Embers and Stars

Chapter 1

Rowan soared high above his companions, searching for signs of Aelin. Fenrys, somehow, had managed to leave subtle clues as to their location. Almost invisible unless you looked for them. His heart had leaped in his chest when they had spotted the first one. It was a marking on a tree laced with a slight scent of him. There was a whole trail of them that had abruptly stopped at the place where his companions where currently situated. In Rowan's hawk form it was easier for him to cover more ground. So he was searching from the skies while Gavriel, in his mountain lion form, scoured the grounds.

Rowan was almost going back to his companions thinking Maeve had somehow set them into a trap when he felt it. It was faint but he could feel it. That tug in his chest. It told him that she was close or closer than he had been for months. So Rowan let out a screech loud enough for the others to hear. Hoping they got the message he was trying to convey. He couldn't waste a single moment. Not when he knew she was so close. He would free his mate out of the evil queen's claws. He couldn't stand a moment more knowing his fireheart was locked in the darkness. With that thought, Rowan pushed the winds faster, faster, towards that tug.

About an hour later, Rowan found himself near Allsbrook facing a ramshackle building in the midst of thick trees. He was a healthy distance away from it and well hidden so that the guards patrolling the surroundings of the building, if it could be called such, would not spot him. It was taking all his self control to not just break in and take his queen out of there but it was necessary he do some observations before he acted, lest he got both of them trapped in there.

As hewas planning an attack, Rowan felt a sharp, phantom pain shoot through his chest. Right below hisheart. Aelin. No, no this couldn't be happening. He barely heard the footstepsbefore there was a hand over his mouth stifling his scream. He didn't care ifhe was caught. Gods damn his plan; he was going to get in there now. It was allhe could do to stop his attack when he heard Gavriel's voice, "Stop," . "Stop, you can't go in therealone you idiot." But Rowan was beyond caring. He wasn't going to sit on hisass while his mate was near death.. Except it was near impossible to escape Gavriel's grip. So, Rowan pretended to relax. Pretended to listen and the moment his grip loosened , Rowan knocked him over and took towards the ruined building he had been looking at. The phantom pain still lingering. His heart beat fast as sprinted not bothering with the sentries placed at the front. He followed the bond, her scent growing stronger with each step he took and throwing off the guard that tried to approach him with his magic. Those he missed with his magic were being dealt with the warrior he had knocked down a few moments ago. Apparently, Gavriel had no intentions of missing this fight.

The place was huge. He needed to go faster. In the time it took to reach the chambers Aelin was being kept in, Rowan fantasized on just how many ways he'd torture Cairn and his queen before he granted them the gift of death.

Rowan nearly slammed into the door. He could hear her scream as he literally ripped open the door in between them. Gavriel was right behind him, breathing just as ragged as his.

He was not prepared for what beheld him when he opened the door. His breathing stopped entirely as he saw his queen, his carranam, his wife, his...Aelin, held back by Cairn. Her back in tatters, with no evidence of there being a tattoo ever or the scars she had previously bore, her eyes glazed with pain. That wasn't even the worst of it. The worst part was in the front. Fenrys, wide eyed, held an iron sword in his hand angled in front of Aelin's chest. Behind him, he could hear Gavriel's curses that echoed exactly what he felt.

Fenrys turned towards them, his eyes pleading. As he no doubt was asking to kill him. Rowan lifted his hand to draw his sword out when, "Look who's finally here. You won't surely kill your former colleague will you now Rowan?", It was Maeve.

Rowan let out a fierce growl turning the now drawn out sword towards Maeve.

"Uh,uh. Not so fast. You think you could kill me, do you?"

"Fenrys!"

"No! Don't," and as he screamed those words, he stopped Fenrys's airways. Enough time to knock him unconscious. He tried doing the same with Cairn, but it looked like he had some sort of magic repellent around him.

"Take care of Aelin, I'll take care of her," Gavriel shouted to him.

Rowan went for Cairn's throat but Cairn saw the movement coming and he easily parried it with one hand while Aelin was still in the other. She was loosing blood. Too much blood. His nostrils were filled with the scent of it. It was the thought alone of all the pain she must be enduring, that made him see red and leash all his magic on the two people he hated more than anything.

The entire room went cold immediately while both Cairn and Maeve were covered in ice. But Rowan couldn't spare a lookat them. He went to Aelin where she was falling down from being released by Cairn's grip and caught her before she could hit the ice. Gods, there was so much blood loss.

"Aelin, Aelin..." he kept repeating her name like a mantra. Not quite believing she was with him. He set her down in his laps healing her wounds with the remnants of magic left in him. It wasn't enough though. Damn, he wasn't sure he could heal her even if his magic was at his fullest.

Rowan immediately stiffened at the sounds of footsteps but it was just Gavriel. He growled at the sight of the male near his mate.

Gavriel, to his credit, only calmly said, "Let me help her. Rowan you just spent all of your magic. Let me heal her."

His only sign of acceptance was a tiny nod and Gavriel worked on her. Using battlefield healing to roughly patch up the gaping wounds. When he was finally done he said," Let's get out of here, it'll only be a matter of minutes now before Maeve breaks the ice or her soldiers come for us."

Right. There were already cracks forming at the bottom of Maeve's feet. He fixed that with half a thought but anymore longer spent here, and he knew they wouldn't survive especially not with their magic emptied out. He'd almost forgotten about Fenrys until he heard the laboured breaths.

"You help Fenrys and I'll get Aelin", he said. Gavriel nodded, helping Fenrys onto his feet.

"We'll go first to help clear the guards", Gavriel said.

   It was Rowan's turn to nod. They had barely gotten past the doorway when Rowan scooped Aelin into his arms and put a step forward and Rowan heard the ice crack behind him. The next thing Rowan remembered was black.

Word count:  1,236

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