Page 59 of Their War

“Great!” Baer said. “Just whisk us on over there, and we can start the process.” His eagerness belied the fact that we all knew that it wouldn’t be that simple.

“What exactly does the rest of the ceremony entail?” Arryn asked, already deep in thought, no doubt planning out the details of what we needed to do.

“Rhowyn must drink from the pure waters of Avalon, where she will commune with Avalonia and start the process of building the bridge between them,” Jude explained.

“Wait, what do you mean a bridge?” Lennox asked, leaning forward.

“The Queen’s duties involve being a vessel for Avalonia here in Avalon. To speak for her and to do her bidding. The Queen is tasked with upholding the balance of all the magics. To do this, she must form a connection with Avalonia herself and to the land. The waters help to purify the Queen for this connection to form.

“Once Rhowyn drinks from the pure waters, she must enter a period of reflection and communion with Avalonia. Sometimes this can take hours or days. However, the process cannot be rushed and shouldn’t be interrupted at risk of harming the vessel. Rhowyn in this case.”

“Okay, that doesn’t sound too daunting,” I admitted, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing so far had been easy, and I expected this task to be just as difficult.

“Ah, while you may drink from the waters and enter communion from anywhere, the next part must be done at the castle. You must undergo the rest of the ceremony in the seat of the Queen’s power. Cashel Rí.”

“Why must it be there?” Arryn asked, his tone indicating he was simply curious and looking for any loopholes that we might be able to use to our advantage. Watching him now, I couldn’t contain my admiration for him. My steadfast consort who thought first before acting, always so sure of whatever action he took.

“It must be there because that’s where all the magics combine and where they’re at their strongest. It’s why the high fae have always preferred to settle near the castle instead of on their own lands. It’s why Cashel Rí has a mind of its own and is constantly shifting to meet the needs of everyone within,” Jude patiently explained to us.

“Okay. What exactly do we need to do in this ceremony? Can it be done anywhere on the grounds? Or do we need to do whatever it is in a certain place?” I asked him, leaning forward, running through scenarios in my head.

“Technically, it can be done anywhere on the grounds, but the closer we are to the throne room, the better. That’s the one part that never changes as it’s the seat of the Queen’s power.”

“Once I’ve started the connection to Avalonia, will I have some control over the castle? It stands to reason that I would also have some sway over it after we’ve started the transition of power,” I reasoned, speaking my thoughts out loud. I could see Arryn’s eyes cut to me, wide and impressed by my question. He, at least, had an idea of what I had in mind, but I didn’t take my gaze from my grandfather as I waited for his response.

He leaned back, settling deeper into his chair to ponder my question. “I’ve never really thought about it before, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Since it’s a part of the land and the magic itself, it should ideally respond to your requests once you’ve established a connection.”

“What do you have in mind, Killer?” Baer asked me with a teasing tone.

I laughed, “Well, first, we’ll get this water that Brannoc knows of. I’ll do my spiritual journey thing and speak with Avalonia. Once that’s done, we’ll move to Cashel Rí. Between Brannoc and I, we shouldn’t have too much trouble carrying everyone. I’ll make the castle give us a room beside the throne room that only we can enter where we can complete the ceremony." I paused with a wicked gleam in my eyes, smiling at my deviousness. The Bitch Queen shouldn’t see that coming, giving us the upper hand for once.

“And that’s the look I’ve come to realize means trouble,” Callum groaned, putting his head in his hands and bracing for my next statement.

“Then, how about we crash Titania’s little party to make a demonstration of just what I’m capable of?”

Chapter Thirty Five: Rhowyn

We spent the rest of the day hashing out the minutiae of the details of how to make my haphazard idea take shape. Really, it was Arryn and Brannoc who did most of the planning while Callum piped in on what could go wrong. He really did have a way of finding the downside to everything. However, in this case, it was coming in handy.

Lennox was a good source of information on the inner workings of the Castle, allowing us to plot out just how to infiltrate and remain hidden. I guessed that after living in that horrid place all his life, he would know best how to move about unseen, even without the use of his shadows. From what I could understand, he kept his powers hidden, even from his mother.

I sat back and watched them as they planned, each in their own element, a small smile on my face, grateful that they were in my life. That I could call them mine in a way that no other could. I didn't know when I'd gotten so lucky, but I wasn't about to question it.

After living such a hard life all on my own, I found myself still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Life had never been this enjoyable for me, even with the evil bitch that wanted to remove me from the playing field. However, I was determined to embrace what I had for as long as I could. These men balanced me, challenged me, and brought happiness into my life. Something I could honestly say that I had never had.

I even had a family. A grandfather who had embraced me, no questions asked, and I'd just rescued my father. Although, I was nervous about formally meeting the second. Granted, we had conversed easily enough in the dungeons, but that had been before I knew who he was to me. Would he embrace me like my grandfather had? Or would what the Queen had done to him be insurmountable, forever twisting what I heard had been a good and honorable man?

My grandfather was in the room with him now. The guys had explained to me that they had restrained him for everyone's safety. And while I understood this, I didn't necessarily like it. Were we just perpetuating the abuses he'd already undergone? Would he understand why it was necessary? Could he forgive us for treating him the same way, even if we had good intentions?

The only way to find the answers to those questions would be to actually have a conversation with him, but where would I even start? Hey, Dad, long time no see? Hey, Dad, I know you've been missing for two and half decades, but I'm your long-lost daughter that you kind of abandoned by accident?

Nothing seemed sufficient. With my grandfather, it had been different. He'd been there for me even before he found out about our relationship. I'd been drawn to him, and his personality made it to where we didn't even have to think about those things. I got the feeling that with my dad, things wouldn't go quite so easily. Shit, how would I even tell him about mom?

A part of me wanted to meet the man I'd heard so much about, but the other part of me was being a coward, using this meeting to avoid the inevitable confrontation that had to come. Were the guys aware of my thoughts? Could they feel the wavering and waffling I was doing? I'm sure they felt something from the bond, which was why I was now sitting in Lennox's lap while we listened to the others debate the best course of action.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Lennox whispered in my ear, tucking the strands behind my still very human ear. That was something else I had to consider. I'd been told it was my father who had cast the glamor over me, which stood to reason that he could remove it. Was I even ready for that?

I had been me for all my life. The face I saw every day in the mirror was something I had grown accustomed to. While I didn't feel I was the most beautiful or striking in appearance, I also knew that I wasn't unpleasant to look at. Who even knew what I'd look like without my glamor? For all I knew, I could be hideous underneath this unintended mask.

---