Aelin took a step forward. <br />One step, as if in a daze.<br />She loosed a shuddering breath, and a small, whimpering noise came out of her - a sob. <br />And then she was sprinting down the alley, flying as though the winds themselves pushed at her heels.<br />She flung herself on the male, crashing into him hard enough that anyone else might have gone rocking back into the stone wall. <br />But the male grabbed her to him, his massive arms wrapping around her tightly and lifting her up. Nesryn made to approach, but Aedion stopped her with a hand on her arm.<br />Aelin was laughing as she cried, and the male was just holding her, his hooded head buried in her neck. As if he were breathing her in.<br />"Who is that?" Nesryn asked.<br />Aedion smiled. "Rowan.