Rowaelin+Feysand

Chapter 2

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I let them fall. I tried to send my hope through the bond- and tried to ask him if he was... there, but nothing. That bond was now a dry, wasted, barren land, which was once full of half-smiles and smirks. A hawk soared overhead. Its screech reached my ears, although it was so high above us that I could only see it because of my fae eyesight.

I stopped trying to swim. If Rhys was dead, then there was no point in staying alive either. I stopped moving and willed my hand to let go of Rhys' shirt, let go of him, but it did not listen. It didn't want to let go. That screech met my ears again and suddenly dived down towards. us. I panicked and tried to winnow away. But then I remembered. No point in living. So I stopped my efforts and looked on as the hawk flew nearer. Nearer. 

Then it dived into the water, right underneath us, and I felt the oddest sensation of being lifted up, I looked down, and I indeed was being lifted upwards. With Rhys. On the hawk's back. I screamed and screamed, but soon enough my voice turned hoarse. I looked down, saw how far we were from the ground, and promptly vomited on the water below. A wing of the hawk's flapped so high, it hit me, and the next thing I knew, the world faded into oblivion.

When I woke up, I was on the beach. A silver-haired male was looking at the beautiful- yet scarred- woman beside him, who was looking curiously at us.

"Rowan?" she started, tearing her gaze back to the male. "What did you do?"

"Aelin..." he groaned. "They were flailing in the water-"

He gestured to me. "Well, this one was, for a bit. Then she went still and closed her eyes, like..." he trailed off, and they gazed into each other's eyes like they were having a private conversation. I turned to my side, where Rhys still lay prone. I put my hand gently on his chest. Still unmoving. My eyes filled with tears again, but I bit my lip. I could not cry in front of these people- I did not want to seem vulnerable. But, even as I closed my eyes, the feeling of despair and grief washed over me and crushed me, fracturing my already broken heart. A tear leaked over, then another. I did not care about the people in front of me, anymore. I just cared about the male beside me- a dead male. 

The sobs hit me then, and I put my head gently even closer to Rhys'. I subconsciously noticed the male leaving, and the female coming closer. She gently tilted my head up to meet her eyes. They were turquoise, with a small ring of gold around the pupil.

"Are you from Maeve?" she asked softly, and if I cared enough for my life, I would have noted that it was menacing.

"Maeve?" I wearily asked. "Is that a... place?"

She looked into my eyes and nodded. "Where are you from?"

"Prythian!" I muttered. "Is this the human side-"

There was no wall.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Do you know what world we are in?" I asked, saying it slowly, thinking that she might be a bit off her head.

"Erilea, of course." she shook her head like I  was the mental one.