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

Chapter 42

Aelin let out a breath when Aidan disappeared from the ship deck, the mirror rattling around for a few moments before going still. 

The dragon roared above them, and she let the thoughts of her niece slip away as all of her attention was taken up by the massive beast. She quickly filled in the patches that had opened up in the shield, and Rowan took her hand, offering his own magic for her to yield. Aelin grunted again when the dragon opened his mouth and let loose a breath of fire. 

"Do you we have anything big enough to bring that down?" Aelin yelled. 

"No, but I have an idea," Rowan answered, pulling her into a desperate kiss before transforming into a white-tailed hawk.

Aelin kept one eye on him as the dragon continued to punch holes in her shield. At the helm of the ship, Aelin noticed that both Evie and Declan were growing tired of holding onto their own shields. 

Another blast of canons echoed across the water, and Aelin winced. They were going to lose if they had to fight both the dragon and the armada. Rowan soared artfully through the sky, weaving between the streams of dragon breath that rained down on them. 

Her heart sang a little bit as Rowan's caw reached her ears before he set upon the beast. He was just a speck compared the massive shadow that blocked the mid-morning sun. Rowan was able to move much faster than the dragon, using its bulky weight against it. When the dragon opened its mouth again, Rowan raced around the other side, heading straight towards the beast's eyes. 

With both his talons and beak, Rowan easily blinded one eye. The beast screamed in agony at the attack, flicking his head around, trying to reach its unwelcome assailant. Rowan flew off, avoiding the erratic bursts of fire from the dragon's snout. 

Using its blind side, Rowan was able to attach himself to the dragon's face, digging into the other eye, completely blinding the beast. Fire shot in every direction, catching on some of Adrian's unprotected ships. Screams echoed across the water as some of his soldiers were burnt alive where they stood, and other dropped heavily into the sea. 

Rowan dodged the bursts of fire, landing back on the boat deck beside her, trying for another kiss.

"Dragon eyeball might be a delicacy in Femora, but I'll vomit if you come near me," Aelin said, dodging his attempt.

"I fearlessly attacked a dragon for you, and you won't even look at me?" Rowan grumbled. 

"Nope," Aelin said, smiling at broadly at him. 

Every so often some flame licked against her shield, but the real damage was happening across the water. Many of the Femorian ships were on fire as the beast targeted the screaming, relying on its other senses to guide it. 

"QUIET! EVERYONE STOP MOVING!" Aelin bellowed and slowly all motion on the ship ceased. Other ships were following suit, and soon, the only noise was from the waves lapping at the boat's underbelly, the roaring moans of the dragon, and the screams of the Femorian soldiers as their once greatest weapon turned and began attacking them. 

Canons stopped poking holes in her ships and arrows stopped breaking through her shields as the Femorians tried to down their own beast. Many of the arrows were cast off by the thick scales that covered most of it, but several stuck into its exposed belly. 

The Femorians must have noticed too because they began targeting it with all of their manpower. 

Hoping to catch them off-guard, Aelin yelled, "NOCK."

"DRAW!"

As another round of arrows found homes in the monster's underside, Aelin's arrows found homes in some of the remaining soldiers. A loud guttural noise sounded from above as the dragon began to lose altitude. Its wings grazed the water and though it ascended a couple feet, it couldn't keep itself up, falling with a huge crash into the water. 

The water around it was stained with blood, and silence fell over her entire fleet. Screams continued to echo across the water, where more than two hundred of the three hundred ships that had set upon them were burning or taking on water. The remaining ships were retreating, not bothering to help those sailors who had survived the battle. A cheer rang out through her own ships as the Femorians retreated.

"Do you want us to chase them?" Evie called, visibly exhausted by the strain on her magic. 

"No. Let them crawl back to Adrian. He'll probably kill them for retreating anyway," Aelin ordered. "Keep on track for Terrasen." 

Aelin walked slowly towards the silver mirror that sat unscathed on the wooden deck. She felt Rowan's hand on her back as she bent to pick it up. 

Kissing the side of her head, Rowan whispered, "I'm sure they're fine."

"Didn't I tell you I would vomit if you came near me, Buzzard?" Aelin mockingly cried in disgust, pulling away from him. 

She looked down at the little silver mirror and whispered, "Ddistryor."

The mirror showed a dark room with no people. Squinting a little, Aelin could make out a banner on one wall, and she almost dropped the mirror when she identified it. 

"What? What's wrong?" Rowan asked, concerned. 

"I pushed her through that portal, only for her to land right on Maeve's lap," Aelin whispered. 

Hey everyone! I only have six more chapters outlined so we're almost to the end! My question for you is: would you prefer an epilogue at the very end? I know some people are totally opposed to them, so I wanted to see what you guys thought!