Page 75 of Their Chosen

I could be professional, cordial even, but he had no right to judge me for wanting more. He didn't have to be a part of it, and I would try not to rub it in his face, but I deserved this opportunity. I was going to grab it with both hands and hold on for dear life.

With that conviction in mind, I followed them out of the suite, just on the heels of Callum.

Chapter Thirty One: Baer

I couldn't help the shit eating grin on my face as I left Rhowyn behind in the room, the utter shock on her face at my words replayed in my mind. I laughed again as Lennox caught up to me, catching my eye, both of us fully intending to follow through on my promise. It would be the perfect ending to this dreadful evening that we were about to face.

That thought had my spirits lowering slightly, a fear I refused to acknowledge tugging at my something in my mind that I couldn’t put a finger on. Callum shoved past me, Lennox, and Arryn to lead the way to the ball, his displeasure evident in every aspect of his movements.

I wasn't sure what his problem was with Rhowyn, but I made a mental note to find out if I could. We needed every single one of us on board if we had any hope of surviving these trials, and I had no intention of losing the fascinating creature who'd been dragged into my life, upending it so completely.

As if my thoughts had summoned her, she caught up to us, her gait matching mine and her intoxicating scent of arousal wrapping around me. That smell kept me so hard that I felt like a youngling again, needing to touch myself or jack off constantly to relieve the ceaseless pressure.

The funny part about it all was that she had absolutely no idea what she did to all of us. Even Callum wasn't immune to her allure. But where he insisted on fighting his desires, I planned on throwing myself headlong into them. As if reading my thoughts again, Rhowyn asked, “So, just how long do we need to be present tonight?”

I threw my head back and laughed at her question while Lennox and Arryn also shook their heads, their shoulders rising and falling in silent mirth, not acknowledging out loud that they'd heard her question.

Once I'd gathered myself, I answered her. “Unfortunately, we'll have to stay until the Queen releases us. That's either a direct dismissal or after she's left for the evening. There's really no telling when that'll be though, since it all depends on her moods.”

She nodded as she absorbed that information. In all honesty, she had so much she needed to learn, but we hadn't had enough privacy to be able to tell her what she really needed to know, like the fact that the Queen was dangerously crazy and psycho. Because of that, a niggling fear started to eat at me, but I brushed it off. The Queen was still of sound enough mind that she tried to keep her true depravity from much of the Court. I knew because soldiers liked to gossip worse than little old ladies with nothing better to do.

Because most of the Court would be present tonight, along with the other Chosen, the Queen would keep most of her crazy behind closed doors. Meaning Rhowyn should be fine as long as we kept her out of the Queen's sights.

“Does the Queen do this often?” Rhowyn asked, looking up at me as we walked the halls. At my questioning look, she clarified, “Throw parties and dinners and balls?”

“She hosts somewhat frequently, I guess. To be honest though, I wouldn't know for sure. Why do you ask?”

“I dunno. It just all seems so silly. I never did understand the need that rich people have to flaunt their wealth or power. Especially when they could do so much more with it all,” she answered honestly.

Lennox turned back in shock at her response, and I could see him fall a little more for her, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to face forward again, leaving me to respond.

I smiled at his discomfort. I'd already fully committed myself to this and to Rhowyn. Her answer just cemented my resolve to stand next to her even more. She was exactly the kind of queen we needed, and she was clueless to that obvious fact. “I agree. It's why I was serving on the front lines and on Earth. I never wanted my title. I would much rather earn the respect given to me than to have only inherited it.”

“That makes sense. I never did understand royal lines. Kings and queens who ruled countries but never did anything to earn the right to rule over anyone except being lucky enough to be born into the right family.”

Lennox chimed in, not surprising me in the least considering the topic. “I wouldn't necessarily call it luck. The burden of being royal means you can never be free to be yourself, and you can never be secure, never let your guard down.” His tone was somewhat accusing.

It didn't affect her in the least. “Well, maybe if you're one of the good ones who cares about the people, that's true. From what I've seen, the ones who shouldn't be in that position have none of those concerns. More times than not, those are the people who wind up in charge, which I can't understand. I mean, they only have power if the people give it to them, right? So why wouldn't they then just stand up? It's something I never understood in my history classes.”

As she continued, we all glanced at each other, but it was Callum who stepped in her way. “Be careful what you say and where you say it. You have no idea what you're talking about, and you'll end us before we even get started,” he hissed, his anger palpable.

I couldn't fault him for it, not if what I'd heard was true. Plus, he was right. She needed to understand and learn so much more about our world. I could tell she was about to snap back at him, so I cut in to avoid further tardiness. “Killer, he just means that there's always extenuating circumstances, but this is not the time or place to have such a debate.” My eyebrows were raised as I pleaded with her silently to drop the issue.

She studied us both, before sighing. “Fine. I'll drop it for now.” She ended her statement there, but I could see that she would be picking this conversation back up at a later time.

I was okay with that as long as we could keep going tonight. I placed my hand on her lower back, gently encouraging her to start walking again. The tension slowly eased as we made our way to the banquet hall, four guards who stood before the large, closed doors halting our progress. As soon as they saw Lennox though, they immediately moved to open the doors for our group.

It seemed we were some of the last to arrive, and the reason why brought a smile to my face. Rhowyn tensed slightly beside me. It was so slight that if you didn't know her, you'd have never noticed. To be honest, I didn't blame her. Large crowds of unknown people and a swarm of guards would make anyone just a little nervous.

I made sure to stick close to her side as we maneuvered through the throngs of people. I noticed some familiar faces and could pick out the other Chosen as those with a crowd hovering around them, fae who were seeking favor in hopes that their Chosen would become Queen.

I shook my head in disgust at the obvious attempt to climb the social ladder. Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with the ass-kissers. Rhowyn was not a favorite to win the trials, but that was because everyone underestimated her. All they could see was a human, not the immense power that I could feel buried deeply within her that had tried to burst free not long ago. Plus, no one had realized who I was, assuming I was a nobody soldier worth little more than cannon fodder. Add in the playboy Lennox and the traitor prisoner, and we had a motley crew.

The only one who gave people even a small urge to back us was Arryn. He was well known for his skill, magic, and discipline on and off the battlefield. Which meant he was the only one who was being stopped and greeted. That was okay with me, I had never wanted the limelight. Plus, it gave me the chance to stay close to Rhowyn.

“Are you hungry?” I asked as we drew closer to the buffet lined out along one wall.

“I could eat,” she replied with a smile.

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