Page 48 of Their War

His hand slapped my ass. “Yup! Baer told me about that human term. It seemed very fitting.”

“Gah! Y'all are incorrigible!” I protested, enjoying the playful moment.

“Why don’t we let Rhowyn get dressed,” Arryn said. “We should probably get moving soon. We've got a dungeon to infiltrate.” The weight of that settled on my shoulders again, deflating me slightly, but I knew he was right.

“Party pooper,” Baer leaned in, whispering into my ear. The Earth colloquialism made me smile. Only he would understand the sentiment, leaving the others puzzled by the statement.

I dressed quickly once everyone but Brannoc had left. He hovered near the door, his uncertainty leaking from him like shadows. I approached him, stopping his pacing in front of the door. “Don't,” I told him.

“Don't what?” he asked, puzzled and put off guard by my demand.

“Don't start doubting this. I enjoyed what we did, what we shared.”

“How?” His question was asking many things at once. How was I okay with what happened? How was I not freaking out? How could I be so accepting?

I smiled at him, stepping closer. Instinctively, his hands found my waist as mine went to his chest. “I don't know how else to explain it, but I feel like this was all supposed to happen this way. I feel like a part of me is finally whole. Right here,” I paused and put my hand against his heart. “I learned a long time ago to trust my instincts, and every one of them are screaming at me right now that this is right.”

As he searched my gaze for the truth in my confession, I leaned up, pressing my lips against his, showing him without words that I wasn't running away after what had happened. Whatever it was, we could face it together, but I was glad we could share the moment that we had. I wanted more, so much more, with him and all of them.

Withdrawing before I could get carried away again, I waited for him to accept what I already had. Nodding, he turned and opened the door, holding it open for me to pass through before him. Squaring my shoulders, I put my game face on. Turning on the part of my mind that pushed emotions to the side, so that I could focus fully on the task at hand.

Leaving his room, the sense of deja vu swelled over me. It felt like when I had exited my dressing room, prepared to enter the cage for a fight. I was focused on what needed to be done now. To save my grandfather from the Bitch Queen. I was as ready as I could be. Just like when I had prepared for a fight. No matter how ready you thought you were, something always went sideways and not according to plan. But I had done what I could to anticipate and plan for those eventualities. We could do this. We would do this without anyone getting hurt. I'd do whatever was necessary to keep them all safe.

Chapter Twenty Seven: Arryn

We gathered in the living area, giving Brannoc and Rhowyn a moment to themselves. I glanced over the others, taking note of the fact that they were all dressed for battle, weapons strapped everywhere, much like I had done. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who'd been unable to sleep. Especially not once Rhowyn's pleasure was broadcasted through the bond, her ever-present walls nonexistent when she was in the throes of passion.

Checking the bond, something I did frequently, I found she was at peace with what happened. There was no longer any fear or concern coming from her, but now, I sensed those shadows that she'd absorbed, dancing along the lines of power that tied us all together.

A part of me knew there wasn't anything I could do about it now, but I still couldn't stop the worry I felt at wondering how this new connection would affect her. She already had too much on her plate, refusing to let us help her with bearing those burdens. Every time we tried, she insisted on remaining a part of it. As far as she'd come, she still hadn't accepted the fact that we wanted to help her, that it was an honor to bear the weight for her. She still held much of herself back, though after seeing the scars on her body, I had a good idea about why that was.

I checked my weapons as Rhowyn and Brannoc approached. Brannoc was bare of weapons, his own magic a weapon in and of itself, but Rhowyn carried not only her gifted dagger but a couple of others strapped to her that she had found somewhere. While she’d been recovering after the last trial, the dagger had shown up magically on the table beside her bed. Somehow, it had found her even though we’d left it behind trying to get her back.

The warrior in me was always turned on by the sight of her wearing so many weapons. Her countenance screamed that she was ready for battle, her muscles stiff yet fluid as she approached. Everything previous to this mission had been pushed from her mind, her sole focus on ensuring the success of our task.

Glancing at the clock, I realized that we were right on time. “Everyone ready?” I asked the group, needing the assurance that we were prepared.

A chorus of assent greeted me, and Rhowyn simply nodded as our eyes met. “We all know the plan. Brannoc, let's proceed to the meeting location. Hopefully, we can count on Loki.”

Brannoc approached Callum first, intending to carry us one at a time to the spot in an effort to conserve his energy. A part of me worried he might not have as much as before after Rhowyn absorbed part of it, but there was nothing we could do about that now. I'd just need to keep an eye out for him in case he began flagging during the mission.

“He will be there. He knows better than to break the deal we made,” Brannoc said just before he and Callum disappeared.

One by one, he took the others to the meeting spot, leaving me for last. When he finally reappeared before me, he paused. “You ready for this?”

There was so much in that question. A question from one friend to another, not one of a subordinate to a leader. Answering him honestly, I simply said, “Not really. There's so much that can still go wrong, but it's the best plan we have. I can't shake the feeling that something is going to go amiss, though.”

“It always does, you know that,” Brannoc responded. “What's different about this time?”

Shrugging, I said, “Other than Rhowyn being involved, I don't know. Something I can't see, something I can't prepare for. I don't like that we're taking Rhowyn with us. My instincts are calling for me to lock her up and keep her here safe and sound, but I know she would never forgive us if we did something like that.”

“Have faith, brother. I have a feeling that she'll surprise you,” Brannoc reassured me, clapping a hand on my shoulder and squeezing.

“She always does,” I said, thinking of all the times she'd left me in awe with her quiet strength.

“Ready?” Brannoc asked again.

I wasn't, not really, but we couldn't afford to dally any longer. We needed to get moving and I'd already wasted enough time as it was. When I nodded, he swept us up in his shadows, transporting us quickly to the spot the others were waiting.

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