Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas (After Empire of the Storms)-Aftermath

Trapped-Chapter 1

She was chained head to toe in irons. Aelin Galathynius, the Lost Queen of Terrasen-former Adarlan's Assassin-King's Champion, was at the mercy of her Dark Royal Empress Aunt Mauve. Worst than that, she feared the darkness. It reminded her too much of Endovier. The only thing that was missing was the company of other slaves. Back then, she know that in her confinement, she was not alone, but now, in the empty, lonely iron coffin. The darkness, the chains, it drove her mad and scared her to death. Reminding herself of Rowan, Lysandra, Aedion, and Elide- her loved and treasure ones-why she did all of this, her sacrifice for a better future for her people, her friends- was the only thing keeping her sane. Aelin wanted them to rescue her so badly, but she knew they couldn't. Once they entered, there would be no hope for her. Mave would surely capture them and torture her friends in front of her very own eyes to break her-and she would. She would do anything to protect them. Hopefully, they understand and will leave her with the company of unrelenting darkness. Hopefully, her sacrifice will not all be in vain. Yet, Aelin wondered what her parents, her uncle would think of this. Would they be proud of her, or ashamed? She kept on mulling the question over and over again in her head, desperate to find an answer. It always seemed to change depending on her actions. Her mind wandered back to Rowan. It always did somehow, no matter how hard she tried to stop it, since it hurt her so much. What would HE think? She knew he would feel sad, lonely, depressed, and most of all- guilty for not being there when she needed it anyway. But would he accept her as his mate-after everything with Lyria? Aelin prayed to the gods-not sure if they would listen (with her being their puppet), the wondered if she should: I mean, they never listened to her. Nevertheless, she did, for her mate hoping he would leave her here in the chains of darkness with nothing as her companion. That he would climb out of the deep abyss that he had fallen into after losing Lyria. Well, Rowan shouldn't blame himself. It was HER choice. In the end though, she knew that Terrasen was in good hands, and she shouldn't worry about it. She had no doubts in her friends. Aelin trusted them enough to give her life for them to handle.