I’ve been trying like hell to convince myself that it’s real, reminding myself I only need to pretend to be how I was just long enough.” Long enough to forge the Lock and die. He said softly, “I know, Aelin.” He hadn’t bought the winks and smirks for a heartbeat. Aelin let out a sob that cracked something in him. “I can’t feel me—myself anymore. It’s like she snuffed it out. Ripped me from it. She, and Cairn, and everything they did to me.” She gulped down air, and Rowan wrapped her in his arms and pulled her onto his lap. “I am so tired,” she wept. “I am so, so tired, Rowan.”
