After Empire of Storms

Chapter 24

She was too far. Too gods-damned far away from him. Warm air nipped at her ankles, as if the gods themselves were pushing her to run. Faster. The sun grew almost imperceptibly warmer as if Mala herself had appeared to assist Aelin. Faster, my blessed one. 

Aelin barely registered the dark winds that engulfed her as she sprinted towards her fallen cousin. The darkness lasted only a second before she was pushed out, directly next to Aedion, with Fenrys collapsing to the ground behind her. 

The arrow was sticking out of Aedion's left plate almost as if he was holding the arrow between his arm and his side. 

Only--there was nothing fake about the wound. The wooden shaft was stuck between the gaps in the metal of Aedion's armor. Yrene was there, a pale Chaol standing over her shoulder leaning heavily on the staff at his side. 

Aedion's eyes were closed, but flickered open at the sound of her footsteps. Blue and gold-flecked eyes met her own, and Aelin pulled at that drop of water her mother had gifted her with. Among the dregs of her power, the droplet sat clean and pristine, ready to be pulled out of her. 

To her side, there was a sharp flash of light, followed by heavy panting. Not sparing a glance at Aedion's other blood relative, Aelin dropped to her cousin's side. Strangely, no blood coated the ground, though Yrene's hands shook as they fought against the clasps to remove his armor. 

Aedion's eyes glimmered with pain, though there was an underlying emotion beneath it. 

His armor clattered to the ground, Lysandra there back to her human form to pull it away. A white undershirt lay underneath the armor, glimmering as if there was a light beneath it. Lysandra's green eyes glimmered with hope and--again that emotion Aelin couldn't place behind Aedion's gaze. 

Yrene reached for Aedion's shirt, but paused, running her magic over the wound. Aelin felt the magic reaching out, tendrils of light poking and prodding, then stopping and pulling back after reaching the arrow. 

Aelin snarled. "Fix him." Chaol placed a hand on Yrene's shoulder as she looked to the queen. Her eyes held only confusion as she turned back to Aedion.  

And ripped the arrow clear from his side. 

Aelin's scream was one of savagery as she launched herself at the young healer. She didn't care who the girl war, for injuring Aedion--for injuring any of her court--she would pay. Not even Chaol would reach the healer in time. 

But two strong hands engulfed her wrists, flecked with as many scars as her own. She was twisting her arms, attempting to escape the grip as Yrene backed into Chaol, who was staring behind Aelin, eyes wide. 

Aelin turned to the owner of the scarred hands enveloping her own--only to see those blue-yellow eyes--her eyes--looking back at her. Ashryver eyes connected with her own. Someone, in some far off world, was calling her name, but the noise only reached deaf ears. 

All she could see was the wide grin of Aedion Ashryver as he gripped his cousin. Keeping one hand around her wrists, Aedion pulled up the bottom of his shirt, wincing, lifting it until unblemished skin met her eyes. Where the arrow had stabbed between the armor, only a dark purple bruise met Aelin's gaze. 

She pulled her hands from Aedion's grip, refusing to move her eyes in fear that her cousin would end up laying back on the ground impaled with an arrow. 

"How?" She managed to choke out. Aedion smirked and Aelin wanted to punch him for it. "I'm going to impale you with an arrow for real if you don't start answering some of my gods-damned questions." His smile only grew.