Page 35 of Their Trials

Lennox sat up, dazed at Callum's outburst, but listened to him with wide eyes. I was almost certain he’d become defensive, but he surprised me. He finally nodded, swallowing before he spoke, “You're right.”

“Damn straight I am.”

Lennox let out a long exhale, his body slowly relaxing. “I do care for her, and I won't be the reason she fails. I'll get my shit together, as you so eloquently put it,” he joked, giving Callum half a smile. His eyes still held shadows and pain, but I could also see a light in them that he hadn't had before.

“What can I say? I just have a way with words,” Callum teased, finishing off his drink. “Want one?” he asked Lennox when he stood to get another refill. It seemed Callum was intent on drowning his own demons, though I hoped we had finally put at least one of them to rest with this conversation.

“Sure,” Lennox said. “Thanks.”

Now that I was satisfied with their progress, I held out my glass. “I could use a refill myself.”

Callum refilled our glasses and handed a fresh one to Lennox, taking his seat when he was done, reclining back and settling deep within the chair, ready to face whatever we discussed next.

Baer remained withdrawn during their entire interaction, leaning back into the cushions, and now staring at a spot on the floor. Occasionally, he rubbed his sternum, but hadn’t moved beyond those small movements. I nudged him with my boot on his knee to get his attention. “Want to tell us your thoughts on why the Ankou didn't affect you?”

He shrugged half-heartedly. “Best guess? I don't have the sort of baggage you guys do. I didn't have anything I was mad about or holding back.”

“That makes sense.” I nodded, accepting the explanation while marveling at the rarity of such a young fae having his emotional baggage in check. He dealt with things as they came, speaking his mind when he needed to and not holding onto things he couldn’t change. Baer was different from anyone I'd ever met; a positive force that we were lucky to have on our side.

Which is why I needed to figure out what was going on with him now. This dejected and haunted person before us was not the Baer we had come to know and love. “Why do you keep rubbing your chest, Baer? I checked you over, and everything was good except for the blood loss.”

“I think she did something to me,” he said, dropping that information out like it was nothing. “When she healed me.”

“What do you mean?” I leaned forward, my brow furrowing with this new information. Callum and Lennox were now fully focused on this development.

“My chest feels fuller.” He rubbed his sternum again. “It's almost like I can feel her inside me, closer than the bond should have made us,” he said, concern and worry on his face as he finally met my gaze.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Callum said, obviously not happy with this revelation, his thick, red brows furrowed as he narrowed his eyes on Baer. He tilted his head as if he was searching Baer, trying to determine whether he was now a threat.

“I think she also took a piece of me,” he said softly, ignoring Callum's outburst. “I don't know how she did it, but we’re now connected.”

“What makes you think this?” I asked, needing to know more.

He shrugged again, his wide eyes meeting mine. “It feels different than my magic. Whatever she did when she healed me feels foreign. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Juniper knocked and entered the room, bringing a couple of trays of food and drinks for us. No one spoke to her as she set everything down, her eyes darting to us in concern. Her entrance had interrupted our conversation, and when she realized that, she promptly left, promising to return later to help with Rhowyn.

We all sat there in silence, three of us finishing our whiskeys in shock, letting Baer’s revelation sink in. What had she done? How exactly had she changed him? What did this mean for us moving forward?

Finally, my thoughts stopped whirling, and I was able to think clearly. There wasn't much we could do about it right now. Not with us all burned out and exhausted. It seemed we had even exhausted our ability to carry on a conversation. All these developments were catching up to us at once.

Clearing my throat, I downed the last drops of my whiskey. “Let's eat and get some rest. Then we’ll discuss this new development when Rhowyn is awake,” I instructed them. No one argued, simply filling their plates and eating in silence before retiring to our respective rooms.

Chapter Fourteen: Rhowyn

Light streamed through the window, slowly waking me as the beams streaked across my face. Even though my eyes were closed, one such beam fell right into my eyes, blinding me through my closed lids. Rolling to my back to get away from the piercing light, I stretched slowly. My sore muscles screamed at me in protest as the events of yesterday came back to me. Was it only yesterday?

I remembered healing Baer just before passing out, but I had no clue how much time had passed since then. I assumed it was yesterday since we’d spent the majority of the day in the maze and should have been close to evening by that point. For all I knew, time could have moved differently in the maze, so I had no frame of reference for what time it was now.

Not ready to get out of bed, content to bask in the comfort of this heavenly mattress and pillows, I rolled away from the light completely in the hopes that I could enjoy the peace and quiet for a little while longer. Even though I had slept for hours, I was still exhausted, my body telling me that I’d need a week to fully feel rested. I wondered if my fatigue had anything to do with my use of magic, a faint memory of one of the guys saying sleep helped with recovery came to mind.

Turning away from the blinding light that was intent on destroying my attempts at relaxation, my eyes landed on the sleeping form next to me. His brown hair, which looked almost blond from the rays of sunshine, was mussed from sleep. I wanted to run my fingers through the soft strands, to smooth it down and back into place. As he dozed, I let my eyes drift downward, committing his sleeping form to memory. His chest was bare, and the sheets had come to rest at his waist, tangled as if he'd been tossing and turning. He was peaceful now, but at some point, he hadn’t been.

Normally, I was a light sleeper, so I was surprised I hadn't woken when he’d gotten into the bed with me. Not wanting to wake him, I watched him, my heart feeling so full at his closeness. My body hummed in satisfaction. Was this the bond? Somehow, it felt different. Whatever it was, it liked that he was here with me now.

As my eyes took in the lean, ropy muscles of his chest and arms, he stirred, those same muscles bunching and relaxing as he did so. Looking up to his face, I caught him smiling at me, his eyes barely opening to take me in.

He was such a beautiful man, glowing with an inner light that I wanted to soak in, luxuriating in the warmth that he gave me. Spending time in his light was slowly chasing away the darkness that had consumed me for years, but a part of me feared that my shadows would taint his pure light.

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