Throne of Glass & A Court of Thorns and Roses: Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 39-Rowan

Aelin stood in front of the menacing throne as the king's head hit the ground, eyes blank and glazed, void of life. She stared forward for a moment before she bowed her head then turned to face the rest of us with her sword still gripped in her hand. The point dragged on the ground and the king's blood gleamed in the light, dripping off the edge of the blade. She didn't even spare the dead king's decapitated head a glance. I felt a sense of pride in that moment-my fiery queen: unstoppable, invincible, magnificent. Her gold hair was alight with an aura of godliness, her eyes glinting with the ecstasy of what she had just done.

Now that the king was good and dead, along with Jurian, there was only one thing left to do before we could go home and leave this world behind forever.

Aelin approached the swirling cauldron and said, voice shaking, "Amren, do you have the book?" I could feel the terrifying power radiating from the thing, calling out to my very soul, as I assumed it did to everyone.

Amren came forward cautiously and handed to book to her, meeting Aelin's eyes and patting her hand. She took the book, looking at it for a few seconds and closed her eyes. Thick, sparkling darkness seeped around us as the book neared the large and swirling object.

My queen looked up at the rest of us under lowered brows, sighed, and said, "I don't know what this cauldron will ask of us, it may be harmless or it may demand something very dear to our hearts. I can guarantee that we will have to sacrifice things, and I need to know if each one of you is willing to do what is needed."

She looked to her right at Lysandra and Aedion. Lysandra put her hand in the crook of his elbow and looked up at him, giving him a nod. He looked back at Aelin and said, "yes."

Aelin looked at Dorian and he said, "I am," before averting his eyes and blushing uncontrollably.

Cassian only nodded once when she laid her eyes upon him.

She turned her head to Amren and the woman said, "I've dealt with this thing too long, I'll give anything to see it destroyed," there was something different in her voice. She knew something that she wasn't telling us.

Feyre linked her fingers with Rhysand's and they nodded at Aelin.

Mor smiled at Azriel and said, "we're in too."

Finally Aelin looked to me. I could see the question in her blue and gold eyes as I nodded once and said, "to whatever end, Fireheart."

She looked at us-all of us-and gave a small smile. A group of people from two different worlds, now comrades-friends. There is a real bond that is made when you fight alongside someone on a battlefield, and I could feel us all linked together. All so different, but in a way, the same.

We all surrounded the cauldron, making a circle around the horrible object. Mor held Azriel's hand, then Cassian's. Cassian grabbed Aelin's hand and Azriel turned to Lysandra, linking hands with her. Aedion held Lysandra and Amren's hands tightly. Amren turned to Rhys, who was already holding Feyre's hand on the other side, and took his hand in hers. Feyre looked at Dorian and gave him an innocent smile before latching onto his hand.

Dorian looked at me, eyes wide and scared to death; I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand. I heard Aelin let out a small laugh, despite the situation, before she tossed the book into the swirling mist of the cauldron and quickly put her small hand in mine.

There was a flash of blinding light and we were all blasted with a gust of wind bigger than any that I could conjure.

A blue beam of light shot up out of the cauldron and an ominous voice boomed, "from the beginning of time and from legends of old, the one wishing to destroy the cauldron is the girl with eyes ringed in gold." All of our eyes widened and I dared a glance at Aelin, I could tell she was terrified. It continued in a less threatening voice, "each one of you has been brought here by a force bigger than yourselves-you're all players in an unfinished game. You will all have to sacrifice something, whether it be your blood or your life or something infinitely more precious, if you want to destroy the cauldron. Shapeshifter," the light turned to Lysandra, "assume your most cherished form and it will be taken; you will no longer be able to shift into it."