Aelin

As soon as I open my eyes all I can see is a white ceiling. I wonder where I am. I think of Rowan, of Aedion, of Lysandra, of my court, and my gut clenches.

Then a voice shakes me from my thoughts. "Your majesty." I bolt up, and the first thing I can see is Fenrys, who immediately blocks my line of sight. I ignore his concern, and slip past him. Just behind him is a man kneeling down, his gaze averted to the floor. I breath in his scent, he smells like citrus and the sea.

The scent awakens something from my memories, and I whisper: "Rhysand."

I stumble backwards, shaking my head. I collapse onto the bed, murmuring: "No. No. It can't be."

This has to be one of Maeve's illusions, it has to. Fenrys moves and places a hand on my shoulder. I fill with rage. How dare she taunt me with those I've lost, those I've loved. I lift my head, and let out a blood curdling scream.

Feyre

Fire erupts. Red and orange hues dance along the ceiling and the walls, encasing the room. I throw up a shield for me, Rhys and Fenrys. Still, the room burns, but then, the night court arrive. Amren throws up some shields, and they take in the scene. Amren turns deathly pale, and she rushes to the girl, murmuring quiet words. Everyone stares in confusion as the fire is drawn back towards the girl, slipping inside her.

Amren points to Fenrys and says: "Everyone except for him and Rhys. Out."

We start to protest, but Rhys points a finger to the door. We exit without another word.

Aelin

I stare desperately at the figure, still kneeling next to me. She lifts her hood, and I take in every detail. Her short black hair, her silver eyes, her upturned nose. So different, yet irresistibly familiar.

I say softly: "Hello, Aela."

She lifts her head up and whispers: "My queen"

I can tell Fenrys is confused, but I beckon Rhysand forward.

He bows low and repeats breathlessly: "Your majesty."

I look at him, and whisper: "I thought you guys were dead"

He smiles gently and says: "I survived"

"So did I." says Aela

A confused Fenrys cuts in and says: "Rest, Aelin. We'll introduce ourselves. You'll be safe. Rest."

I nod and close my eyes, slipping into oblivion.

Amren/Aela

Rhysand says: "Amren, why did she call you Aela? Also, this is Fenrys. He came with the queen."

I nod to him, but he just growls and says "How do you two know my queen?"

I sigh and say: "Shut up! We'll take turns. My name is Aela, cousin of Queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, sister of Prince Aedion Ashryver. Questions?"

Fenrys shouts: "Liar! Aedion never had a sister."

Rhysand cuts in before I can answer: "Look, stop arguing. This is clearly not working. Let's just wait for Aelin to wake up, and she can catch us all up. In the meantime, Fenrys, why don't you tell us about Aelin."

Fenrys stalks towards Rhysand, and says quietly: "I've said it once and I'll say it again. Her story is hers and hers alone to tell. Do not push me. And don't you dare try creeping into my mind again, I was trained to block attacks from your kind."

He spits the last words, and I glance at Rhysand, half expecting him to start a fight. But he nods respectfully, and slumps into his seat.

Feyre

It has been two hours now, Rhys still hasn't came out. He's blocked his mind from me, and I can't help but feel worried. Azriel and Cassian are long gone, they had decided to check on the Illyrian troops. Mor sits next to me, worried and confused. Then the door swings open, and out comes Fenrys, his eyes darting around the room, probably searching for threats. I roll my eyes, typical Fae male behaviour. But behind him, Amren and Rhys are carrying the girl between them, their eyes just as wary. Rhys doesn't even look towards me, solely focused on getting the girl to the couch. As soon as she sits down, Cassian and Azriel appears. They frown slightly, but they sit down when told.

The girl waves her arm at Rhysand, and he says: "Everyone, this is Queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.

Fenrys cuts in, saying: "Queen Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. She's mated and married."

I ask: "Mated? How? She's human."

Rhysand shakes his head and says: "She's A Demi Fae"

We all stare, confused, but suddenly, Cassian splutters: "Wait. Whitethorn. Rowan Whitethorn. As in the most powerful full blooded Fae across the worlds? And he's mated to a Demi Fae?" He snorted disbelievingly.

Fenrys snarls: "Don't you dare insult my queen."

He takes a breath and opens his mouth, undoubtedly about to launch into a long winded story, but suddenly, Aelin raises an arm. He stops immediately, glancing at her in concern. She whispers something to Rhysand, and he murmurs: "The full truth? Everything?" She nods and closes her eyes.

He turned to us and said: "Lower your shields."

I oblige, squeezing my eyes shut, and a vision fills my head. A young Aelin, beloved by her parents. Her playing with a boy and girl with identical golden hair and blue eyes. Then the girl, Aela, showing odd power. Aelin and the boy Aedion saying goodbye to Aela as she was sent off to another world to control her power. Amren, I realised was Aela.

Then her meeting Rhys, a distant cousin of hers. The way they interacted was enough to tell me that they loved each other like siblings. The mutual respect between them made me see why Rhys had reacted the way he did. I realised that Aedion wasn't in the scene, probably because he missed Aela. They were young, so young. Too young.

But the memories continue, showing her waking up, feeling blood, her parents dead beside her. Her being sent to a slave camp, her meeting her mate, her fighting a war. Then her being captured, being tortured. Then the memories stop. I frown. There was an odd age gap between her finding her parents dead and her being sent to the slave camp. I open my eyes, about to ask her about it, but what I see stops me.

Mor is on the verge of crying, it has to have affected her the most. Cassian and Azriel are trembling with rage, Fenrys has a hand on the queens shoulder, and Amren, or Aela and Rhys are staring at the floor. The queen herself sits deathly still, the memories too much to bear.

I stand up, about to speak, but then a bright light fills the room, blinding us all.