After Empire of Storms

Chapter 1

That bitch. That gods-dammed bitch. This gods-dammed box. A coffin. To contain and break the Queen of Terrasen. But she would refuse to break, for the good of her friends, her family. 

She was-- is --a fire-breathing bitch queen, an assassin, a friend...a mate. 

At the thought of Rowan, a tear squeezed itself from her shut eye. Mate. The tear slipped through the slots in her iron mask and slowly ran into the lashes on her back. 

She hissed. Even the smallest movement resulted in agony from her torn backside. The darkness was unnaturally so, the light reaching the inside of the iron coffin from the slits in the top of the coffin next to her head. But the light trickled away, leaving her unable to see farther than her bloodied chest. The cold iron did little to soothe the long gashes that marred her ruined skin from the nape of her neck to the rim of her pants. The iron had the opposite affect, and, even while she remained in her Fae form, prevented her from healing and created a pounding headache. 

But Aelin Ashryver Galathynius refused to break, keeping her eyes open and conscience aware as the rocking of the boat underneath her rattled the chains around her ankles, neck, and wrists. The skin was already starting to chafe around her restraints. But this was not her first time in chains. Celaena and Aelin had both found themselves captured and bound. But Aelin wanted in no way to repeat Celaena's mistakes. She was a gods-dammed assassin-- she could escape a few chains. But as Aelin shifted, the wounds on her back shrieked in pain and Aelin stopped moving. She refused to think of the state of her tattoos, the beautiful words of the Old Language on the three scars on her backside now ruined by the by Cairn's brutal whip.

How had things gone so wrong? Memories flashed of the last image Aelin saw before she was closed in the darkness of the iron coffin: a beach soaked through with blood, her blood,  a small crowd of people gathered around; some staring in horror, others smiling with triumph, especially that infernal queen, who was leaning over Aelin's coffin smirking. Aelin had barely had the energy to stay awake, but kept her eyes open, hoping to glean any information before she was locked up like an animal. 

But Aelin smiled to herself through the small slits in her mask that served as breathing holes. A small smile she had been told drove both men and women crazy. Maeve did not have the Wyrd keys, as Aelin had slipped them to Manon Blackbeak just before confronting Maeve. And she would not be afraid, would not let her soul feel the pain, would never submit to the vile creature who called herself a queen. 

She had strapped a mask to Aelin's face, a mockery of her power. The mask obscured her entire face, making her peripheral vision nonexistent, thanks to the small holes in the suns that were carved into the metal around her eyes. The mask matched the outside of the coffin, from what Aelin had seen. Small suns, flames, and swirls of power were carved into the iron. Strands of iron flames covered the hole over her mouth. Thin, weak flames, yet something even Aelin could not conjure. 

Aside from her cache of magic being emptied, the iron encompassing her stifled any chance of her flames regenerating...Yet, there was still a spark, small enough to be unnoticed by the queen, but large enough for Aelin to feel. As Aelin reached for the small kernel at the bottom of her well of magic, the iron rejected the pull of her power and responded with a bite of its own. Aelin flinched and did not reach for her power again. Her chains allowed her to place her hands by her sides or on her chest, but did not extend more than a foot out of the box. 

The crew's shouting brought her back to the present, louder than the usual drone of voices calling across the deck to each other. Aelin could tell she was on a ship from the slight rocking and salty smell of the ocean. If Arobynn Hamel had taught her anything, it was how to be observant. 

As the ship's rocking seemed to increase, from light waves to sudden jerking motions, there was little Aelin could do as she was thrashed from side to side, as her body shifted slid to all sides of the coffin. Her chains rattled, the sound too loud for the confines of her prison. She could feel her wounds opening, ripping away any blood that may have clotted and muffled the pain. She clenched her lips together, but could not help it as a scream slid past her closed lips. 

As Aelin was violently tossed around the box, she realized that the shaking of the coffin was much too brutal to be the natural dips of the waves. At that moment, Aelin heard several Fae's laughter, including a chanting of, "Drop it!" followed by the jeering of a few other voices. 

And there was little the Queen of Terrasen could do as her prison dropped several feet and slammed into the ground. 

A roar of outrage followed, but Aelin had no willpower left as she closed her eyes and willingly gave herself to the pain. 

Hey everyone! 
First of all thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Throne of Glass is one of my favorite series, by far, and it has been so tiring waiting for the next book to be published. 
Secondly, this is my first time writing on this website, so please feel free to comment any ways you think I could add to the story or change it! I always appreciate the feedback! 
Lastly, I know this chapter is super short, bu I hoped to capture a quick picture of what Aelin is going through before moving on to other parts of the story. However, this story will be focusing on mainly Rowan and Aelin. 

Next chapter will be coming soon!