A Court of Stags and Night

Aelin

I leaned against the back of my chair as the council continued to bicker over the latest set of laws I'd proposed. They weren't even that complicated, so why they had spent the last three hours on them, I'd no clue, but I was about to set them all on fire. I could feel my flame burn through my veins. The smell of smoke tingled my nose, and I looked down to see blackened handprints on the wooden armrests of the chair.

Well, I'd leave them to it. I'd listened for far too long as it was.

Their disapproving glances followed me until the doors closed with a near silent click.

I was in the middle of tacking up three horses when a disapproving voice echoed from the stable door.

"You shouldn't be lifting so much weight, Aelin."

I rolled my eyes at her overprotectiveness. "I'm pregnant, Lys, not incompacitated. Besides, they're not that heavy."

"Besides the point, Your Royal Highness," she retorted. "I know you can carry much more than that, but even you know how dangerous fae pregnancies are. And how much that overprotective fae bastard of yours will kill me if I let something happen to either one of you."

"Honestly, Lys," I answered. "He can shove it up his ass for all I care. This is one of the last times I'll be able to get out and about for some time, and I've been putting this off for far too long. So, either you come with me, or Evangeline and I are going on our own."

I smiled as she muttered under her breath. Something about "insufferable, pregnant Fae Queens". We had grown much closer following the war with Erawan and Maeve. Our pasts were still a delicate topic, but we were learning. We had lived in the dark for far too long.

She pulled the saddle from my arms and pointed off to the side. I huffed an irritated sigh and moved over to lean against the door of a stall. I suppose I'd hate for Rowan to kill her. He'd grown beyond insufferable since I'd become pregnant and it drove me insane.

He was barely letting me out of his sight as it was. This was the furthest I would be away from him in months.

But I needed to do this now. I'd begun facing the horrors of my past, and learning to accept everything I'd done, both good and bad. It was time I visited the place my story truly began. Along the Florine River.

Where I'd died and been brought back to life by Elena Galathynius Havilliard, and then subsequently found by Arrobyn and become the assassin the world feared. That night was still fresh in my mind. Waking up in my parents blood, Lady Marion sacrificing her life so I could live.

A shiver slipped down my spine, unease settling in my gut. Something about going there made me nervous, but I couldn't let that stop me. I was Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. I'd faced the worst evil you could find and survived. I would not be afraid.

"Are you alright?" Lysandra asked, pulling my attention from my fingernails.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've grown pale," she answered warily, slipping over to my side. Her hand was cool against my forehead. "I think we should stay."

"I'm alright, Lys. I promise. It's just going to be hard, going back there. But I need to do this before the baby comes. I have to put it behind me," I replied honestly.

Her eyes searched mine deeply, and I nearly withered under her gaze. It was that of a mother who had no qualms in reprimanding her child. She'd grown much stronger over the past several years. A force not to be trifled with.

"The second something feels wrong, Aelin, I don't care how miniscule, we're turning around."

I allowed my head to drop slightly, giving my acceptance. She did not need to know I already felt off about this trip. I feared not for my child, cocooned within the safety of my swollen belly. If anything or anyone tried to harm it, they would be dead before they could blink.

"Then let's go."

We mounted our steeds. My mare was dark grey with a temperament as wild as mine. Lysandra's was the warmest red with a few white patches, and Evangeline's was a deep blue, nearly black.

"Lead the way, Your Majesty."

She knew I hated it when she called me that, so she did it to rile me up, especially when she was uncomfortable about something. And this trip was one of them. But we pushed on, lulled by the serene forest surrounding the palace.

It was time to put my dark beginnings behind me.