Chapter 1- Rowan

It must be so dark. She must be so scared. She must be in pain. My wife, my wife, my wife. They had taken his Fireheart and locked her away in the one place she couldn't fight her way out of. The iron coffin. Maeve had taken her, bound her in chains, hurt her, ruined her lovely tattoos, and HURT HIS FIREHEART.

But she would not break. Aelin Ashryver Galathynius had been to the hell and back, but she had not broken. She had survived to the end, through the iron and pain and misery, for him. Her mate.

Now she was locked away.

And the world was so dark.

Chapter 2- Aelin

Aelin had been in the iron box for so long. Locked in the dark for so long. She hadn't seen light, hadn't breathed fresh air, hadn't SEEN ROWAN for what felt like an eternity. Her lips were parched and dry. Her skin was pale and ghostly. Her hair was tangled and greasy. Her eyes were closed but she could not sleep.

But she did not break.

For him, she would never break.

Chapter 3- Elide

Elide was crying. Aelin, her queen, was gone. She was taken in that cursed black box, and Elide did nothing. Manon held her fast in her hands so that she couldn't run after her. Aelin. Aelin. Aelin.

After years in the dark, she had found her way back to Terrasen's court. Right before it had been ripped apart. She had worked for her Uncle, slaved for the Duke, and aligned herself with Manon. But her queen was ripped from her again.

Again and again and again.

And so for Queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Elide sobbed her broken heart out.

Chapter 4- Dorian

Celaena. Aelin. Lillian. Whatever her name was, Dorian loved her. Loved her not like Rowan, but like Dorian. Dorian the ex, Dorian the magic, Dorian the friend, even Dorian the king. He, like the rest of her broken court, loved her.

She had sacrificed herself over and over again for them, and never let them do anything important because she loved them to. It was time they helped her as well. And when Dorian looked at Rowan, asking where Aelin was, he decided to do just that. In the name of love.

For the girl he once loved, he would search.

For the girl who died for his love, he would search.

For the witch who loved him even though he was broken and powerless, he searched for Queen Aelin of the wildfire.

Chapter 5- Manon

My quarrel is not with your witches. Those were the words the black haired demon had said to Manon. About Aelin. Aelin, the girl who tried to save the world. Aelin, the girl who would burn the world to ashes for her people. Aelin of the wildfire.

Even in her last moments with her court, Aelin had been risky. She had given the key to Manon and Elide, asking her to save them all. And Manon had. She had walked away with Elide, even though inside she felt like sobbing. Manon seriously had to leave these people. These people who she had to admit were amazing. They made her feel things.

She was supposed to be heartless and cruel.

But even so when she was away from the box and the demon, she had sobbed. She had held Elide and they had sobbed.

Together.

Chapter 6- Lysandra

She couldn't do this. Be Aelin. She couldn't be the wonderful woman all these people loved. Even powerful people. Dorian, Manon, Aedion. And Rowan. Wonderful, wonderful Rowan. Aelin's husband. Her husband. And yet Aelin had thought that she could. Thought Lysandra could be a queen, without any training.

Aelin, for the first time, had been wrong. She wasn't like Aelin, unbreakable and fair. Yes she could look like her, but looks weren't everything. And Lysandra didn't have anything else.

But when the Silent Assassins came, she pretended for her.

The Queen.

And it broke her poor trickster's heart.

Chapter 7- Aedion

Aedion, Wolf of the North, leader of the Bane, was broken. He was broken when even Aelin wasn't broken. His cousin. Princess Aelin. To the rest of the world she was Queen, but not to him. To him she was Princess.

Aelin had always been strong. Stronger than most kids, at least. She never cried when she lost by five points, she just played again and won by ten. That was who she was. Brannon's daughter. Not like Aedion. But Aedion would have to be strong for her. Just this once.

For Princess Aelin.

For his cousin he became stronger.

Except on the inside.