He scanned the starry sky, the slumbering lands beyond, the Lord of the North above.

It hit him a heartbeat later. Erupted around him and roared.

Over and over and over, as if it were a hammer against an anvil.

The others whirled to him.

That raging, fiery song charged closer.

Through him.

Down the mating bond. Down into his very soul.

A bellow of fury and defiance.

It was impossible, utterly impossible, and yet—

It filled him with sound, with fire and light.

As if it screamed, again and again,

I am alive,

I am alive,

I am alive.

And then silence. Like it had been cut off.

Extinguished.

He refused to think of why.

The mating bond remained. Stretched taut, but it remained So he sent the words along it, with as much hope and fury and unrelenting love as he had felt from her.

I will find you.

AND IF IT GOES UP IN FLAMES

Kidnappers: (sniffling and trying to control tears) 

7:30 a.m. *Maeve wakes up*

7:45 a.m. *Maeve has her yoga lesson*

8:15 a.m. *Maeve gets dressed*

8:30 a.m. *Maeve has breakfast and chats with her handmaidens*

8:45 a.m. *sits on her throne*

The Cadre, Throne of Glass Series

Characters by Sarah J. Maas

Poses by @radioactivedotcom and @ssiat​ 

Prompt: Piano, Candle, Beauty. (from a three word prompt set from @sparkingstoryinspiration)

3.5k celebration masterlist // full masterlist

The inside of this castle was infinitely worse than the outside, which was saying a lot.

Not only was the stone black as night with spires disappearing into low hanging clouds, half the windows were boarded up and the exterior was so dilapidated she had half a mind to wonder how sound the structure was. Still, she’d crept inside after tying Kresida to a post at the base of the stairs. 

Inside, though, the place seemed downright haunted. The drapes were moth-eaten and falling from the walls. One side of the grand staircase had steps that had fallen completely through and the banister was in shreds. There was the overwhelming feeling that she was being watched that she couldn’t quite shake. Still, she made her way through the lower floor chased by the sounds of the wood creaking beneath her feet. 

In what had likely been the grand ballroom, the old chandelier had crashed in the center of the room. Half burnt candles fell out of the iron holders and toppled out onto the floor. Bits of the marble flooring had piles of melted wax. It seemed it had fallen while it had been lit, perhaps mid-revel. The thought gave her a shiver and she couldn’t help but wonder what great tragedy had swept the castle, couldn’t help but wonder if it had once been a place of beauty or had always felt so cold and hollow. 

On her way back out the door, she paused near the grand piano and tapped one of the keys. Eerily, it remained in tune. Of everything in this place, of all the dust covering the surfaces, she was caught off guard that the c note she’d touched sounded perfect. She let her fingers dance over a few more keys, playing the beginnings of a song she hadn’t played since childhood, and every note hit just as it should. 

The feeling of being watched became too overwhelming so she moved on, abandoning the perfectly tuned piano in search of… what, she didn’t know. What was she even doing here? Investigating? Her mother would say she was just getting into trouble and something in the back of Aelin’s mind had her wondering if that wasn’t the entire truth. 

She’d been on a bit of a rebellious streak ever since the news came out that as Crown Princess of Terrasen, she would be forced into an arranged marriage with someone from another kingdom. It didn’t sit well with her, though she knew that these days marriage was nothing more than a contract between kingdoms if royals were involved. It was her duty, should have been her honor, yet here she was exploring an abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere while not a soul knew where she was. 

It was then that a bad, horrible feeling started to take over. How could she be so stupid? Being the sole heir to the throne, she had responsibility, she had rules to follow. She couldn’t just go gallivanting through Wendlyn with so little as a whisper of where she’d gone. If she went missing, they wouldn’t even know where to begin to look. And she’d heard wolves outside, wolves that could chase Kasida off and leave Aelin stranded in this godforsaken palace. 

With a single brain cell propelling her toward the door, she took off running through the halls. The floors creaked and cracked while she ran, feet stumbling over loose floorboards and her cloak hanging on nails protruding from the walls. 

She had just made it to the front door when a massive hand wrapped around her bicep and pulled her to a stop, the sound of flapping wings and the scent of pine overwhelmed her senses as she was tugged back inside. The door to the castle slammed shut.

 Nobody heard her screams.