Page 28 of Their Trials

Watching her back as she walked away, I noted the sway of her hips, which was enticing without even trying. I wanted her physically, but I wasn't sure I could bear the intimacy. I hadn't been with anyone other than the Queen and couldn't know for sure how I would react to that sort of contact with another. As much as she was vexing, I didn't want her to be harmed, especially not by me.

As I studied her, she barked out a short scream, her feet sinking into the ground she had just crossed. Within seconds, she was up to her calves in the bog, which continued to suck her under. I sprinted to her as she struggled against its pull, knowing that if I didn't get her out soon, she'd be swallowed alive.

Chapter Eleven: Rhowyn

I had walked away from Callum, leaving him with his thoughts, not wanting to push him any further than I had already. He'd bared a piece of himself to me, and I was hopeful he would start to let his walls down soon. I could see the pain in his eyes when he had spoken about Lennox, but I couldn't reconcile the man I knew with what Callum was saying.

Sure, Lennox was an asshole. We all knew that. But to betray his best friend? I wasn't so sure it was that simple. Although Callum had implied that it might have been unintentional. I needed to find a way to get them to talk their issues out.

Their pain at whatever had happened was eating them both alive, and it was breaking my heart. Despite Callum's gruff demeanor, I felt connected to him in ways that didn't include the bond. I knew without having to hear the story that we were kindred spirits, having both faced atrocities in our lives that we shouldn't have had to.

As I got to know Lennox more, as he slowly let his walls down, I was realizing that he was truly a sensitive soul who hid behind his playboy, asshole mask. It was all a ploy to keep everyone away from him.

Both of them were so damaged, and while I wanted to help them, I knew from experience that they needed to want to help themselves first. They had to want to resolve whatever was between them. I could lead a horse to water, but I couldn't make it drink.

I smiled at that, remembering how stubborn I had been when my coach had found me scared and alone. I hadn't wanted to trust anyone or get too close, too afraid of having to leave them behind. I had been a total bitch, but he'd stuck by me, steadfast but stern in his training, somehow finding a way to pull me from the streets and giving me back my self-esteem.

As I walked, lost in my thoughts, I went to take another step only to find my boot stuck in some kind of mud. It looked like sand, but sand didn’t cling to your shoes like this. In Texas, we were known for our red clay dirt. Whenever it got wet, it could hold onto your shoes like superglue, often leaving anyone who walked through it without their boots. My brain struggled to reconcile the difference between what I was seeing and what I was feeling, the two so at odds that it left me further off balance.

Pulling harder against the mud, my tired thighs screamed at me and shook so much I feared I’d collapse fully into the muck. I tried to keep my balance, with no luck. If anything, it felt like I was becoming more stuck. I glanced around the area, trying to find out what exactly I had stumbled into. The ground looked no different than the surrounding path, the same path I had traversed easily before. There was no obvious reason why I shouldn't be able to pick my foot up.

I tried to lift my other foot, realizing that both feet were sunken into the ground up to the tops of my soles. As I watched and struggled, pulling alternately on my legs to lift them, I could see my feet slowly sinking further into whatever had its hold on me. Starting to panic, I barked out a short scream as I pulled more violently. The more I struggled, the quicker I sank into the ground, my breaths heaving as my mind raced.

I had heard about quicksand on Earth, but this didn't look like anything I'd heard about. Even the bog in The Never-Ending Story had been different. However, they both acted the same. The more someone struggled, the quicker they sank until they were swallowed alive.

“Callum!” I called out as my panic took over. I tried to breathe slowly, to stop my panic, but I couldn't hear anything over my racing heart and heaving breaths. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I chanted in my head uncontrollably.

“Rhowyn!” I heard him yell at me, barely catching his words from behind me. “I'm here. Just stay calm and still.”

“Easier said than done. You're not the one stuck in this crap!” I snapped at him.

“Calm down!” he snapped back as something was launched over my shoulder; a rock landed on the firm ground a few feet in front of me.

Hah! Apparently, he'd never learned to never tell a woman to calm down. That was surely the quickest way to piss any woman off. “Yeah right! You try staying calm as you slowly sink into the ground. I bet you can't do it either. And don't tell me to calm down again! I'll throw Lennox's knife at you, and I won't be sorry,” I threatened him while also praying he’d get me out of this.

Surprisingly, my anger was slowly easing my panic, my mind able to think a little more clearly now despite being up to my knees already. He laughed in response to my threat, obviously not worried about me hurting him, but he didn't tell me to calm down again. I guess he could be smart from time to time.

A large blob launched over my shoulder this time, landing close to the spot where the rock now rested. My eyes focused on the figure to see Callum straightening up before me. He had jumped across the quicksand or whatever it was called here in Avalon.

His eyes met mine, which were still wide with panic as I tried to remain as still as possible, resisting every urge within me that screamed to move. “Good. You're doing good, Trouble.”

His nickname for me caught me off guard, and I stilled, narrowing my eyes, unsure if I liked it or not. “Trouble?”

“Seems like you always find it. It’s like an inherent knack. One I believe is also unmatched,” he answered as he glanced around us, looking for a way to get me out of this mess.

“I do not.” I tried to deny it, but I knew he was right. It seemed I was a magnet for this sort of stuff, whether I wanted to be or not.

His eyes narrowed on mine before slowly glancing down my body and lingering on my hip. “Now is not the time to be checking me out!” I snapped at him, my panic starting to return.

He barked out a laugh, louder than any I'd ever heard from him as his eyes landed back on mine. “I wasn't admiring your figure.”

“Sure looked that way to me.” I crossed my arms over my chest defensively.

“I was looking for the rope you brought with you,” he replied smugly, one eyebrow raised, and his mouth quirked up to one side.

My mouth gaped open. Rhowyn, you're so fucking stupid! I chastised myself internally. I would have slapped my forehead with my hand if I'd been alone, however, I wanted to maintain whatever dignity I had left. It seemed like the whole intention of these trials was to strip me of all of my pride. Well, it was definitely succeeding in that.

My body finally caught up to my brain as I uncrossed my arms and grabbed for the rope that was looped at my hip, my fingers slipping frequently and slowing the process. My body was now stuck up to my hips, and I needed to undo the rope before it too was stuck in the mud, unable to be freed.

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