Rising Flames | Throne of Glass

41

Do I hate you? Yes. Yes I do. I hate you so much I would gladly have killed you when I first saw you.

Do you really not feel anything for me? Do you not feel that bond?

We're mates, Aelin.

Fenrys... and Sam.

Sam and Fenrys.

Celaena blinked awake, pushing hard against the grogginess.

Rowan stared at her, concern filling his eyes. 'Are you okay?' he asked.

Rowan. He was here-

A sudden wave of nausea hit, and she convulsed.

He grabbed her elbow. 'Celaena.'

'Don't- I'm fine.'

'Fine?'

'No- YES- Fenr-'

She caught herself there.

'What about Fenrys?'

Even the name had her head spinning. She felt sick, sick, needed to get out, to escape, needed to get out of here-

Getoutneedtogetoutbreathenownownow!

Suddenly, the room seemed to close in - the floors were rising and the ceiling was falling and the walls were pushing, pushing-

She crumpled.

~

When she opened her eyes, there was the sound of running water. She found herself in a bathtub. The water was cool, and soothed her skin, lapping against her arms and chest and legs. She closed her eyes.

'You very nearly set my bedsheets on fire,' said a voice.

Celaena jumped, and water splashed over the edge of the tub.

He was in here... and she was naked. Celaena panicked for a moment before remembering that, to Rowan, a body was a body, and it didn't matter to him.

'I don't know what happened,' he said slowly, 'but you went. You panicked, and though you were unconscious, you were burning. You were burning hot, Aelin, and trembling. I had to take you out of the water several times because you boiled the water.'

She gazed slowly at the male who was leaning against the far wall of the bathing room, hands held limply by his side. To her horror, they were blistering and an angry red.

'I'm sorry,' she blurted.

'What for?' Rowan asked, tilting his head slowly.

She swallowed. 'I burned you.'

'You would have either set the entire fortress on fire or become a boiled egg in my bathtub.'

At his comment, she slumped in the bathtub, letting out a small laugh.

The amusement faded from Rowan's eyes. 'How are you feeling, though?'

Her own smile faded.

His eyes softened in understanding, and he walked briskly to the shelf in the far corner, drawing out a towel. 'Get dressed. I've left some of my old clothes here - yours are in tatters.'

Threatened to combust with gratitude, a squeaked, 'thank you,' was all she managed before he left the bathing room.

~

Refreshed and in control once again, Celaena sat with Rowan on the end of his bed, the pine scent stronger than ever around them with the clothes she wore. They were comfortable and worn - and she couldn't quite believe that she was wearing the clothes of a warrior - even if they were an old set. The male sat close to her, so close that their thighs almost touched.

You're the first friend I've had in a long while.

She glanced at him timidly.

'Rowan?' she edged.

He looked at her.

'Is- is it possible to have more than two mates in a lifetime?'

Something darkened in Rowan's pine-green eyes, and he hesitated for a moment too long before replying, 'I don't know.'

Lyria.

The name cleaved through the silence with a yearning pang so loud and strong - yet it was clear no one had spoken.

'Who's Lyria?' Celaena asked softly.

Rowan dropped his head. 'She was-' He tensed, jaw taut and tattoos looking all the more menacing. 'She was my mate.'

Was.

Celaena swallowed.

'I came back from a mission and-' Rowan stopped. 'No. I've never heard of a Fae being with two mates. One can love another who is not their mate, but it takes a lot to reject a mating bond.'

Her heart began to sink once again.

Rowan looked at her closely, pine-green eyes holding her gaze, and she tried not to flinch. 'Why did you ask, Aelin?'

She shook her head. 'Nothing. But-' Voicing a sudden query, she asked, 'Is Fenrys really such a good fighter? I thought- I mean- you and Lorcan are centuries old, so surely you must have the experience-'

Rowan let out a small laugh. 'True. Lorcan and I are equal. He... is the most powerful Demi-Fae known. His power is a mystery, even to Maeve herself. Fenrys is entirely different. Whilst Lorcan has over five centuries' experience, Fenrys has only one, and yet-'

He paused, and the blood thrummed through her ears as she waited for him to continue. 'No one has ever seen anything like Fenrys before. Lorcan and he have had many disputes - but Fenrys is always the one who remains unscathed. One would think Connall and he have a similar level of skill, but Fenrys... his position as Maeve's Second remains unchallenged.'

Rowan gave a small, bitter smile, and she couldn't work out why. 'He's the only one of the Cadre who hasn't yet taken the blood oath. Some say even Maeve is scared to force Fenrys to do so. He's loyal enough to Maeve that there is no need to be controlled.'

He's loyal enough.

At that, doubt suddenly sprouted in her mind. Usually Maeve would offer the blood oath to her most loyal warriors as a reward - why would Fenrys reject it? Or... hold off from swearing it.

Fenrys was intelligent, then. A blood oath was eternal, so perhaps the idea of being controlled didn't sit well with him. Yet Rowan's following words had her thoroughly confused.

'He beds her often. Lorcan hates Fenrys for that.'

Celaena almost laughed at that. But instead she said quietly, 'He's a stone-cold killer and sadist.'

Rowan stiffened suddenly. 'Don't say such things. You know,' he looked at Celaena, 'there used to be a seventh in the Cadre. Ryze. But he went too far, taunting Fenrys - and was accidentally killed by Fenrys in training. Do you believe it was accidental?' The male tilted his head, pine-green eyes sharp.

Her gut rolled.

'Two manoeuvres - that's all it took. And Maeve watched the whole ordeal. She stroked Fenrys' hair as if he were a pet afterwards.' Disgust glimmered in his words.

She could imagine Maeve's serpentine smile and Fenrys' amused, icy gaze as moon white fingers combed through his hair - as a purr, dark and deadly, built up in his throat-

Rowan's gaze was hard, now. 'He's dangerous, Aelin. Don't provoke him again - or you'll face worse consequences.'

Celaena could only remember his venomous glare, only remember that perfect, cold sneer etched upon his face, only remember that soft, lethal chuckle, and his childish demeanour. A mask to disguise the terror beneath.

A monster. He was a monster.

Perhaps that's why they were destined for one another.

Weren't they both monsters anyway?

[2102XX]

sorry for disappointing you if you're disappointed by this chapter

and shit i realised it was saturday only two hours and fifty eight minutes after i woke up

haha have a nice day people