Page 17 of Their Trials

“Arryn and Callum took care of it, though, so it shouldn't be a problem anymore,” Rhowyn said proudly as she studied their backs in front of her.

Connor's mouth dropped open in shock as he turned to look at Callum and Arryn beside him. “Is she serious?”

“Aye,” Callum said with a grunt, not even bothering to look at him.

“Wait, what did you mean by a dragon? Those aren't real,” Charity asked Rhowyn.

“I can assure you that they are absolutely real. I killed it myself,” Rhowyn said, a shudder running down her body at the memory.

Both Charity and Connor stopped walking, forcing us all to pause. “What she means is that we faced a Loathly Worm,” Callum growled out with a glare at Rhowyn.

“Call it whatever you want, but it was absolutely a dragon. Maybe a small one, but a dragon all the same,” Rhowyn defended.

“What happened?” Charity asked in shock.

“Like y'all, we stopped to get a drink of water, and then this woman came up out of the water. All of the guys were staring at her in some sort of stupor until she reached for Lennox. I tried to stop her, and she transformed into a dragon, dragging Lennox with her. The others were still in shock, so I dove in after him, saving him like the damsel he is.” She winked at me with that last statement.

“My hero,” I proclaimed playfully, really selling it, and causing everyone but Callum to laugh at my antics.

“You killed it?” Charity exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yup,” she said, popping the p.

“Can we keep moving now?” Callum ground out through clenched teeth, his frustration evident. Without speaking, we all began walking again, continuing our search for Charity’s consorts.

“Eoghan and the others should be just up here,” Connor stated, pointing ahead and to the right.

“I can't believe you did that,” Charity said, more quietly to Rhowyn, continuing their conversation.

“Someone had to do something, and with Callum's training with the dagger, I was somewhat prepared,” she said calmly.

“You still shouldn't have taken the risk,” Callum snapped at her, clearly listening to the entire conversation.

“I would have done the same for any of you. Even you, whether you appreciated it or not,” she snapped back.

“Trouble. Always trouble,” Callum muttered under his breath barely loud enough for me to catch it. I couldn't argue with him there. Rhowyn was definitely more than we had bargained for, both good and bad.

Chapter Seven: Baer

I listened to Rhowyn and Charity’s conversation about what they'd faced as we approached the area where the other Consorts had last been seen. Just as we were about to turn the corner to the right, three fae men rounded the corner, almost running into Callum, Arryn, and Connor, who all drew their swords in preparation for a fight.

Thankfully, Connor's shoulders dropped as he put his sword away, “Eoghan. It's good to see you all again.”

Charity pushed past our group and Connor to launch herself into Eoghan's arms, the other two surrounding her in a hug, relief clear on their faces.

Eoghan's eyes met Arryn's in question before turning to Connor. “What happened?”

“After the Puca took off, we tried to stay on its back but were flung off as it turned a corner. I was knocked unconscious, and Charity couldn't do anything with her ankle twisted.”

“Both of you look fine now,” Eoghan stated warily, glancing at our group. Callum and Arryn had returned their swords to their sheaths, but Callum's hand stayed on the hilt, always ready.

Charity pulled away from her Consorts and spoke up. “Rhowyn and her Consorts found us. Captain Oakley healed us both, and then they decided to help us find you all.” She beamed at Rhowyn in thanks.

“Why would they help us?” Eoghan asked suspiciously.

“My thoughts exactly,” Callum grumbled under his breath.

Before Callum could start a fight, I pushed forward to address the issue. “Rhowyn wouldn't let us walk away,” I said simply, grabbing her hand and pulling her into my side, both to feel her against me and to protect her should these men decide to attack.

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