Their Fireheart

Chapter Twenty Nine

Aelin

Today, I decided, was already forfeited to hell, and there was no use even trying to salvage it.

There was no point. Not with what I had to do next. Not even when - for some incomprehensible reason - all four of my mates had still been at the apartment when I'd returned this morning, pacing restlessly until I'd appeared and they'd breathed out sighs of - relief?

The hours wandering the desolate rooftops of Rifthold had hardened my grief into icy resolve, and I hadn't given them the opportunity to speak before slipping past them into the bathroom to get ready.

Hadn't allowed them to see the heart-rending solace that hit me like a jolt of lightning at seeing they hadn't left yet.

Now, armed to the teeth, I sank further and further behind the mask of Adarlan's Assassin - likely the last one I would ever wear.

I couldn't think about the anguish coating Cassian's last words, the harrowing lines that had furrowed the brows of all my mates as they paced the apartment - the ones that had only disappeared once I'd finally made myself known.

Nothing about it made sense, but I didn't waste my time thinking about it. I couldn't.

Not now. Not as we took the carriage back across the city. But the reminder of it - of their fear-soaked scents and worried eyes -  was pummeled into my subconscious with every clop of the horses' hooves. The scent of them hit me like a battering ram with every inhale, when all I wanted to do was ignore their presence.

They'd be gone soon anyway. Better get used to it now.

I sat as far away as I could get without hanging out of the carriage window. I'd spoken to them, of course - distantly and blandly - and they responded with terse words muttered through gritted teeth while I tried not to flinch. It made the ride a true delight.

Aedion, wisely, didn't comment.

The one silver lining, I supposed, was that even after they were gone, I'd still have my cousin. At least, I thought so, hoped so.

Unless I scared him away too.

I stared out at the cobblestone streets, unseeing, as I attempted to clear my head. I needed to be focused, relentless, ruthless - if I was going to successfully endure the next few hours.
Because Arobynn was dead.

Word had come an hour ago that Arobynn had been found murdered. My presence - or, Celaena's presence - was requested immediately by Tern, Harding, and Mullin, the three assassins who had somehow managed to seize control of the Guild and estate until everything was sorted out.

I'd known last night, of course. But that didn't absolve me of the part I had to play.

The carriage pulled up in front of the Assassin's Keep, and for a moment, faced with the imposing granite masonry for the second time in twelve hours, I couldn't move. Silence fell, and I could feel the heavy weight of five sets of eyes on me as I stared resolutely at the pale stone manor looming above.

In an effort to force myself into motion, I closed my eyes, breathing in a deep, fortifying breath.  

One last time - they would bear witness to the deplorable truth of what I was one last time, and then I could bury myself under the wickedness of Celaena Sardothien for whatever remained of my thankfully short life. I had a feeling I'd need her vicious cunning to make it through what was coming anyway.

I opened my eyes, my shoulders squaring and my chin lifting, even as the rest of my body went fluid with feline grace.

Aedion huffed out a sharp gust of air, and I knew there was nothing of the cousin he'd come to know on my face. I glanced at him, my eyes skating over my mates - unable to look at them for too long, lest the heartbreak set in - a cruel smile spreading as I leaned over to open the carriage door.