Rising Flames | Throne of Glass

31

The prince loosened a breath. 'That's very young.'

'You're young, too, and you have a burden which is much bigger than mine,' she said. She didn't realise she'd said it out loud till she found the prince staring at her. She panicked. 'What- What is your name?'

'Dorian,' he replied calmly, blue eyes amused. 'You can call me that, by the way. Forget the formalities.' But every inch of him reeked of royalty, even with these clothes on.

'If you want to blend in,' she found herself saying, 'then don't sit so straight. Slouch a bit more, and don't enunciate each word so clearly when you speak.' Inside, she was screaming. Who was she to tell the crown prince what to do?

But Dorian grinned. 'Alright.' He relaxed, and his shoulders dropped - barely, but the difference was noticeable.

'Don't hold yourself... high. Most people look towards the ground, and often catching one's eye is a trap.'

'Your use of the common tongue is very sophisticated,' Dorian commented. 'Did you ever receive education?'

The blush rose once again. Dixon shook her head. 'I'm a pocket thief.'

Why did you say that, you idiot?

But all she got in reply was, 'I'm sorry you had to live that life.'

Dixon dropped her hands and looked at the man opposite her. The crown prince was good. He was kind, and not corrupt. He was not arrogant, nor ignorant. Perhaps this journey wouldn't be as boring as she'd thought it to be, if she had someone, a friend, to talk to.

'So, how-'

Her words were interrupted as the door flew open a second time. 'Ah, good, you're here,' Nesryn said to Dorian.

Dixon didn't want to lie; she honestly found Nesryn rather intimidating. 'The captain says the journey will last around a month, two if the weather treats us horribly. The timing is good, and it leaves us with enough time to make further plans. But we have no communication with Nehemia now. I'd say you can get comfortable for a couple of weeks.' She glanced at Dixon. 'I'll leave you to continue your talk. Dorian, please remember this is not your room. You're sharing with Chaol the room at end of the corridor.' Then she closed the door.

Dorian looked at Dixon. 'She was my Champion. Do you find her scary sometimes?'

'Yes,' Dixon admitted meekly. 'I do.'

Outside, the wind breezed across the vast ocean, and the water bled crimson as the sun began to set behind the horizon.

~

The general and the Bane travelled quicker than any of them had anticipated. Word had it that the legion was already camping in Oakwald. That meant they didn't have long to convince the general to go against the king's order and move up north instead.

The plan was to have everyone group in Perranth. 'Everyone' meaning the rebels of Adarlan, the Silent Assassins, Briarcliff, the pirates of Skulls Bay, the Bane, and Aelin Galathynius herself. Gods. Celaena Sardothien, that sassy, spoilt, bitch assassin hopefully-soon-to-be-friends was the long lost princess.

As they rode, dusk soon fell, drowning the trees in orange and yellow.

Lysandra began to nod slowly, grip slackening on her reins. A hand touched her arm briefly and her eyes snapped open. Ren watched her, sympathy filling his eyes. 'Shall we stop here for today? We've been riding all day, you must be exhausted.'

'Finding the general is priority,' she managed to get out.

It went quiet all of a sudden - and the temperature seemed to drop, chilling her bones. A flaming torch flickered in the corner of her vision.

'No need for that,' a low, male voice said. 'I'm already here.'

Lysandra was fully awake now and panic began to grip her limbs as a man, powerfully built, emerged from the foliage. He was pointing a sword at Ren.

Aedion Ashryver smiled lazily, turquoise-gold eyes boring into Lysandra's own. They were cold and his mouth was ruthless and hard.

'Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you both right now.'

[2101XX]

yes remember aedion is an asshole at first

and meet a new character bc we won't be seeing yrene or falkan or elide here

she has elide's hair and yrene's hair

hope you enjoyed !