Page 2 of Their Trials

“As ready as I'll ever be,” I said, trying to lighten the cloying mood with a smile.

He nodded at me and turned to leave. “Grab some food to eat on the way, and then we’ll go.”

Baer at least returned my smile, but it didn't meet his eyes. Honestly, their fear was making mine worse, and I wasn’t sure how to tune them out completely so I could focus. Taking the proffered food from Baer, I started to eat as we marched down the hallway in synch. No one spoke a word, but as we drew nearer to our destination, I sensed them pushing their own thoughts aside. Their focus only helped me to obtain mine as well.

I had mastered the art of ignoring my own feelings. It was the only way I had managed to survive and stay sane at the same time. Deflection and Avoidance, anyone? Yeah, I could do both like a pro.

I looked around and found myself in a part of Cashel Rí that I hadn't been to before. The walls were plain stone blocks instead of the veined marble in every other room I’d been in thus far. The warmth slowly seeped from around us as if the walls were leeching it from our bodies. “Where are we going?” I asked no one in particular.

“This is the way to the training fields for the soldiers. We'll meet up with the other Chosen and Consorts there, where we'll receive our instructions for the trial,” Arryn answered before anyone else could.

“No wonder it's so bare. I guess the Queen has no need to impress the soldiers,” I said out loud.

“Don't push your luck, Rhowyn,” Callum chastised me. “The Queen will already be suspicious of how you've healed so quickly. We don't need to give her any more ammunition or reason to punish us.”

“You're right. Sorry,” I told him because he was. I had gotten used to being a nobody, never someone that people paid attention to, but here, I always had eyes on me. It wasn’t something I enjoyed, preferring my previous anonymity to this.

Arryn pushed through a door and the outside light shone through, the dawn just now breaking the horizon, blinding us as we exited the castle into the training fields. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that the other Chosen and Consorts had also arrived, looking in better condition than I did. Some were clothed like us, while others were dressed more finely, as if going to a social engagement. They mingled amongst themselves, the excitement palpable in the air.

Of course, they were all prepared and had less to worry about than we did. It made sense that they'd be excited at the opportunity to become the next royalty of the fae world.

I noticed one group standing toward the back, like we had chosen to do. The less attention we drew to ourselves, the better. A pretty, young fae stood in the middle of a group of young men, her tawny hair in a braided bun, wearing simple clothes. Not quite physical attire and not quite ready for social engagements, more of a balance between the two.

I could tell from a glance that she seemed just as nervous as we were. I approached her, hoping we might commiserate together. “Are you already over all this, too?” I asked, smiling at her and drawing her attention. She startled and then blushed.

“Oh, you're Rhowyn. The fae that looks human,” she said, more to herself than to me.

“That's me. Grew up on Earth. And you are?” I asked her, playing off the awkward tension.

“Oh, sorry. I'm Charity. These are my consorts, Luke, Eoghan, Gavin, and Connor,” she introduced them all, but I couldn't hope to remember all their names. I'd stick with just trying to remember hers.

I eyed the men she presented, noticing how young they all were. They all seemed to be fit and goodlooking but paled in comparison to my guys, both in looks and physicality. While my guys all seemed to have a worldliness about them, similar to my own, Charity’s men were so innocent.

“Nice to meet you all. Sorry we haven't had the chance to meet before this,” I told them. “We've been a little busy.”

She laughed in response, a sweet tinkle that brightened her face and made her look even more beautiful in that wholesome way she had. “I can imagine.”

“What do you think about all this?” I asked her, gesturing with one arm to indicate the crowd gathered in front of us before crossing them both across my chest.

“Oh. I'm just honored to be here. I don't really think I have a chance at winning the trials,” she said, laughing again. “It's all so overwhelming to me, to be honest.”

“Charity,” one of her guys warned.

“It's okay,” I told him. “I feel the same way. This is all so new to me after all.”

“I bet,” she said. “You must really feel out of place.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her, my guard starting to go up.

“Just that after living on Earth, I'm sure this must all seem so weird,” she explained hastily, sensing my defensiveness. “What was it like? Living on Earth?”

“Definitely different,” I said, not sure how to describe it or where to start.

“I wish I could see it, just for a moment. It must have been so exciting.” She said it as if Earth was some kind of hot, destination vacation spot.

“It's really not. It can be dangerous and cold, as I'm sure it can be everywhere. Evil really doesn't discriminate,” I told her bluntly.

She blanched, glancing around nervously. “Um... yeah. I guess you're right.”

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