Page 62 of Their War

It was this that made me realize the abuse he had suffered hadn't just been physical. That bitch had toyed with his head and his mind, enough to make him doubt reality.

Turning to my men again, my father lashed out, “I don't know what kind of trick this is, or who you are. I don't care. Just leave me be.” His magic slammed out of him, hitting Callum in the chest again and slamming him back.

“Damn it! You fool!” Callum growled from his spot crumpled on the floor. I gasped and rushed to him, concerned that he was injured. Despite his obvious irritation, it warmed my heart that he was holding back his temper and not retaliating. I had a feeling it was for my sake.

“Fuck! Rhowyn, what are you doing here?” Arryn rushed over to me.

I waved him off. “I heard the commotion,” I explained before turning to Callum. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just a bruised ego.” He stood again, holding a hand out to pull me back to standing.

“You!” my father whispered in shock.

Turning, I met his gaze for the first time as his daughter. Shrugging, I replied, “Me.” I didn't know what else to say. Despite having fretted about this earlier, I was still no closer to knowing what to do or how to break the ice.

“You rescued me,” he said softly, puzzled by my actions.

“Yup,” I said, popping the “p”, and putting my hands in my pockets to hide my nerves. For the most part, everyone else present simply remained quiet. It seemed that my presence was enough to calm my father.

“Why?” His voice cracked at this question, one I didn't know how to answer.

“I don't know. I think Avalonia wanted me to get you out of there. Besides, I like to think that we made a connection in the cell,” I joked half-heartedly.

“If you call me begging you to stop that wretched singing a connection, I hate to see what your other relationships are like,” he snarked. I smiled, a nervous laugh escaping me. He studied me as if I had lost my mind. Maybe I had. Maybe I was in a coma somewhere, and this was what my crazy brain had come up with to keep me busy.

“Why do you look so familiar?” he asked me. While I could answer that obviously it was because we had been somewhat cell mates, we both knew that wasn't what he was asking.

Glancing to Jude for help, I stuttered out, “Umm... well... you see...”

My grandfather took mercy on me, stepping in to help me out. “Jonathan, this is Rhowyn. Your daughter.”

My father's head snapped from my face to Jude's. “That's not possible. I sent her and her mother to Earth with orders not to return until I came for them.”

Clearing my throat, I tried again. “About that.” I stumbled over my words under the weight of his scrutiny. “I was on Earth, that is until this whole Chosen thing happened, and these guys dragged me back here...” While I spoke, I could see him making the connections, my nerves on fire as I waited for his judgment. Never before had someone's opinion of me mattered so much. I hated it.

He stepped forward, trying to approach me while raising his bound hands in awe. Before he could take a second step, Arryn and Callum stepped forward to protect me. My father glanced at them briefly in understanding before returning his gaze to mine. “It's hard to see through the glamor....” He tilted his head as if trying to see below it to what no one else had been able to see. “Why do you still have it in place if you're here?”

I laughed nervously again. “Well, you see, about that. It seems that no one has been able to break it, not even me.”

He furrowed his brow. “I did choose a spell that would ensure it would hold indefinitely, but it should have broken by now, especially after being exposed to the magic of Avalon.”

“So, you don't know how to remove it?” I asked him, my heart soaring and breaking at the same time.

“No.” He shook his head, turning around to ponder the problem. Not looking at me, he continued. “I wove the spell to hold until your return to Avalon, but I'm wondering if maybe it's because you've returned while still under Titania's rule. The whole reason we needed it was to hide you from her. Perhaps the spell is still hiding you because if she knew you were my daughter, she'd use that against us both.”

“That makes sense,” Arryn said, obviously his mind was running along the same lines as my father.

“Okay, so in order to remove the glamor, I need to become the new Queen? Not a problem, we've already got a plan for that,” I told him with false bravado.

He stopped and looked at me again. “What do you mean, become the new Queen?”

Jude stepped in again. “Rhowyn was brought here because she was selected to compete in the trials. She was selected by Avalonia to become the next Queen.”

“So why is she here?” he said, looking at the humble surroundings. “Shouldn't she be at Cashel Rí?”

“I guess we have more in common than we thought,” I joked, trying hard not to think about the fact that my father hadn't embraced me. He wasn't denying the fact that I was his daughter anymore, but he still hadn't hugged me. Not like Jude had. “I'm also considered a traitor who's trying to steal the crown.”

“But if you won the trials...” he tried to reason.

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