Page 15 of Their Queen

“Well, you’re blessed by Avalonia herself, and I’m just a humble farmer who barely makes ends meet,” he admitted, his face reddening at his words.

I laughed. “Not too long ago, I barely had two pennies to rub together. Besides, as I’ve been told, we’re all Avalonia’s children. This disparity is nothing more than societal standards placed by mortals,” I told him gently.

“I guess you’re right,” he said, sitting up straighter, pride returning to his face.

“We all watched you in the trials,” he said, tilting his head to indicate the table close by that held his friends. “We all would come in here and watch on Jemmye’s crystal. For many of us, it was our first time to ever see a trial, and it was the highlight of our days.”

“Oh, and what did you think of it?” I asked, genuinely curious to hear his thoughts.

“We all rooted for you. Especially after you stood up for that servant. Well, all of us ‘cept Rudy. He’s always been a supporter of the Queen, but he’s gotten rich off her, so I can’t blame him.”

“How so?”

“He’s responsible for transporting our goods to the capital. He says he doesn’t get much for the grains, but we all know better. He lives much better than us, but it’s not like we can do much about it. Especially now, what with the crops dying on us,” he told me, his demeanor having shifted at that last statement.

“They’re dying?” I pried, needing to know their hardships, and vowing that once this was all over, I’d make sure they all prospered.

“Have been for quite some time, but those of us left have been able to scrape enough together to survive. I reckon it has something to do with the Queen. Course, this year, I didn’t produce much more than I needed to feed my family. I just can’t seem to leave though. The land has been in my family for generations. It’s all I have.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I told him, my hand finding his across the table in an attempt to commiserate with him.

“It’s the same with the rest of us. Everyone who could have has already left for greener pastures.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked, hoping I could assist them somehow until this whole war was over.

He smiled broadly at me, looking over at the crowd. I followed his gaze and watched as everyone laughed and smiled, clearly enjoying themselves despite their hardships. “I figure we got everything we need right here.”

I smiled at him, touched by the sentiment and his honesty. Another man walked up and slapped my companion on the shoulders. “What’s Jeremiah over saying now? Whatever it is, it’s not true!”

We all laughed. The newcomer bowed, and as he was about to address me, I held up a hand to stop him. “Rhowyn, please.”

He smiled broadly, approving of my informality. “Rhowyn, would you like to dance?”

I smiled at him, touched by their hospitality. Placing my hand in his, I allowed him to lead me out onto the dance floor. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m not a very good dancer,” I told him.

“That’s okay. Neither am I, but I figure we’re all here to have a good time.” I let him lead me around the floor for several songs before I begged off, short of breath and laughing. Heading back to the table, I took another drink of the ale, finishing off the glass. I turned to find the server to request another when a scream broke through the merriment, the music ceased as we all searched for the source.

I turned to the window that took up most of the front wall to find flames flickering in the distance, dirt rising up as guards galloped in on horseback chasing after a couple of fae women, their screams of terror now the only sound in the silence.

Watching in horror, I witnessed one of the women stumble as the leader of the guards slowed to approach her. Dismounting, he grabbed her by the hair and shouted out into the night. “Rhowyn Hunt, turn yourself over now, or we’ll be forced to burn this village to the ground and execute everyone for harboring a fugitive and traitor!”

Oh, hell no! This asshole thinks he can come in here and take what little these people have left? Apparently, he doesn’t know who he’s messing with. I cracked my knuckles as Cyerra ran up to me. She grabbed my arm, trying to drag me out the back. “Come on, let’s go!”

I jerked out of her grip, the same sense that had taken over me after my ascension took over again, and I strode toward the door to rain down Avalonia’s wrath on this bastard.

Chapter Twelve: Lennox

We were gathered in the living room again, Callum still pacing and growling, his beast shining yellow through his eyes, a clear indication he was hanging on by a thread. I watched him closely, wishing I could do something to calm him, but knowing that without Rhowyn here, there was nothing we could do. To make matters worse, he was the only one who had yet to seal the deal with her, and it was as if I could feel the remorse pouring off of him. But honestly, I didn’t blame him for taking his time. After what my mother had done to him, I was surprised he was even open to having any sort of physical relationship with our girl.

After the night he spent with me and Rhowyn, he seemed to relax, and I felt it was just a matter of time before they found their way to what he had been desperately trying to avoid. The tension between them was thick enough to drive a knife through it, and I had found myself wishing I could be a sprite on the wall to witness the fireworks they were sure to produce.

Now though, he was so close to becoming unhinged that I was starting to get worried for him. The constant threats he spewed were nothing but his way of voicing his frustration and feelings of helplessness, with no actual intent behind the venomous words. I knew we were all at our wit’s end, but Callum seemed to be dealing with it worse than all of us combined.

Thankfully, Arryn and Brannoc entered, trailed by Baer, who looked so unlike himself, completely withdrawn and shut down. If it weren’t for all of us forcing him to eat and care for himself, I was certain he would wither away. He looked like shit, a stark contrast from the bubbly personality from before.

Damn, we were a mess without her. Hopefully, Brannoc’s reason for calling us all into the living area would be to tell us that he’d found her, and we could race after her. Somehow, I doubted it. His shoulders were tense, indicating he was still just as frustrated with her as he’d been the times before. Although, now, he seemed to be more sober. Something that hadn’t happened since we’d found out she was missing. He’d done his damnedest to drown his sorrows in liquor.

Once Baer took a seat to stare into the empty fireplace, Brannoc began, “She reached out to me again.” He cleared his throat as his cheeks flamed. Apparently, there was more to that statement than he was letting on, and I perked up, curious as to what he was hiding.

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