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The servant girl led them to the courtyard at the front of the palace, where Aelin was waiting, arms folded, tapping her foot irritably. The girl bade them farewell and strode off as Rowan and Aedion approached the young queen. She was dressed in plain brown travelling clothes, and the horse next to her was mounted with saddlebags.
"What is it?" Aedion asked. He didn't smell a trace of fear or anxiety- that was a good thing. Aelin was just... restless. Why?
She looked the two of them up and down, frowning slightly, before shaking her head and saying, "I need you two to run things while I'm gone."
Aedion opened his mouth, instantly full to bursting with a million questions, but she cut him off with a snarl, those elongated canines glinting in the evening light. He hadn't realised she was in her fae form, "Don't ask, because I won't tell you. Just because we have spies doesn't mean Perr- doesn't mean Erewan can't have them too."
She was right. But how could Aedion let her go to the gods-knew-where all by herself? He couldn't!
"Don't you trust our security?" He demanded, fighting to keep that anger bolted down. Rowan growled softly at him.
Aelin glared at the two of them, "Stop it. Both of you. This isn't some game of trust; we're preparing for war .So quit whining and start acting like the soldiers you are."
"At least tell us where you're going," Rowan said, slowly and evenly. Aedion braced himself- the warrior was just as bad as Aelin when it came to hiding his temper.
"Allsbrook," Aelin said curtly, "And no, I don't know for how long." She hoisted herself onto the horse, her thick-soled boots resting in the stirrups as she looked down on them. Aedion wondered if her intention was to make him feel small- if it was, then it was working. Something seemed to soften in Aelin's eyes as she beheld the ire rolling off the two males, "Rowan, Aedion, I'm sorry. But I don't want to risk telling you why I'm going. Also, I can't leave the castle completely defenseless while I'm gone. I need you here."
"Well, take me!" Aedion blustered, "Rowan's far more use when it comes to defense."
The words stabbed his pride, but there. He'd said it. The thing that made him feel like no more than a boy, rather than the feared Wolf of the North. Made him feel like a footsoldier, not a General.
Aelin's face darkened, "So help me, Aedion Ashryver, if those words leave your mouth again then I will beat you into next week." She said with dangerous calm, "You're one of the most feared people in Adarlan, you worked to help my people for eleven years and you kept my father's sword safe since he died. The war effort would have died with my parents eleven years ago, if it weren't for you." She raised her chin, "Rowan, try to knock some sense into him next time. Please."
"Don't go alone, Aelin," Rowan pleaded. Aedion nearly gasped; he'd never heard the warrior beg before.
"I have to," Aelin replied, with equal softness, "I'll send you a letter via Lysandra as soon as I can. Read it, then burn it."
There were a few seconds of sullen silence.
With a sigh, Aelin dismounted. She embraced Aedion and kissed Rowan before stepping backwards.
"Give him a black eye before I get back, will you?" She said with a wink at Aedion before getting into the saddle again, and riding swiftly across the grounds and out of the gate.
She looked confident, and held herself surely.
But Aedion could smell her anxiety.
Aelin rode like hell.
She rode like the Valg princes were on her tail, like Erewan himself was going to spring from behind one of the trees of Oakwood forest. It was like a stab in the heart, leaving that city of light and learning so soon after returning to it. Sure, the palace was in ruins, the gardens were a mess and the walls were crumbling to dust but her palace, her home, was still visible underneath it all.
And she was leaving it behind. Along with Rowan and Aedion.
The nightmares would start again tonight, she was sure of it. For her and for Rowan. A deep ache in her chest, Aelin reached down and gave that bond a tug, just to let him know she was sorry. A minute later, the chain tugged back, and she sighed.
It hurt to leave Aedion, too. Damn him, he'd nearly made her cry, with that lost look on his face. She'd almost wanted to quit this entire escapade and write back to Lysandra, saying she was certain that it was a hoax.
Indeed, the letter she'd received that morning from Lysandra - wearing the skin of a raven - had nearly knocked her out. Lysandra had left instantly, so Aelin had slipped out of bed and headed to the game park to spit fire at the surrounding trees.
And finding Aedion and Rowan beating each other to a pulp had hardly bettered her mood. Still, it was a rather effective form of anger management, she guessed.
Lysandra's letter was tucked up her sleeve, against her skin, written in the newly-appointed lady's elegant, cursive hand. It was short, to the point, and blunt.
Aelin.
Repairs going well. Ren and Murtaugh well and helping. Evangeline well.
Girl arrived yesterday. Black hair. Dirty. Limp. Says name is Elly and she comes from a village near Morath. Took her inside. She had a knife- hurt a guard. No one killed. Says she needs to get to oryth. Says she has message for you. No one else.
She had something in her hand. Tried to look- she said she'd kill us all. Didn't want to question.
Bring amulet. Just in case.
Lysandra.
The amulet of Oryth was stowed away in one of the saddlebags; Aelin didn't want to risk wearing it just yet. And though she was certain that it wasn't anything to worry about, the thought of a strange girl turningup with a message sent shivers down her bones.
You're kicking up a fuss over nothing, She chided herself.
But she kept riding.
Because she couldn't imagine Lysandra - the girl who had slit Arobynn's throat, who had endured a brutal flogging for Evangeline, who had loved Wesley so completely, so deeply...
She couldn't imagine that girl kicking up a fuss over nothing.