Divided (Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses Crossover)

Chapter 12

Apparently, magic was condemned in Femora because the prince had her thrown into one of her own dungeons. Aidan huffed as she sat in the dank conditions below the castle. The fire that had been living beneath her skin had disappeared, so she sat half-freezing on the ground. 

Aidan rolled her eyes at herself and at the prince and at the situation. It had not been her best moment. With no one to talk to in the looming darkness, Aidan's thoughts roamed from her father to her aunt to her own magic. How had it taken so long for someone to notice her magic? There had been several Fae healers throughout the years, and none of them had noticed one drop of magic within her. If only Aelin would have come to her sooner maybe she would have had better control of her magic and her temper. No. It wasn't Aelin's fault.

She popped up from her seat at the wall. Aidan had to do something useful, or she would go mad. In the dark, she slid her hands against the wall feeling for anything that might give her an advantage. Her hands found something sticky, and she had to hold back her cringe. Finding nothing along the whole length of the brick wall, Aidan turned her attention the metal bars that separated her cell from the next. 

Grazing one finger along the closest bar, Aidan gasped. A sharp pain started first in her finger and shot up the whole length of her arm. In the complete darkness of the cell, she couldn't tell where her hand even began, let alone what had caused the searing pain. 

She gritted her teeth and placed her left hand fully on the bar, and the pain that shot through her body rocked her so violently that she fell to her knees. A laugh echoed through the darkness, and a firelight leaped up from a torch beyond the front of her cell. 

"It's iron, my love. Just to make sure you don't try anything funny," Adrian purred. "My, my, my. Don't you just look spectacular on your knees." A deep growl ripped from Aidan's throat. 

"None of that, my love. You must behave, or I'll never let you out of this little cage. Are you finished being an animal? Would you like to go upstairs and rejoin the rest of the civilized guests?"

The light from his torch caused shadows to dance across his face. He looked even more menacing than Aidan would have ever thought possible. She didn't deign give him a reply, which he clucked his tongue at. 

"I figured you hadn't had enough time down here in the dark," he said, a scraping noise sounded from the bottom of the cell. "Here's your dinner." Aidan limply watched as the fire in the torch became farther and farther away as he walked down the corridor. The sound of a heavy door scraping open and then shut again rang throughout the empty dungeon.

The energy in Aidan's body left her; she didn't even stand up as she slowly crawled to the tray the prince had left: a small bit of bread and water, but Aidan really care. She was not hungry, just bored, alone, and more than a little bit scared. 

Sniffing the food, Aidan took a leap of faith that it wasn't poisoned, at least not this first tray. The way Adrian spoke made it seem like he hoped she would survive a while. She bit into the bread and took a sip of the grossly warm water. 

She decided that she had placed much too much trust in the Prince of Femora when she began to feel light-headed and drowsy. The darkness of the cell melted into the darkness of her dreams. 

She couldn't decide if she was dreaming so she  just lay there limply, hoping it would stop. An insistent hand on her shoulder shook her roughly. A feminine voice murmured for her to awaken immediately. Aidan groaned and opened one eye. 

There was enough light in the cell for her to see the outline of a woman crouching beside her. Her silver hair sparkled even in the dim light. The woman smiled at her.

"Hello, child."

"Who are you?" Aidan asked, breathless. 

"My name is unnecessary, but you are not," the ethereal stranger said. 

"What do you mean?"

"You will understand in time why I have come to you this night. My time here will be short; the other gods do not like that I am here at all.  I have come to give you this," the woman said. She pressed a cool, smooth object into her hand, but Aidan couldn't look away from the woman's face.

"You will need this to complete the tasks that Fate has dealt to you. You must escape Adarlan. Take this to Aelin. She will know what to do with it and will help prepare you for what is to come," the woman continued. She stood up, and Aidan watched as the edges of her appearance started to fade and ripple away.

When only the woman's face was left, she said, "When the time comes, child, you will have to finish this. Aelin will guide you, but this is your destiny to face. You must face it alone." 

The woman faded completely, and the cell returned to full darkness as if all of the light in the cell had come from the woman herself.  Aidan's attention turned to the object she had pressed into her hand. She couldn't see it, but she felt it with her fingers. She couldn't contain her gasp when she identified what it was.

The delicate silver mirror was still clenched in her fist when Aidan awoke. 

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