Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)

by Sarah J. Maas

Aelin cupped her palms before her. A small lick of flame appeared within them. Nothing more. She looked at Rowan, then Chaol, and Dorian, their faces so haggard in the rising light of day. “It’s gone,” she said quietly. “The power.” She turned her hands, the flame rolling over them. “Only an ember remains.” They didn’t speak. But Aelin smiled. Smiled at the lack of that well within her, that churning sea of fire. And what did remain—a significant gift, yes, but nothing beyond the ordinary. All that remained of what Mala had given 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 human life. Her mortality. Burned away, turned to nothing but dust between worlds. There would be no more shifting. Only this body, this form. She told them so. And told them what had occurred. And when she was done, when Rowan remained holding her, Aelin held out her hand once more, just to see. Perhaps it had been a final gift of Mala’s, too. To preserve this piece of her that now formed in her hand—this droplet of water. Her mother’s gift.