𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬

Ch 42: Brothers

"and thought of Rowan, of Terrasen, and the family waiting for me."

Aelin POV

The ground beneath my feet gave way as I fell, but I didn't hit the ground. The feeling of travelling through worlds, like someone was tearing me apart and putting me back together again, took over my senses in a seemingly never-ending loop. I opened my eyes that had closed reflexively to see myself falling, passing places - worlds. I felt like I was falling through a tunnel that had ways to go to other places, but I never took them but just passed them by. They were different - the worlds, each one. One was black and white, another full of animals, and one full of overwhelming light like the sun lived there, and another with everything shrouded in darkness. The nostalgia of recognition sparked in me as I passed a land with snow-capped mountains and the most beautiful night sky, glittering with an endless number of stars. The magnificent scene however, was disrupted by the presence of hundreds upon hundred of fae, all assembled behind their leader, who was sitting on a horse with an obnoxiously glittering crown resting on his head.

He was heading straight towards me, like he had known that I would pass through, before I ever even defeated the gods. The king, he was staring intently at me, and so was I when his unearthly face morphed into a smirk, the confident kind, and then he was gone. I passed by, leaving him behind but the warning bells were still ringing in my head. I knew that man, someone had mentioned him before and the fact that he was in my brother's court was not helping the situation. I would have to tell Rhysand about that.

I was brought out of thoughts when my body fell onto something hard, but it didn't feel like it would hurt. Before I could move, or even figure out where I was, strong muscled arms were wrapping round my lying figure. Sobs wracked the body that was holding me, making me sit up on my palms as my head swivelled backwards to see the owner of the body, but I didn't get a chance as someone's lips crashed into mine. The familiar taste of the ocean washed over me as I recognized the male and melted into the kiss. "You're alive. You're alive." he cried into my neck as he pulled back and crushed me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his chest as I hugged him back, "Yes, Rowan, I am."

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during the meeting with the gods.

Fenrys POV

Something was wrong, Aelin was in pain, or dying. The blood oath, I could feel it getting strained by the moment until it finally broke and I was left gasping for breath in the middle of the battlefield. Since I was bound to die for going against Maeve, and the only thing keeping me from it was somehow gone. Fear over-rided the sensation of pain coursing through my body as I heaved, and tried to get up - but failed. Aelin, sh-she.. there was something wrong. Someone placed a comforting hand on my back that I was all to familiar to, "Where does it hurt?" Gavriel asked, and my back arched as blood began to drip from my nose, "Ael-Aelin." I managed to rasp out before a fit of coughs racked my body, blood spilling out.

Gavriel wrapped his muscled arms around me, as they glowed golden indicating that he was using his healing powers. The pain lessened, but the feeling that someone was melting my from the inside out remained. My breaths were shallow and I could tell sweat was coating me all over.

The next thing I knew was lying in a bed, with people milling around me, carrying bandages from here to there. "Hey, how are you feeling?" someone asked, a girl with hazel coloured hair and matching eyes. "What happened?" I asked, pushing my body up and resting on my elbows. I looked around to realise I was laying in an infirmary. Lorcan was in the bed next to me. "You came in heaving blood and sweating like crazy. You fell unconcious, and I tried to heal you but I couldn't even find the wound. You just relaxed on your own a few minutes later, same with your friend over there." she said, pointing over to Lorcan. Something wasn't right. Lorcan, Rowan and I were the only ones with the blood-oath and two of us were lying in the infirmary, back from being half-dead and Whitehorn was nowhere to be found. I pushed myself into a sitting position, and threw my legs off of the bed. The healer, she tried to stop me saying I was still a little weak, but I ignored her and stood up, taking steps towards the war out there. Just as I was about to leave the tent, a voice that I never thought I would here before in my life stopped me. A voice that had told me that Erilea needed us. "Hello brother." he said.