Divided (Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses Crossover)

Chapter 40

In silent dismissal, guards pushed them through the doors. The last image Aidan remembered was the dark-skinned Fae's bloodied body on the floor, discarded like a piece of trash. She hoped she hadn't just signed their death warrant as well.

As they were pushed down the hallway lined with what could only be cells, guards split them up. One triple pushed Tamlin, Feyre, and a bleeding Rhys towards one end of the hallway, and the other triple pushed her roughly into a room several doors down. Azriel snarled as a roughened guard touched his wing as he shoved him into the cell behind her. 

When they slammed the door behind them, the room went entirely dark, and Aidan slumped to the floor. Her hand brushed up against something, and she brought her hand up to sniff it lightly. Blood. 

She felt rather than saw Azriel slide down the wall next to her, maneuvering his wing behind her back and pulling her to him, trying to comfort her. 

"It's blood," Aidan said simply. She didn't know if she was in shock, or after all she had gone through in the last few weeks, she had hardened her heart to the fact that she was sitting in a pool of dried blood. 

Azriel gripped her hand in the dark and pulled it up to his face, "This is Helion's blood."

"Who's Helion?" Aidan asked, leaning her head back against his wing. 

"He was the High Lord of Day. His body was laying on the floor in the throne room," Azriel answered, kissing the back of her hand lightly. She pulled it away quickly and folded it into her lap. 

"What did he do to deserve that?"

Aidan felt him shrug, "Probably nothing. Helion was known as the Spell-Cleaver. He could undo spells and curses with his magic. He was also probably the most knowledgeable man in all of the courts. Day has the largest library in Prythian." 

"Oh," Aidan answered, not knowing what to say. 

They were silent for a few moments before Aidan continued, "I don't have any magic left."

"You probably used a lot of your stores up pulling the three of us through the portal. It doesn't matter though," Azriel said, knocking on the wall beside him. "This is ashwood. It blocks out magic when it's used like this, and it can kill the High Fae when used as a weapon."

"So, we're stuck in here," Aidan replied. 

"For now, yes. I'm sure Amren, Mor, and Cassian are working on a way to get us out. Amren's probably the most powerful being in our world behind Rhys."

"And yet Rhys is here, being held up by his mate," Aidan whispered into the dark. 

"I don't think he could help it. Feyre's pregnant, and he almost lost both of them."

"How do you know?"

"You can smell it. Her scent is different," Azriel answered. 

Aidan didn't respond, and after a few moments, the silence became uncomfortable. 

Sensing it, Azriel said, "Tell me about Maeve. You seemed to know her."

Aidan laughed darkly, "Far from it. Maeve was the scary story that children were told about at night. I don't really know much about her. Nobody does, except maybe Aelin."

"Still. Tell me what you know. Something might be able to help us."

"No one really knows how old she is. She was alive before even the first Fae walked through Erilea, millennia ago.  She had two younger sisters, both of which gave up their immortal lives to be with the mortals they loved. It's said that Maeve was in love once with a Fae warrior named Athril once. When he fought against her, she killed him. 

"I don't think Aelin even knows the true extent of Maeve's powers. She might be all-powerful. for all I know. I know she can cause illusions. She made Rowan think that he had already found his mate before he met Aelin. She can manipulate things, move them around. I'm sure she could heal, but she probably hasn't ever healed anyone in her entire life."

"Aelin thought she had destroyed Maeve when she used all of her powers and pushed her through the portal. She doesn't even know if Maeve can die."

Azriel listened intently, and when she finished, he said, "She sounds a lot like Amren before she gave up her true-self to save us all."

"The only difference is: Maeve will only ever save herself," Aidan sighed. 

Sorry guys! I know this one is boring. I'm going to post another update tonight, so hopefully it will be better! Thanks for sticking with this and reading it all the way through!