Throne of Glass and ACOTAR Stories

Past Lives

She nodded, staring at the small porthole in front of them.

"What about you?" He asked. "Would you change anything?"

She ran her thumb over the calluses on his hands.  "If I got the chance to see my family again--just once--I think I'd be satisfied, and I'd never want anything to change. There are still a lot of things that I blame myself for, but at least I'm not as angry with the world anymore."

He nodded this time, and he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "That's a good first step." But even as he said it, his eyes turned sad. "We still have a long way to go, though."

She looked away from him and reached for the Wyrdkey again, Rowan tensing next to her. "Relax," She ordered, but naturally, he still didn't.

She wrapped the chain around her fingers so the amulet rested in her palm. "I can't stop thinking about what Deanna had said," She admitted, turning back to him. "None of it makes any sense. And what Elena had said about Dorian and me being the blood of Mala...something doesn't add up about that. There's something else going on that we just aren't understanding."

"We'll figure it out," He replied. "We always do."

She swallowed, looking down at the key. She knew Rowan was only trying to get her to stop working herself so hard, but all she wanted to do was solve the riddle as soon as possible so no one else could get hurt. He had to know that.

"Stop," He whispered, gently pulling her face toward his. "Stop blaming yourself, Aelin. You've...you've been through enough already. Stop making it harder on yourself." His expression was serious, and she couldn't help but be surprised at his words.

She let her shoulders slump, taking off the mask. "What else do I do then, Rowan?" She breathed. "What do you want me to say?"

He let go of her face to rub at his own. "You need to at least stop trying to do these things on your own. That's why we're here, Aelin, to help you. But we can't do that if you won't let yourself be helped."

She blinked. She knew that, but...she still didn't want to let anyone down or worse—get them killed.

Rowan let his hands drop to his sides. "I know things have been...tough, but you need to know that we're here; that I'm here. Always."

She nodded, and he kissed her brow. "We've changed for the better already. A little more change wouldn't hurt."

As if he'd read off an ancient spell, the Wyrdkey started to glow with a green light, and the two jumped to their feet. The key started to glow brighter and Rowan yanked the Wyrdkey from her hand and threw it to the ground as Aelin reached for their weapons.

"What the hell?" She blurted, and Rowan pressed her close into his side.

The key had started to float into the air, and the amulet opened, revealing a black as night stone, outlined in green light.

The last thing she saw was the fear in Rowan's eyes as the world went from light to dark.

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Rowan

Panicked, Rowan opened his eyes, his heart racing in his chest.