Their Fireheart

Chapter Forty

"Ten years of shadows, but no longer," Aedion uttered gravely, his eyes swimming with unshed tears as he peered up at his cousin. "Light up the darkness, Majesty."

Blinking away tears of her own, Aelin took her father's sword from her cousin's grasp - a Queen reclaiming her birthright.

Aedion rose, backing up as I surged forward alongside my brothers. Pulling her into my arms, I held her tightly against my chest, breathing in her scent as though to imprint it onto my senses. Pulling back only enough to stare into her enchanting eyes, I swore silently, Don't make me come in there after you. No matter the odds, you will come back to me - I don't care if I have to drag you out of hell myself. I will find you. Always.

Her lips quirked. Damn the odds, Buzzard. We're in this together. To whatever end.

My hands lingered even as she turned to embrace the rest of her mates - quickly, tightly, as though she couldn't bear the thought that this could be their final goodbye. Cassian and Azriel whispered fierce, ardent promises into her ear, clutching her impossibly closer.

And when Rhysand retreated from their embrace, the fervor in his eyes was so potent that I could almost taste how his chasm of power battled and raged against the bindings trapping it. Behind me, unease tinged Lorcan's scent, finally realizing that I was not the only one of Aelin's mates he ought to be wary of.

"You do not fear," Rhysand breathed, hands clasping her shoulders firmly. "You do not falter. You do not yield. You go in, you do what you need to do, and you come out again."

She nodded, the spark of determination in her eyes blazing to a fury.

"Remember who you are, my goddess." Those violet orbs bored into hers. "You are a force of nature - unstoppable, insurmountable. And you cannot be caged."

She held his gaze for another long moment, silent vows passing between them, and then she stepped back. She looked at us, at her mates, at her cousin, at the seeds of a court that could change not only this world, but all of them.

Then she smiled, and I felt it in my soul. Felt as she tugged at every last shred of courage, of desperation, of hope for the glimmer of that glorious future.

"Let's go rattle the stars."

Yes. Let's.

+++

An hour later, we were silent as we traversed the winding tunnels, the scent growing more rancid the deeper we descended into the sewers.

It was going to be a damn long trek to the castle. Especially when we had to ease across waterways and over crumbling bits of stone that threatened to unearth dire consequences if we were to stumble. But as the lingering stench made clear, this was the way the wyrdhounds had come. The path we had to follow.

Edging around another bit of loose rock, I glanced behind me just in time to see Aedion hoisting the vat he carried higher on his back.

"Careful," I called out, grinding my teeth when Aedion rolled his eyes at the order - obviously biting back a sharp retort.

Lorcan snorted at the demi-fae's response, and I shot him a withering glare. Aedion's insolence I could deal with, but Lorcan had better tread carefully.

Why the stubborn bastard had insisted on carrying one of the delicate urns, I would never know. One tumble - from any of us - and we risked the various substances mixing inside. I shuddered to think what would happen if we weren't careful.

But it wasn't as if those not carrying the destructive substance were useless. We'd need all of us to rig the delicate triggering mechanisms and ignite the wicks in a way that gave us a shot at getting out of the blast zone in time. Not to mention the strong likelihood that we'd have to fight off the wyrdhounds and whatever other kinds of valg monstrosities the king had stashed down here along the way.