The Past Lies Ahead (A Throne Of Glass Fanfic)

Chapter 69

Ilken swooped in and attack soldiers around, and occasion one of them were foolish to target her. Those Ilken quickly met their end with half a thought from her. She pumped her legs harder, running towards were Rowan would have gone.

Embers floated around her, to say she was angry or even pissed as hell would do her temper no justice. How dare he take the keys! Was he really willing to risk thousands of lifes just to keep her alive? Fool, bloody stupid fool! She ran past several more tents, passed soldiers fighting Ilken, whom she helped along the way as well, burning Ilken to a crisp when she ran past.

There, she could see his silver hair now. «Rowan Whitethorn!!!» she bellowed as loud as she could, fury seeping through every pore on her body. He turned and had the audacity to look bewildered and surprised. She would kick his ass to Hellas Realm for pulling a stunt like, stealing the keys... her glowed with fury as she came to halt before. «What the hell were you thinking!?» she growled at him. He looked even more bewildered than before, mixed with growing confusion. The nerve of that male!

«What are you talking about?» he asked, his brow furrowing. An Ilken swooped in for her head, but she just exhaled towards it, incinerating it in a second. Then she turned back to Rowan, giving him lethal glare.

«I know why you were in my tent, and it was not to help me with my armour, you prick. Now give them back, right now!» she snarled into his face.

«Give them...» his eyes widened. «You lost the keys?» he dumbfounded.

She snarled like an animal, baring her fangs at him. «I didn't lose them, you stole them!»

«What? No, Aelin, I didn't take anything from your tent.» he hurled an ice dagger at an incoming Ilken, hitting right in the eye. «I swear I didn't take the keys.» he said. Her fury dissipated at the sincerity in his voice, but it was soon replaced by cold, choking dread.

«If you didn't take them, then who did?» she swallowed, then turned to survey the battlefield. «Dorian, where is he?» she asked.

«With Manon of course.» he said and pointed to the sky were Abraxos latched on to the throat of another wyvern. Blasts of ice was being shot at other wyverns who tried to attack Abraxos from behind.

Aelin's lips tightened. «He is using too much magic to be planning on making the lock.» her heart skipped a beat, and she turned back to Rowan. «Where is Aelin posted?» she asked.

«She wouldn't take them, she was all too happy about Dorian doing it, and I don't believe that's changed.» he said, but he too began scouring the field. But no fire was being used. Anywhere.

«Where is she supposed be, Rowan?» she said, a bit more aggressively than she intended to. His brows furrowed in thought, then he looked at her.

«I don't know.» he whispered, fear creeping into his eyes. «I fly and talk to Dorian, you find Aelin.»

She just nodded and sprinted of towards where the Bane was fighting, where Sam was fighting. Hopefully he could point her in the right direction.

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Erawan's foot soldiers charged right at them, and Sam raised his shield and sword before him. He thought of Aelin's bright smile,it warmed his heart just thinking about it. A soldier came for him and Sam sidestepped then slashed at the man, cutting his thigh. Another swung at Sam, but he raised his shield, then stabbed with his sword. 

Three more surrounded him, and Sam tried to keep an eye on all of them at once. There were so many, Erawan hadn't been lax all these years... The soldiers all charged at him at once, and a lethal dance began. He did his best to outmaneuver them, but they were well trained and so fast he found it hard to do anything except dodging their vicious attack. A foot hooked around his ankle, and the world toppled as he lost his footing.

His breath was knocked out of him, and he looked up to find a sword being lifted high, ready to strike. Aelin. He grabbed a hold on his shield, and slammed it into the soldiers knee, making the man collapse. Sam scramble to his feet, and swung his sword at the soldiers neck. The soldier died, but more kept flocking around him, and the other soldiers from the Bane. Four more charged at him, but Sam kept thinking of his woman, of the promises they had made. He would not die here.

He bent his knees, anticipating the soldiers next move. Then they crumpled to the ground, becoming dust. Sam blinked as their armor clattered to the ground, not dust but ashes. He quickly glanced around and sure enough Aelin was running towards him. A quick glance at her cheek, however, revealed her to be the Old one. She looked stressed out, and was panting heavily, wasn't she supposed to be on a hill somewhere and make the lock?

«What's wrong?» he asked. Please not Aelin, please don't say that she is hurt... he thought, as he waited for the answer.

«Do you know where Aelin is stationed? It's urgent.» she panted, staring at him questioningly.

He frowned, he didn't know actually, she had never told him. «I don't know, I assumed she was fighting with the Fae.» he said, more soldiers charged at them, but Old Aelin barely spared them a glance as they too crumpled to the earth. 

She grimaced, then opened her mouth to speak but stopped as the earth began to rumble. The ground shook beneath their feet, like a mighty earthquake and Old Aelin began cursing viciously. «She has them.» she breathed out, then shot fire straight into the air, Sam looked up to see words spelled out with the flame. A message to Rowan. Find her, she has them. 

Sam's eyes widened as he looked back at Old Aelin, and breathing became hard when he realized what was going on. And Old Aelin's terrified and worried face did not make it any easier. 

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Aelin pulled of her glove and held it over her palm as she shook. Three small pieces of rock fell into her hand, then she dropped the glove to the ground. Her heart was racing like crazy, and for a moment she stared at the keys in her hand. She had snuck into Old Aelin's tent when she had spotted her go on a picnic with Rowan, and she had found them quickly enough since they gave of a very distinct sense of wrongness. Honestly, she had been a bit disappointed of her older self for hiding them in jewelry box, that had to be the worst hiding place ever. 

Aelin pulled of her other glove, and took a deep shaky breath. She was doing this, she closed her eyes seeing Sam's laughing smile. She swallowed, lifted up the keys before her, began to pull up her magic and funneled it, shaping it, forging it. The earth began to shake beneath her feet, but she did not falter, did not hear the sounds of the battle, only focused on the keys and the lock, on what she aimed to do.

A searing pain lanced through her head, but she pushed past it, ignored it. She gritted her teeth as she fueled her flames into the forging, and sweat began to trickle down her forehead. A movement in the sky caught her attention. Rowan. He was flying straight for her. No, not yet, she thought. She pushed harder, pouring herself into the spell.

When she felt her strength waning, a bright, pure light erupted from her, and engulfed her and the world around her.