Page 83 of Their Chosen

Lennox stepped up and was accepted as well.

Before I knew it, it was my turn. I stepped forward, unable to help the slight hesitation. I couldn't help the fear of the unknown that assaulted me in this moment. From here on out, I would never be the same, and I had no idea what that meant for me. For us.

I held out my hand as Jude cut me deeply, barely registering the pain as I placed it over Rhowyn's mark. I didn't hear as Jude spoke the words for the final time, my fear causing my heart to race and my pulse to pound in my ears, drowning out everything else.

At first, nothing happened. The others had been accepted almost immediately. I figured mine would be as well. I glanced at Jude, the question clearly written on my face.

“Callum, you cannot control this. In this, you must relinquish control and accept your fate before the bond can happen.”

“I have,” I stated, confused. But deep down, I knew it was fear of the future that was holding me back. “How?” I whispered to him, not wanting to admit my weakness.

“Trust that fate has a role for all of us to play and that the land has not chosen unwisely. That this is your fate. You must now accept your role,” he told me.

I nodded, knowing he was right. My parents would be proud of me in this moment. They had believed in the land and Avalonia, honored them above all else. I could do nothing less, and so, I surrendered to my fate, knowing that everything now rested in Rhowyn's hands, with me at her side.

The glow started, and I jerked back as the bond snapped into place, punching me in the chest with the emotions from all the others. But the strongest was from Rhowyn herself. Despite the sleep she had been put in, I could feel her pain. Emotionally and physically.

I glanced at the others, and they nodded. They could feel it, too.

“So now what?” Baer questioned Master Jude.

“Now, we wait for her to wake up.”

“But it didn't break her glamor,” Baer voiced.

“No. It didn't. But I'm hopeful that when she wakes, with access to all of your magic now, she’ll be able to break the glamor on her own.” We nodded at him, slightly disappointed that she was still healing so slowly because she was trapped in human form.

“Now, I must retire for the evening. That bonding took a lot out of me, and I must rest these old bones. Send for me when she wakes, and we will evaluate where to go from there,” He said as he gathered his things.

Arryn walked Jude to the suite door, and Baer turned to Lennox and me. “What if she can't unlock the glamor or use our magic?”

My gut sank at that thought because if she still couldn't, then we were all screwed.

Chapter Thirty Four: Rhowyn

I felt full. So full from the many emotions coursing through me as I was surrounded by the darkness. A part of me knew I had passed out, all too familiar with this feeling by now. The sweet oblivion that rescued me from the pain that had been inflicted on me.

As if conjured by that thought, I smelled stale cigarettes and beer. Jim entered the darkness, the only thing to invade this peace, always in the back of my mind. His years of torture were eternally with me, no matter how I tried to escape him.

“You didn't think I'd ever forget you, girl, so why would I let you forget me?” he taunted as he lit a cigarette and stumbled into my room. Into my nightmares.

I looked down to find myself back in the closet that was my room, only big enough for two twin beds and a dresser for my hand-me-down clothes. The man the state entrusted to care for me staggered into the room, his breath and clothes reeking of beer and cigarettes.

He sat on my bed and exhaled the smoke into my face as I tried not to react. It only seemed to excite him more when I did. He leered at me in his drunken stupor, the one that meant he needed to inflict pain on me.

He ran a hand up my leg over the blanket, his touch suggestive. I tried not to flinch when he jerked the covers down.

He leaned in and whispered, “You know the drill. You keep quiet, and I won't hurt Nikki.”

I bit my lip and nodded, knowing what was to come. Every day, I lived in fear of this man. But there was no way I'd ever let him touch Nikki. My younger foster sister hadn't been subjected to his leers yet, but I knew that if I were no longer here, he would turn his violence and depravity on her.

“Now, roll over,” he demanded. But it was the excitement in his eyes had me closing mine. That look haunted me to this day. I would never understand how someone could get off on hurting others in this way.

I did as he said as he took a drag off his cigarette, ensuring the cherry was nice and hot. He exhaled the smoke in my face again, knowing the anticipation was just as much torment to me as the pain he inflicted.

His hand dragged along my skin at the hem of my sleep shirt, sending goosebumps along my body. I couldn't stop the shiver that accompanied them, both from fear and the cold.

I had heard once that goosebumps meant a ghost was in the room, but I didn't believe that. The only thing haunting me was this flesh and blood man as he pulled my shirt up.

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