Throne of Glass and ACOTAR Crossover (complete)

Chapter 30 - Aelin

I open my eyes quickly, immediately reaching for knives that aren't there. I quickly take inventory. I'm on a bed, still in the clothes I was wearing when we left the Court of Nightmares. The last thing I can remember is falling out of Feyre's winnow into the snow, then its just black.

"Aelin, what's going on?" 

I whip around to look for the source of the voice. It sounds like... its impossible but it sounds like...

Finally I find him, sitting in the corner of the room, and my mouth drops open.

"Aedion?"

The word falls from my mouth almost against my will. It can't be him, he's back in Terrasen. Then I look around myself, really look. The room is familiar, the walls, the carpets, the books. This is my room.

I'm in Terrasen. 

Aedion steps closer to me, confusion plain on his face. My mind is whirling with questions, so many questions, that I can barely keep up, but over all of them is a sense of relief. I'm home, I'm home, I'm home.  

"What's going on Aelin?" Aedion asks again, his voice cracking with anxiety, "You were gone for days, then suddenly you appear, passed out, on the lawn with a strange Fae. I need an explanation"

I pause for a moment, something about his first statement doesn't seem to make sense, then the implications of his second hit me. Feyre's here, and she doesn't know what's going on. "Shit. Short version, the portal lead to an alternate dimension where humans and Fae don't speak, and there is a Fae named Hybern working with a reincarnated Erawan to destroy everybody."

Aedion pauses for a moment, then says, his voice not quite as steady as before "Ok."

I swing my legs out of bed, "Now where's Feyre - the girl who was with us when we appeared? If she wakes up and does't know where she is..."

I trail off at the sound of screaming and crashing coming from down the hall. Aedion's brow furrous in confusion. "I don't understand, we chained her with iron!"

"Dammit." I say, before running from the room and down the hall. 

I push open the last door to find Feyre with her back in a corner and darkness leaking from her skin. In front of her, hands lifted in a placating gesture, is Lysandra.

Both women's eyes fix on me when I walk in the door. Lysandra's face breaks into a grin, but Feyre's remains set in a mix of panic and fury. There are broken iron manacles fixed to the bed where she must have been laying.

"Nice of you to join us your majesty" Lysandra says, her voice dripping sarcasm. 

Feyre looks between Lysandra and I, then between Aedion and I. Finally comprehension seems to dawn over her face, immediately followed by horror. 

"Aelin," she says, her voice on the verge of panic "Please tell me we aren't..."

"We are"

"How...?"

"I don't know"

"Why...?"

"I don't know."

There's a moment of silence, then "Rhys?"

I sigh. "As far as I know, no."

At that the magic around Feyre dissipates and she leans against the wall, her hands over her face. 

Aedion and Lysandra are staring between the pair of us with mirroring expressions of confusion. I ignore the unasked question in their eyes and say "Where's Rowan."

It's Aedion who answers "The room beside yours."

I nod, but don't move. I can't leave Feyre like this. It was confusing enough for me going to a new world, but she has to do it without her mate, without anybody. I walk over to her and place a hand on her shoulder. She pulls her hands away from her face and meets my gaze. "We'll figure this out." I say quietly, though I'm not sure I believe it myself, "We will figure this out."

It takes a long time, but finally Feyre nods slowly. Then she takes a deep breath and turns to face Aedion and Lysandra where they are still standing by the door.

"Hello, my name is Feyre, and I'm from another dimension."

***

After all the introductions are done and everybody has had a chance to wrap their heads around the whole alternate dimension thing, we all sit down to dinner. Usually dinners at the castle are large, formal affairs, but for tonight I told everyone to leave us alone. There was some grumbling among the nobles, but eventually I was able to get the room cleared. It may or may not have involved large amounts of swearing and ones mans pants catching fire, but that's a story for another day. 

Feyre stopped eating after only a bite is staring at the food on her plate with no small among of apprehension, and I don't understand why until I put a forkful in my mouth and nearly spit it all over the table. I stare down at my plate, it looks normal enough, but somehow it tastes like little more than paper. 

I sigh and place my fork down beside my plate, then look around the room. Aedion and Lysandra are focused on their food, deliberately not looking at Feyre. I can't blame them. It's hard to understand, the whole multiple dimensions thing. I've been handling it mostly by not thinking about it too much.

I glance over at Feyre. She's looking at her plate, but I can tell she doesn't really see it. Her mind is far, far away. I wonder what she's thinking about, maybe the fact that Rhys is probably losing his mind with worry, or the fact that the mortals in the Night Court might lose faith in the cause since we both disappeared, or the fact that Tarquin might rescind his offer of peace if Feyre is no longer a part of the equation. Or maybe she's just thinking that her food looks really unappetizing. 

I sigh and search my mind for something to say. "Have you heard from Chaol since we've been gone? He was going to write with the update from Adarlan."

For some reason the sentence feels wrong, as though something about it doesn't make sense. 

Both Lysandra and Aedion hesitate before they answer, and in that moment, even before they say anything, I know. The realization drops into my stomach like a lead weight. I want so badly for it not to be true, I'm hoping that I'm wrong, but then Aedion says "Who?"

I feel tears burning in my eyes. Suddenly things that weren't making sense seem to click into place. 

I look at Aedion and say, my voice trembling, "What was your mother's name?"

Aedion stares back at me, silent. 

My tears start streaming down my cheeks. "I'm so sorry" I say,

before I plunge my dinner knife into his chest.

The illusion melts away, leaving just Rowan, Feyre and I, bolted and chained to a dark, damp wall. 

I look around, there isn't much light, but from the faint glow coming from beneath the door I can make out a shape before me. 

"You know, this would have been much more pleasant for you if you had just stayed in the illusion" Erawan says, his voice sending goosebumps shivering over my skin "You could have died at home."

Hello All!

Sorry for not updating in a while, its been a hectic week.

Anyways, I hope you liked that chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment below!

Also, just FYI I was going to end it with Aelin stabbing Aedion, sooooooooo, ya.