A Court of Kingdoms and Ash: An ACOTAR and TOG Crossover

Sunrise at Sea

Elide Lochan hadn't been enjoying herself these past weeks.

Not that she'd been expecting to.

Traveling with Rowan, Lorcan, and Gavriel was overwhelming at best, violent at worst. Lorcan and Rowan had been at each other's throats, she and Gavriel often trying to calm them with little success.

It didn't help that she could barely stand to look at Lorcan. Every time she saw him, she saw Cairn's whip slice through the air. She saw Aelin's discarded shirt, soaking in a pool of her own blood.

But those thoughts would do her no good, not now. Now, Elide needed to focus every bit of her mind on finding her Queen.

She'd been throwing herself into locating Aelin. It was all she thought about—to the point where she found it difficult to sleep at night. Her mind just wouldn't go quiet.

And it was all for nothing.

Because they had made no progress on this ship, speculating and wondering and fighting.

"Doranelle," Gavriel said, shaking his head as he stood beside Elide on the ship's quarterdeck. "She has to be in Doranelle. It's Maeve's stronghold—she wouldn't dare leave."

They were sailing for Doranelle now. Elide desperately wanted to agree, to make the most out of this rare, quiet moment she and Gavriel were sharing. The sun was rising, the waves calm, tinged with orange.

But she couldn't.

"We can't know," Elide responded after a long moment. "We can't possibly know. Maeve could be anywhere. I'm sick of fighting about this. We don't have any information—I'm sick of all the speculation, Gavriel," she finished, exhaustion coating her voice.

She was also sick of... this. This way of living—constant tensions boiling over on their tiny godsdamned ship. Here, there was no way to hide or rest or even have a spare moment for herself.

They needed to get to land. Once they did, everything would get better. Elide would be able to breathe.

More importantly, she'd finally be able to get her hands on information about Maeve. It would come in the form of rumors, yes, but every rumor held a degree of truth.

Only days remained, the captain had promised her. Days, and then they could finally make progress.

"I'm sorry," Gavriel said quietly, his serious eyes trained on the horizon, skin tanned from days spent on the deck.

"It isn't your fault," Elide muttered, conceding just a bit. She hadn't been intending to pick a fight with him—she hoped he understood that, at least. "I just wish there was something we could do for her."

Every moment since she'd watched Aelin be shoved into that coffin, since she'd watched the lid slam shut—every moment, she had wished she'd gone with her. Elide was certain she would have been able to say something insulting enough for Maeve to take her in retribution. The Queen was hardly the type to honor a bargain, after all. It wouldn't have been hard. Elide deserved all the pain she would have gotten had she gone—because Aelin's capture was her fault, and hers alone.

Yes, she lashed out at Lorcan. But deep down, the guilt ate at Elide. And she couldn't stand it.

"Maybe there is," Gavriel said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. Elide straightened, turning towards him as her brows furrowed. What could they possibly do stranded on this boat?

"I'll train you," he said. "Battle strategy. Refine your skills, teach you to use your mind to your advantage. And I'll teach you how to fight. It's better than sitting around all day doing nothing." Gavriel actually looked excited about this, having cracked Elide a small grin, eyes twinkling.

Elide was about to say no. The word was on the tip of her tongue. She couldn't, not with her ankle. But... something made her pause.

Gavriel knew plenty about her ankle. But he was still proposing this—which meant he believed she could succeed. He believed she could be a viable threat.

Maybe that was all the encouragement she needed.

"Alright," she said, cautious and quiet, her dark eyes meeting his. "I'll do it."