Worlds Collide(ACOTAR and TOG crossover)

Part 7

This is kind of just a fun little part so you can see the relationship Kiara has with Aelin. The next few chapters will become more intense and will be more about Kiara's past. Enjoy!

"Yes Kiara!" Garreth yells to me from where he's standing as I swing my sword and strike my opponent, knocking him down. I smile and offer him my hand, picking him up off the ground. The tall boy around my age looks to Garreth then back to me

"Not fair to fight the Commander's daughter." He stalks off and I make no effort to correct him about Garreth not being my father. He raised me, he trained me to fight, he's been there for me over the past twenty years. Calling him my father isn't such a lie. He approaches me and his face is beaming with pride.

"You're one of the best I've ever seen with a sword."

"I had the best teacher."

"You sure as hell did." He laughs and offers me some water. "You're going to be quite the force to reckon with in a battle." I stop drinking and hand back the water.

"Yeah, but only with a sword. If only I could get better at my other weapons."

"You will, Kiara. We just have to wait."

"Face it Garreth, it's been ten years since Helion last came here. He's obviously not planning on keeping his promise. So I guess I'll just forever struggle to control my magic."

The wrinkles around his eyes crinkle has he meets my stare. Old. I think. He's looking old. His hair is grey now, thin. His bushy beard went grey about five years ago. He has a harder time getting himself up and about in the mornings. Every day I'm reminded of his mortality. That I'm going to lose him one day. This human man. Who raised a fae girl has his own. The thought of having to watch him die keeps me up at night, brings tears to my eyes. Loss is all I've known in my relatively short life. I lost everything. My family, my world, my life. And now, I'm having to lose everything again.

"He'll come. Helion is good. He'll come. He'll teach you to control the power you have. Then, my dear Kia, you will be unstoppable." He wraps and arm around my shoulder and guides me towards our cabin on the edge of the camp. "Now, c'mon, you must be starving from all that fighting." I laugh and fall into step with him, trying to clear my mind of my worry and to just focus on what time I have left with him.

Kiara-present

I watch as my brother and his court are led out of the throne room and feel two pairs of eyes boring into me.

"He's much better looking than I imagined. Although it shouldn't be surprising considering your beauty. But still, your brother is handsome." Rowan snarls at his mate and rolls his eyes.

"I see I'm not necessary here anymore." He stalks out and Aelin laughs.

"Always so grumpy, that one." Her eyes turn back to me, "so how are you handling all of this, Ki?"

I sigh, collapse on the floor and throw my hands up in the air, "not well. Not well at all. That's my brother, Aelin! My brother! I thought I would never see him again. And I just don't know how I'm supposed to feel about this."

She sits down next to me and rests her hand on my shoulder, "I don't think anyone would know how to handle this situation. He seems tense about the whole thing, I mean you basically came back from the dead in his mind. That's rough."

"I believe you've don't that before."

She laughs, "true, just another thing we can bond over."

"What confuses me the most is that he seems to have no idea about anything. About our father, about why I had to leave. He seems completely oblivious."

"So you think he didn't know?"

I close my eyes and shake my head, "no, he had to know, he had to. I was told he knew, that he and my father were planning together. He had to know."

"Why don't you just search his mind and see if you're right?"

"I can't. I don't want to see what happened back then. I can't bring myself to see the aftermath of my mother's death. I just can't."

She stands up and offers me her hand, "c'mon, I know something that'll make you feel better. Something to get this frustration out."

I follow her out of the throne room and down the hall to the kitchen where she grabs two full bottles of wine and stuffs loaves of bread and sweets into a pouch. She then leads me up the stairs out to a balcony looking over the city. The sun is starting to lower and the sky is a mixture of bright orange and pink.

"We're going to watch the sunset and drink wine together? How romantic." She scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"No, we're going to get drunk, stuff our faces with food and momentarily forget about the bad things happening right now." I can't help but smile and blink back tears as I sit down and she hands me a bottle. I'm so lucky to have her in my life. I'm so lucky to have all of the friends and family in my life that I do.

"I'm so okay with this plan."

"Good" she says with a mouthful of bread. "Then afterwards we'll have our faithful and devoted husbands come and clean up our mess and put us to bed."

Husbands. Yes. We're both married. I remove the glamour on my ring and feel my heart race a little. I get to see my husband soon.

"Why did you have it hidden?" She gestures toward my ring while taking a sip of wine.

"I didn't want questions. I wanted to protect as much as my life here as possible."

"They're going to find out eventually. No one can deny you two are mates when they see you in the same room."

I laugh, "I know, I will tell them. It's just... that world took everything from me. And this world, gave me everything. So I wanted to keep that to myself for as long as I could." I down some wine and she nods.

"I get that, but just know, no matter what, we're your family. And we're not going anywhere, no matter what happens with your brother. Even if you decide you want to return to that world. We'll always be your family."

I grab her hand and squeeze. "I know that. And I'm forever grateful for that."

"Now enough the sappy stuff, let's drink! We don't have long before I lose you to him." She hands me some bread and laughs, "you know it's true. The moment that mate of yours comes here, he's all you'll think about." I stick out my tongue at her and she throws her half eaten bite at my head. I duck quickly and laugh.

"Not true, I always spend time with you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but not as much time as you spend with Fenrys."