Page 22 of Their War

“Do you know what this means, Rhowyn?” Arryn asked me.

“I mean, I already knew I was one of her Chosen, and I knew that things were pretty dire around here, so nothing was really all that surprising. I'd think it was a dream, except the sensation of being in her presence was like nothing I'd ever felt before.”

“Rhowyn,” Arryn said, pulling my attention from the plate of food before me. “She meant that you were to be the next Queen. She's chosen you. The trials are complete, and you've been selected by her to lead us.”

I laughed. “But I didn't even finish that last trial,” I protested.

“You didn't have to. Apparently, she'd already seen enough.”

It was my turn to freeze as the magnitude of the situation sank in. Well, fuck. Things were certainly going to get interesting from here.

Chapter Thirteen: Rhowyn

I sat there at the table, my meal forgotten, completely dumbfounded by the bomb Arryn had just dumped on me. Wheels turned in my mind, considering all the implications that this new information meant; for me, for my guys, and for the people of Avalon. I needed more answers before I could even begin to sort through it all.

“What does that mean for us?” I asked the guys, hoping they’d have the answers I needed. I was in over my head, and I needed them to help me figure out which way to go from here. How was someone like me supposed to go about becoming the Queen? Was I truly ready for something like this?

“On one hand, it’s what we had wanted. On the other, it also means that we now have a target on our heads. The Queen won’t like that you’ve been selected as her successor. It’ll mean a tense transition unlike anything else in the history of Avalon,” Arryn began to explain.

“I’m willing to bet that she’ll be trying to find a way to circumvent this decision. She’ll either want someone she can control on the throne, or she’ll find a way to keep the power herself. She could honestly go either way,” Callum chimed in. “Lennox, what do you think she’ll do?” He nudged Lennox’s shoulder with his, pulling Lennox from wherever his mind had gone.

“Huh?” Lennox asked.

Brow furrowing, Callum asked again, “What do you think your mother will do now that Rhowyn has been selected?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like she ever included me in any of her plans or discussions. She used me like she used everyone else around her,” Lennox said, shoving his chair back, the scraping of wood across wood almost painful to my ears. “I need to get some sleep,” he said, not looking at any of us, simply walking off down the hall, presumably to a bedroom.

When he was out of earshot, I turned to the other guys, puzzled by his behavior. “What’s going on with him?”

Baer shrugged, and Arryn looked just as perplexed. “He’s been acting differently since you left. He’s acting like he did when we first met him.”

“I’ll go talk to him,” Callum said.

“No,” I said. “Give him some space. I’ll talk to him later, but we need to figure out what we’re going to do. We can’t exactly stay here in Brannoc’s lair forever.” I turned to Brannoc and smiled. “No offense.”

He dipped his head. “None taken.” It was weird seeing him in his own home. Before, he’d always carried an air of danger, of barely restrained violence, but now, he was almost regal. Sitting there, his movements as he dined were cultured and relaxed. Here, he was truly in his element.

“So, is the plan to travel to this safe place and mount a rebellion? Is it the headquarters or base of operations for your rebellion? Or has the plan changed now that I’m supposed to become the next Queen?” I asked, trying to get us back on topic. If I were going to face the unknown future, I needed a plan. I needed to know where we were going and what we hoped to accomplish. Maybe then, I’d find my footing again.

Scratching his chin, Arryn glanced around the table, looking for answers from everyone, clearly at a loss of his own.

“I’m not sure exactly how we want to proceed,” Arryn admitted. “We had a hierarchy, but we had been too afraid to congregate or form an actual force before having more information. It’s why my assignment was so important. I needed to infiltrate Cashel Rí and feed information back so that we could progress. Which means, this place I’ve heard about is an unknown. We can’t be certain if it’s safe or a viable option to take to get you on the throne.”

“Okay. That’s out.” Turning to Brannoc, I asked, “You wouldn’t happen to have any other safe houses we can go to outside of the city, would you?”

He smiled at me. “A Raven is nothing if not prepared. Of course I have other homes. I was paid well for my work, so that won’t be a problem either.”

“I hate to have you foot the entire bill,” I said, protesting even though I knew the reality of the situation. We would need finances for whatever took place next. I surely didn’t have anything to contribute on that front.

“If it saves Avalon, then it has served its purpose. What’s mine is yours in this fight,” he told me. I searched his face for any sign that he was being insincere, but I couldn’t find anything but total honesty.

“In that case, thank you,” I murmured, touched by his generosity and assistance. I didn’t know why he was helping us so much, but I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Of course, my Queen.” He dipped his head again in deference to me.

I laughed awkwardly. Wow. That sounded so weird. It was one thing for Baer to call me that when we were in bed, for Lennox to call me Princess, but those weren’t actual titles. The reverence in Brannoc’s tone now put me on edge. “Don’t. I’m not quite sure I’m ready for that. Just call me Rhowyn.”

He tilted his head, studying me briefly before giving me a nod of affirmation. “Now,” I started. “Where exactly are these homes located? Do we need to think about compiling an army to fight the Queen? Or should we just wait and see what her next move is?” I asked the guys, completely out of my league here. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that I would be talking about armies, rebellions, and saving an entire world. And yet, here I was, plotting the best way to overthrow the Queen so I could take her place.

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