Sam pulled Aelin into a his arms, and stroked her hair until she finally stopped sniffing and he felt her relax in his arms. She nestled her face into the crook of his neck, and he felt her take a deep intake of breath, breathing him in. Despite the reason why they sat there, he was relishing the feeling of holding her in his arms again. He leaned his head on hers and smiled into her hair.
«Tell me about the mission.» he muttered against her hair. She pulled back, but only far enough to look at him. «Did it go according to plan?»
She suppressed a smile. «For the most part...» Then he listened as she told him about the sixteen fires they had made that served as both sabotage and a diversion, and how they had dispatched the six guards that watched the only entrance into the passage leading the tomb. «But then when we finally got in, the keys were hidden behind a giant puzzle wall. Luckily Old Aelin knew enough about Erawan's past to figure it out. But once she turned the right discs the wall started moving and made a lot of noise, so we had to hurry with the portal before anyone went to check it out. However, we were a bit too slow and didn't make it through the portal before Erawan himself came running down the passage. We had no choice but to hide in the sarcophagus.» she said, she sighed.
«Can't imagine that Old Aelin was too thrilled about that.» he said, and his eyebrows rose up to his hairline. He could never forget how much she freaked out by just believing she had been locked up.
«That poor woman, she was on the verge of panic from the moment I closed the lid over our heads. She's been through so much, and I feel bad for her, you know. She is finally free to live her life, but... well, the lock and all that.» she picked at a straw of grass, and fell silent.
He opened his mouth to say something, but then strange movement in the sky caught his eye. He squinted, trying to get a better look at what was up there, but they disappeared behind thick, white clouds.«Did you see that?» he asked, hoping maybe she, with her Fae senses, had seen more than him.
«See what? I was looking at the grass...» she said, her voice full of question. He didn't take his eyes away from the spot in the sky, maybe it would come back. Aelin too began to scan the skies when he didn't answer. She sprung to her feet, cursing so much even a sailor would blush, then grabbed his arm and pulled at him. «Ilken. We have to warn the others.»
«You run ahead, you'll get there much faster than me.» he said, and she just nodded and took of faster than wind. He allowed himself a second to marvel at her speed, before he too set of at a run.
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Aelin pushed her legs to move faster and faster, occasionally glancing quickly at the cloudy sky. She shot past the first tents, heading straight for the center of the camp where all the leaders' tents were located. She tore the tent flap of Rowan's tent to the side and rushed in, making Rowan look up in surprise at the sudden intrusion. He and Aedion had been looking over a map that showed the current location of their armies.
«We're under attack.» she said hastily.«Ilken are hiding in the cloud cover.» The males were on their feet in an instant, strapping on their weapons, then rushed out. From the next tent over, Dorian, Manon and Old Aelin emerged, armed to the teeth as well. Apparently they had heard what Aelin had said, because they looked poised and ready to fight.
«TO ARMS!» Rowan roared, and right then countless figures dove out of the sky, heading straight for the center of the camp.
Aelin threw fireballs into the biggest groups of Ilken, making those who survived the blast fall to the ground where the blades of their soldiers waited. One landed a few feet from where she stood, its hideous, deformed face snarling at her. She drew her sword, snarling back at the demon, and charged at it. The Ilken brandished its long claws that glistened with poison, and struck for her side.
She sidestepped just in time, and swung her sword at the Ilken's long arm, cutting it clean off. The creature roared in pain, slashing for her with its other clawed hand, tearing through her loose shirt but narrowly missed her skin. She jumped back, sending a flame straight at its head, then ducked as a second one slashed at her head.
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With rugged breath, Sam sprinted towards the war camp, where he could hear the fighting had already started. As he crested the top of the last grassy hill, what he saw made his eyes grow wide. Utter mayhem, the central area was in complete chaos of fighting bodies.
He drew his sword and ran towards the thick of the fighting, where he was sure Aelin had gone. One creature slammed into the ground before him, its wings burned so badly that they were now useless. Sam swung his sword at its neck before the thing had a chance to get to its feet. Then two more stepped up to him, and Sam raised his sword and prepared for the onslaught.
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She was surrounded by seven Ilken now, all circling and slashing in turns. She could barely keep up, as there was no clear pattern in their attack, which kept her on the defensive. She ducked a slash, then sidestepped another only to block the next with her sword.
She roared at the creatures who, surprisingly, stepped back. She smirked then summoned a fireball to her hand. Before she got to send the fireball at one of their faces, clawed hands gripped her under her arms and lifted her off the ground. A shriek escapes her as the creature carried her twenty feet into the, despite all her thrashing and awkward attempt of slashing with her sword.
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Three dead monsters lay on the ground around him, but he payed them no heed as he watched in horror as Aelin was being carried into the air. Very high up in the air.
His heart dropped as the the demon lost his grip on her with one hand, and she swung back and forth beneath it, and her sword slipped from her hand. Sam glanced around for a bow and arrow, to shoot at the creature's wing, but found nothing. He began running towards, maybe he'd find something on the way.
Aelin began swinging herself back and forth, even though the demon had managed to lift her even higher than before.
An Ilken charged at him, but he brought his sword up, slashing the monster across his chest. Not deep enough to be deadly, but enough to hurt. The monster stumbled, and Sam swung hus sword, lopping of its head.
He looked up in time to see Aelin swing herself over the creatures' head, landing in a crouch on its back. She quickly grabbed a dagger from her belt, then slammed it into the Ilkens head.
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She plunged her dagger into the creature, who died immediately then began falling to the ground. She cursed violently, she hadn't realized how high up they had been, but now the ground below was rapidly approaching. She hurriedly grabbed its wings, hoping to make it sail softly down, but instead her movement sent them both spinning through the air.
One second the world was spinning the next she crashed into a cloth, which quickly collapsed under her momentum, and crashed into several objects. The sound of bones breaking pierced her ears, and she cried out as pain lanced across her chest.
The creature was lying on top of her, and she tried to push it aside, but the thick cloth around them made it almost impossible. The pain in her chest made it hard to breath, and when she did manage to draw in breath that hurt like hell too. But no matter how much it hurt, she kept struggling to get out from under the creature until black spots covered her vision.
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The Ilken began to retreat, taking to the skies, those who could, and headed back towards Morath. Sam ran in the direction Aelin had fallen, but she had fallen out of his line if sight so exactly where she was he did not know. He ran in the general direction, however, until he came upon a collapsed tent.
«Aelin?» he called out, but no answer came. Dread filled him as he tried to peer into the mess of cloth, and spotted the carcass of a demon and a pale face beneath it. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly looked around. He spotted Aedion and Ren not to o far away. He shouted at them, and luckily, Aedion heard and ran over with Ren close on his heels. «Help me get her out.» was all he said, then began slicing at the tent cloth.
Aedion cursed as he,saw his cousin, pale faced and pinned down. They quickly got the tent cloth out of the way, and lifted of the Ilken of her, throwing it carelessly to the ground. Sam dropped to his knees beside her, and put two fingers to her throat feeling for a pulse. Steady and strong.
Her eyes fluttered open, and met his, then she smiled faintly. «I'll have to work on the landing. I think I broke a few ribs.» she mumbled, before her eyes closed and she passed out again. A smile tugged on his lips, as he gently lifted her up.
«You madwoman.» he said with a chuckle, and gently carried her to her own tent where the healers would take care of her injuries.