Page 157 (1/2)

They didn’t speak

But Aelin smiled S sea of fire And what did re beyond the ordinary

All that reiven her, in thanks for Elena

But--

Aelin reached inward, toward that place inside her soul

She put a hand to her chest Put a hand there and felt the heart beating within

The Fae heart The cost

She had given all of herself Had given up her life

The hu but dust betorlds

There would be noOnly this body, this form

She told them so And told them what had occurred

And when she was done, when Rowan re her, Aelin held out her hand once ift of Mala’s, too To preserve this piece of her that now forift

What Aelin had saved until the end, had not wanted to part with until the very last dregs of her were given to the Lock, to the Wyrdgate

Aelin held out her other hand, and the kernel of flaift A Fire-Bringer nokick froroaned as he stretched out on the cot in the Great Hall, the space still dim Countless other soldiers slu the room

He squinted at the small lantern that Kyllian held above him

"It’s time," Kyllian said, his eyes weary and red-rimmed

They’d all looked better Been better

But they were still alive A week after the Thirteen had sacrificed themselves and pushed back Morath’s tide, they were alive The witches’ lives had bought them a full day of rest One day, and then Morath hadthe heavy fur cloak he’d been using for a blanket over his shoulders, wincing at the throbbing ache in his left arm A careless wound, when he’d taken his attention off his shield for a ed to slice hi And at least the wound the Valg prince had given hi his shield over that same shoulder, he scooped up his sword and belted it at his waist as he picked his way through the labyrinth of sleeping, exhausted bodies A nod to Kyllian had thefor the city walls

But Aedion turned left upon leaving the Great Hall, ai for the north tower

It was a lonely, cold walk to the rooht As if the entire castle were a tohtly on the wooden door near the top of the tower, and it i into the hall before Evangeline could stir in her bed

In the flickering light of Aedion’s candle, the shadows etched on Lysandra’s face fro from sunup to sundoere starker, deeper "Ready?" he asked softly, turning back down the stairs

It had becoht, then coht point in their long, horrible days So her ties and errands for Darrow So

Lysandra was silent, her graceful gait heavier with each step they descended

"Breakfast?" Aedion asked as they neared the bottoruel and hot broth Two nights ago, Lysandra had flown off in wyvern for had ceased for the day, and returned an hour later with a hart clutched in each taloned foot

That precious one too soon

They hit the bottom of the tower stairwell, and Aedionhall when she stopped him with a hand on his arm In the dimness, he turned toward her

But Lysandra, that beautiful face so tired, only slid her arms around his waist and pressed her head to his chest She leaned enough of her weight into hie and wrapped his ar on hiht of exhaustion was unbearable