A Court of Ash and Fire

Chapter Five

QUICK A/N: A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO _Quest_Quest BEING THE FIRST PERSON TO ADD THIS STORY TO THEIR READING LIST- THANK U SO MUCH! XX

I stared at the broken girl laying on the stones, iron shackles around her waist, wrists and ankles. Her fingers were chained to the wall behind her.

Celaena's eyes were closed, making her look like she was sleeping peacefully. When she was like this, she just looked like a girl, a few years younger than me. But we all knew what kind of person was behind that veil of innocence.

"She'll be fine," Rhysand said quietly, appearing by my side. I leaned into his warmth, my gaze still trained on Celaena.

My fingers traced the line of dried blood on the side of my face, and I studied the blood-soaked bandages on Celaena's skin. "We need to change her dressings."

"Madja's here now. She'll give her a healing tonic."

As if on cue, Madja stepped out of the shadows of the dungeons, carrying a small bag bulging with healing supplies. With a smile to Rhysand and I, my mate took her hand and winnowed her onto the other side of the ashwood cell. Madja slowly entered, studying Celaena with curious eyes.

She knelt by her side, unstoppering vials of liquid. One by one, she tipped the different coloured elixirs into Celaena's slightly agape mouth. My eyes grew wide as I watched the blood on her bandages seemed to retracted back into her skin, as though they had never been there. Rhysand stood close behind the healer, watching intently.

Madja stood, gave Celaena a look of pity, and grasped Rhys' hand as he winnowed them both back out of the cell. She pressed a tonic into his hand. "This will wake her when you are ready," she said with a small smile, before hobbling back out of the dark dungeon.

Rhys looked at me, and I nodded. So, on a star-flecked brush of darkness, he floated the bottle through the thick bars, uncorking it. The dark wind tipped the vial into Celaena's mouth, then disappeared once its contents were drained.

We waited one second, two, then she let out a loud gasp and jerked into consciousness.

~

Aelin bared her teeth at the two Fae, trying to lunge but being held back by the large metal band around her waist. "Let me go!" She croaked, hating how her throat chafed with the words.

"Can't do that, I'm afraid," Rhysand said, his violet eyes glowing in the darkness. That familiar female stood by his side on the other side of the thick bars.

Aelin studied her cell, noting the dark stone walls and floors and the cell bars made of... ashwood? Odd. "Well, at least unchain me," she said, attempting to wriggle her fingers in their tiny constraints.

Rhysand laughed, a dark, wicked sound. "I'm not that stupid, you know."

"Funny. Here I was thinking you were so damn smart."

Rhysand's lips twitched. "Here's the problem. You see, Celaena, you're human-"

"Seriously? I thought we covered this already." Celaena whined, slumping against the wall. Her head pounded.

"-And yet you infiltrated one of the most high-security places in all of Prythian."

Aelin arched a brow. "Prythian? What the hell is that?"

"You haven't heard of Prythian?"

"Can't say I have."

Rhysand hummed. "Okay, how about this: how did you get out of those chains."

Aelin widened her eyes comically. "Magic."

Rhysand sighed, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows and mumbling something incoherent. "Right. Since you don't want to talk... I think we need to bring in re-inforcements."