Rising Flames | Throne of Glass

33

The pain was present for a fleeting second, then it was gone as a form rammed into Fenrys.

'Get off her,' Rowan snarled.

Fenrys stood and dusted himself down, claws now retracted. Then he smiled, and it was a terrible, cold smile, and disappeared.

Celaena barely registered it above the pain. With the shock, she'd shifted back onto her human form, and that meant her healing was slower. She whimpered as she felt warm blood soak across her back and onto the fabric of her shirt.

'Shut up,' Rowan said. 'It's not that deep.' Then he peeled away her shirt, and froze.

For a heartbeat, Celaena could only hear her own breathing. Everything else was silent.

Then Rowan drew in a shuddering breath. 'I'm taking you to my chambers. Now.'

~

Celaena was not aware of being lifted into Rowan's firm but careful hold, was not aware of being carried into the fortress and up the stairs. All she knew was that he had seen her scars, and it was all Fenrys's fault.

Rowan lay her quivering body upon something soft - she presumed it was his bed. She was not bothered to crane her neck round to see what he did next.

A blade was drawn and cut into the fabric across her back with a quick, controlled slash, and then her shirt was being peeled slowly from her back.

Face set and expressionless, Rowan went into his bathroom and soaked a sheet of cloth with cold water. There came the sound of a running tap followed by a drip, drip, drip.

Rowan came back and dabbed the cloth over her back, working methodically downwards. She gritted her teeth, and though she writhed a little, she didn't allow any noise to leave her lips. She'd already shown far too much weakness today.

He applied another swab, and this time it stung badly. She hissed in pain as the liquid bit into her scars until Rowan snarled and she fell silent once again.

He worked like this, cleansing her entire back. Finally, he took out a tin of salve and rubbed it across her wound and scars.

When he was done, he placed everything away, and stood next to the bed, looking down at her. 'Tell me,' he said, voice tight, 'where did you get these scars?'

'What do you think?' she uttered.

Rowan growled, a noise full of annoyance and little sympathy. She could feel the weight of his stare as he gazed at her ravaged back.

'Endovier,' she eventually sighed. 'I was a slave in Endovier for a year.'

~

A loud roaring noise filled his ears.

The girl on his bed tilted her head to look up at him, loose strands of gold hair falling in front of her eyes. His eyes slipped back to her back - her back, which was was no more than a slab of mauled flesh. It was obvious now, each whip stroke, three central ones. He struggled to maintain the stony look.

'You were sent to Endovier.'

She half-nodded.

Gods. She was a child, still a child, and yes, many others had been there too, but-

He realised why she seemed so broken, now.

How he and Fenrys had broken her.

'How many whippings did you receive?'

'Twenty-one. On the first day, I was strung up on the post and beaten.'

Twenty-one. Rowan could feel a slow anger building up, and his hands curled into fists.

They - the overseers - had whipped her.

Maeve knew - and had lied.

And Fenrys...

'Maybe we ought to whip her to knock some sense into that brain.'

Fenrys had been the snapping point.

He'd known - and deliberately goaded her, deliberately clawed her.

Rowan let out a harsh breath, unable to contain the rage the pounded through him. His fingers worked, clenching and unclenching.

'Tell me everything,' he said carefully.

'Why? Why would you need to know?'

'Tell me,' he growled, trembling with the amount of control it took him not to go and face them all.

Aelin finally slumped. She crawled to her knees, ignoring the pull of the new scabs forming, and sat with her legs crossed, facing him.

'Once upon a time, I worked for a man named Arobynn Hamel,' she began softly, 'and he betrayed me.'

~

She could see how furious Rowan was. She could see him trembling with restrained anger, and wondered how he hadn't exploded yet.

When she'd finished the story, he simply watched her through sharp green eyes and bit out two words. 'Stay. There.'

Then he pivoted neatly on his heel and stalked out of the room.

She wondered if he would slam the door.

But he simply closed it with a click, and did not return for a long while.

~

Rowan came back in the late evening, his pine-green eyes much calmer then before.

He said, 'You're staying with me till your back is completely healed.'

Celaena jumped away, scrambling off the bed and towards the door. The Fae male sighed through his nose and said, 'It will only take a month if you let me heal you.'

She frowned at him. 'I can still train?'

'No.'

She opened her mouth indignantly, and Rowan cut her off. 'You can leave the premises at any point, but if I catch you training, it's double the amount of stable work.'

'So I still have to work in the stables, but I can't train? What kind of bullshit is that?'

He surveyed her coldly. 'Do you want to tear your wounds again?'

She clamped her mouth shut, huffed and turned away.

'If anything,' Rowan said, deliberately loud, 'I think Fenrys has healed you rather then broken you. Since when were you so huffy and stubborn?'

'Since birth,' she muttered. 'And now.'

'Go do something. I don't want you to sulk in my room. Careful not to do too wild a movement.'

She hopped off the bed and headed for the door. As she passed Rowan, she could have sworn his eyes softened slightly, but when she lifted her head to look at him, they hardened again. 'Go on.' Celaena smiled widely, and strolled for the door, whistling.

He poked her head on the way out.

[2101XX]

~ quality bonding time ~

soo i had my first day of school it wasn't too bad aside from the fact that WE HAD TO TURN OUR CAMERAS ON FOR THE WHOLE LESSON-

<cries>

<sniffs>

<wipes nose>