Page 58 of Their Trials

Nodding, he tossed me a bag from his saddle, which I knew contained water from my first trip on horseback when I saw Avalon for the first time. I took a long drink, the nausea passing as quickly as it had come on.

Shaking my head, I tried to brush off the sense of unease, handing the bag back to Arryn. “You sure you're okay?” he asked again, placing a hand on my thigh. I could feel his magic shoot through my body, searching fruitlessly for the cause of my bout of illness. His brow furrowed in confusion, and I knew he could feel my unease, the bond sharing that information with him freely.

I pasted a smile on my face that didn't fully reach my eyes. “Yeah.” I knew he wasn’t convinced, but he took me at my word, and I appreciated that. “Let's just get to your friend's house so we can figure out how to move forward.”

Before he could respond or question me further, I spurred my horse back to Baer and Charity, who were watching me with concern, all of us having stopped during my episode. Irritated at being the weak link, along with the knowledge that we had a constant audience, my mood took a downturn, and no amount of cajoling from Baer could pull me from it.

Chapter Twenty Four: Rhowyn

After a long day of riding, having entered Summer Territory hours ago, Arryn finally paused his horse at the top of a hill overlooking a small village filled with fae who were going about their day. It looked like what I imagined a medieval village on Earth would look like, wooden buildings with thatched roofs, no technology in sight.

The only difference between that picture in my mind and the one before me were the beings that made their way through the village. My mouth parted slightly as I saw a rainbow of colors spread out in front of me. Beings with horns, wings, and other inhuman parts all intermingled as they moved from one location to the next.

A chuckle sounded out beside me, and I turned to see amusement on my men's faces as they watched me take in the fae village for the first time. “They look so different,” I said, dumbfounded.

I immediately wanted to slap myself in the forehead, my words sounding stupid as I uttered them aloud. Unable to say anything further, Arryn took pity on me. “Only the High Fae resemble humans. The others are also fae but with different attributes and appearances.”

He gestured to a group of small fae with sharply pointed ears, wearing grungy clothes that looked similar to burlap sacks. “Those are brownies. They work for the other fae, usually at night while others sleep. They clean houses and shops, only asking for sweets and fae wine in payment.”

He turned and pointed to what looked like a swarm of butterflies, flitting quickly from one place to the next. “Those are fairies. Nasty little buggers, so watch out for them. They'll steal whatever isn't attached to you directly; the shinier, the better.”

“Holy crap!” I whispered on an exhale, hardly able to believe what I was seeing.

“The dark-haired women wearing black dresses over there...” He pointed again. “Those are banshees. They're harbingers of death, their screams the only sign they provide.”

Baer chimed in, smiling at my awe, eager to share his world with me. “The ones with blue, pink, or colored skin, but look like us? They're elves. They used to reside in their own world, but it died thousands of years ago, forcing them to flee to our world. Their magics are compatible with ours. They tend to keep to themselves on the outskirts of the viable land, but we've been seeing more and more of them recently. The dying lands have been forcing them inward and closer to the capital.” With every word he spoke, his tone grew softer and grimmer as the implications of that information weighed on him. The bond tugged at me, and I reached out to hold his hand, trying to comfort him.

Changing the subject, I said, “This is incredible. I can see why y'all love it here so much.”

“Avalon never ceases to amaze me,” Arryn whispered, looking out at the scene before us as if seeing it again for the first time.

“What now?” Callum said from behind us, trying to urge us into moving again.

I turned to face him on his black stallion, aggravated by him ruining the moment. I glanced to Lennox and saw the same look of curiosity on his face that I knew was on mine a few seconds ago. His eyes darted around as they took in the fae hustling back and forth from shop to shop.

Charity and her men were grouped behind us, talking quietly among themselves while I was given a crash course into the lower fae kind. A niggling thought crept into my mind, reminding me that I wasn’t really a part of this world. I might have been fae, but I knew absolutely nothing about this place, these people. I didn't belong here.

“Let's go,” Arryn said, nudging his horse forward, leading us down the hill and through the wide streets, all the way to the other side of town.

A large barn-like structure stood on one side, where Arryn dismounted in front of, calling out a greeting to someone I couldn't see. A small male being rushed out, his skin a greenish brown color. Both his eyes and nose were larger than a human or High Fae's.

The two spoke to each other for a moment, and the male, who only stood as tall as my waist, smiled at Arryn with warmth and familiarity. Arryn turned to us when they were done speaking. “Dismount and leave your horses here. Krug will feed and care for them, ensuring they are ready for when we depart in the morning.”

“Where will we be staying?” Charity asked, her timid, sweet voice ringing out clearly.

“There's an inn just across the street. I can get us all rooms for the night,” Arryn said, pointing to the building in question.

“But we can't pay. We didn't bring any currency with us,” Charity said, protesting the stay.

“Don't worry. I'll make sure that's taken care of. If you must, you can reimburse me when we are back at the castle safely,” Arryn assured them.

“We'll be paying you back,” Eoghan grumped out. “We don't want to owe anyone anything.” His arms crossed over his chest as if he expected us to argue over the issue.

“Of course,” Arryn said, clasping a hand on his arm briefly in a friendly sign of agreement and understanding.

“What about food?” I asked as my stomach growled loudly, causing everyone but Eoghan and Callum to laugh at me. “As you can see, I'm starving,” I said with a chuckle.

“I promise we will feed you soon, My Chosen,” Arryn said fondly, a gleam in his eyes indicating his words held an innuendo.

---