«The armada has been hit hard by some underwater creatures, one fourth of our ships has gone down.» Princess Hasar said. She and her brother, Prince Sartaq, had flown in from the coast on his ruk, Kadara. «Our ships won't make it here while those beasts are hounding us.»
«Then you will have to hold the line at sea, don't let Erawan's armada break through.» Old Aelin said. «We can still make it with the troops we have here.»
«It will be tough. My army mainly consists of rebels and freshly trained soldiers, and little experience.» Nehemia shot in. «They will be cut down like stalks of wheat by the Valg. We have already suffered losses at the hands of Ilken, they have attacked us twice on our way up here.»
«Erawan has human troops as well, so we position your men to face those alongside the Bane. They have plenty of experience, and it could minimize your casualties.» Rowan said to her, and Nehemia nodded. «And if all goes according to plan, the Valg won't be a problem for too long.» he said a bit tersely, casting a quick glance at Old Aelin who ignored his look completely.
Sam glanced at Aelin, her eyes half closed. Apparently she wasn't as well rested as she had claimed, because now she was very close to dozing of. Sam nudged his knee against hers under the table, she quickly straightened her back and blinked away the drowsiness from her eyes. She gave him a small smile, and he winked back.
«And the ironteeth?» Rhiannon asked. «We struggled against them before, and now they are riding wyverns.»
«They haven't had much time to train with their wyverns, so that's an advantage for my thirteen. Still, Fae reinforcements to fight alongside the Crochans would benefit us greatly.» Manon added.
«Of course, I'll assign men to you when the meeting over.» Rowan said.
«Do we have an army count on the enemy?» Ansel asked.
«It's at approximately ten to three...» Dorian said casually.
«In our favour?» Asnel said, a tinge of surprise or even hope in her voice.
«Not in the slightest.» Dorian answered, with a slight wince.
The room fell deadly silent as everyone calculated their odds, and all wearing a bit grim faces. Galan turned to Young Aelin.
«You weren't exaggerating when you said that you needed all hands on deck fir this war. How do we even beat odds like that?» he said quietly.
«We will, it will be tough to begin with, but as soon as we launch our... plan, the tide will turn in our favour.» Young Aelin said, and Old Aelin nodded.
They spent another two hours planning strategies, how much food was left and how to divide up the firelances. Eventually, after Sam had kept Aelin from dozing of three more times, the meeting ended and she was quick to head back to her tent. He wished her a good nights rest, and hugged before she disappeared into her tent.
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She gasped and shot up into a sitting position, and quickly glanced around. Her tent, she was alone in her tent. She rubbed her face, then got out of her cot and threw on a loose shirt and pants. Then she went into the cool night air to clear her mind from the remnants of the ethereal dream.
She wandered aimlessly through the camp, not really having a destination in mind. But somehow she ended up exactly where she needed to be. She stood outside the tent, debating if she should or shouldn't go inside. Drawing in a deep breath, she silently pulled aside the entrance flap and went inside.
«Are you awake?» she whispered into the dark interior of the tent. She let the tent flap fall into place behind her, then she slowly approached the sleeping form.«Sam?» she whispered, but no answer came. He was fast asleep, and she could hear his soft, steady breathing. Maybe she should just go back to her own tent... but after that dream she really didn't want to be alone tonight.
He was sleeping on one side of his cot, so she carefully slid into place next to him, doing her best not to wake him. His back was towards her, so she nestled in and rested her head against the finely toned muscles on his back and slung an arm over him. His breathing changed, then he shifted slightly and she felt his body tense beneath her hand.«It's just me. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.» she whispered while he turned around to face her.
«It's fine.» he mumbled sleepily.«Is something wrong?»
«I just...» she started saying, but then she stopped and bit her lip. His arm went around her, and he pulled her closer.
«You just what?» he asked, his hand began to caress her back.
«I wanted to be with you, that's all.» she said, and tilted her head up to look into his sleepy, brown eyes. His hand stroked the length of her spine, from between her shoulders and all the way down to the end of her shirt.
«I want to be with you too.» he whispered close to her face, and she felt his breath caress her skin. His hand went under her shirt, and began exploring her bare back.«I miss you, Aelin. I miss waking up beside you. I miss kissing you, having you close just like this.» her heartbeat quickened at his words, and her breath hitched when his hand slid down her side, sending hot fire raging through her.
She swallowed.«I missed you too» she whispered as she lay her hand on his cheek.«Everything will be alright now, it will be alright.» she said. Then she leaned in the final inch between them, and placed her lips tenderly on his, kissing him slowly, weaving her fingers into his hair. She arched her back, pushing herself against him, and her heart fluttered at the sound of his groan.
«I love you, Sam.» she whispered against his lips.«And I'm sorry I left you, can you forgive me?»
«Only if you can forgive me for not fighting for you, for giving you up so easily.» He whispered back, while tracing patterns on her thigh. She gazed deeply into his gorgeous eyes.
«Of course I do.» she said, than kissed him again, deeply and thoroughly. She moaned as he broke from the kiss and began to spread kisses down her neck, exactly the way she liked it. She arched her neck back, giving him more space to work with, and held on to his biceps.
«I love you too, Aelin.» he said into her neck, the stubbles on his chin raking against her skin, sending a tingly sensation through her that made her gasp. She flipped him over, then climbed on top of him, straddling him with her legs. She made a small stealth light, so that she could see him, then she pulled off her loose shirt and threw it across the tent. Sam looked at her, looked at the curves of her breasts in the faint light, tracing his fingers up her stomach.«You're beautiful.» he said, then he too sat up, brought his arms around her middle, and the tip of his nose brushed hers.
She wove her fingers into his hair, and cupped his face with her other hand. «And you're so handsome you take my breath away.» she said, then angled her head to the side and leaned in. But not to plant another kiss, instead she nibbled on his earlobe, teased it with her teeth. His arms tightened around her, and she could feel exactly how it affected him.«I'm yours.» she whispered into his ear. She pushed him down, and lied down on top him, but then he rolled them over pinning her beneath him.
«And I'm yours, Aelin. Always.» then he once again claimed her mouth.
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Sam turned his face to the side, into a ball of hair. He opened his eyes to find the back of a golden head right in front of his nose. He blinked, he had first thought it had been a dream, that Aelin had crawled into his bed in the middle of the night. But here she was sleeping completely naked beside him, he glanced down at her exposed round and perky breasts.
She stirred, and turned around so that her face was towards him, but she did not open her eyes. She mumbled some incoherent words, then curled against his chest. He kissed the top of her head, then pulled the blanket to cover her upper body. She stirred again, and this time her eyes opened and quickly found their way to his.
«Good morning.» he said, smiling down at her. A bright smile bloomed on her face, and she bit her lip. And that was enough to make his body react, now he wanted to bite that lip too.
«Good morning to you too.» she said happily.
«Correct me if I'm wrong, but this means we're back together again, right?» he asked, while his hand began sliding up her leg. The look in her eyes changed, changed into the way they had been last night. Filled with love and desire, she bit her lip again.
«Yes, most definitely.» she said, and she swallowed as his hands kept roaming.«How about we stay in here all day.» she said, then sucked in a breath as his hand found a sensitive spot.
«Not gonna say no to that.» he said huskily, then claimed her mouth passionately.
She was his, he realized. And this time he would not let her go, nothing and no one would ever get between them ever again.