Kingdom of Ash

answer he already needed.
The prince had come through on his silent
promise earlier.
Aelin’s throat bobbed. “Together,” she
said, her voice cracking. “What if we forged
the Lock together?”
Dorian knew her plan, her desperate hope,
before she laid it out. And when she finished,
Aelin only said, “I am sorry to even ask you.”
“I am sorry I didn’t think of it,” he replied,
and pushed to his feet, tugging on his boots.
Rowan turned toward them now. Waiting
for an answer that he knew Dorian would give.
So Dorian said to them both, “Yes.”
Aelin closed her eyes, and he couldn’t tell
if it was from relief or regret. He laid a hand
on her shoulder. He didn’t want to know what
the argument had been like between her and
Rowan to get her to agree, to accept this. For
Aelin to have even said yes ...