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

Chapter 41

Aidan had alternated between sleep and wakefulness for three days before Maeve had even given them some water, which was left in a crude bucket by one of the guards. Aidan drank a little bit of it and was growing restless in the small room. There was a small window far above them, but the room was too small for Azriel to fly up and look out of it. 

On sunnier days, the light shone bright enough  that she could make out Azriel's face. As terrible as the situation was, Aidan was glad to have him there. They had talked about random things, from her grandmother Manon to what Rifthold looked like at Yuletide. Azriel told her about the Illyrian war camps, and how they finally managed to get the war bands to agree to teach females. 

"Azriel, I'm so hungry, I'm going to eat you soon," Aidan grumbled, pacing around the room. She put out a hand to feel the wood but stopped when Azriel hissed at her.

"Stop! Don't touch it. It might hurt you! It's like poison to High Fae," he hissed. 

Aidan shrugged and extended her arm, "Might as well find out."

Azriel jumped up just as her hand connected with the wall, pulling her back from it, but nothing happened. He looked down at her hand in the dim light. 

"See. I'm fine. Go back to brooding in the corner," Aidan huffed, putting her hand back against the wood. It was smooth under her hand as the sun started to poke in from the small window. Something in the corner caught her eye, and she squatted down beside it. 

"Az, look at this," Aidan said, pointing to the wall. There was something etched into the wood. 

"What does it say?" he asked squatting beside her, squinting down at it. 

Aidan ran her hand over in the imperfection in the wood. The first letter was a A, then an I, and her hand stopped moving. 

"Aidan."

"What?" Azriel asked, confused.

"It says my name. It says Aidan," she said, pulling her hand back. She looked around the room, and in the dim light, she saw that there were other things etched in the wall. 

"Look, Azriel. Over there. And there. Somebody carved these into the wall. For us," she said, pointing and moving quickly to the closest one. 

"This one says 'divided,' and this one says 'fire,'" Aidan said. 

Azriel found one closer to him, "This one says 'prophecy.' And that one over there says 'ice.'" 

"Who do you think wrote these?" Aidan wondered. Other words were written, but the last one alarmed her the most. 'Sacrifice.' She slumped down in front of it, for some reason, she didn't want Azriel to read that one. 

"Helion. I think Helion knew you would come," Azriel whispered from across the room. "The Day Court's library has most of the prophecies from around Prythian. Or at least copies of them. He must have known..."

"Azriel?" Aidan asked, squinting at one last word, written at the very bottom of the wall, as if Helion no longer had the strength to even sit up. 

"Hmm?" he murmured, studying the carvings. 

"What does the word 'winnow' mean?" 

"It's a magic only the strongest Fae in our world can do. It's like folding the world with your magic and stepping through it. So you could disappear there and appear right beside me."

"Oh. Do you think I could winnow here?"

"Maybe. If we weren't in an ashwood room, it blocks winnowing too," Azriel answered. "You're certainly strong enough, but winnowing needs to be taught, and I'm not the best teacher for something like that."