Maeve's Daughter ~ Throne of Glass

Chapter 1- Aelin

Aelin was slipping between consciousness and darkness, minutes stretched into hours and then shrunk into seconds. Blood dripped down her body then disappeared, her skin purified by unknown hands.

She ran an ironclad finger down the rim of the stone alter, manacles clinking in familiar tones as she slowly turned her head to gaze at the white wolf who stayed with her. His dark eyes didn't move from her face once, slowly  blinking three times "Are you alright"
She blinked once "Yes"
Those dark eyes scanned her absent injuries, trapped in chains, "Liar" (six blinks)

With a near silent huff she turned to observe her surroundings- for it was rare for her to awake in the light, whilst still alone without Cairn's sweet attention.

Once she had feared the cold darkness, associating it with Maeve's unpredictable visits (which she wasn't even sure were real) until she had
failed to break Aelin's mind.

Now only Cairn still came, in daylight or firelight,  bringing with him iron-laced food , his wicked face twisting in delight as she choked it down before he began long hours of playing with his knives and exercising his hammer to break her, body and spirit.

No. Now she craved the darkness that came between.

Sometimes the darkness was just absence of life where she'd undoubtedly passed out from the pain, but occasionally, the darkness beckoned her, cocooned her in a soft warmth.

She assumed this was the work of the healers who were vanishing her wounds and scars, but it felt different.. it didn't lash out in excruciating pain like Maeve's did. It didn't blind her with the bright light healers often exuded. It soothed her into blissful nothing.

........

A soft whine roused her from her drowsy state, she was back in her iron prison now, the wolf alerting her to urgent footsteps nearing the chamber as Cairn entered .

"Relieve yourself and wait by the door" he snapped to Fenrys before halting at Aelin's box.

A grunt and a hiss of metal then  firelight poured into the darkness as he began unfastening her chains and yanking her out, roughly pulling a hood over her head. Enveloped in darkness once more.

They began to move, passing out of the chamber until she could practically taste the freedom dancing in the breeze through some nearby stone windows, it slipped through her hair and brushed softly against her skin.

Run now. Escape.

An soft, familiar, ancient female voice whispered in the back of her mind.

"You're debating it aren't you" Cairn sneered, "Try it and see how long Fenrys's life lasts". He led her up a winding staircase, her muscles groaning and shaking in agony, the breeze faded away into cool air . Sweet smells- flowers. In this hell flowers still bloomed. They halted.

"Remove the hood, Cairn"

A cool female voice. Young and old. Amused and soulless it purred in absolute control.

The dark-haired queen lounged in front of her, content to let Aelin take in her surroundings as she sat on her stone throne; a white owl perched behind her and a lone black wolf sprawled beneath her, dark as night. Connall.

Freya's POV

Aelin of Wildfire.

How different the Fire-Bringer, heir of Mala looked kneeled in a pool of bloody shattered glass with Mab's iron crown forced upon her head. Broken, hollow. Not one trace of her shit-eating grin or the cocky bravado I'd seen at Mistward 2 years ago when I'd first encountered her as she met Maeve. And not a lick of  the untold raging power she'd wielded here at Doranelle to free her beloved from the blood oath just months ago.

I focused my attention onto Fenrys, who's eyes were fixed, in agony, onto Aelin his true queen, who was a suffering in silence.  Suddenly his gaze (and mine) snapped back to Connall as he shifted his wolf form to Fae :

"You are a disgrace to our family, to this kingdom."he snarled, "You whored yourself to a foreign queen, and for what? I begged you to control yourself when you were sent to hunt Lorcan, to be smart! You might as well have spat in my face. Was this what you wanted?" Anger filled his voice but pain laced it.

Fenrys snarled in response communicating to his twin exactly what he thought.

Connall snorted "Leave? Why would I ever want to leave ? For that ?"  pointing to Aelin "No Fenrys I will not leave, and neither will you."

Bullshit. Utter bullshit. Maeve had been twisting Connall's mind for centuries since he'd first taken the blood oath to best Fenrys in their endless male competition. Her magic had infected their brother bond like a plague.

Maeve continued her usual torture of story telling and lies sprinkled with the truth; while dining on fine wine and cheese as thought this physical and emotional attack was nothing more than a showcase for her entertainment and pleasure.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from Fenrys and Aelin below me.

"I'm growing bored of this" Maeve's sudden movement as she sat up startled me into shifting on my cold perch "Do you truly believe Aelin Galathynius, that I will not make necessary sacrifices?
Allow me to demonstrate,"

Time slowed down; memories of Maeve summoning Connall to us just days ago now filled my mind.

He had not cried or screamed or even pleaded. He had only sworn his promise in agreement with Maeve and made his way silently to the door.

For a split second though, he'd turned his head and looked me right in the eyes. The first time he'd had acknowledged my existence in over century and with his dark eyes he had conveyed a silent message

Tell him I love him

I hadn't moved but had blinked my dark bird eyes at him slowly, in promise, yearning to shift and comfort him. A coward, I had been a coward.

"Do it"