A Court of Stags and Night

Rowan

He should have gone with them. Gods damn him for thinking otherwise. Everyone wisely stayed clear of him unless they had to since Aelin had become pregnant. Everyone knew how difficult fae pregnancies could be, and Rowan had begun acting more than thinking, which caused a lot of problems, that Aelin had to solve. Even Fenrys stayed clear of him when he could. Lysandra was the only one brave enough to put him back in his place when he got into one of his moods. She or his wife, who he would quickly back down from. He knew better than to fight that battle.

But damn him, he wasn't there to protect her. Or their unborn child.

He slammed the door as he stormed out of the council room, leaving the members in stunned silence. They could wait. His mate and child came first.

Fenrys was by his side in a matter of moments, Aedion close behind.

"What is it?" Aedion asked worriedly, his hand shifting on his sword.

"Get to the river, where Arrobyn took her, now," he growled, shifting into his hawk.

He sailed through a window and into the cloudy sky. Near winter temperatures were beginning to take hold over Orynth. He shifted the wind to speed him along. He'd felt the bond snap, nearly crushing him with the emptiness.

He tugged and tugged on his end, but there was no answer to be heard.

Something had taken her from him again. If she was alive and he found the ones responsible, he would take his time in killing them. No one hurt his mate and lived. He had already lost too much.

Her scent was fresh. She'd been here not even half an hour ago.

He barely noticed that Lysandra and Evangeline's scents were mixed in with hers, so focused on his missing mate. It just couldn't be right. This could not have just happened.

He whirled around with a fearsome snarl, stopping Aedion and Fenrys in their tracks.

"Easy, Rowan," Aedion murmured, holding his hands up reflexively. "It's just us."

"They're gone. All three of them."

Aedion looked ready to be sick. Rowan felt terrible for him, losing his wife and adopted daughter. But, the Wolf of the North pushed through his pain and began digging around for any clues, Fenrys hot on his tail.

He looked broken, too. He hadn't felt the blood oath fade, so focused on his mate bond, but it was gone, too, when he focused on it.

Rowan looked to the sky, where he imagined the gods used to sit. They just couldn't leave well enough alone, despite being sent to hell. At least where his wife was concerned.

"Rowan, you need to come see this," Fenrys called, a slight urgency to his tone that had Rowan walking on pins and needles.

He smelled it before he got there. Fear. And blood. But not her blood.

Her terror had been palpable. He could taste it, and it made him want to vomit. He hadn't been there to soothe her fear. To keep any of them safe.

And she hadn't called to him.

He looked a bit further ahead to where Fenrys was pointing. Symbols had been painted in the grass. Symbols he never thought he would have to look at again.

"Wyrdmarks," he growled, wind curling around his fists, as if he could change what had happened with his magic. "Someone created a portal."

"And destroyed it," Aedion added sourly. "At least enough of it that we can not determine where they were sent."

He had thought they were done with this mess. But it seemed fate had other concerns, that did not match his. And his mate always seemed to be the one to suffer in these games.

This time, the game would not end the way it wished. They had chosen the wrong pair of mates for that. The wrong family.

He would find her, hopefully before the baby came.

Oh rutting hells. He'd forgotten about the baby.

Aelin, Fireheart, please, answer me! he cried through the bond.

Nothing but silence greeted him. He couldn't even feel her on the other side. It was like she was dead.

Lyria briefly flashed in his mind. She'd been pregnant when she disappeared and then died.

He couldn't handle this again.

He didn't know he was on the ground until Fenrys and Aedion were in front of him, the former with his hands gripping shoulders.

"I know what you're thinking, Rowan," Fenrys started softly. "But she isn't Lyria. Aelin is tougher than whatever this is. We will get her back. I vow it."

"Lysandra and Evangeline will protect her, whether Aelin wants them to or not. She isn't alone, wherever they are. Don't give up, Rowan. Fenrys is right, we will find them," Aedion continued. Hopefully. "For now, we will write down the symbols that are still here and start piecing together this puzzle. But we also have a kingdom to run. My cousin would not want it to go to shambles, no matter what. So, pull yourself together. We will find them."