Page 79 of Their Chosen

The Queen might have broken her body, but her spirit was made of sterner stuff. Even in human form, everyone was seeing that inner strength now. Some people might see it as stubbornness, and in a way it was. But even that stubbornness must have come from somewhere, and that was her own inner strength of spirit and utter determination.

The fourteenth strike had Rhowyn's eyes fluttering, on the verge of passing out. I had seen the signs too many times to count. It was a wonder she hadn't already. Most others would have already succumbed to this many lashes.

Still, she remained silent and met my gaze again just as the final strike landed. She buckled again and, as her eyes briefly met mine, I nodded at her, trying to let her know it was over. That it was okay to let go now. That I had her from here.

As if reading my thoughts, her eyes rolled back in her head. The guards went to drop her, having completed their task. I rushed in to catch her before her head hit the tile, barely getting there in time. I sank to the floor with her, just holding her for now.

Mother's shoes entered my peripheral vision as I was smoothing Rhowyn's hair from her face. I glanced up at her, almost flinching at the anger on her face, the cold rage that could only come after being threatened. She clearly saw Rhowyn as more of a threat now instead of a nuisance, not happy that she hadn't accomplished what she’d set out to do, which was to undermine Rhowyn.

“You will not heal her, and you will not allow anyone else to heal her on threat of punishment,” she hissed, loud enough for the still silent room to hear.

I bowed my head in acknowledgment of the order. Appeased for the moment, she spun on her heel and left the party.

As soon as she was gone, the whole room exhaled in relief. Murmurs rose slowly as the people whispered about what had just happened. While I was looking Rhowyn over, I was jostled, and I glanced over to see Baer sliding in next to me.

“She's so strong. She'll be okay. She sure did show the...” He cut off as I smacked him.

“Not here you idiot,” I growled at him in warning. “We're still very much on display. Do not make things worse for her.”

“Of course. Sorry. I wasn't thinking,” he rushed out.

“How should we move her? Or should we wait until she wakes?” Arryn asked us.

“Wait,” Callum growled.

“Why?” Baer asked. “Shouldn't we get her back to our rooms as quickly as we can?”

“No,” Callum snapped at him. “She'll want to walk out of here on her own two feet,” he said simply, knowing our girl wouldn’t want to be seen as weak. Our girl was prideful. After that display of strength, she wouldn't want us to ruin it by carrying her out of here.

We didn't have to wait long though, a groan escaping her lips as she slowly stirred. She went to move, startled to find us all hovering over her.

“Shh...” I told her. “You passed out. We didn't want to carry you, thinking you'd prefer to walk out of here. Can you handle that?”

She looked at each of us as she considered my question. “Yes,” she whimpered softly.

“Okay. Arryn and Baer will each take an arm and help you stand,” I told her as they moved into position. Callum didn't move from his post in front of us, keeping the curious onlookers away. Their gossiping and murmurs littered the air around us, but we all ignored them, too focused on our task.

Baer and Arryn lifted at the same time, and she gasped in pain. “Don't stop,” she told them as they hesitated, not wanting to hurt her.

She finally got to her feet, her hands shakily moving the hair from her face, stopping before they made it as she grimaced. The movement clearly aggravated her split skin.

I stood and pushed her hair behind her ears for her. She held my gaze. “Thank you,” she whispered. Her words were meant to convey her appreciation for more than that simple action.

That sentiment ripped through me as I whispered back, my voice cracking slightly, “I didn't do anything.” The guilt at my inaction threatened to drown me.

“There's nothing you could have done, except what you did. You stayed with me the whole time. It's more than anyone else has done for me,” she confided, in me, of all people.

Grief welled up at the thought that this wasn't her first time going through something like this. I didn't let it show, though. She wouldn't appreciate my pity. Baer's was written all over his face. Thankfully, she couldn't see it.

“Okay,” she said, straightening. “I'm ready. Just don't let go.”

“Never,” Baer replied.

“We've got you,” Arryn told her.

Callum glanced back at us. I nodded, and he started to clear a path for Rhowyn. Slowly, we made our way past all the guests who stared at our pathetic procession. The whispers followed in our wake as they all got a glimpse of her shredded back.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the memory, gritting my teeth and holding back my anger. A heavy hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed almost painfully. My eyes flashed open to see that Callum was now in the doorway, letting us pass. He would probably protect our escape now, keeping the overly curious away with his sheer size alone. The glower on his face dared anyone to get too close, but none of them did.

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