Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)

by Sarah J. Maas

Kneeling before her, he extended his bloodied hand. “Show me, Fireheart. Show me again.” He tapped her ankle—the shackle there. Silently, her movements stiff, Aelin leaned forward. She sniffed at the blood pooling in his hand, her nostrils flaring. Her eyes lifted to his, like the scent of his blood posed some question. “I am your mate,” Rowan whispered, as if it was the answer she sought. And the love in his eyes, in the way his voice broke, his bloodied hand trembling … Elide’s throat tightened. Aelin only looked at the blood pooling in his cupped palm. Her fingers curled, the gauntlet clicking. As if it were another answer, too. “She can’t do it with the iron,” Elide said. “If it’s on her hands. It interferes with the magic in the blood.” A blink from her, in that silent language. “It’s why she put them on you, isn’t it,” Elide said, her chest straining. “To be sure you couldn’t use your own blood with the Wyrdmarks to free yourself.” As if all the other iron wasn’t already enough. Another blink, her face still so hollow and cold. Tired. Rowan’s jaw clenched. But he just dipped his finger into the blood in his palm and offered his hand to her. “Show me, Fireheart,” he said again. Elide could have sworn he shuddered, and not from fear, as Aelin’s metal-crusted hand closed around his. In halting, small movements, she guided his finger to trace the symbol onto the shackle around her ankle. A soft flare of greenish light, then— The hiss and sigh of the lock filled the clear...