Kingdom of Ash

Aelin sat up, groaning at the ache along her
bones.
“What happened?” Dorian asked, held
upright by the arm Chaol had around his
waist.
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