DISCONTINUED A Court Of Blood And Night (Tog & ACOTAR crossover)

10 - Rowan

Waking up hurt. Every wound ached and screamed, and he must've been bruised just about everywhere.  Rowan groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position and opened his eyes.

At first, seeing was difficult. Everything was blurry, and moved in and out of focus randomly. He blinked until the fogginess in his vision was gone, but everything still looked slightly warped. He'd likely hit his head.

Rowan must have been hallucinating, because when he looked around the room, Aedion was staring at him from the threshold of the door with Lysandra at his side. Rowan's eyebrows furrowed. "I... Aedion? Lysandra?" He said and coughed , his voice cracking. It made his chest hurt, and he rubbed at it.

"Your injuries made you prone to sickness," Aedion said, eyes trained on him. "We couldn't heal you completely, but we got rid of the fever, so you should be better soon."

"How... What happened?" Rowan was struggling to catch up. The last thing he remembered was hitting Erawan with that sword and being knocked against a tree by that magic. He was alive. Had Erawan let him live? If so, why? And why was he with Lysandra and Aedion?

"We're hoping you can tell us that. We found you in the Bogdano jungle surrounded by strange Fae two days ago. You were covered in Vlag blood and unconscious," Lysandra said with a tense frown. "The Fae are here in Terrasen-- Aedion and some others insisted on tying them up for now, at least until we know who they are and why they're here."

"How many?" Rowan asked, eyes flicking up to their's. If he was still alive, and there were strange Fae, that must mean...

"Ten. Why?"

Rowan blinked. By the gods. He'd won against Erawan. He'd gotten his ten warriors. "And... And Aelin?"

"Still gone," Aedion said suspiciously. "What's going on, Rowan?"

If Aelin was still gone two days after he made the deal, there was a problem. As quickly and efficiently as he could, he explained the deal to them, guilt threatening to swallow him whole.

"You mean to tell us that you tried to sell the world to the Vlag King?" Aedion asked incredulously. "Are you out of your gods-damned mind?"

"Just a little," Rowan grunted, stretching his muscles despite the pain. "But those warriors are ours, now. And Erawan promised to free Aelin."

"No," Lysandra said suddenly, shaking her head. "He promised she would be freed. Not that he'd free her himself. That'd be too easy." The shapeshifter glared. "You let him outsmart you?"

His mouth thinned. He had. It'd been a long time since something like that had happened. He'd gotten desperate, and Erawan knew it. He changed the subject. "Why are you back in your old form, Lysandra?"

"My cover was blown. And now we have pissed-off warriors. We ended up having to explain everything." She shook her head. "One would think we have enough problems on our hands as it is." Rowan couldn't agree more. "Anyway," she continued, "Manon and the Thirteen are on their way back."

"They are? What of the Crochans?" Rowan got to his feet, and it made him dizzy. He pushed through it. "When will they arrive?"

"There was no mention of the Crochan witches. By my calculations, they should be here in a few days at maximum, and by tomorrow night at minimum," a new voice said. Rowan looked up to see Ansel in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. "Those prisoners are arguing like nothing you'd believe," she added. "I'd talk to them soon-- before they kill each other."

Rowan nodded slowly so he didn't make his condition worse. "I'll do it soon," he promised. "The moment I can walk again."

Ansel nodded curtly, and, after a hostile glance at Lysandra, walked away. Aedion growled lowly at the Queen of the Wastes, hands curling into fists. They made up, then.