A/N:
This chapter is dedicated to THGHPTVD.2 .

Thank you so much for your positive reviews. They were the highlight of my day. (I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations)

Also: Possessive Lorcan. I am so sorry. (Not really)

Aelin:
Aelin was tired and sore. Her back ached and her legs shook. Her hair was a tangled mess around her face. Her skin felt like sandpaper and there was a nasty taste in her mouth. She was fairly certain it was the berries. Considering the fact that she had just thrown up in Dorians' toilet. She wiped her mouth with the back of a shaking hand and leaned back against the cool tiles of the wall. Through the window the sun was beginning to dip on the horizon, painting the sky with reds and oranges and yellows.

There was a tap at the door and Dorian called out, "Are you okay?" from the other side. He had always been a little too good at knowing when something was wrong. "I'm fine." Aelin replied but even to her own ears, her voice sounded drawn and weak. "I'm coming in." Dorian told her. He pushed open the door and stepped inside. His hand was covering his eyes, which would have been a sweet gesture if he hadn't been peeking through his fingers. "Dorian!" She protested, but there was the faintest hint of laughter in her voice. Dorian took his hand away from his face with a shrug. "Sorry." He said in a tone that did not in any way display regret. He crouched next to her on the floor and placed a hand on her back. He began rubbing slow circles on her spine. "What's the matter?" He asked. Aelin shook her head slowly. "I ate some poisonous berries." Her heart did a slow twist and she clutched at her chest. Dorian's brows drew close together. "Oh, gods, You're so pale. When exactly did you eat them?" Aelin frowned. "Ugh. It must have been back when I left the castle. Halfway through Oakwald forest."

Dorian paused and shook his head in confusion. "Aelin, that's impossible." Aelin moaned and leaned her head against Dorian's arm. "That's not what my stomach is telling me"

"It can't have been the berries. Oakwald is a sacred forest. It belongs to the Lord of the North. There are no poisonous plants or pests or diseases." Aelin banged her head against Dorian's arm. "How do you explain this then?" Her breath was becoming exceedingly laboured.

Dorian:

There was a scratching at the door, Dorian's head snapped up and Aelin glanced toward the noise weakly. Through the doorway stalked a beast with fur the colour of powder fine snow and eyes like a September sky. The wolf glared at Dorian hostilely and Dorian's hand flew to his waist, reaching for a blade that wasn't there. The boy and beast stared at each other for a second, frozen. After a few moments, to Dorian's surprise, Aelin gave a raspy laugh from where she slumped at his side. "Territorial bastard." She muttered. Dorian frowned at her, "Aelin, do you not see…" He gestured widely to the wolf, not daring to turn his back. "I see it," Aelin promised, snickering weakly. The wolf stalked toward them and to Dorian's utter astonishment, bent its nose toward Aelin curiously, letting out a pathetic sounding wimper. She held her hand out and the wolf came to her. Sniffing her fingers then shoving its head into her hand. Aelin weakly dug her fingers into its pale fur and closed her eyes again. The wolf gave an alarmed huff and turned its body to catch her weight as she fell forwards. It carefully lowered itself to the ground, taking the fatigued princess with it, until they were curled up together on the floor. Dorian gaped openly. The wolf wined and nudged the princess with its nose. Aelin struggled to open her eyes. "This," Her voice was thick with exhaustion. "This is Fenrys."

The wolf looked up at Dorian and the prince gaped, it was a Fae. How had he not seen it before? The wolf was much too big to be a natural creature. And its eyes were much too intelligent and bright. "Is-is this your mate?" Dorian asked quietly.

Aelin snorted and the wolf-Fenrys, threw back his head and let out a barking noise that sounded a lot like laughter.

Aelin shook her head tiredly. "No. My Rowan…" She trailed off as her eyes closed for the last time and her breath evened out. Dorian exhaled slowly and then made to scoop the sleeping girl up in his arms but Fenrys whipped his head around and snarled at him. Snapping at his fingers. Dorian yanked his arms back and held them up in surrender. "Relax, big guy. I'm just going to put her on the bed so she doesn't have to sleep on the bathroom floor." The next time he reached for Aelin, the wolf didn't protest but did however, keep an extremely close eye on Dorian as he carried the girl into his bedchamber and tucked her under the covers. The white Fae then proceeded to jump onto the bed and curl around her feet.

Dorian watched a bead of sweat trace its way down Aelin's neck and frowned with concern. There was something seriously wrong with the Princess. He picked up his book from beside the fireplace and sat down in his chair to read, determined not to close his eyes.

Elide:

It had been five days since they left Orynth and Elide was about ready to collapse. Her foot throbbed and with every step, her leg shook. Nobody had noticed her pain so she kept silent. Rowan had a one track mind. His eyes were always focused on the horizon. He was always the first one up in the morning and the last one to fall asleep. Elide doubted that their voices even registered when they tried to talk to him. Aedion and Lysandra had a running line of albeit grim banter. They kept making eyes at each other and stewing in each others scents. Elide could practically smell it. And it was extremely distracting, judging by how many times Lorcan whipped his head around to glare at them. Oh, Right. Lorcan. Lorcan was brooding. He hardly spoke and even when he did it was just grunts or clipped sentences. Elide tried her gods-damned best to try to ignore him but she could feel the aggression rolling off him. So Elide walked a little behind the rest of the group, keeping up. But not really. She missed Aelin desperately. She always counted on her best friend for social support. Whenever Elide stood on the sidelines, Aelin was usually there with a hand on her wrist. Yanking her into the middle of it all. But Aelin wasn't here now. So Elide faded slowly into the background. Watching the way she had been taught. The night air was crisp and sweet and Elide willed herself to stay awake, wincing as she stumbled over a rock. "STOP THAT!" Lorcans sudden yell echoed through the silence and off the trees and distant mountains. The whole travelling party jumped. Rowan looked even more pissed off than usual. Elide took a second to realise that he was glaring at her. She blinked at him for a second. "Just stop it." Lorcan's voice was much quieter but still held mountains of unchecked anger. "And what exactly am I doing?" Elide was at her wits end. She was tired and sore and so fed up with running around cleaning up other people's messes. "We're taking a break." Lorcan ordered. "A few hours at least." Elide tried to protest, as did Aedion but Lysandra slung her pack off her back. "Lorcan's right. We won't be doing Aelin any favours if we walk ourselves into the ground."

Rowan snarled and took a step toward Lorcan. "We can't stop now. What if she needs us!"

Lorcan snarled right back. " She didn't need us when she ran away without telling us, did she? Now sit your ass down and rest!" The last part was said with such authority that Rowan actually looked startled. And he actually did as he was told. "You can take the first watch" Lorcan ordered. Then he turned toward Elide. "You. Come here." There was such a snarl in his voice that she actually complied. Her feet carrying her forward against her will. Lorcan took her satchel from her and threw it onto the ground at her feet. He dug through his own pack and pulled out a tin of salve. "Sit." He ordered. Only when she had eased herself to the ground, did he throw himself down beside her.

He unscrewed the tin, rolled up the leg of her trousers and began applying the salve with almost gentle fingers. Elide sucked in a breath and tilted her head upwards so she could look at the stars. The moon was high and stray clouds drifted across the sky like they were trying to chase the sun.

When Lorcan was done, Elide expected him to let her go, but instead, he lay down on a bedroll that Lysandra had stretched out for him and pulled Elide down with him. A heavy arm settled over her chest and two heavy legs intertwined with hers. Lorcan's breath settled on her neck and his body, pressed up against hers, cocooned her with warmth. "You smell like pain." He murmured against her hair, lips almost brushing her skin. Elide shot a pleading glance at Lysandra but the other girl only gave her a helpless look and a sympathetic wince. Not that Elide missed the grateful glance that her friend threw Lorcan's way either. Elide let out a growl, as close to the sound a Fae would make as a human could ever get.

She was sick and tired of people treating her like she was fragile, like she was some china doll that could shatter at even the smallest touch. She knew her friends didn't mean to do it, but quite often, they either all but forgot she existed or hovered over her like she was terminally ill or something. But she was too tired to protest too much right at that moment. Lorcan's arms were warm and she was so very tired.

Aelin:

Aelin shucked off her dirty tunic and pants onto Dorian's bathroom floor and stepped under the spray of hot water. She began rinsing herself and all the dirt and grime of a weeks travel went washing down the drain, momentarily turning the water a dark brown. The exhaustion lingered, but not nearly as bad as the night before, though there was still that unexplainable pain in her chest. She stepped out from under the water and snatched one of Dorian's fluffy towels off the rack beside her. When she was dry, she stepped into the gown Dorian had brought her. The servant at the door had looked extremely confused while handing it to him and it had been all Aelin could do to stop the giggles from erupting. The dress was beautiful though simple. Red ombre silk lightening to orange at her midriff and thighs then darkish yellow at the bottom. It looked as though she were wearing a gown made of flames. It moved like fire did too, swishing around her ankles and flaring out when she took a step. And that's exactly what it did as she stalked down the palace hallway. Dorian to her right. Fenrys in wolf form trailing a little behind. He still hadn't reverted back to human and Aelin was becoming a bit concerned. They encountered no servants in the halls and it gave Aelin a little twinge of pleasure. She wanted to be the only one who announced that she had arrived. The reached the doors to the dining chamber and Dorian dropped back a little. Gesturing to the know with a wicked grin. He knew she had always had a flair for dramatics. Aelin placed her hand on the door, and then pushed it open with a bang. The whole court looked up at her in shock as she took a step forward. Gaping at her, at the gigantic white wolf at her side. She reached down and knotted her fingers in Fenrys' fur. The king gaped at her from his place at the head of the table. Many of the Ardarlan courtiers were white faced with shock. Chaol had his hand frozen halfway to his mouth, bread roll forgotten. And Nehemia, Nehemia was gripping the arms of her chair, knuckles white on the armrests. "Hello." Aelin greeted the room with a dip of the head and an evil smile. "I hope you didn't think you could start a war without me."

S/A/N:

I am not really sure if anyone reads the authors notes, (I mean, why would you want to listen to me talk.) But I am really sorry that I haven't posted sooner. I had to take a break from writing for health reasons. I am really not confident in my writing ability And sometimes I get really stressed about stuff. So, yeah. Sorry.