After Empire of Storms

Chapter 2

The sun had set by the time Rowan came out of his cabin. He barely noticed Lorcan standing outside his room, staring wistfully at the front mast, where Elide and Gavriel stood, muttering softly. 

The ship was more than large enough for the four of them to go about their business without running into each other. Elide had not directly spoken to Lorcan in the week they had been on the boat. If Lorcan approached Elide she would turn the other way and limp across the deck to the nearest Fae and start discussing their plans for the remainder of the trip. Lorcan's eyes followed Elide wherever she was, and Rowan noticed that Elide's limp lessened when Lorcan's eyes followed her. 

Rowan nodded at Lorcan grimly as he strode across the deck, shoulders starting to curve downwards as the loss of his mate and her pain seeped into his back. Gavriel had had to tend to the nonexistent pain in Rowan's back several times. His mate's pain.  

Rowan scowled at the thought of what Maeve could be doing to his mate at that time. His pain was more of a hindrance, but the fact that he could feel what his carranam was going through meant that her pain was extreme. He had seen, he had inflicted many tortures himself while still in Maeve's control. But Rowan still knew that if anyone could withstand the pain and torment of that Fae bitch, Aelin could. Yet Maeve's tortures were unlike any others, and Rowan had been happy that he had never faced her wrath while in her control. Now he would accept any measure of pain to protect his mate from what she was going through. 

A box. A coffin. To hold his Aelin. To contain one of the most powerful magic wielders Erilea had ever known.  

"...bound to check Doranelle," Gavriel was saying as Rowan approached. Gavriel gave a slight nod to Rowan, and Elide turned, eyes narrowing slightly as she beheld who had walked in on their conversation. Her posture relaxed upon seeing it was Rowan, and she turned back to Gavriel and quietly excused herself. 

Elide had never backed down from any of the males on the ship. If anything she was even more stubborn than them. But still, her human weaknesses worried Rowan. He would never leave Elide-- he knew how much she meant to Aelin-- but would she slow them down? 

Rowan stepped closer to Gavriel. The magic that had been so thoroughly drained at the battle had slowly started to return, enough for a soft breeze to push the sails towards their destination. 

Gavriel looked out to sea, eyes glazing over as he stared into the distance. "No word from Fenrys?" His eyes betrayed that he already knew the answer. 

Rowan shook his head as he stared at the horizon, eyes straining as he pushed his Fae senses to look for anything. "No," Rowan turned his immortal stare to Gavriel, his only friend from his cadre, as Aelin liked to call it.  "Maeve is most likely keeping him under close watch after the beach. But he has fought the blood oath for so long, he will not stop now."

Rowan closed his eyes and speared his consciousness towards her. Brief flashes of warmth would come to Rowan at random times, and he would blindly grasp around until the faint string once again disappeared. This was not one of those times, and an empty, cold silence greeted him instead of the warm light that was his mate. It was the only thing guiding the crew as they sailed through open water. Towards Doranelle. 

Gavriel glanced at Rowan and his face softened. "This may be a trap." Rowan glanced up and snarled. To think that his companion was hesitant towards saving his mate...

"I can feel her-- Don't doubt me." Gavriel's stare once again focused on the horizon. 

"I don't doubt you," he began as Rowan's twisted features slowly shifted back to normal. "But Maeve would never be so predictable as to return to Doranelle."