Page 4 of Their Queen

Listening closely for the sounds of movement, I waited. My silent tears had stopped hours ago, dried on my face, and resulted in my swollen and scratchy eyes. I knew if I was going to go through with this, it had to be now. I hadn’t heard a peep from anyone in the house for about an hour as I resolved myself to what had to be done next. Sitting up slowly, careful not to jostle the bed at the risk of waking Baer, I slipped from the covers. Looking around the room, I found my boots and weapons by the small table across from the bed. Lacing them up quickly, I strapped my knives and rope into place.

Standing back up, I squared my shoulders and let my eyes drift closed as I steeled myself for what I was about to do. They’d never forgive me for this, but it was what was best for them. I knew it in my gut, deep down in the place that had seen me through all of the worst moments in my life. Despite how much I wanted to crawl back into bed with Baer, I remained standing. Creeping back toward Baer, I kissed his brow and whispered, “I’m sorry. For everything. It’s my turn to keep you safe now. I love you.”

Resolved, I approached the door, pressing my ear against the wood for any faint stirring from the others. Satisfied that I was truly alone, I slowly turned the knob and slipped through the small crack, the memory of Callum leaving and the door creaking kept me from opening the door too far. I vaguely remembered a pack residing in the living room, kept there for quick escapes. Hopefully, the guys hadn’t moved it. Sneaking down the hall as fast as I dared, keeping my footsteps soft and silent, I found the bag just where it had been left. Opening it, I found it was still packed with some food items and other supplies from our trek to find the Ravens.

Swinging it onto my back, I turned from the table, jumping in fright. “Going somewhere?” Cyerra asked, her arms crossed and hip cocked, the universal sign of a pissed off woman.

“Shh!” I hissed at her, my eyes darting to the hallway to ensure she hadn’t woken anyone.

She stormed over. “No, I won’t ‘shhh’. Not until you tell me what the hell you’re doing,” she demanded with a soft hiss.

I debated whether or not I could get away from her by turning into my new smoke form, but the look on her face told me I wasn’t getting out of this so easily. Huffing out a sigh, I decided to explain. “I need to check something out.” I left it simple, hoping she wouldn’t dig further. I should have known better.

“Is that so? And what about your promise to my mother?” ahe asked. When I dropped my head back in frustration at the reminder, she continued, “Unless your word means so little?”

“Look. The guys will keep you safe. I promise. This is something I need to do on my own.”

She laughed softly. “Nope. Not good enough. You promised you would look out for me. Not them.”

“Cyerra, look, I don’t have much time. I need to go. Now. By doing this, I will be holding up my end of the deal. I’ll be keeping you safe,” I tried reasoning with her.

“That’s what I thought. I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.” She leveled her hard stare at me, the knowledge that she’d figured out my plan evident in her eyes. She sighed. “Fine. If you’re insisting on this plan, I’m coming with.”

“No.” I grabbed her hand as she moved to check her own weapons. “You’re not. You’re staying here with the guys.”

She laughed. “As if I’d be crazy enough to stay here with them. Don’t you realize that once they find out I let you go, they’ll be pissed at me? Of course, they’ll be more pissed at you, but who do you think they’ll take it out on?”

“They wouldn’t dare hurt you. Maybe grouse a little, but none of them would even think about it,” I argued.

“Of course, I could always just yell. How long do you think it would take them to get in here?” she challenged.

I hesitated, studying her to see if she was bluffing or not. Then she opened her mouth, and I lunged forward, slamming my hand over her mouth. “Shit. Fuck.” I sighed. I felt her smile against my hand, knowing she’d won this battle. “Fine. If you’re coming, we need to go now.”

“Of course. I’m ready,” she said, her shoulders squared and ready for battle.

“Don’t make me regret this,” I grumbled, already doing so. Now, not only would I have my guys pissed off at me, but an angry Chieftain who’d be waiting for her chance to take a strip from my hide.

“Wouldn’t dare,” she said, her smug smile of triumph irritating me.

Not waiting any longer, I clamped a hand over her arm and turned us both into smoke, my body coursing with the overflow of power, even after giving a good chunk of it to Arryn to heal Baer. I pulled her along for the ride, drifting up and out of Brannoc’s hideaway onto the street, sunlight glaring into my eyes and causing me to squint despite the dark shroud that surrounded us.

I kept forgetting how easy it was to lose track of time when there were only false windows underground, no actual light available to indicate what time it was. Based on the location of the sun, it was still early morning, and I hoped I had plenty of time to make my getaway before they came after me. Maybe with enough distance between us, they’d keep themselves in place until I was ready for them to come out. Who was I kidding, as soon as they found out, they’d be hunting desperately for me. Speaking of which, I needed to dampen our connection so they couldn’t find me through the bond, but if I shut it out completely, they’d know something was up and might wake. It was a risk either way, but once I knew they were awake, I could cut the connection without giving myself away.

A nudge against my side pulled me from my thoughts, and I searched the street, not sure exactly where I was going now. My only thought had been getting away, but now I wasn’t sure where it was that I needed to go. I held up a finger to indicate I needed a moment, closed my eyes, and searched for the magic that had woken in me upon my ascension. Finding it, I plucked it with my mental fingers. An image of what looked like a church formed in my mind along with a gentle tug in the direction Avalonia wanted me to go.

Setting off, we made our way through the quiet streets, most of Tir Na Siorai’s residents still asleep or just waking up. We stealthily made our way through the village, a task that took much longer than I had wanted. As people started going about their days, whispered conversations followed them about their chores, which made our journey longer since it was more difficult than Brannoc made it look to avoid bumping into anyone and giving away our presence. While they wouldn’t exactly feel us?or rather, our bodies?they’d still feel our presence. I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to see our smoke form at that point and felt it was just better all-around if I didn’t risk it.

It wasn’t just the villagers that we had to avoid, but the guards as well. They patrolled more frequently than I had noticed before. I was unsure if it was just because I was looking for them, or if they had always been this prevalent and I hadn’t noticed before. My gut was leaning more toward an increase in their presence, especially after the stunt I pulled the day before. No doubt they had been doubled and were searching for me.

Each time the guards neared, we would have to duck into the shadows so as not to be caught. Now that Titania knew about Brannoc, I couldn’t count on the fact that she hadn’t put precautions in place to find us. And each time, we waited silently for the guards to pass us by since conversations anywhere near them stopped. An air of tension hung over the village, the villagers ducking their heads and avoiding eye contact. Their fear draped over the homes and businesses like fog clinging to the streets, coating everyone and everything.

Finally, after longer than I would have liked, we made our way out of the village, picking up our pace with an exhale of relief. The first step was down with so many more to go before we could end Titania. Whatever the future held from here, for the time being, I would have to face it without my men. Avalonia’s wishes weighed on me, the tug incessant as I followed it to the image she had shown me, with no idea of how far it was or what we’d face between now and our arrival.

Chapter Five: Rhowyn

About two hours after leaving the village and Cashel Ri behind, I felt the first stirrings of the guys waking up and the immediate fear that coursed through them as they realized I was gone.

Brannoc’s voice sounded down our mental connection. “Rhowyn! Where are you?” His voice was faint because of the crack I’d left in our connection before, when I had decided not to risk waking them by shutting it completely.

---