Aelin POV

Rowan, Lysandra, Dorian, Aedion, and I stood in front of Feyre's house, finally saying goodbye. In the days that we'd been here, a bump had started to form on my stomach and Mor kept looking at it and smiling.

"If you ever need anything, you know where to find us. We owe our lives to you," Rhysand said to us all, bowing low. Feyre and Mor came up and hugged me and Lysandra, not letting go until it became slightly awkward. Cassian and Azriel clapped Rowan on the back and said some things I couldn't hear. I could see in their eyes that they were beyond upset about their wings, but I didn't have the words to console them.

Amren came forth, with her newly-pointed fae ears and exceptionally long fangs, and said, "I came to you doubting whether you would be worth the trouble. Now I have no doubt that you all are worth more than the most precious jewels. It is not possible to show the full amount on my gratitude, but I can give you this." She grabbed my hand in both of hers and I was sucked into a world in my mind.

It reminded me of when the valg showed me the vision of me taking my throne. This time I saw the final killing blow, severing my aunt Maeve's head. It was not made by me though, no, I saw Rowan holding the sword dripping with blood. The vision swirled a bit and I saw the moment when each of his cadre were released from the bond. Gavriel suddenly sniffed around, laid his eyes on Aedion, and smiled. Somehow… Amren had just shown me the future.

Then the vision stopped, and I was back staring at Amren. She just nodded her head at me and walked back in the house. Everyone finished their goodbyes and we set off into an alley so no one would see what we were about to do. Rowan sliced his hand and held it out for me, looking at me so intently that I had to look away.

I quickly scrawled the wyrdmarks and demanded that Dorian, Aedion, and Lysandra go in first. After they fully disappeared, Rowan snaked his arm around my waist and met my lips with his. I was so surprised that I let out a gasp and he smiled against my mouth.

When he pulled away, I said, "I could get used to this," and laced my fingers through his before stepping into the portal together.

When we arrived back at the castle, Aedion and Lysandra had already disappeared and Dorian was standing by the door with his hands in his pockets. He mumbled something about heading back to Adarlan and started walking to his horse.

"Dorian, wait," I called.

He turned around and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Who did you bring back?" I asked him. He looked devastated when the Cauldron asked that of him, but afterwards he was perfectly at ease. He'll forever live with the thought that he took someone close to him away, but never remember who.

He just smiled and said, "you'll find out soon enough." I was still wondering about his answer when he got on his horse and rode south, toward Adarlan.

I took in the sights of my home, my kingdom and was silent as I strode to my quarters.

Something felt off as I walked through the castle with Rowan in tow. I kept my fae ears perked and when I opened the door to my bedroom, my heart stopped and my hands flew to my mouth.

"Oh gods," tears were streaming down my face. I took in the sight of her, sitting on my bed with her legs crossed, her hands placed neatly in her lap. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, what I had expected to see for so many months but had given up on. Now it was real, she was real. I couldn't control the tears that were flowing freely down my face.

Nehemia was sitting on my bed, the familiar gold paint placed on her dark forehead in intricate patterns, smiling at me. I choked back a sob and ran toward her, tackling her in a bone crushing hug. I don't know how long I sat and sobbed into her hair, holding onto her like she would disappear any minute. Dorian had given up someone to save Nehemia, and I was forever grateful. Some part of me knew he did it for me, oh gods. What would Chaol think of this?

"I missed you so much, why'd you have to leave?" I asked her, still crying. Rowan had made himself scarce, giving me and Nehemia privacy.

"Elentiya," she said. My heart swelled at hearing her say the name she had given me so long ago. "I knew my fate, just as I knew that a dark haired woman would travel a great distance to get to you, and just as I knew Dorian would be asked to give up a person of his life. Queen Elena knew, and I knew."

I couldn't even speak, just hugged her again until my arms were numb. It all seemed like a dream, apparently the Cauldron wasn't so bad after all.

Rowan's POV

After allowing Nehemia to talk for hours, I sat in the sitting room with a glass of liquor in my hand. I was tapping my foot impatiently against the floor. Mate. Mate Mate. The word was ringing in my ears. I couldn't get Alien's face out of my mind. I was going to have the perfect life, with my mate and child.

Nehemia came out after a while, with a puffy-eyed Aelin following close behind.

The dark skinned woman stopped in front of me and said, "thank you for being someone for Aelin to lean on when I could not be there for her." I just bowed my head and she walked out of the castle, telling Aelin something about needing to tend to her kingdom.

After she left, I was faintly aware of Aelin closing the door behind Nehemia and leaning on it for a minute. I downed the rest of my alcohol as Aelin sat down beside me. She had her hands in her lap and she just stared at them.

"We need to talk," I whispered. She nodded a bit, looking away shyly.

She let out a soft sigh and prowled into the kitchen. Not exactly knowing what she was doing, I followed her out of the sitting room, my eyes following every move she made.

By the time I saw her, she was sliding brownies into the oven. She then stood cocked to the side with her hands on her hips. She was tapping her foot impatiently when I said, "what are you doing?"

She turned to me and crossed one of her arms over her chest. She kept her eyes on the ground and puckered her mouth to one side before saying, "Rhys said I had to make you food."

Oh. Oh.

"Aelin-"

"Don't even start with the whole 'I don't want to force you into anything' thing. I want to, really. I just," she shrugged and looked up at me, "I've never done this before," she whispered. I completely fell apart at the sight of her, scared of doing something wrong.

I pushed a strand of hair out of her face and said, "you do know that no matter what you do, I'm not going anywhere, right? You could burn those brownies and I would still walk through the fire to get to you." I pulled her toward me until she was wrapped in my arms.

I lost track of how long we stayed in that position, in a daze until she whispered, barely perceptible, "what if I can't compare to her? What if I'm not good enough?"

My heart shattered on the floor, sending stinging shards into every inch of my skin. I held tight to both of her shoulders and pulled back enough to look her in the eyes.

"Aelin, you're not Lyria." I saw the disappointment cloud her face before I finished, "and I don't ever want you to be. The person I was two hundred years ago needed her, but I'm not that person anymore. The person I am now needs you and no one else. You mean more than the world to me, I claim you, Aelin Galathynius. I don't care what you say and how much you protest. I claim you as my mate," I said. Tears were rolling down her face when she reached her hands around my neck and kissed me. This was it, no more roaming or putting myself in danger; I knew I needed to be here with her. Forever.

Aelin's lips were still on mine when the oven beeped, signaling that the brownies were done. "Go in the sitting room," she breathed onto my mouth.

I did as she asked, though I felt her absence the minute I lost contact with her skin.

After a minute, she came in with a brownie on a plate and handed it to me, sitting next to me on the couch.

When I finished it and put the plate one the coffee table, she slipped in front of me and slid onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. She tucked her head under my chin and breathed me in. I knew she was beyond exhausted, and killing so many people in one day didn't help her either.

My mate. How did I get so lucky?

In less than five minutes, she was fast asleep in my lap. I smiled down at her and carefully stood up, cradling her the way I had that night she'd almost burned out. At that time, I would have never expected to feel as much for her as I did now.

I carried her to our room and didn't bother to set her down as I crawled into the bed. She unknowingly shifted herself until one of her legs was draped over me and still had one arm slung around my neck. I kissed the top of her head, which was weightlessly resting on my shoulder, and whispered, "my Fireheart, my mate," before being pulled into oblivion.

A/N: THE LAST CHAPTER. OH MY GOD IT'S FINISHED. BUT WAIT! THERE'S AN EPILOGUE THAT IS TO DIE FOR. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE AMAZING REVIEWS AND SOME MADE ME CRY, LAUGH, OR JUST SQUEAL FROM JOY. WE'RE GOING TO POST ANOTHER FANFICTION SOON! JUST STAY TUNED.