Throne of Glass/ACoTaR FanFiction

Part Two:

Aelin was laughing at Rowan's expression as their horses ran together in the woods. He was grumbling something about this being faster if they were on foot, but Dorian and Chaol had insisted they take horses. Rowan was right though, it would have been faster if they had travelled on foot, but it would have also made them more conspicuous when they arrived in a new town without horses. Aelin figured it would have been safer to travel this way, even if her carranam did not want to. Funny, how she had become the more reasonable one in these past few months. At least, more reasonable in this regard.

"Do you think the Valg princes found another way into our dimension from the other side?" Aelin asked in a quiet aside, still pushing her horse forward. She knew they would need to stop eventually for their horses to rest, but she wanted to go as far as she could without having to stop.

Rowan was quiet, contemplating her question. When they had faced the Valg princes at Mistward, Rowan had felt helpless against them. She was sure that he had not felt helpless very much in his immortal life, but she did not want to bring that up, not when she knew what would come with it when she did. Even though he had let time heal some of those wounds, she knew he still felt incredible guilt over letting his mate die. He had not expressed it in words, but she knew that something in him had sparked when he saw what the Valg princes were doing to her that day. She could only imagine the scenes playing behind his eyes. She tried to shake off that dark feeling, she did not want to feel that way ever again.

"I am not sure." He finally said, letting the forest fall quiet around them. They would need to make camp soon if the horses were this tired. They still had a few hours left of daylight. Maybe there was a town nearby that they could get something to eat, find lodge at before they continued in their journey to the Frozen Wastes. The Blackbeak heir's letter had said the portal had flickered somewhere between the Ruhnn Mountains and the Anascaul Mountains. Aelin was just glad that the witch had not seen the portal flicker farther to the west, in the true Frozen Wastes. Still, Aelin and Rowan would be travelling for days in the mountains before they reached the Frozen Wastes. Aelin did not want to think of what they might pass by when they left Oakwald forest, making their way into the Ruhnn Mountains. A distant part of her could still hear the sound of a whip flashing against her flesh. She stiffened at the thought.

"We should make camp, try to let the horses rest before continuing." She said, her voice gruff as she tried to let her memories fade to the back of her mind. She could not stand feeling helpless and whenever she thought about her time in Endovier, she felt helpless.

Rowan flicked her a cold glance, his evergreen eyes washing over her body for a mere second before they returned to the path before them. Whatever he had seen in her face, in her eyes, he was not going to comment on it. She almost thanked him for that, but kept silent as they moved along a little bit further.

When they stopped by a small stream so that their horses could rest and drink, she and Rowan began setting up camp. Rowan had looked at her strangely when she had packed the supplies for their trip, but she knew they would need all that she had packed into their satchels. They would likely be traveling through the forest for a few days, maybe even a week, before they broke the tree line and entered into the mountains. The tent she had packed would protect them from the animals, as well as the faeries that had returned to the land.

As she thought that, she felt eyes on her back, peering at her from behind the tall trees. She could sense them looking at her, but she did not say a word while she finished setting up the tent. Rowan watched her as he tied the horses to nearby trees, making sure that they stayed there through the night. Aelin could see the sun falling in the sky, but they still had a few more hours of daylight, a few more hours before she needed to light a fire to keep them warm. The breeze on the back of her neck was balmy, just right for the end of spring.

"What are you going to do if this is a portal to the Valg princes' dimension?" Rowan asked her, his cool air blowing across her skin, just letting her know that he was there with her. He leaned against a tree branch a few feet from her, his pine green eyes refusing to leave her face.

It took her a few moments to gather her thoughts, but when she did, she growled the answer, furious even thinking that a portal had erupted in the Frozen Wastes, after she had been so careful and sure that she had gotten rid of all of their demon stench. She wanted to curse Maeve for not supplying them with more help to eradicate the Valg, but she supposed she had burned that bridge long before it had a chance to stand.

"I will burn them all to cinders." She replied. Rowan did not say a word after that, just let silence fall between them. She was surprised that quiet suited their relationship. Neither of them felt the need to speak to the other, to fill the empty air with useless words. She supposed when one was immortal, one got used to silence. But she already knew that about Rowan, had known that for the last year.

It was not long before the silence got to Aelin, making her think things that she did not want to think. Her skin burned with the thought roiling through her mind, the images that she had fought so hard against these last few months, and then even before that. She still felt the pain rock through her body as she thought of the things that she had done. She no longer believed she had deserved the hell that was Endovier, but she still felt guilty for everything before and after that. She had let Sam die and all she could do to avenge his memory was slaughter Arobynn. She remembered his voice, taunting her over Sam's death, saying that she belonged to him, not some child. She clenched her fists at her sides as she thought of Arobynn's last words. His final words before she roared and had split him from mouth to naval.

"Aelin." Rowan's voice brought her back to reality. His wind was blowing over her, trying to calm her where she burned. She had not realized that she summoned her fire, but it was out now, the only sign that it had been there was the scorched earth at her sides. She had not meant to get sucked up into her memories, but the silence had been deafening and she had spiraled down into oblivion, letting her thoughts consume her.

She did not bother to apologize, there was no need to do so. Rowan understood her more than anyone else did, knew what she had done to Arobynn when she had found out the truth. Rowan had not been there to stop her, he had still been in Wendlyn while she figured out a way to destroy the towers and return magic all while deciding how she would defeat the King. She silently wished that Rowan had been there with her that night. Her carranam would have scared Arobynn shitless, and she would have reveled in the sight of it.

With the sun going down in the horizon and the moon already up in the sky, it's clear ivory shadow hiding amongst the clouds, Aelin extended a hand to light a fire before them. She was surprised when Rowan's hand shot out and grabbed hers.

"Save your fire, you will need it when we get over the mountains." She nodded as he released her hand and she let it fall to her side. Rowan went about lighting the fire without magic, and she watched him with a grave sense of admiration toward him. Ever since that first night - the night she had burned out over a year ago - he had been sure to keep an eye on how and why she used her magic. She sighed and cracked her knuckles, getting up to stretch her legs after sitting for a few hours.