"Keep talking," Rhys whispered to him.

Rowan swallowed but obliged. "It's me Aelin," He said into the blackness, "it's Rowan. I've tried to keep my promise to you and watch over Terrasen, but...so much has changed. And--and I miss you, so much."

There was a popping sound and a small gasp, then a flicker of light.

And there she was.

Physically, Aelin Galathynius was the same as before. But mentally...I wasn't so sure. Her spirit form flickered on and off, and there was a dazed and confused gleam in those turquoise and gold eyes that worried me.

"Row-an?" She asked, the sound of her voice popping with her flickering form.

Rowan inhaled sharply at his name, his pine-green eyes gleaming as he took a step toward her flickering form. "Yes; it's Rowan, Aelin," He whispered to her.

Aelin tilted her still-flickering head to the side as if in deep thought. When she opened her mouth to speak, the words came out so quiet and garbled it sounded like, "The da-rk wing is ve-ry hun-gry."

Rowan stiffened as if he'd heard the exact same thing. "What?"

"La-dy St-ar n-ot plea-sed," She got out.

I could hear Rowan's breaths start to quicken. "Are you hurt? Is someone hurting you?"

Aelin looked up at the ceiling with that dazed expression. "May-be La-dy Mo-on c-an ca-lm he-r."

Even with the dim lighting, I was able to see Rowan's hands turn into fists. "What's wrong with her? What do I do?" He asked desperately to no one in particular. When none of us answered, he sucked in a shuddering breath. "Where are you, Fireheart? Tell me how to find you."

The words were so heartbreaking I had to lift a hand to my mouth to reign in a sob. For seventeen thousand years, Rowan had been separated from his mate, now only to find...this.

Aelin looked back to her mate with sorrowful eyes. "Lo-cked aw-ay."

For some reason, hope made my heart soar at the words. Perhaps she wasn't lost.

"Where?" Rowan asked breathily.

Aelin looked up again, and just like that, the sudden hope that had filled me seeped from my body. "The sta-rs."

Then, with one, last flicker, she was gone.

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Rowan was silent after that--even after three hours had passed and the six of us had explained everything to Amren at the townhouse, who had stayed behind to keep watch over Velaris while we were away.

When we were finished, Amren loosed a breath. "It wouldn't be entirely insane to maybe consider that after seventeen thousand years away from civilization, this ancient queen you speak of has officially lost her mind."

Rowan stiffened in his chair across from mine, his eyes igniting with panic for a moment. But it was Rhys who said, "We've considered that, but how is it possible to go from mildly confused to completely deranged within two days?"

Amren's expression was cool and calculating. "She mentioned to you earlier that she called her prison in a place somewhere in-between, correct?" She asked, and we nodded. "If that's the case, then two days for us could be two years for her. Or, perhaps she is just as insane as before, but then she was able to control her form better."

Rowan rubbed at his face, and Cassian awkwardly patted him on the back. "Could there be any way for there to be maybe...less insanity?" He asked.

Amren shrugged. "Anything is possible; surely you aren't that stupid."

Cassian only rolled his eyes at the jab.

"Crazy or not, we need to save her," Rhys insisted. "She gave up everything to save our world, and was paid back in the worst ways imaginable: forgotten, separated from her loved ones, thrown into a prison for seventeen thousand years...even after all she gave, and the world's way of repaying her was twisted and cruel. I say it's time we change that." He didn't say it aloud, but his voice whispered into my mind, And also may prove a useful ally when defeating Hybern.

All of us nodded at his words. We had made Rowan a promise, and we intended to keep it.

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Don't panic, this isn't the end!

Really short part 2.0, but I wanted to release this portion to let you know I got straight to it. Part 3.0's release date is unclear, but I'll make sure it wasn't as long as a wait.

Sorry guys.....

Please comment thoughts/feels/suggestions, and I hope you enjoyed. 😊