Page 54 of Their Trials

“I wouldn't be surprised if she was in fact working with Mother. She is Mother's favorite and choice for successor,” I told them, thinking about the best way to go about this. Whatever I decided, I would have to ensure that I did the inquiring in a way that didn't tip our hand. “I'll ask Genevieve first. If she doesn't give me the information I need, then I'll have to find a way to ask Mother without her knowing what we're after.”

“Do what you can. The most important thing is ensuring that more notice isn't brought down on Rhowyn. She's got enough going on as it is,” Arryn said, sipping his coffee, effectively moving on from the topic now that he had the information he was after and deciding on a course of action.

“Speaking of which, how's she doing? We didn't see you guys come back last night,” Baer asked, fishing for details.

I knew for a fact that he could still smell Rhowyn on Arryn. If I could smell it all the way down at the end of the table, then there was no way Baer had missed it sitting right next to Arryn.

Arryn didn't smile, but his demeanor shifted. If he hadn't been a guy, I'd almost call the expression dreamy. “She's better. She just needed to vent, but she knows now that she can count on us.”

“I'll bet she's good now,” I teased him, smiling broadly.

He looked at me from under his brow and continued to sip on his coffee. The door to Rhowyn's room swung open, and Callum stood up straight in response, his arms crossed across his chest and a scowl on his face.

I didn't give him much more notice as Rhowyn stepped out wearing tight shorts and a loose shirt, her bra showing through the holes where sleeves should be. Her hair was mussed from sleep as she stumbled across the room, heading straight for the coffee.

She plopped down in the seat next to me, curling her bare feet up into the chair as she poured herself a cup, her body leaning toward mine. I discreetly inhaled her scent as she went about waking up, closing my eyes as my dick grew hard just from that one small whiff. She smelled like sex.

Yes, she also smelled like Arryn, but that had never bothered me. The most dominant smell was her own intoxicating pheromones, the ones that brought me to my knees with the smallest hint.

We sat in silence, Callum joining us at the table as we all just breathed. The upcoming trials weighed on us all. We took the moment to bask in the presence of our group, the only ones we could fully count on now that we had bonded.

“So, what's the plans for today?” Rhowyn asked, her melodic voice husky from sleep and her extracurricular activities with Arryn and Baer yesterday. I smiled at that thought, knowing that once I was done with her, her voice would be completely strained.

“What's so funny?” she asked me softly.

“I'm just thinking about how you'll sound after I fuck you so hard that you lose your voice from screaming my name.” I smirked, knowing how she'd respond. This was comfortable for me. Our banter comforting and familiar.

She laughed. “Who said you'll ever get to hear those sounds from me again?” Taking a sip of her coffee smugly, she thought she had scored a point on me.

“Trust me, Princess, I'll have my way with you. You won't be able to resist me much longer.”

“That's what you think,” she said, ending the conversation to face Arryn, who was smiling dotingly at her antics.

“There's nothing on the schedule for today, so I thought we'd rest and do some more light training with weapons. You need to be familiar with them all in preparation for the next trials. I have a feeling that the first one was the easiest,” Arryn said now that he had her attention.

She nodded. “That sounds good to me. I don't think I can handle a sword, but I would like to learn some of the lighter weapons.”

Callum chimed in since he would be the one training her. “I'm thinking of showing you the long and short bows. This will keep you at a distance while also allowing you to fight. I know it would give us all peace of mind knowing you were far away from any direct danger. Granted, that's impossible with the situation we’re in, but any precautions and measures we can put in place to keep you as safe as possible, we will.”

“Sounds good,” she said, excitement brimming in her eyes now that she had finished her coffee. Without saying anything further, she got up from the table and went to her room, most likely to change.

She came back quickly with her hair tamed and pulled back in a messy knot on top of her head, wearing light tan leather breeches, leather boots, and a sleeveless tunic. This was the first time I had seen her wear fae clothes without prompting from Juniper. Despite her still human appearance, she seemed to glow in the colors.

“What?” she asked us as we all sat and stared at her.

“Nothing,” Callum and I both said in unison.

Baer had no compunctions about admitting to her, “You seem to be glowing.”

She laughed. “I think that's because of the fae air. It seems to be doing wonders for my complexion.”

“No.” Baer continued, “It's more than that. You look different, but in a good way.”

“Maybe it's all the sex I've been getting lately. I've been told it's a great stress reliever, and I must say, I agree.” She brushed off his comment with a joke, causing all of us except for Callum to smile.

Arryn stood, prompting the rest of us to follow, preparing to head out the door. “Ready?” he asked, coming to a stop in front of Rhowyn, a hand going to her lower back and hip.

“For you? Anytime,” she replied with a seductive smile. “Sir.”

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