Page 54 of Their War

“You, of all people, should know the importance of keeping the lower fae in their place. If we let them take too many liberties, they’ll soon have ideas of overthrowing us High Fae,” Grant spat out, his eyes landing on Brannoc with such hatred.

“And you think that keeping them beneath you with force will keep them from doing such a thing? If anything, it will only result in their rebellion sooner.” I tried reasoning with him, attempting to get him to realize the foolishness of such a notion. No one could ever rule in fear for long. Someone or many would always rise up to overthrow that vise like grip of control.

“Enough,” Grant snapped after realizing he was losing ground with his followers. The other boys were now starting to see the errors in their ways. “Leave or don’t. Either way, we plan on teaching this filth a lesson.”

Uncrossing my arms, I let them hang loosely at my sides, bending my knees slightly to prepare for the onslaught of them. Noting the change in my posture, one of the other boys grabbed Grant’s arm. “Leave it, Grant. It’s not worth it.”

Grant turned to glare at the boy who dared to challenge his authority, his gaze sweeping out to take in the others. It dawned on him that they also felt the same, forcing him to rethink his current course of action. Finally, Grant capitulated. “Fine.” His words were grumbled through clenched teeth, his fists squeezing until his knuckles turned white.

Leaning around me, Grant met Brannoc’s eyes from where he still sat huddled on the ground. “If you get ideas of getting uppity again, remember that Oakley won’t always be around to protect you. We’ll make sure you stay in your place one way or another.”

The boys left after Grant’s warning, my shoulders relaxing as the last one turned the corner. Pivoting, I held out a hand to Brannoc. He eyed my hand warily, as if he expected a trick, before finally placing his smaller hand in mine. I pulled him to standing. “I’m Arryn,” I told him.

“Brannoc,” he replied quietly, his eyes downcast, hardly daring to meet my eyes. “Why’d you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Help me.”

I laughed, the sudden noise in the quiet alley causing him to flinch. My laughter turned into a sigh. These new ideas of the High Fae were disgusting to me. How they couldn’t see that we were all needed, both high and low fae alike, truly boggled my mind. “Because it was the right thing to do.”

Brannoc’s wariness seeped from him in the way he held one arm with his hand, shifting on his feet as if ready to run at the first sign of attack. I couldn’t imagine living a life like that. Always in fear. Always on guard.

“Come,” I told him as I turned around, the stench finally getting to me.

“Why?” His fear made his voice quaver, but he followed me, staying just out of arm’s reach.

“If you want to train, then you should meet my father.”

“General Oakley?” Brannoc’s fear turned to awe and shock.

“He’s much better in training than Sergeant Gray. It would be considered quite the honor if he agreed to take you on as an apprentice, and then those boys wouldn’t dare try attacking you again. They wouldn’t risk his wrath.” I laughed at the thought of them trying. I could see my father’s ire as he reamed them out. His temper was legendary, but his control was what helped him rise through the ranks quickly.

From that day forward, Brannoc and I had become fast friends, training and playing together on my family’s small homestead. The memories of him adjusting his fighting style to incorporate his growing and developing powers reminded me of how far he’d come. Once they had finally activated, he didn’t have control of them, often popping in and out when his focus slipped during sparring.

If I hadn’t been in so much shock, I would have smiled then. At his limitations and frustration at his lack of control. From what I could recall, that was normal for most Ravens. Their powers and control only grew as they aged. Which was why Rhowyn’s ability to traverse such a distance, not only by herself but carrying two others, was such an accomplishment.

She was young by most fae standards, and yet her focus and strength matched that of someone with over five hundred years of control. Brannoc himself hadn’t had such restraint even at one hundred years, so her natural ability in her twenties was mind blowing. The others didn’t know that yet, didn’t know that her ability to use the shadows so effectively was such a feat. But Brannoc and I did. Which explained the shock and awe.

Slowly, my mind processed the other information that had also been revealed by Master Jude. That, unknowingly, Rhowyn had rescued her own father, a man who had been missing for decades. His relationship to my Chosen didn’t change my mind about having him trussed up. The man had been held prisoner for too long, and I didn’t know the state of his mind. Until I did, I wouldn’t risk Rhowyn’s safety with him. She did and would always come first for me.

My concern now was how she was going to take this news. From what I could gather, she’d been effectively abandoned on Earth and subjected to abuses I couldn’t even fathom. She’d had to grow up quickly and harden herself against any threats that might come her way. While she still struggled with this, I was grateful for her trust in us. It could very easily have gone a different direction with her fighting us on everything, but she had been slowly revealing her heart to us. My hope was that one day she’d be able to fully trust us with her past, with her thoughts and emotions, and eventually her whole heart. As time passed, she gave us bits and pieces, and if I held onto every single part, then eventually, I would have it all.

Callum started pacing. “So, you’re telling me that Rhowyn rescued her own father? How? Why?” He paused to look at all of us, throwing up his hands in frustration.

“Until either of them are awake, we can’t say for certain, but I would hazard a guess that Avalonia played a heavy hand in this,” Master Jude reasoned calmly. Leave it to him to maintain his logic in this ever growing convolution that was our lives now.

“But why?” Lennox asked, truly dumbfounded by this development.

“Why does Avalonia do anything? It is not for us to know except to trust that she does indeed have a plan for us all,” Jude continued, soothing our fears and worries with such a simple explanation. Granted, I still had my questions, but I accepted the fact that I might never know why things were happening the way they were. Perhaps Rhowyn would know. That is, once she woke up.

“On that note, let’s get them both settled. We can rest up and reconvene when they have recovered,” I instructed everyone, taking charge of the situation and needing to regain the leadership role so my thoughts would hopefully settle instead of the current reeling I was unaccustomed to. Knowing Callum needed to stay busy, I assigned him the task of settling Rhowyn and watching over her. Avalonia knew he couldn’t be trusted with Jonathan, his distrust pushing him to act before thinking, and we couldn’t afford that right now. For whatever reason, Avalonia had brought him back into our lives, and I needed to ensure that he stayed alive long enough to accomplish whatever deeds she had in mind.

Turning to Lennox and Baer, I said, “Take Jonathan to the far bedroom. Take shifts in watching him. After years of torture and imprisonment, we can’t be sure how he’ll react after awakening.”

They turned to pick him up, hoisting him by the arms and legs, disappearing down the hall. “I can sit with him,” Master Jude offered.

“I won’t deny you that right, as I’m sure you’re eager to speak with him after all this time, but it would be better if we had someone else there ready to subdue him if needed,” I explained.

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