Page 14 of Their Chosen

“Rhowyn, this is Arryn.” Baer’s words drew my attention back to them as he gestured to the soldier, whose green eyes skimmed down my body appreciatively. “And this is Lennox.”

Lennox's smile grew wider, and his relaxed posture held a tautness that told me the lazy and charming air he was presenting was an act. This man was dark, but I didn't get an evil vibe. He was unquestionably dangerous, though. That was okay, though, because what none of them had realized yet, was that I was also dangerous. I was the actual wolf in sheep's clothing. They had already been assessed and categorized; their threat level filed away as I made my judgments about their characters.

“I'd say it was nice to meet you, but I haven't decided if that's true or not yet.” I held out my hand to shake the two newcomers' hands. Neither of them accepted my hand as they eyed me with narrowed brows.

Baer laughed nervously, as if he too could sense the tension between us all. “Like I said, they're new around here.” He turned to them. “Here on Earth, it’s customary to grasp a person's hand in greeting, like this.”

He grabbed my hand and shook it in demonstration. “Why?” Lennox asked as if the action was idiotic.

“You know, I'm not sure why exactly, but people do it all over,” Baer answered as he tried to think of an answer.

I rolled my eyes at Lennox. “It was started several hundreds of years ago to show that you had no weapons and meant no harm. Today, it's to assess someone. You can learn a lot from a handshake.”

Lennox nodded in response but made no move to attempt a handshake. I shook my head subtly at the weirdness of this entire encounter and conversation, shoving my hands back in my pockets. Turning my back on them while also keeping all of my senses trained on their movements, I made my way to the park. The sooner I got answers, the sooner I could be done with this whole ridiculous encounter.

Their whispers followed me as I walked, but it was low enough I couldn't hear the words. I could guess that there was a disagreement of some sort, but they seemed to settle it quickly. Good because I didn't want to be caught up in the middle of whatever it was.

I sighed heavily, already over today, and drew up next to the picnic table that sat under a couple of trees. Not wanting to sit on the rubber-covered metal, I remained standing. The Texas heat had a way of heating these tables to near melting points; even if it was in the shade, the temperatures were relentless. Baer set the bag of tacos down on the table and started handing out the food. The other two sat down, shifting on the overly warm benches with grimaces of pain.

“Who would choose to live in this miserable heat? Even Summer Territory isn't this hot at home,” Arryn complained, wiping sweat from his skin.

I laughed because every Texan questioned their sanity this time of year. “You get used to it. And it's usually only this hot for about a month to six weeks before it cools to something more tolerable. On the plus side, winter is pretty mild. We rarely get any snow, which is nice.”

Arryn considered my words but remained silent, not bothering to respond like this was a normal conversation. Instead of launching into an explanation like I had assumed they would, they started eating. Lennox took a hesitant bite, his eyes widening slightly before quickly consuming the rest. I leaned back against the tree trunk, waiting for them to finish their meals, my arms crossed over my chest. My thoughts wandered as I watched the other people enjoying the park. When I turned back to the guys to judge their progress, I found them all staring at me with various expressions. Baer was smiling widely, Lennox gazing at me with a scowl, and Arryn seemed impartial but curious, one eye still scanning the horizon for threats.

I eyed them all, still waiting for them to fill me in. This whole situation felt like a waste of my time or my comments. They were the ones who supposedly needed me. Before I could turn and walk away, the men glanced at each other as if holding a silent conversation between them, until Baer started speaking. Finally.

“I know what I'm going to say is hard to understand, and I know I'm being repetitive, but for someone who was raised here, it will undoubtedly require some time to understand. I'm sure you will have plenty of questions, and we'll do our best to answer them. That said, I think you know some of what I have to say already, though I'm not sure how or what you do know, so just stop me if you need more time. I don't think it will be...”

I held up a hand to stop his rambling, slightly amused. “How about I start with everything I know for sure?” He nodded at me to continue. “I was going about my own business a few days ago when I experienced excruciating pain out of nowhere. When it had faded, I had a mark on my shoulder, kind of like a tattoo, but totally smooth, as if it had always been there, more like a birthmark. You said in the taco shop that you could explain this tattoo. My mother has tried to explain, but I'm not sure how much of what she says is true. I won't repeat what she told me, preferring to hear your explanation to see if the two stories line up.”

Baer nodded again in understanding while the other two continued to eat. For all appearances, they seemed uninterested in the conversation, but I knew they were hanging on my every word.

“I can explain that. However, I think that we should start...”

Baer was interrupted again, but this time by Lennox. “It means you're Chosen.” He didn't elaborate or even bother to look at me when he said it. Asshole. It seemed he no longer found me worthy of the charming facade. Which was better. I hated games.

“Erm...” Baer stumbled over the best way to elaborate on Lennox’s revelation. Arryn simply scanned the area, not bothering to join the conversation.

“Okay. And what exactly does that mean? I'm this Chosen? What if I don't want to be chosen?” I bit off my words, directing my irritation at Lennox as if it was his fault I was in this position.

“You don't really have a choice.” He still studied his plate, not bothering to even look at me. His attitude was really starting to piss me off. Before I could tell him where exactly he could shove this chosen idea, because no one tells me what I can and can't do.

Baer jumped in, obviously trying to salvage the mess Lennox was making. “What Lennox means is that you will feel an undeniable pull to return home, the trials calling you, getting stronger the more you resist.”

“And what happens if I do resist?” Again, I directed this toward Lennox. Smugly, if I might add.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Lennox said at the same time Baer jumped in.

“We're not really sure. No one has ever tried to resist before. It's considered one of the highest honors to even have the chance to compete.” Baer shot a look at Lennox, who just shrugged.

“Compete? And for what? Seems silly for me to go compete for something that I definitely want nothing to do with,” I snarked back, my temper rising.

“You'd be competing for the right to become our new queen. The trials are essentially an assessment of your character as it determines the fae who’s most fitting for the role.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I can save us a lot of time and trouble right now. I don’t want to be Queen. I don’t want to go to your world. So, what do I have to do to withdraw? I've got people here who need me, and I can't just abandon them.”

“You mean humans?” Lennox sneered at that thought. Okay, now I was pissed. How dare this asshole. I moved toward him with the intention of decking him, but Baer jumped between us, his hands going gently to my shoulders to hold me back. Arryn tensed, his hand instinctively going to his side out of habit but remained empty. Whatever he was reaching for remained unobtained.

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