I miss you, Aelin.

Rowan jolted awake when he realised what he was thinking. How could I have thought that? I am merely here to protect her. As soon as he thought that, he realised how wrong he was. If I were only here to protect her, why would I be so protective of her? He remembered Lyria, his first mate. She was so pretty, and so innocent when she died. It's all my fault. I left her, for what? Only for my own selfish desires, and because of that, she's dead. But Aelin was different. She had been through so much, yet she still had the strength to live. She was so strong, to go through Endovier, and that stupid competition for being the King's Champion. Rowan growled. If he ever got a chance to meet those god-damned overseers at Endovier, he swore not to give them an easy death. Aelin represented hope for magic, for Fae, for Terrasen. She did not deserve all the torture she had been through; his queen was so brave, so strong.

Knock! Knock! Gavriel poked his head inside Rowan's room. "I've been dismissed by Maeve," he said, plonking down on a random chair. "So are Lorcan and Fenrys." Rowan stared at him. "Why now?" Gavriel shrugged. "We may or may not have tried to persuade Maeve to go easier on Aelin, though she flew into a rage in the end and dismissed all three of us." Rowan laughed long and hard. "At long last, we're free of Her Stupid Hignesses' royal demands, my friend! You should celebrate, and be happy!" Gavriel started to grin. "Well, I have even more news! The three of us are going with you to find Aelin, and properly be part of Terrasen's army!" Rowan frowned. "How do you know that I am planning to go to find Aelin?" "It's written on your face 'I miss Aelin' in Bold! How are you not going? Now come on, get dressed and pack, we're leaving at dawn." Rowan smiled wryly before thinking, 'Well, it would be nice to see my queen again, wouldn't it?'

Little did he know how important Aelin really was to him.