High School Diaries (A Throne of Glass Fanfiction)

Chapter 48

Trigger warning: Suicidal thoughts and possible attempt.

"Maeve is your mother, right?" Aelin asked, cleaning the dirt beneath her nails with her dagger. She was in a desperate need of a manicure.

There was no answer.

"I mean, obviously not biological. But she adopted you as a son rather than a lackey like the rest of the cadre."

No answer again. But the silence was killing her. The buzzing in her head would take over again. She had to keep talking.

"Did you know that she was fucking 2 of your friends?"

Aelin saw Lorcan's grip tighten around the controller but he kept pressing the buttons, the character fighting in response. She'd never expected him to be the Nina Williams type of guy, more of Paul or Heihachi. But then she hadn't expected him to be a Tekken or video game playing guy either.

"Fenrys and Connall were under 18 when this started-" She was cut off.

"I don't understand it."

"It's a video game, Lorcan. You just follow the rules or press random buttons to see what happens."

Lorcan flipped his head towards her, a look of incredulity dominating his eyes but he turned around again. They were sitting in the medical room, keeping the night watch for Elide.

One week had passed since everything was uncovered. One week since they saved Elide, buried Kaltain and caught Perrington and Vernon. They thought they knew the darkness of the masters they worked for. But that's the thing about darkness. If you can't see the end, it's safe to assume that the abyss is deep, any kind of light far, far away.

"I don't understand when we became friends who talk."

"Ouch. That hurt."

"You are saying that like I care."

"God forbid if Lorcan cared for anyone except Elide." Lorcan flipped towards Elide, who murmured some incomprehensible words and then went into slumber again. They had decided it's for the best that Elide doesn't go home. Or that they do something about Vernon or Perrington. So Elide was staying in the medical room, it would be too conspicuous if they took her to Chaol's house like Evangeline. And the 2 kidnappers were tied up exactly where they had kept their victims- the clock tower.

Lorcan's face relaxed when Elide's breath evened again, her face calm, soft snores slipping out of her. They all were taking turns, looking after them. And by fate or whatever, Maeve sent Rowan, Fenrys and Gavriel for some task and Lorcan was the one sent with her for the watch that night. Fucking great.

It wasn't that she and Lorcan had a teensy tiny mutual feeling of dislike for each other, but also that Lorcan was a complete bore. It was 2 in the night and for the past 4 hours, all Lorcan had done was checked up on Elide, threatened Perrington and Vernon and then came and started playing video games that Dorian bought, on mute (to not wake up Elide). And then ignored Aelin when she called him whipped.

"I am going to check on Perrington and Vernon." Lorcan completed the level, pausing the game and got up. She just shrugged, but he didn't even look at her, leaving the room.

The silence was deafening, the only sound from the heater humming.

It had been a complete blur, last week. She didn't remember when she had attacked Perrington or buried Kaltain or went back home. It was all a haze that had meshed into one big envelope of fog all around her, disconnecting her from the world, the present, her friends. All she remembered was seeing Kaltain's limp body and another body, with Sam's face had taken its place. She'd lost them both. To the hands of two despicable monsters, and she could do nothing to save them from their agonizing deaths.