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

Chapter 41-Rowan

After allowing Nehemia to talk for hours, I sat in the sitting room with a glass of liquor in my hand. I was tapping my foot impatiently against the floor. Mate. Mate Mate. The word was ringing in my ears. I couldn't get Alien's face out of my mind. I was going to have the perfect life, with my mate and child.

Nehemia came out after a while, with a puffy-eyed Aelin following close behind.

The dark skinned woman stopped in front of me and said, "thank you for being someone for Aelin to lean on when I could not be there for her." I just bowed my head and she walked out of the castle, telling Aelin something about needing to tend to her kingdom.

After she left, I was faintly aware of Aelin closing the door behind Nehemia and leaning on it for a minute. I downed the rest of my alcohol as Aelin sat down beside me. She had her hands in her lap and she just stared at them.

"We need to talk," I whispered. She nodded a bit, looking away shyly.

She let out a soft sigh and prowled into the kitchen. Not exactly knowing what she was doing, I followed her out of the sitting room, my eyes following every move she made.

By the time I saw her, she was sliding brownies into the oven. She then stood cocked to the side with her hands on her hips. She was tapping her foot impatiently when I said, "what are you doing?"

She turned to me and crossed one of her arms over her chest. She kept her eyes on the ground and puckered her mouth to one side before saying, "Rhys said I had to make you food."

Oh. Oh.

"Aelin-"

"Don't even start with the whole 'I don't want to force you into anything' thing. I want to, really. I just," she shrugged and looked up at me, "I've never done this before," she whispered. I completely fell apart at the sight of her, scared of doing something wrong.

I pushed a strand of hair out of her face and said, "you do know that no matter what you do, I'm not going anywhere, right? You could burn those brownies and I would still walk through the fire to get to you." I pulled her toward me until she was wrapped in my arms.

I lost track of how long we stayed in that position, in a daze until she whispered, barely perceptible, "what if I can't compare to her? What if I'm not good enough?"

My heart shattered on the floor, sending stinging shards into every inch of my skin. I held tight to both of her shoulders and pulled back enough to look her in the eyes.

"Aelin, you're not Lyria." I saw the disappointment cloud her face before I finished, "and I don't ever want you to be. The person I was two hundred years ago needed her, but I'm not that person anymore. The person I am now needs you and no one else. You mean more than the world to me, I claim you, Aelin Galathynius. I don't care what you say and how much you protest. I claim you as my mate," I said. Tears were rolling down her face when she reached her hands around my neck and kissed me. This was it, no more roaming or putting myself in danger; I knew I needed to be here with her. Forever.

Aelin's lips were still on mine when the oven beeped, signaling that the brownies were done. "Go in the sitting room," she breathed onto my mouth.

I did as she asked, though I felt her absence the minute I lost contact with her skin.

After a minute, she came in with a brownie on a plate and handed it to me, sitting next to me on the couch.

When I finished it and put the plate one the coffee table, she slipped in front of me and slid onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. She tucked her head under my chin and breathed me in. I knew she was beyond exhausted, and killing so many people in one day didn't help her either.

My mate. How did I get so lucky?

In less than five minutes, she was fast asleep in my lap. I smiled down at her and carefully stood up, cradling her the way I had that night she'd almost burned out. At that time, I would have never expected to feel as much for her as I did now.

I carried her to our room and didn't bother to set her down as I crawled into the bed. She unknowingly shifted herself until one of her legs was draped over me and still had one arm slung around my neck. I kissed the top of her head, which was weightlessly resting on my shoulder, and whispered, "my Fireheart, my mate," before being pulled into oblivion.