Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #0.1–0.5, 1–7)

by Sarah J. Maas

Aelin nodded, then winked at the shifter. “I suppose you didn’t need me to slay that stygian spider after all.” But Falkan tensed, his attention going to Nesryn and Sartaq, to Borte, still gawking at the Fae males. “Do they know?” Aelin had a feeling she’d need to sit down again. Chaol indeed patted the chair beside him, earning a chuckle from Yrene. Doing herself a favor, Aelin indeed sat, Rowan taking up his place behind her, both of his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. His thumb ran along the nape of her neck, then drifted over the mating marks again scarring one side thanks to the seawater they’d used to seal them. But as her muscles soothed beneath that loving touch, her soul with it, her breath remained tight. It didn’t get any better when Nesryn said, “The stygian spiders are Valg.” Silence. “We encountered their kin, the kharankui, deep in the Dagul Fells. They came into this world through a temporary crack between realms, and remained afterward to guard the entrance, should it ever reappear.” “This cannot end well,” Fenrys muttered. Elide hummed her agreement. “They feed on dreams and years and life,” Falkan said, a hand on his own chest. “As my friends have said the Valg do.” Aelin had seen Valg princes drain a human of every last drop of youth and vigor and leave only a dried corpse behind. She wouldn’t put it past the spiders to have a similar gift. “What does this mean for the war?” Rowan asked, his thumbs still stroking Aelin’s neck. “Will they join Era...