Kingdom of Ash

what he’d written on her back this spring, the
stories of her loved ones and their deaths,
written right where her scars had been.
Exactly where they’d been, as if he had their
memory etched in his mind.
But another tattoo lay there now. A tattoo
that sprawled across her shoulder bones as if
it were a pair of spread wings. Or so he’d
sketched for her.
The story of them. Rowan and Aelin.
A story that had begun in rage and sorrow
and become something entirely different.
She was glad to have him leave it at that.
At the happiness.
Aelin rested her chin atop her hands.
“We’ll be near Endovier soon.”
Rowan resumed working, but she knew
he’d listened to every word, thought through
his response. “What do you want to do about
it?”