throne of glass & acotar crossover

02

"you're in prythian" rhsyand snapped from the memory to answer her question. her eyes creased with confusion, but understanding soon lined her features.

"i am not from this world," she whispered, staring back into the fire once more "i must have opened a portal. i don't know how."

rhsyand nodded.

"who are you?" she questioned again.

"i am what is known as a high lord and i am also fae, like you," he gestured to her pointed ears and elongated canines "and i have abilities that allow me to see into people's minds".

the golden haired woman didn't bother to reply but he knew that she had heard his explanation.

"what happened to you?" he asked carefully. the others in the room tensed at what the possible story could be. even amren seemed full of emotion.

"have a look," she mumbled the invitation to look into her mind "but please don't make me see it. not again." her voice broke at the plea. so rhysand looked but he did not make her witness.

he saw images of her laid on an altar, chained down so that she couldn't move. a horrible man (who he knew from her vision was called cairn) whipped her, cut her and broke her bones.

"tell me where the wrydkeys are!" he would shout at her, but the woman didn't even scream as he dug the knife in deeper.

another flash showed the healers patching up her wounds just so that she was a blank canvas for the next day.

and then he saw the coffin. the woman was laid down, breathing deeply as if not enough air could not get through the confinement and into her lungs.

another part of her memory showed a white wolf who sometimes slept at the edge of her altar. other times he stared at the woman in sorrow, blinking as if there was a code between the pair.

three blinks for 'are you alright?' rhysand picked up from the thoughts that ran through her head at the time. she seemed to blink twice most often - 'no'.

but still the wolf did not move. could not move. he could only watch as she was tortured.

and suddenly rhysand was thrown out of her mind as she snapped down shields. was she trained, like he was? how was it that she could know to push him out?

"rhys, what is it?" feyre grabbed his shoulder and turned to him. the high lord don't realise that he was crying until his mate's hands caressed his cheek.

"lift your shields" rhysand spoke to everyone. instantaneously, their barriers lifted as he implanted those memories into their heads.

"by the cauldron" mor murmured. she had to sit down at the shock of what she had seen. none of them could really understand what this girl had been through - they couldn't contemplate the suffering she had endured.

and they knew that wasn't all she had been through. the massive scars on her back proved that there were other things.

and still the girl stared at the fire.

"how old are you?" feyre asked carefully.

"20" was the only reply. everyone clenched their hands into fists in disgust. she was so young for something like that to have happened to her and the scars on her back proved that other things had happened at an even lower age.

"what-" cassian began, but was cut short by a blast of energy through the room. the shelves and the staircase shuddered slightly but it wasn't bad enough that the house would come tumbling down.

another portal had opened.

the warmth of the room seemed to disappear and an icy cold swept through everyone's skin. the woman did not tear her gaze from the fire. it was as if she didn't realise what was happening, or that she did and nothing scared her anymore.

her eyes didn't even flicker.

rhsyand, azriel and cassian had their swords drawn and amren looked towards the hole with her eyebrows creased. it was the same portal as the one the girl had fallen through earlier this morning.

after a few seconds, a figure appeared in the doorway. the inner circle could not see their face but from the shape and height, they knew it was a male.

he was taller than them. whilst rhsyand was about six foot one (and the others similar), this man was at least a head taller than him. his shoulders were wide and his broad chest was on display with the tight, grey t shirt he wore.

as he stepped into the light, rhysand got a full view of him. his hair was cut short, but of a vibrant silver which was pale in comparison to the tattoos that snaked up his neck and over the side of his face.

and he too, was fae.

his green eyes shone brightly with emotion - whatever feelings he had, rhsyand couldn't tell.

along with the plain shirt he wore, a brown band was strapped diagonally across his chest, littered with various hunting knives. down the centre of his back was a large sword - it had a big ruby at its hilt which seemed dim. as if it was missing something.

he was, too, a warrior.

"aelin?" the man whispered, the emotion in his eyes churning. he completely ignored the others in the room. his attention was focused only on this woman.

at the deep voice, her head snapped towards him as if she was pulled from her trance. tears pooled in her eyes and dropped down her cheeks as she launched herself at him. her arms were wide as she embraced him, sobbing softly.

even the fae warrior seemed to cry as he squeezed the girl, aelin, gently. "rowan" she whispered.

suddenly, the male looked up as he finally cared to notice the others that stared at their display of affection.

he bared his teeth, sharp canines on display.

this was not going to end well.