Page 93 of Their War

“I’m not telling you shit,” the guard spat out, clearly finding some confidence despite being bound and at our mercy.

Arryn shook his head. “Don’t make this hard. Answer my questions, and you might make it out of this alive.”

“Why should I trust you? You’ll say anything to get what you want. I’m dead either way,” the guard argued belligerently.

“Well, it’s like this,” Brannoc said, his arrogant assassin mask in place as he stepped forward. Again, the guard swallowed, but Brannoc continued unperturbed by the fear now coursing through the air, picking at his nails with a dagger as if bored by the whole situation. “You don’t really have a choice, now do you? Your only chance at making it out alive is by telling us what we need to know. You and I both know that the Queen will kill you even if you stay silent. She won’t take the risk. You’ve already failed her by getting caught.”

The guard’s eyes darted from side to side, and Arryn placed a hand on his leg, causing the man to flinch. “What’s your name?”

Confused, he stuttered out, “Al..Alain.”

“Alain, we are here to ensure that the new Queen ascends the throne as Avalonia intended. Titania has wielded and stolen power for long enough. You just might save your own life if you help us here today. After all, Rhowyn doesn’t wish to start her rule with death on her hands.”

I stepped forward, feeling that he needed this reassurance. “Arryn’s right. I only wish to free the people of Avalon from her tyrannical rule. She’s killing Avalon, and soon, there won’t be anything left if we don’t stop her. Avalonia’s brought you here to help us. Can you do that, Alain? Can you help us?”

He stared at me for a moment before his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Yes.” He lifted his head and met Arryn’s gaze confidently. “What do you want to know?”

“Thank you, Alain,” I said, before stepping back to allow Arryn to take over.

“Does the Queen know we’re here? Were you coming to look for us?”

“No. I was supposed to be watching the proceedings, but with everyone else distracted, I wanted to take the chance to spend some time with my girl. She’s a maid and, for the moment, has some time. We’ve both been so busy lately, what with the trials and ascension…” he trailed off, realizing we didn’t care about that extraneous information.

“Okay. That’s good. That helps us,” Arryn said. If the guard was telling us the truth, which my gut said he was, he wouldn’t be missed from patrol, and we’d managed to escape notice thus far.

Satisfied, I turned to check on my grandfather’s progress. Arryn’s words drifted to me as I walked away. “Just sit here, and when we’re done, we’ll let you go. By then, it won’t matter if anyone knows we were here.”

Callum growled out, “But if you try anything, I won’t hesitate to kill you right here and now.”

I didn’t hear the guard’s response, my focus now on the altar, bowls and herbs spread out before my grandfather as he used a mortar to grind them into a powder before pouring them out into a milky white liquid.

“So, what can I expect?” I asked him.

He glanced up at me briefly with a smile before turning back to his tasks. “This part is fairly easy. Similar to the consort selection, I’ll be doing most of the chanting. You just need to stand there and swear your allegiance when I prompt you.”

“Okay. I can do that. I mean, shit, if this isn’t proof enough that I’m committed, I don’t know what else would convince Avalonia,” I said, my nerves forcing me to fill the void of silence. There wasn’t much for me to do until everything was ready, so I figured I’d pick my grandfather’s brain, arming myself with knowledge.

“It’s not about that,” Cyerra said, chiming in while still mixing the ingredients that Jude had set out for her. “She knows you’re committed; it’s why you were selected. This part is about sealing the deal between you. It’s a binding agreement that, if broken, will take your life.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” I said, now a little hesitant, for good reason.

Cyerra laughed. “It’s not like that. It’s an oath to do what’s right for the people of Avalon, to protect them and raise them up. Every Queen takes the Oath.”

“If that’s the case, why isn’t Titania dead already? I mean, clearly, she’s broken her oath if the land’s dying and magics are failing,” I questioned them.

“You would think,” my father said, doing some mixing of his own. “However, with this kind of magic, there are always loopholes. She could have found a way around the words.” At my puzzled look, he continued, “For instance, if she truly believes that what she’s doing is for the good of Avalon, then she wouldn’t be struck dead.”

“Okay. I fail to see how she can even think that, but I guess I see your point.”

“Does crazy ever really understand reality?” Baer asked, leaning against the altar and smirking at me.

I laughed. “I guess not. But does anyone truly think she’s crazy? She seems to have a pretty firm grip on reality. If it weren’t for her quest for power, then I might consider her quite sane. I’ve seen politicians and actors on Earth play games and put on facades to fool their followers. All of them sane.”

“It could be that she simply feels that by being the most powerful, she can protect Avalon against anything that might threaten it,” Jude spoke up.

“Or she simply found a way to nullify the Oath to begin with,” Brannoc said.

“What do you mean?” I asked him as he stayed leaned back against the middle of the wall, all relaxed grace, but still able to see every inch and ready to pounce if needed. If you didn’t know him, you might suspect he was relaxed and bored, but I knew he was just as vigilant as the rest of us.

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