Cage of Darkness

Chapter 18: Rowan

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The huge doors of the pale stone castle loomed in front of them. The sentries surrounding the palace were alert, tense, as if... as if they didn't know if they were there.

They were supposed to be captured in the city, Rowan realized. Well, at least Lorcan's darkness had worked. 

Though it had worked, even despite the amount of magic they used, they still should have been caught.

Hidden in the shadows, they all watched as the sentries all shifted and looked around, their muscles tense and their jaws clenched. This was the only time Rowan had seen any sign of weakness in the Fae guards, and he could tell that Gavriel and Lorcan had the same thoughts. 

They needed to go soon, every minute lost was one minute more where Aelin might

"When do we go?" Elide asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

He had to wait for an opening, even though every second was agony. But he then felt a slash of pain go through their bond, and suddenly all he could see was red. 

"Now," Rowan said to them all, "Now,"

And with a mighty roar, Rowan unleashed the power of his ice and wind upon the castle walls, and rushed out of the darkness into the beginning of the battle.

***

His power slammed into the sentries rushing towards the front of the palace, it slammed them back into the walls, knocking them unconscious, if not killing them.

Gavriel, Lorcan, and Elide ran out of the shadows towards the battle after him, and Rowan saw a glittering skin covering Elide as she whipped out her knife and stabbed a sentry.

A shield, Gavriel had put a shield on her.

More and more guards came rushing out, and Rowan's wind slammed them back into the palace walls, so hard that the world shook.

The few who had escaped his magic met their end at the steel of his sword. Some of them he knew, some he didn't.

But whatever small regret he had felt when he bestowed fatal strike was wiped away, because they had just stayed on the sidelines while his Fireheart had been whipped and tormented.

Rowan's magic didn't seem to have an end, his well seemed to go on and on and on.

A sentry came rushing at him, and he slashed at him with his sword. The man fell, and Rowan didn't check to see if he was dead.

All that mattered now was getting to Aelin, all that mattered now was getting Aelin, and killing Maeve.

A sword whirled into his vision, one he didn't see. But before it could deliver his its killing blow, the sentry wielding it fell to the ground.

Rowan looked to see who had helped him, and Fenrys emerged from the shadows.

Rowan nodded his thanks to the warrior, who gave him a devilish smirk. 

"You owe me, Rowan," he said. "You know, for saving you ass."

"Glad to see that you're arrogance is back Fenrys."

Fenrys just shrugged, and then turned back to the fray. Rowan kept on running towards the throne room, where Maeve would most definitely be. He spotted Connall hitting  and sparring with another three sentries at once. By the gods, Connall  was fighting too.

Only three more hallways separated him and the throne room. But dozens, no hundreds  of sentries filled them.

He couldn't kill all of them, it would be impossible to got through them.

A scream filled the air then, a scream filled with pure agony. Aelin, that was Aelin screaming.

Rage flooded his veins, and with a roar that promised violence, he unleashed the strongest depths of his magic.

It swept over the sentries, and even their force wasn't able to hold.

All of them fell, every single one of them. He pushed through the many bodies on the ground.

Most were unconscious, but some were dead. And as Rowan pushed his way towards the throne room, he reached into their mating bond, and spoke into Aelin' mind.

Fireheart, he murmured to her.

I'm here, hold on and get ready, hold on, I'm here.

Rowan waited and waited as he pushed past the fallen Fae, he waited for her answer as he swept aside any soldier who came in his way.

And he got two words, two words that wrecked him as he heard them.

I'm sorry.

No. No, no no no.

Their bond fell into the darkness before he could tell her to hold on, before he could tell her that he loves her.

But even if Aelin let go to the darkness, Rowan would catch her.

He was ready, ready to kill Maeve. He was running at full pace now, barreling past dozens of doors and hallways.

Because Rowan knew, he could feel that Aelin was in that throne room, with Maeve, suffering.

The doors appeared in Rowan's line of vision and he shoved them open-

To reveal a mighty whirlwind of flames and fire.

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