Kingdom of Ash

Perranth’s head still high, Aelin forced her
own breathing to remain steady. To brace
herself for what was to come. She could get
through it. Push past the shaking in her hands,
the cold sweat down her back. To learn what
they needed, she could find some way to
endure this next task.
Elide halted in the hall, Gavriel, Rowan,
and Fenrys taking a step closer. No sign of
Nesryn, Chaol, or Sartaq, though one shout
would likely summon them in this festering
warren.
Gods, the stench of this place. The feel of
it.
She’d been debating for the past hour
whether it was worth it to her sanity and
stomach to shift back into her human form—
to the blessed lesser sense of smell it offered.
Elide said to none of them in particular, “I
don’t care what you do with him.”