Saviour of Ashes

Chapter 6

Rowan helped his mate - his wife - on to the ship. Everyone had cheered when she had walked out bloodied and her crown of flame on her head. Her court followed behind, walking proudly as Doranelle cheered for the people that had saved them.

Aelin waved to the people before she went into the cabin on the ship. Rowan had followed and locked the door behind. Aelin flopped on to the bed.

"We need to talk, don't we," Rowan said as he took a step forward.

His Queen was already lightly snoring. Rowan went into the bathroom and washed all the blood off him and left his clothes in a pile on the floor, ready to be burnt whenever his wife would wake up.

He knew it wouldn't be for days.

He gently moved her to her side of the bed and climbed in beside her.

Lysandra let Elide and Lorcan have her room on the ship. She had slipped inside Aedion's room and climbed into the bathtub. She heard him enter his bedroom, sighing. He opened the door to Lysandra soaking.

"Oh, sorry," he said averting his eyes.

"Am I that bad to look at?" Lysandra purred.

"No, I thought you had your own tub," Aedion said shifting his eyes to look at her body.

"Well, Elide and Lorcan needed some privacy," Lysandra shrugged. "I thought we could use some too."

Aedion pulled up a small wooden stall beside the tub. "I don't know what you want from me but-"

"I want you to keep your promise," Lysandra said as she passed him a wash cloth. "You will be my husband when we get to Terrasen. You will also be a husband that washes the part of my back that I cannot reach."

He took the cloth and scrubbed at her back. "I will give you anything and everything, Lysandra," he promised.

Dorian had also sacrificed his room for Gavriel and Fenrys. Instead he laid beside Manon, teasing her by pulling at the lace when her shirt tied up.

"Princeling," Manon murmured.

"Witchling," Dorian countered.

"Do you think Lorcan was right? About mates not having to be Fae?" Manon asked him.

Dorian stilled his hand. "Absolutely. You are my mate, Manon. I love you."

Manon's heart stopped. She placed her hand on top of Dorian's. "I love you, Princeling."

He buried his face into her neck and huffed a laugh.

Elide sat beside Lorcan, playing with his fingers in her small hands. "I thought I had lost you," she said.

"I thought so too," Lorcan said quietly.

"I'm mad at you for planning on leaving me," Elide said, her fingers shaking. "But I am also so incredibly proud of you at the same time." She traced a scar on his palm. "I don't know what to feel."

Lorcan gripped her face and forced her to look at him. "Feel my love for you, Elide."

She kissed him and they continued with what had started that day in the marshes.

Gavriel sat opposite Fenrys. They both had a tankard of ale. Fenrys was sipping his. It took all Gavriel's strength to not down his in one go.

"Is still strange, isn't it?" Gavriel said. "Without the blood oath."

Fenrys shrugged. "I don't remember not having it." But now he was free. They both were, and they would fight and serve Aelin if she wanted them to - if she let them. "What about Aedion?"

Gavriel laughed bitterly. "He doesn't want to know me."

"Maybe he doesn't understand that you didn't want to serve Maeve," Fenrys pointed out.

"I couldn't have said anything because Maeve would have punished us all - could have hurt Aedion," Gavriel admitted. "But after that, he didn't want to speak to me."

"Let everyone rest and then explain it to him," Fenrys suggested.

"We're going to Terrasen," Gavriel changed the subject, "can you believe that?"

Fenrys shook his head. "I hope they will accept us in their court."

"I hope they will accept Aelin as their Queen."

Fenrys frowned. "After everything she went through... What Cairn did to us...it looks like a blessing compared to what they did to Aelin. They only let a healer in once, when Cairn had tortured her so badly that she was on the brink of dying." Gavriel gaped. "That was, of course, to keep her alive for more torture."

"Do you think she'd burn the people in her own kingdom if they do not accept her after all this?" Gavriel asked.

Fenrys sipped his drink. "I doubt it, otherwise all of this would have been pointless. But...she may just burn someone or something out of spite."