Throne of Glass and ACOTAR Crossover (complete)

Chapter 19 - Aelin

Quick little note : from now on Aelin and Rowan will be calling Amren/Manon Manon, and ACOTAR people will be calling her Amren. 

Rowan and I are both drifting off to sleep when there is a knock on the door to our rooms. Immediately we both sit straight up in bed, blades in our hands. Too often a knock in the night spells trouble. 

Silently Rowan slips out of bed and pads to the door. I watch intently, ready with my blades and my magic. If anyone unwelcome is on the other side of the door they won't make it two steps. 

Suddenly Rowan swings the door open and pulls his own blades up to his chest, then lowers them back down again. Because it isn't an enemy standing before him, it's Manon. 

She looks exhausted, and I can still see the tracks of old tears lingering on her face. For a moment she doesn't say anything, she just looks at us, then she whispers, her voice a little raw "May I come in?"

Rowan nods and gestures for her to enter. She does, and sits in one of the chairs in the corner. I climb out of bed and, after pulling on a robe to preserve some sense of decency, settle into the one opposite her. 

For a long while we just sit like that in silence. I'm tired and I want to return to my bed, but I know better than to push Manon. After all she's been through, I at least owe her time, time and an explanation. 

Finally she looks up at me. There are unshed tears glimmering in her eyes, but also a look of iron hard determination on her face. I can see a little of the old Manon shining through that expression. "Tell me what happened. Tell me how she, how she..." she pauses and takes a deep breath then says "Tell me what happened."

"Manon," I say, my voice barely more than a breath of air.

"Tell me." she says through now clenched teeth. 

I take in a deep breath of air. It isn't a memory that I particularly want to revisit, but Manon has the right to know. "It was during the battle," I begin "The same one where you ... disappeared. How much of that day do you remember?"

Manon takes a shaky breath, "Everything." she says "I remember every detail. I remember the colour of Asterin's cloak and the smell of the gunpowder. Every time I close my eyes, for 6 thousand years, it's all I can see."

I let that sink like a weight into the pit of my stomach. I can't imagine living with that, not knowing, never knowing what had happened to the people I loved. Never knowing if they were dead or alive. It would have killed me, slowly. 

From the look in Manon's eyes I'm not sure it hasn't.

"Well," I continue, my voice not as firm as it was before, "then you remember that Elide was with you on Abraxos. When you fell off, disappeared, they both went a little crazy. Flew straight into the heart of the army they did. Straight at Erawan. But he, he blasted them out of the sky. It was Asterin that found them, brought them back. They were," I gulp at the memory of their burned and blackened flesh, "They were in bad shape. We did our best with spells and poultices, and Abraxos healed well enough, but Elide, her human skin wasn't made to withstand that kind of heat. We tried everything, brought in every healer that any of us had ever heard of, but it wasn't enough. In the end she asked us to let her go peacefully."

Manon is shaking now with the effort to hold in the emotions working their way through her body. After a moment she loses the fight and the tears start streaming down her face. I want to comfort her, to try to help her, but our relationship was never of the hold each other's hands variety. 

"What did you do with her body?" Manon chokes out between sobs. 

"We gave her a witch's funeral" I reply, "Asterin insisted."

That seems to comfort Manon, at least she stops crying. I'm glad, it's a little unnerving seeing a woman like Manon cry. It's like seeing a clock go in reverse, it just doesn't seem like it should be possible. 

After that we just sit together for a while, the silence comfortable. Then I ask the question that has been on my mind, "What did you do, after you arrived here?".

Manon looks up a me, a bit startled. "Too much." She finally replies. 

Based on the look on her face I decide not to push it any farther. 

Finally Manon gets up and walks out without a goodbye. I sigh and slump back against my chair, exhaustion forcing my eyes closed. Telling Manon this story, watching her grief, was like living those days all over again, feeling all that pain and the helplessness. All I want to do is forget it. 

After a minute I feel Rowan pick me up and carry me to the bed. Then he climbs in next to me. The last thing I remember before I drift off into blissful unawareness is his light kiss against my forehead. 

Hey all!

I know I said in the last chapter that I might not be updating for a while, but I needed a break from studying! I'm sorry to those who freaked out a little, just to clarify I will still be updating over the next little while, it just might not be ever other day. 

As always I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to vote and comment below!